Better cooling--HAF X or HAF 932?

hotlanta22

Distinguished
Nov 27, 2010
46
0
18,530
I'm looking to upgrade to a Full tower from my current CM Storm Scout. My goal is to get the best air cooling case possible as in my current case the XFX 6950's I have in crossfire run a bit hotter than I'd like. So when it comes to air cooling with a heavy emphasis on Crossfire GPU cooling which case is better?

Thanks!
 
Solution
The three full tower cases I build the most boxes for people with are ..... in order..... the DF-85 and the HAF-X / HAF-932. Cooling wise, they all run about the same temps when I am testing. However, one advantage for the DF-85 is it's ability to take a CPX form factor PSU. These PSU's run much cooler and quieter than ATX form factor PSU's so when considered together, the Antec combo is my first choice for both cooling and quietness. The combo also has a rather large cost advantage @ $265 for the pair.....with the $140 HAF-X, the Corsair AX850 ($170) has similar electrical performance but won't run as quiet or cool.

Here's how they work together to produce very low noise and temps...
The Half-X has two top 200mm fans while the Half 932 has one 230mm. Inside the Half-X is a plastic shroud for a 120mm fan to blow directly onto the Graphics cards. There is also a metal support bracket for the longer Graphics cards and that also has a place for an 80mm fan. Tha Cooler Master Half-X is a monster case with great cooling and a lot of nice options. You can easilly mount a 120mm radiator at the top inside. I know because I have one and it is the best case I have ever had.
 
The three full tower cases I build the most boxes for people with are ..... in order..... the DF-85 and the HAF-X / HAF-932. Cooling wise, they all run about the same temps when I am testing. However, one advantage for the DF-85 is it's ability to take a CPX form factor PSU. These PSU's run much cooler and quieter than ATX form factor PSU's so when considered together, the Antec combo is my first choice for both cooling and quietness. The combo also has a rather large cost advantage @ $265 for the pair.....with the $140 HAF-X, the Corsair AX850 ($170) has similar electrical performance but won't run as quiet or cool.

Here's how they work together to produce very low noise and temps

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article971-page7.html

A serious consideration is that in each of the three compatible Antec cases [ four now with the DF-85's release], the CP-850 mounts on the bottom, and the intake for the PSU is quite separate from the rest of the system. In the .... model 1200 [and DF-85], a direct path can be maintained to the directly opposite, wide-open front vent. This means that our extreme hot box test conditions never apply to the CP-850; in other words, SPCR's test environment is unrealistically hot for the CP-850. Our atypical spot check with a room ambient thermal test showed the CP-850 would reach only 24 dBA@1m at 700W load in a 27°C working environment. This is ridiculously quiet for such high power output.

The above is an obviously unfair advantage for the CP-850... but what of it? Antec has used an integrated systems approach for its CP-850 and its best cases, and if that approach is an advantage over all other case/PSU combinations, then, all the more power to Antec! It's not uncommon for enthusiasts to frequently replace the motherboard and components that mount onto it — such as CPU, RAM and video card — while the case and PSU are retained. There would be ample reason to take that approach with the CP-850 and one of the compatible Antec cases.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371024
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129087

But, while I wanted to give you a 3rd alternative, case selection is oft more a matter of aesthetics than other factors. Between the HAF-X and the 932, having built with both,I'd take the X .... the 932's "tool less" features I found a bit flimsy and oft found it difficult to line up / press fit latches into place. Actually both cases exhibit this behavior but it was less pronounced on the X than it was on the 932. The X has twin fans at the top and like the bracket Inzone mentioned comes in handy for big cards.

In all 3 cases, I was able to get twin 900Mhz Asus 560 GTX's in SLI OC'd to 1000Mhz w/ no voltage adjustments. Temps were just fine, and observed differences were too small to credit case cooling (< 1C). I been putting the huge Silver Arrow CPU cooler in the most recent builds, but haven't put on in the HAF-X as yet.
 
Solution