ATX Tower Case with very nice cooling?

[akula2]

Hello,

Planned workstation goes this way.

1) Intel Core i7 860 Processor
2) Gigabyte P55A-UD4P
3) DDR3-1666 MHz Dual Channel - 4 GB RAM
4) Sapphire 1 GB Radeon HD 5770 Juniper OR Vapor-X
5) PSU: Corsair 650W HX (dropped TX due to less warranty, cables etc)
6) Asus VK246H 24" LCD Monitor with Webcam
7) Samsung Spinpoint F3 1 TB SATA-II drive
8) TV+FM Tuner Card (mostly USB)
9) Creative Inspire 7.1 Speakers
10 Optical DVD Multi drive
11) FDD

Total cases planned to purchase locally: 21 Nos.

Rough net peak power consumption from all devices: 450W (don't know how much Heat produced).
Please recommend which make should I go for my configuration?

Thank you.

 

[akula2]

Please recommend which make should I go for my configuration?

I loved this design, anyone knows/use this product?
http://www.nzxt.com/products/tempest/
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16811146047 $110 (local price ~$125).

Please comment or recommend any other one.

 

[dndhatcher]

Antec 900 or HAF 922 can be about the same price as that NXT. Antec 300 illusion is cheaper.

I dont think there is any reason to not get that NXT case if you like it alot. NXT makes OK cases.

 

[MadAdmiral]

Everything I've read on NZXT is that many of the "special" features that make them so attractive don't really work right. I haven't heard anything about the Tempest specifically, and it doesn't have any of the features I've read about, such as temperature probes (that don't work right).

I agree with dnd though. The Antec 900 and HAF 922 are right there (maybe cheaper with shipping costs) and are extremely well know and used often. The 300 Illusion is a good $45-50 cheaper, and just a smaller version of the 900. That's a really good deal, and is one of the first recommendations for most builds...

 

[akula2]

Antec 900 or HAF 922 can be about the same price as that NXT. Antec 300 illusion is cheaper.

I dont think there is any reason to not get that NXT case if you like it alot. NXT makes OK cases.

I checked up Antec 900 (oops, more than 4,000 reviews!!) and it looks quite solid. Antec 300 looks somewhat small and HAF 922 is good enough. Umm, NXT makes OK cases = not good enough to me then Have to explore more products...

NXT costs locally some $120 plus and Antec 900 around $140 (actual price on Newegg is $90). I need to cross check the prices once again tomorrow....thanks for making my life more tough (like DDR3 lol)

 

[dndhatcher]

I love my 900. Great airflow even leaving the fans on low. Antec does have a new 600 thats looks good (like a large 200) but I havent seen it live yet.

 

[akula2]

Everything I've read on NZXT is that many of the "special" features that make them so attractive don't really work right. I haven't heard anything about the Tempest specifically, and it doesn't have any of the features I've read about, such as temperature probes (that don't work right).

I am gonna check about Antec 900 and NZXT Tempest for sure. Problem is, we don't get lot of products flooded into the local markets. And, sellers always milk from the ignorant customers by showing dumb FOREX conversion rates from the US $ etc. Example, Sapphire ATI 5770 costs here $240 compared to $170 in US (and multiply the saving by 21) So, that's how rates get spiked up at their will and wish. Anyway, I have to check on these cases (have to shell out little money on some thing). Please suggest if you have any more cases.

 

[chunkymonster]

For $139.00USD, it's hard to beat the Cooler Master HAF 932. Big. Solid. Quiet. Plenty of air flow...'nuff said!

Well worth the $30 extra over the NZXT...has perpendicluar hard drive cages, unlike the (much over rated) Antec 900...

I am gonna check about Antec 900 and NZXT Tempest

For all intents and purposes, the Antec 900 and NZXT Tempest are the (almost) exact same case. If I remember correctly, the Tempest was reviewed to be a cheaper knock-off of the Antec 900...

 

[MadAdmiral]

Except that the HAF 922 is the same case, just slightly smaller and $40 cheaper...

 

[akula2]

For $139.00USD, it's hard to beat the Cooler Master HAF 932

Well worth the $30 extra over the NZXT...has perpendicluar hard drive cages, unlike the (much over rated) Antec 900...

For all intents and purposes, the Antec 900 and NZXT Tempest are the (almost) exact same case. If I remember correctly, the Tempest was reviewed to be a cheaper knock-off of the Antec 900...

Tempest is a knock-off of the Antec 900
Antec 900 is over rated
And, HAF 932 is hard to beat
Ummm, quite a tricky situation to deal with at this time

Anyway, could someone comment on this one too - Thermaltake Armor Series VA8003BWS Black Full Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133021 (~145 on Newegg, dunno local status)

 

[MadAdmiral]

I highly disagree with the Antec 900 being overrated. The case is excellent. Widely overlocked is the fact that's is very versitile with all bays being able to be internal or external. It's also supposed to be more of a server case.

I don't particularlly care for the Thermaltake. It doesn't look that appealing to me, and is more expensive than some very trusted cases. I'm also not a fan of top mounted PSUs. It almost makes you spend more for a modular PSU. In addition, it's really small for a full-tower (the HAF 922, a mid tower, is larger by ~400 cubic inches).

 

[dndhatcher]

I highly disagree with the Antec 900 being overrated.

I tried to post that, but the language filter was going to block everything I typed.


Airflow per case size, its hard to beat the 900. Dust filters on the front like the 902 and 300 would be nice.

I also will not go back to a top mounted PSU after having the 900 and 300. Cable management is so much easier when you can just leave any excess cables laying in the bottom of the case.

The HAF 932 and 922 are almost identical (other than an inch here and there) yet the 922 is cheaper (I think it doesnt come with the side fan pre-installed like the 932).

 

[akula2]

I don't particularlly care for the Thermaltake. It doesn't look that appealing to me, and is more expensive than some very trusted cases. I'm also not a fan of top mounted PSUs. It almost makes you spend more for a modular PSU. In addition, it's really small for a full-tower (the HAF 922, a mid tower, is larger by ~400 cubic inches).

I will check on tomorrow for Antec 900 and HAF 922 for sure. Corsair 650W HX already brought by my friend in the US. I need the best possible coolest and spacious case for my builds, that's the only concern to me. Should I drop Thermaltake then?

 

[akula2]

Airflow per case size, its hard to beat the 900. Dust filters on the front like the 902 and 300 would be nice.

I also will not go back to a top mounted PSU after having the 900 and 300. Cable management is so much easier when you can just leave any excess cables laying in the bottom of the case.

The HAF 932 and 922 are almost identical .

Exactly, that's why I chose Corsair 650W HX. Then I would start with Anten 900, then HAF 932 and last NZXT Tempest. Anyway more leads are welcome

 

[Shadow703793]

I tried to post that, but the language filter was going to block everything I typed.


Airflow per case size, its hard to beat the 900. Dust filters on the front like the 902 and 300 would be nice.

I also will not go back to a top mounted PSU after having the 900 and 300. Cable management is so much easier when you can just leave any excess cables laying in the bottom of the case.

The HAF 932 and 922 are almost identical (other than an inch here and there) yet the 922 is cheaper (I think it doesnt come with the side fan pre-installed like the 932).

Antec 900 is a great case, but imo, with the introduction of the HAF 922/932 buying the Antec 900 over the HAF 922 comes down to personal asthetics and price. Generally, I'v seen the Antec 900 on sale for as low as $60 (new) on sites like Amazon,Newegg,etc where as the chepest I'v seen the HAF 922 is ~$70. Having worked with the 900 and the HAF922 I'd go for the HAF 922 assuming similar prices.

As for the HAF 922 vs HAF 932,if you plan to go insane in the GPU department (ie Tri SLI,etc) OR plan to put in a EATX board, get the HAF 932.

 

[dndhatcher]

...buying the Antec 900 over the HAF 922 comes down to personal asthetics and price.


As for the HAF 922 vs HAF 932,if you plan to go insane in the GPU department (ie Tri SLI,etc) OR plan to put in a EATX board, get the HAF 932.

+1. Totally agree.

 

[chunkymonster]

Except that the HAF 922 is the same case, just slightly smaller and $40 cheaper...

Very good point. If you don't need/want a full tower, then the HAF 922 is the shiz-nit!

Antec 900 is a great case, but imo, with the introduction of the HAF 922/932 buying the Antec 900 over the HAF 922 comes down to personal asthetics and price. Generally, I'v seen the Antec 900 on sale for as low as $60 (new) on sites like Amazon,Newegg,etc where as the chepest I'v seen the HAF 922 is ~$70. Having worked with the 900 and the HAF922 I'd go for the HAF 922 assuming similar prices.

As for the HAF 922 vs HAF 932,if you plan to go insane in the GPU department (ie Tri SLI,etc) OR plan to put in a EATX board, get the HAF 932.

Agreed! Spot on assessment. It is more a question of aesthetics and price. Don't get me wrong, the Antec 900 is indeed a very nice case, and it would be perfect if Antec had made the hard drive cages perpendicular to instead of in-line front to back with the case. Plus the HUGE fans on the HAF 932/922 dwarf the 120mm fans in the 900. Which if the OP needs "the best possible coolest and spacious case for my builds" the HAF series is truly hard to beat.

Either way, good luck!

 

[JackNaylorPE]

personally, while I'd say that the HAF922 and Antec 900/902/P183/P193 are great cases, I can't put them in the same category as the Antec 1200 and HAF932. The 1200's ability to take the CP series PSU's is a big + also

 

[akula2]

As for the HAF 922 vs HAF 932,if you plan to go insane in the GPU department (ie Tri SLI,etc) OR plan to put in a EATX board, get the HAF 932.

That's never considered w.r.t my requirement and already brought the components by my friend:
Gigabyte P55A-UD4P
Sapphire 1 GB Radeon HD 5770 Juniper and Vapor-X (going to choose the best performing one card w.r.t performance/power after a few real load tests, remaining one would be kept for my nephew's planned 750/860 PC in Jan).
Thank you.

 

[akula2]

Very good point. If you don't need/want a full tower, then the HAF 922 is the shiz-nit!

Antec 900 is indeed a very nice case, and it would be perfect if Antec had made the hard drive cages perpendicular to instead of in-line front to back with the case. Plus the HUGE fans on the HAF 932/922 dwarf the 120mm fans in the 900. Which if the OP needs "the best possible coolest and spacious case for my builds" the HAF series is truly hard to beat.

Either way, good luck!

Shiz-nit? I heard that word while watching Generation Kill, what does that mean

Thanks again. My only mandatory requirement considering 5 year plus life w.r.t high performance workstation would be: "Best possible coolest and spacious case!" Please let me know on any more leads, meanwhile I asked my local vendor to drop at my premises for a talk. Will keep you posted...

 

[akula2]

personally, while I'd say that the HAF922 and Antec 900/902/P183/P193 are great cases, I can't put them in the same category as the Antec 1200 and HAF932. The 1200's ability to take the CP series PSU's is a big + also

Hmmm, that's interesting. Then 1200 too is shortlisted, please let me know if there any good ones left. Thank you.

Update: I am looking at 1200 here but two models are available ($160 and $240)...latter one is with PSU but which one did you recommend me?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=Antec+1200&x=20&y=26

 

[chunkymonster]

My only mandatory requirement considering 5 year plus life w.r.t high performance workstation would be: "Best possible coolest and spacious case!" Please let me know on any more leads...

Here are 3 more options, all with different designs, layouts, and features, and all are excellent choices. I recently retired a Silverstone case for the HAF 932 I am using now, and have a Lian-Li V2000 as a NAS/file server. I will attest to the build quality, styling, and functionality of all three brands.

Lian-Li PC-V1200APlus
Cooler Master ATCS 840
Silverstone TJ09

Out of these three, if this case is sitting on your desktop or will be open a visible to passers-by, the CoolerMaster 840 is one of the most feature filled and quality built cases I have seen in a number of years; removable motherboard trays are the best! Truth is, I would have snagged the 840 instead of the HAF 932 for my current build, but the HAF 932 on sale for $89.99 was too hard to pass up.

Hope you find these choices interesting!

 

[MadAdmiral]

What the HAF 922 is for the HAF 932, the Antec 900 is to the 1200. It's just the different sized versions. Really, any case that we've pointed out in this thread is an extremely good case, and the final choice is mainly based on budget and what you thing looks good.

 

[akula2]

What the HAF 922 is for the HAF 932, the Antec 900 is to the 1200. It's just the different sized versions. Really, any case that we've pointed out in this thread is an extremely good case, and the final choice is mainly based on budget and what you thing looks good.

Alright folks, after scratching my head so hard in this young age I decided this selection:

Cooler Master HAF 932 - 20 Nos - for my intended Business Workstations - ~$175 local price (hard bargain lol). I love those fans....gonna order by last week of this month. Only 1 5770 card but with 8 GB DDR3 1600 each (4 sticks). PSU scaled down to Corsair 550W since only one ATI card.

Antec 1200 - 1 No - this is for me - ~$190 local price - again hard bargain. I chose this w.r.t adding two 5770 cards in the near future (first am gonna add only one, later after 6 months or year...when prices drop). PSU will remain Corsair 650WHX from that perspective. I have this with me right now, gonna build my Test workstation tomorrow...

I came to know RAM prices gonna spike up, so I decided to import 8 GB RAM per machine because we need that much RAM due to highly demanding computational requirements.

As you might be remembering, i5-750 scrapped as planned earlier in favor of i7-860 processor (not much difference considering my application loads between those two processors and we need VT-d and few others things badly. 750 doesn't support VT-d, only VT-x). All 21 machines run 860 processors.

And, 22nd machine is my nephew's build and he's hell bent on getting NZXT. He said he gonna choose the best one by 3rd week or so to beat my Antec 1200 looks and hopefully performance lol ....am gonna be more happy for him if he finds one

Last but not least, thank you very much for all the responses. Once again it's hard for me to choose best answer but I've to choose one. No hard feelings please

Wishing you a very Happy & Prosperous New Year