Help me choose a case.

[1-anh]

I have narrowed my case options to the following four.

Coolermaster HAF 912 51.15
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=55583&promoid=1259

Coolermaster HAF 922 89.68
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=38996&vpn=RC-922M-KKN1-GP&manufacture=COOLERMASTER

Coolermaster CM 690 Advanced II 81.40
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=49226

Lian Li Lancool PC-K62 91.52
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=41147

They all have excellent air flow. I also plan on adding additional fans to all the coolermaster cases to maximize my air flow. I like the look and build of all of them. If anyone has comments to share please do!

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Of those 4, I'd do the HAF 922 .... tho if ya into fans and lotsa air.....I think ya can do 15 fans in these

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=LanBoy+Air&x=0&y=0

 

[1-anh]

haha thanks for the suggestion, but honestly the antec lanboy is extremely ugly. I would not want that on my desk at all.

 

[fakesummon]

I bought the Lancool from Newegg about two weeks ago while it was on sale for $80 + $6 tax and free shipping. If you can get a great deal on any of those just go for it. If money is not really your concern, then I would pick the HAF 922, it looks the best out of all those, imo.

 

[1-anh]

They are all within my budget, so money is not a huge issue. How do you like your lancool? was it easy to install? Also how is the cooling?

 

[drexeus]

also have the lancool, its great so far. My temps have not been too high, running a 3.8 phenom II 965 with a thermaltake frio and at full load i get 40c. highest i ever went with p95 on was 48c during summer. Not much space to add fans, but you could add one in the front, there are filters so no worries there. Oh, its completely toolless. I prefer the HAF series though, gonna get the HAF X soon.

 

[Emperus]

The Lancool PC K62 is the best overall out of the lot followed closely by the CM 690 II.. You can actually safely choose the one which looks good to you..

 

[1-anh]

@ drexeus, I really like the I am just not sure how the temperatures will be in my room. My room generally runs warm. But those temperatures seem to be ok. Haha seems like you like the haf series too!

@ Empereus, Lancool seems to be popular. I really like the painted black inside, just unsure of the spacing inside has good cable management compared to the haf 922. Honestly, if the haf 922 was black inside and had dust filters I would get it in a heartbeat but now im still contemplating. Thanks for your input though.

 

[Emperus]

If you can increase your budget, you can get the Sniper Black Edition or the Silverstone Raven RV02.. Both are excellent and will give you enough space and features (also looks) to make it probably the last case you purchase..

 

[1-anh]

I was considering both the sniper black edition and the silverstone raven rv02, however the raven has limited hard drive bays (I plan on having one boot drive, and three storage drives at minimum). The sniper just doesn't look that nice to me aesthetically as the others. Thanks for the suggestions though.

 

[1-anh]

I agree with every single one of your points, this will be my first build and I would like it to be look nice, be easily to install into and have sufficient cooling and all of them seem to fit the bill, which one would you pick given the money?

 

[1-anh]

the CM 690 II. i was actually looking at the 912, 922, and CM 690 II this weekend. I needed a cheap case to toss some parts into and went with the 912 mainly for the price. I did spend time looking over the other two though. I've seen the 690 II before but I was playing around with the HDD cage, filters, etc., this time. I'm not crazy over the mobo fan slot on the right panel (its kind of useless) but the build quality is top notch. Its very nice to look at from the outside, the all black interior looks great, its darker black then the gray/black of the HAF series. It's pretty easy to build with, the tool-less locking mechanism are easy to use. Like I said, its CM best mid tower case.

You can't go wrong with any of the four cases you listed, all are good but if it was my PC then I would go with the CM 690 II of the four.

Interesting, thanks for the feedback

 

[drexeus]

Havent worked with the cm 690 II yet, but regarding air flow you probably wont find any other case that has such flexibility. With regards the question posted above regarding the cable management on the lancool, i would say it would be best to get a modular but it isnt totally necessary. It boasts a pretty neat cable management system and they have these included "wire wrap around" thingys that you on to the case to better route cables. That said, the spacing on the back can get a bit cramped so you kinda have to work at cabling the back as thinly as possible. But, as pointed above all those cases are great, although I wouldnt go for the 912 myself.

They have filters tailored for the 922 here.

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=36_463_500_514&products_id=26197

 

[1-anh]

Havent worked with the cm 690 II yet, but regarding air flow you probably wont find any other case that has such flexibility. With regards the question posted above regarding the cable management on the lancool, i would say it would be best to get a modular but it isnt totally necessary. It boasts a pretty neat cable management system and they have these included "wire wrap around" thingys that you on to the case to better route cables. That said, the spacing on the back can get a bit cramped so you kinda have to work at cabling the back as thinly as possible. But, as pointed above all those cases are great, although I wouldnt go for the 912 myself.

They have filters tailored for the 922 here.

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=36_463_500_514&products_id=26197

I would be planning on picking up an 80 plus certified modular power supply as well. Thanks for the input though. I guess the 912 is off the list.

 

[drexeus]

Oh, good. I got a non-modular psu and suffered quite a bit behind the motherboard tray. I feel that the panel behind the mobo tray is a bit bent. It closes, but you know. If you really want space the 922 with said filters would be great but the only thing is the non-black interior. The k62 is great all the way. Easy to use and really builder friendly. Though you better make the cabling neat as the window is huge. XD

 

[Petey1013]

K62 or 690 II. Whichever is cheaper. If it's under $20 difference get the K62. Otherwise the 690 II is great.

 

[1-anh]

@ drexeus, haha seems like the k62 is a favorite around here. It definitely looks fairly reasonable to work with, especially if I am running a modular power supply.

@ petey1013, What I like about the k62 is the completely toolless installation, it seems liek it will save me a fair amount of time on installation.

I was also looking at the storm sniper that someone suggested. After looking at it some more it doesn't look so bad! Plus in canada its only $20 more than the haf 922, so that may be an option. Was also looking at the corsair 600T which is a fair bit more expensive but looks really sleek and simple with decent airflow. So hard to decide!

Price wise, I definitely like the k62 and the coolermaster haf 922. For aesthetics, definitely like to the cm 690 advanced II and the k62. For airflow, the coolermaster haf 922 hands down.

I would like to thank everyone for their valuable input though.

 

[Emperus]

Adding to your confusions, i'd like to throw in the Antec 902 also to the equation.. It surely does not has the best cable management options but looks like a true gamer's case and has excellent airflow.. However, my numero uno recommendation still remains with the Sniper.. For your cash and requirements, it is the best case to have..

 

[1-anh]

@ empereus, haah thanks for the suggestion however I have seen the cable management situation on the antec 902 and honestly does not seem like a ton of fun to work with for someone who is doing their first build. People have told me you have to be amazing to have good cable management in an antec 900 case, I cant see it being much easier with the 902. Also after looking at the sniper black edition it looks much slicker now. I really like the dust filters and painted black interior.

 

[1-anh]

the antec 902 may not be as good as the HAF 922 in cable management options but its great looking and a fantastic build quality. It's like having full tower build quality in a mid tower.

I agree completely, just had a look at it again. It looks awesome, but at that pricepoint $30 more than the HAF 922 in canada. And honestly for the same price as the 902, I could pick up the storm sniper which imo looks like a beast at cooling and the inside just looks amazing. If only it had more of the haf 922 or the antec nine hundred two's aesthetics.

Currently, my top two picks are by far the lancool dragonlord pc-k62 cuz it looks like a breeze to install with and has a super sick interior. And the coolermaster haf 922 which also looks super easy to install with and looks like it will have great airflow as well. Definitely important for me.

 

[Chief58]

I just did a build on the 29th of October..It was my first build and I used the HAF 912..Being it was my first build I have nothing to compare it to but the case is very nice looking..Has good airflow..It has every feature you would want in a case pretty much unless your a very high end builder.

ASUS P6X58D-E mobo
ASUS 5850 Radeon gpu (with the Direct cooling system which has heatpipes)
Corsair CM3X2G1600C9 RAM (6 gigs running at 1600mhz)
Intel Core i7-930 cpu
Corsair TX750 psu (non modular)
LiteOn DVD burner
Western Digital Caviar Black 500gig HDD
Cooler Master Hyper 212 + cpu cooler (used Arctic Cooling MX-2 thermal paste)
Cooler Master HAF 912 case
4 Rosewill 120mm blue LED fans
1 Cooler Master 200MM Megaflow blue LED fan (mounted in the top)
ASUS 21.5" MS228 1080p HD monitor

I am running stock clocks with X.M.P. profile on and I dropped my Vcore voltages to 1.08v..I can run Prime95 and not break 59C with an ambient temp of 65F..So it seems pretty good airflow wise..

I think I did ok with my cable management but without a side window I wasn't all that concerned about it so if you get real into cable management you could do a really good job with the HAF 912..

I would say the only 2 drawbacks for the HAF 912 is that it doesn't have a black interior and it only has 1 tool less drive system included which I only have 1 optical drive so no biggie for me atm.

 

[1-anh]

I just did a build on the 29th of October..It was my first build and I used the HAF 912..Being it was my first build I have nothing to compare it to but the case is very nice looking..Has good airflow..It has every feature you would want in a case pretty much unless your a very high end builder.

ASUS P6X58D-E mobo
ASUS 5850 Radeon gpu (with the Direct cooling system which has heatpipes)
Corsair CM3X2G1600C9 RAM (6 gigs running at 1600mhz)
Intel Core i7-930 cpu
Corsair TX750 psu (non modular)
LiteOn DVD burner
Western Digital Caviar Black 500gig HDD
Cooler Master Hyper 212 + cpu cooler (used Arctic Cooling MX-2 thermal paste)
Cooler Master HAF 912 case
4 Rosewill 120mm blue LED fans
1 Cooler Master 200MM Megaflow blue LED fan (mounted in the top)
ASUS 21.5" MS228 1080p HD monitor

I am running stock clocks with X.M.P. profile on and I dropped my Vcore voltages to 1.08v..I can run Prime95 and not break 59C with an ambient temp of 65F..So it seems pretty good airflow wise..

I think I did ok with my cable management but without a side window I wasn't all that concerned about it so if you get real into cable management you could do a really good job with the HAF 912..

I would say the only 2 drawbacks for the HAF 912 is that it doesn't have a black interior and it only has 1 tool less drive system included which I only have 1 optical drive so no biggie for me atm.

Hey, in all honesty I like the size of the HAF 912 and I also like the outer aesthetic appearance. I just wish the HAF 912 plus model was available in canada, I like the toolless drive bays and the black painted interior of the HAF 912 plus more than the HAF 912. If it was available in canada I would pick it up without a second thought. But as it stands, my current favorite is the HAF 922.

Thanks for giving me your opinion though!

 

[1-anh]

Best answer selected by 1-anh.

 

[Maziar]

This topic has been closed by Maziar