Antec 902 or 1200?!

[mboyer87]

Hello TomsHardware community,

Well, I'm really torn here. NewEgg has the Antec 902 listed for $89.99 (after MIR), which is a great buy, and the Antec 1200 is still listed at $159.99.

Both cases look sweet and have great airflow, but the deciding factor for me will be which one is easier for performing cable management. Besides moving some wires around and using cable ties, I've never wired cables through a back-panel before, and with my next gaming case I want to do exactly that so that I can have the best cable management possible.

For someone who is a first-timer when it comes to wiring through a back-panel, is the Antec 902 a good enough case for me to do that, or is the 1200 better? I also really would like to not have to drill extra holes.

Thank you in advance for your help, this is a tough choice for me.

 

[adaman2576]

I don't have any experience with the 1200 but, I do have a 902 and the cabel management is pretty good. It has quite a few holes to route everything behing the motherboard. The only things that I did not route behind the motherboard at firstwere the 8pin cpu power and the 24pin motherboard power because the cables were not long enough. 8" extensions for those cords solved that problem. I think one of the bigger reasons to go to the 1200 is if you are using a multi gpu setup. The 902 can fit two or three gpus but it will get pretty tight. The 1200 would give you more room to play with. Hope that helps.

 

[mboyer87]

I don't have any experience with the 1200 but, I do have a 902 and the cabel management is pretty good. It has quite a few holes to route everything behing the motherboard. The only things that I did not route behind the motherboard at firstwere the 8pin cpu power and the 24pin motherboard power because the cables were not long enough. 8" extensions for those cords solved that problem. I think one of the bigger reasons to go to the 1200 is if you are using a multi gpu setup. The 902 can fit two or three gpus but it will get pretty tight. The 1200 would give you more room to play with. Hope that helps.

Hey there, this definitely helps a lot, thank you!

One question I do have though, is with the rear and top fans, is there any room with the 902 on the top to thread those wires behind or through the back panel? That is pretty much the only thing that I'm wondering about now, because I did notice two holes at the top of the 1200, and none on the 902, but I wasn't sure if those holes are really necessary.

 

[mi1ez]

I've built both my PC (1200) and a friend's (902) and can say that while cooling and cable management is great in both, the 1200 was much nicer to build in because of the additional space.

Cable management is excellent oon both, possibly slightly easier in the 1200 as it has an extra whole along the front edge of the mobo, however you will need to check cable lengths as I needed an EPS extension.

And yes, you can thread rear and top fan cables down the back, over the top of the tray.

 

[mboyer87]

Best answer selected by mboyer87.