Best Gaming Case

[Jeditiger]

hi, im ive decided to build a new gaming pc to replace my old system. Ive decided on all of my components apart from a cooler and a case.

The system i will be using is:

intel i5 760, will be overclocked so ill be using an aftermarket cooler so the case needs to be large enough to accomadate a large cpu cooler
EVGA P55 FTW motherboards
EVGA GeForce GTX 460 1Gb EE, I would like the case to be larger enough to accomadate a Two Way SLI setup incase i decide to upgrade.
2 x 4Gb of Corsair DDR3 1600mhz Ram
Lite On IHas124-19 Optical drive
Not decided on the hard drives but will probaly be 2 1Tb drives
Corsair 750Hx Psu

Also there will be a fan controler, And maybe a blue ray player but that isnt necassary yet.

My budget is around (£50 - £85) or ($80 - $125) i could go over if you guys think its necassary and worth it, otherwise id like to stick around this price range.

Any replies or comments would be greatly appreciated! :')

Thank you.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Here ya go:

Best CPU Cooler
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=447&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=15

Best TIM
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=150&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=13

The 750 watt PSU is an odd size choice. The "sweet spot", cost and value wise is the 650 watter for single GFX card systems and an 850 watter for twin GFX (SLI or X-Fire)

For comparison purposes , the list below contains performance ratings (10 scale) at jonnyguru.com / prices as per newegg on 02/26/2010 and ones w/ double asteris (**) made it onto silentpcreview.com's Editor's Choice List:

Note: Just because you see a brand name on this list, never make the assumption that their other lines are of matching quality. Silverstone for example has other models w/ 6.0 and 7.0 ratings.

650 watters

Antec Signature 650W (10.0) OOS **
Seasonic X-650 650W (10.0) $160 **
Silverstone Olympia OP650 (10.0) NFS

Thermaltake Toughpower QFan 650W (9.5) NLA

Antec Earthwatts EA650 650W (9.0) $75

Antec True Power Trio 650W (7.5) NLA

XFX XPS 650W XXX Edition Power Supply (7.0) NFS

Antec NeoPower Blue 650W (6.5) NLA

BFG BFGR650PSU 650W (6.0) NLA

NorthQ Black Magic Flex 650W PSU (5.0) NFS

850 watters


Antec SG-850 - 10.0 ($220) **
Antec CP-850 - 10.0 ($110) **
XFX 850W Black Edition 10.0 ($185)
Corsair HX850 850W - 10.0 ($180)

Antec TruePower Quattro (TPQ-850) - 9.5 ($150)
Corsair TX850 - 9.5 ($140)
Seasonic M12D 850W - 9.5 (NLA) **
NorthQ Giant Connector 850W - 9.5 (NFS)
Etasis ET850 - 9.5 (NLA)
Silverstone Zeus ST85ZF - 9.5 (NLA)

Enermax Revolution 85+ 850W - 9.0 ($250)

Thrmaltake Toughpower XT 850W - 8.5 ($216)
OCZ Z Series 850W - 8.5 ($200)

NorthQ Black Magic Flex 850W - 8.0 (NFS)
Coolmax CTG-850 - 8.0 (NFS)

SilverStone Decathlon DA850 - 7.5 ($230)
Enermax Galaxy DXX 850W EGX850EWL - 7.5 (NFS)

SilverStone Strider ST85F - 7.0

Silverstone Element ST85EF 850W - 6.0

NFS - Not For Sale / NLA = No Longer Available

In the full tower size, I'd recommend combining the Antec DF-85 w/ the CP-850 PSU. 2nd choice would be the HAF-X w/ XFX 850W Black Edition (or Corsair HX850).

In the mid tower size, I'd recommend the HAF-922 w/ Corsair TX650, 2nd choice would be the Antec DF-35 w/ EA-650

 

[Jeditiger]

Thank you JackNaylorPE that was very helpfull, The reason i chose the 750watt power supply was because i opened another thread a few days back asking how much power id need for me to power this whole system and they said 650w is enough and 750w would be plenty? so For a 2 way sli is 850w a more realistic choice?

As for a case i really like the look of the Haf-922 and Antec DF-35, ill look around for a few reviews on those.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The 850 will handle twin 470's / 580's ....a 750 is a little short..... don't forget overclocking your CPU requires additional power. Also the 850's are in the same price range as the 750's so really no reason to skimp. Finally, PSU's reach their peak efficiency at about 50% load, so the extra room means more efficiency and cooler running....which in turn means quieter operation.

Last month I built two otherwise identical boxes, one with the HAF-932 and one with the DF-85. After the experience, that will be my last 932 based build. I gave the 922 the edge in the mid tower case cause it's just so cheap .... at least on this side of the pond. But I should have mentioned, I wouldn't put twin GFX cards in a 922 or DF-35 if I was also overclocking.

Also note the PSU's I recommended for the HAF-922 and DF-35 are a notch down in quality. I'd stick with the Corsair HX series, Antec SG/CP series for twon GFX and OC'ing

 

[Jeditiger]

i must admit i wasnt 100% happy with getting a 750w power supply, i was just led to believe it was enough. Im much more comfortable buying an 850w power supply, especialy if there isnt much price gap between the two .

I was just looking online and there was a few places over here selling Haf X cases for around the £110 - £120 mark, i know its about £40 over my budget but everywhere i go i here people do nothing but praise this case and the reviews have read have give it full marks. Do you think the Haf X would be a wise invesment?

I think ill be going with the Corsair 850Hx

 

[beanoslim]

HAF X is awesome, this is also a beauty -
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/zalman-ms1000-hs2-black-professional-mid-tower-case-w-o-psu?source=froogle&utm_campaign=googlebase&utm_medium=googlebase&utm_source=googlebase&utm_term=Zalman+MS1000-HS2+Black+Professional+Mid+Tower+Case+w%2Fo+PSU

Or for a few more quid - http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Other+products/Antec+Twelve+Hundred+1200+Ultimate+Gaming+Full+Tower+Case+-+Black?productId=31981&source=googleps

 

[Jeditiger]

The antec 1200 is an awesome case! Just as good as the Haf X Case, but given the choice is think id go for the Haf X purely on looks

 

[beanoslim]

Just to look at I'd get the Zalman but overall the HAF X. [:bohleyk:1]