Antec 300, Antec 600 or Coolermaster CM690

goonting

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Sep 11, 2006
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is the extra Php 1,200.00 worth it?


Antec 300 = Php 3,300.00
http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=MjQ=

Coolermaster CM 690 = Php 4,500.00
http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?category_id=19&product_id=2908

advantage= E-sata, firewire, tool less HD carriages.

or the latest antec

Antec 600 = Php 4,650.00
http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=MjE4Nw==

looks great...

i just need opinion. I'm placing my new AMD base system on this.

motherboard: MSI 790GX-G65
processor: AMD Athlon II X4 620 or AMD Phenomn II X3 720
 
Solution
It's big, very big compare to the 300, but the airflow is incredible.
I've got 1 CM 690 and 2 antec 900. The CM690 is a little bigger than my 900.

Cable management is very good, excellent airflow (you can add a few more fans if you want), a lot of room if you need to play inside the case and a few options/goodies on the case.

The only thing I hate on the case is it feel cheap, the cover is made of cheap-like plastic and the power button feels very cheap.
I've worked with 2 of the CM690 and on the second tower the front plastic cover broke quickly.

But overall the case is good. My antec 900 feels very solid compare to the CM690.
If you don't have to move the tower then the CM690 should be OK. Anyway you don't want to move the CM690...

jsrudd

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Jan 16, 2009
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I have that cooler master case and I like it a lot. Plenty of space and organizing the cords was pretty easy. The whole tooless harddrive and PCI slots aren't really that great though.
 

goonting

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Sep 11, 2006
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been thinking for the past 3 days on getting the more expensive CM690. It would be my first multi-core system. Last build was late 2006. I guess 3 years is worth a new casing. My kids are all over my XPC SB81P. Coolermaster it is guys...i'm ordering it next week. I plan to stick it with Radeon HD 5xxx card and crossfire future upgrade. I hope the long cards fit on this
 

SkippyDogg

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Nov 19, 2009
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I also have the cooler master case but there are 2 things that are wrong with it. 1 the side fan that is included whines very loud! But an easy fix to that is to get some longer screws and push back a bit so its not to close to the grill because the grill is making that noise. 2 is that the hdd light is VERY VERY dim i've seen a couple of pictures on forums around the web and hdd is always very dim. the power light is blue but for me its a little too bright so i unplugged it but other than that great airflow, it dropped my temps by 15 C. Also the the front panel is a pain because you have to pulll it off and it sounds like its going to break but its not much of a problem. but all in all i love this case =)
 

nocteratus

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Mar 6, 2007
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It's big, very big compare to the 300, but the airflow is incredible.
I've got 1 CM 690 and 2 antec 900. The CM690 is a little bigger than my 900.

Cable management is very good, excellent airflow (you can add a few more fans if you want), a lot of room if you need to play inside the case and a few options/goodies on the case.

The only thing I hate on the case is it feel cheap, the cover is made of cheap-like plastic and the power button feels very cheap.
I've worked with 2 of the CM690 and on the second tower the front plastic cover broke quickly.

But overall the case is good. My antec 900 feels very solid compare to the CM690.
If you don't have to move the tower then the CM690 should be OK. Anyway you don't want to move the CM690 because it's heavy and big.
 
Solution

LePhuronn

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Apr 20, 2007
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I have a couple of NVIDIA Edition CM690s in work and they are very nice cases so I'd go for that.

If you want something a little smaller then go Antec 300 as it'll still give you great airflow.

As an aside, I really have no idea why Antec released the 200 and 600, especially as they're so fugly!
 

goonting

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Sep 11, 2006
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Thanks guys. My MSI 790GX-G65 just arrive this weekend...Now i just have to wait for the casing i'll order it tomorrow. Here in the Philippines majority of the cases on stores will kill you... sharp edges and easy rust. Most of Antec, Coolermaster, thermaltake, silverstone and lian li are order basis. 5-15 days usually. My old SB81P is too busy with my daughters now... i'm left with no gaming pc...hehehehe... Time for multi-core. Thank you very much guys. CM690... it is.... i'll buy some rubber grommets for the fan if you say is noisy when place at the side.
 

goonting

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i'm giving my old pc to my daughters...hehehe they love to roam around Elder Scrolls.

Intel Pentium 4 630 3.0Ghz Shuttle XPC SB81P(intel 915G)
Patriot Dual Channel 2GB DDR400: Raid0 640GB 2pc WD3200AAJS
Powercolor ATI Radeon HD3870 PCS 512MB DDR4