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Five More Mainstream Gaming Cases, Rounded-Up

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  • Gaming
  • Cases
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June 25, 2012 3:46:31 AM

We've already given you a pictorial walk-through of cases six through 10 of our 15-chassis round-up. Today, we build PCs inside of them, evaluate their value, and pick one as the most likely to satisfy your needs (though several excel in other ways).

Five More Mainstream Gaming Cases, Rounded-Up : Read more

More about : mainstream gaming cases rounded

June 25, 2012 4:27:37 AM

That's a great looking case. I know value isn't a huge point for the CM Cosmos 2 but I would love to see your benchmarks on it.
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June 25, 2012 5:41:23 AM

I really thought that the Antec Eleven Hundred would get this site's nod, especially with its build quality and its plethora of features to help with cable management, as well as all of its removable dust filters which many cases at the 100$ mark lack as well as some cases well over 100$.
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a b 4 Gaming
June 25, 2012 6:58:13 AM

mjmjpfaffI really thought that the Antec Eleven Hundred would get this site's nod, especially with its build quality and its plethora of features to help with cable management, as well as all of its removable dust filters which many cases at the 100$ mark lack as well as some cases well over 100$.


Antec, I think, has fallen behind in case design as of late. While the Eleven Hundred is much better than the aging 900/300 design, it still has some small points of meh such as only one 2.5" drive bay when there are other cases close to the price (not current price but original price) trat support 2.5" in every drive bay.

Also the design is a bit meh. Though I have fallen in love with the Corsair 500R so its a bit hard to make me think of another case. And the CM Storm Enforcer is ok. Had one in the shop the other day. Nothing amazing honestly but its not overly bad.
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June 25, 2012 7:34:52 AM

jimmysmittyAntec, I think, has fallen behind in case design as of late. While the Eleven Hundred is much better than the aging 900/300 design, it still has some small points of meh such as only one 2.5" drive bay when there are other cases close to the price (not current price but original price) trat support 2.5" in every drive bay.Also the design is a bit meh. Though I have fallen in love with the Corsair 500R so its a bit hard to make me think of another case. And the CM Storm Enforcer is ok. Had one in the shop the other day. Nothing amazing honestly but its not overly bad.
I really liked the Eleven Hundred, it's just that the Enforcer's super-low price makes it a better value for the majority of builds.
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a b 4 Gaming
June 25, 2012 8:39:37 AM

I really felt like I was reading a commercial. Was this review cut and paste from the marketing documents provided?
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June 25, 2012 9:40:10 AM

Nice article. I feel glad about my choice of the CM Storm Enforcer... :) 
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June 25, 2012 9:41:30 AM

damricI really felt like I was reading a commercial. Was this review cut and paste from the marketing documents provided?
I'll have what you're having! Then I can look past all the careful observations, performance data and criticisms and see a world made of cotton candy!

BTW, you should at least read the ENTIRE conclusion before calling an article a fluff piece. Thanks!
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a b 4 Gaming
June 25, 2012 11:11:03 AM

i've played around with the enforcer many times. i don't card for the swing door. feels like cheap plastic that can break if any amount of pressure is placed on it. the case itself is fine and frankly most modern cases now all look alike to me. tons of mounts for fans in the front, top, side, and bottom to help motivate buyers to purchase after market fans from the same brands that sell cases. I thought PC hardware is getting more efficient? I personally prefer a sturdy case with solid side panels.
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a b 4 Gaming
June 25, 2012 11:12:12 AM

*care not card, no editing features
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June 25, 2012 11:18:55 AM

^No editing feature while in the Article comment mode. But I found out that once in the forum, it can be edited or deleted just like any post.
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a b 4 Gaming
June 25, 2012 11:50:57 AM

I tend NOT to recommend cases to folks (personal preference) - it's like saying your Girlfriend is ugly or has a flaw.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

As long as the case functions and has what you need -- it's all what YOU like and flips that switch.
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June 25, 2012 1:18:11 PM

I'm not a fan of obviously gamer looking cases, but the Antec 1100, by virtue of being so similar to my P280, gets my vote.
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June 25, 2012 1:50:46 PM

The Antec, the Fractal Design, and the Silverstone look good. The other two just look way to... colorful. I'm all for a simple yet elegant design.
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a c 518 4 Gaming
June 25, 2012 2:55:51 PM

I used this case in my most recent build,and it is a wonderful case to work with.
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June 25, 2012 3:42:45 PM

Corsair 550d is also a baller choice too. Not sure what makes a case "gaming" grade. I'm not a big fan of unnecessary plastic pieces. The main things I look for are good airflow options, solid material, cable management, overall build quality. Less to me is better. But I understand how this is all personal preference. I guess I'm just tired of the "gaming" label being marketed to death when in most cases it doesn't mean anything. No pun intended.
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a c 295 4 Gaming
June 25, 2012 4:12:12 PM

That Raidmax case looks like it's going to transform into something. :lol: 
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June 25, 2012 5:06:01 PM

JaquithI tend NOT to recommend cases to folks (personal preference) - it's like saying your Girlfriend is ugly or has a flaw. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. As long as the case functions and has what you need -- it's all what YOU like and flips that switch.
One more reader who can skip right to the conclusion Really, there's details in there about quality. It's not like these are all built identically.
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a c 295 4 Gaming
June 25, 2012 5:38:01 PM

JaquithI tend NOT to recommend cases to folks (personal preference) - it's like saying your Girlfriend is ugly or has a flaw. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. As long as the case functions and has what you need -- it's all what YOU like and flips that switch.


Yeah but that's when people choose crap or junk brands like Raidmax, Xion, Ultra and Apevia - those have serious flaws and horrible build quality, I really try to persuade people not to buy those under any circumstances. The computers I work with on a daily basis all use these cases and they suck - I moved a computer built around an Apevia case from one desk to another and the door fell off in the process! There's a lot of crap brands out there and that's why sites like this exist - to help people sort the good hardware from the junk. You don't want to get a case that's poorly made for your new quality components.

The things I never recommend on builds are monitor, keyboard and mouse - I don't like spending hundreds on these things and I don't cut corners to get say a $140 keyboard, that's not what I want people to concentrate on their builds.
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June 25, 2012 7:10:28 PM

Useful article. I personally wouldn't have recommended any of the cases simply because recommending one means that its better than the others and I think that the Coolermaster, Silverstone, and Antec we all about equal. The Silverstone and Antec were better but the Coolermaster was cheaper.

Of course, like everyone else, I think my case (Antec P280) is the best and should be the recommended buy. It is $30 more than the Eleven Hundred, but only $10 more than the Raidmax.
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June 25, 2012 8:38:06 PM

Thanks for the advice. I've never recommended a CM PSU, since they all tend to fail early. Their caess though...

I used the CM Storm Enforcer for a friends build and it's quite a good case, thanks to it's price in a 99%, lol.

It's not bad looking and very quiet. Fit's the 7970 perfectly and it's build quality is quite good.

Cheers!
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June 26, 2012 12:09:52 AM

gm0n3y said:
Useful article. I personally wouldn't have recommended any of the cases simply because recommending one means that its better than the others and I think that the Coolermaster, Silverstone, and Antec we all about equal. The Silverstone and Antec were better but the Coolermaster was cheaper.

Of course, like everyone else, I think my case (Antec P280) is the best and should be the recommended buy. It is $30 more than the Eleven Hundred, but only $10 more than the Raidmax.

The Antec Eleven Hundred and the Antec P280 are both the same price (100$) at Amazon.com.
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a b 4 Gaming
June 26, 2012 12:49:26 AM

g-unit1111Yeah but that's when people choose crap or junk brands like Raidmax, Xion, Ultra and Apevia - those have serious flaws and horrible build quality...

There's times when I see 'crap' and try to persuade folks to different brands & models, but for the most part folks get offended so I keep my opinion to myself.
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June 26, 2012 1:49:45 AM


I've known of cooler master bad psu's mostly from comments from Tom's forum. The links you posted have been mentioned & I checked by myself. As a result I never recommend this PSU & even persuade people who have put it in their list to get another PSU instead. I guess Cooler Master see these kinds of posts, including yours, and if cooler master does not get their act together, it will continue & totally ruin their PSU department. Just a matter of time.

However, I still use & recommend their other products which does prove to be best bang for buck like the Hyper 212. In most cases the questions are just about "what cooler should I get for this budget" so I answer the question straight.

In general, I believe that the the people who work on good products should not be penalized by the unscrupulous acts of others in their company.
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June 26, 2012 3:03:44 AM

Thanks Crashman for another great article. I can't wait for the next set.
Personally, I have always like Antec and recently began using Silverstone; CM cases look nice, but are not my preference. The 1100 might be on my next build list :sol:  .
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Anonymous
a b 4 Gaming
June 26, 2012 4:23:47 AM

Antec Eleven Hundred is to me quite a stunning case. Classic, elegant, functional. The side fan design is unusually nice looking, which is notoriously hard to pull off on a side panel window. Its one of the very few I've seen that truly aesthetically works. This one does. Yes, one minor misstep not making the top more flexible. Should be much more like Arc Midi there. It's clearly spacious enough to accommodate many options there, being almost an inch taller, an inch longer and half an inch wider than the 500R. Side by side I find the Antec Eleven Hundred aesthetically more classic and elegant looking than the 500R. Antec has a close to perfect mid-tower case here, I think, for its price range. Changes I'd most wish for are 1) all-removable side hard drive bays a la Arc Midi, 2) modifications to the top to allow, e.g., dual rad closed loop water coolers (H100, upcoming Eisberg) without any additional modding, 3) removable side fan filter 4) slide-out front fan filter, 5) morf the rear fan port into a real fan controller. What else?
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June 26, 2012 4:45:19 AM

what about cooler master cm 690 ii advanced version i think choosing storm enforcer is a bad option
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June 26, 2012 4:54:44 AM

vishalaestrowhat about cooler master cm 690 ii advanced version i think choosing storm enforcer is a bad option
Cooler Master disagrees, they sent what they thought would be the best choice.
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June 26, 2012 6:12:10 AM

Crashman said:
Cooler Master disagrees, they sent what they thought would be the best choice.

hey can u do the review for this case zebronics reaper cabinet..i don't know whether it' s available for you..if not can u do the review for lancool k56 case
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June 26, 2012 6:45:12 PM

vishalaestro said:
hey can u do the review for this case zebronics reaper cabinet..i don't know whether it' s available for you..if not can u do the review for lancool k56 case
Lian-Li got invited but chose not to participate. Zebronics did not get invited but has now been contacted regarding future reviews.
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a c 295 4 Gaming
June 26, 2012 8:46:39 PM

JaquithThere's times when I see 'crap' and try to persuade folks to different brands & models, but for the most part folks get offended so I keep my opinion to myself.


I very rarely see that especially when I try to pursuade people not to buy an awful brand like Diablotek or Raidmax.
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June 27, 2012 12:12:41 AM

Great review thank you
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June 27, 2012 2:11:14 PM

Crashman said:
Lian-Li got invited but chose not to participate. Zebronics did not get invited but has now been contacted regarding future reviews.

so what do you think about zebronics reaper cabinet is it a good cabinet for high end build because it's very much cheaper ..
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June 27, 2012 8:28:04 PM

vishalaestro said:
so what do you think about zebronics reaper cabinet is it a good cabinet for high end build because it's very much cheaper ..
I have no idea, since I've never actually touched it.
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June 28, 2012 3:49:12 AM

Crashman said:
I have no idea, since I've never actually touched it.

ok sorry but what will you suggest for a budget gaming case which supports hi end gaming rig..i thought of buying lancool k56 because it's the only case cheaper next to coolermaster elite 430 ..lancool k56 has only one front intake and one rear exhaust is that a problem for a hi end rig..
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June 28, 2012 5:28:39 AM

vishalaestro said:
ok sorry but what will you suggest for a budget gaming case which supports hi end gaming rig..i thought of buying lancool k56 because it's the only case cheaper next to coolermaster elite 430 ..lancool k56 has only one front intake and one rear exhaust is that a problem for a hi end rig..
For around $60? I've used the Three Hundred Illusion a few times.
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June 28, 2012 5:56:11 AM

Crashman said:
For around $60? I've used the Three Hundred Illusion a few times.

it does not have any cable management and it's also very costly in my area it's 100$ when compared to the pricing of my currency even corsair 300r is 100$ in my area ,corsair 400r is just 10$ costlier than corsair 300r what can do any ideas..pls visit this site http://www.flipkart.com/search-computercomponents?query... this site shows how much expensive the cabinets are in my country.. can u suggest any good budget gaming cabinet from these..
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June 28, 2012 12:00:58 PM


your post looks like a total troll post to me . only one link you provided really came off as mis advertising , the rest all looked like just poor managment on the manufacture's web site , or poor build quality in the units. but truthfully any pc gamer out there already knows not to mess with any PSU's outside of PC power and cooling, Seasonic , and Corsair (which uses Seasonic parts). that aside a lot of the mislabeling seemed no worse than what Nvidia does with rebranding GPU's. surely nto reason to dis Cm's cases and cpu heat sinks (which are some of the best in the field). for you to go to such a great lengthy writing out that huge ass post , i get the feeling you've gotten burned by a CM PSU before. seriously dude .. get over it and move on. piss poor web site managment and re branding doesn't always equal miss advertising.
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June 28, 2012 4:31:54 PM

very sexy.
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July 22, 2012 4:10:20 PM

the NZXT switch 810 should be on here, it is one of the best cases on the market.
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Anonymous
a b 4 Gaming
October 15, 2012 6:47:53 AM

Worst case i ever seen. Bought one brand new, my client was so excited. Ended up taking him to the cleaners, its noisy with a watercooler, so you will have to mounts rubbers between it and the case, the metal on the back panel bens so easily, you cant properly secure a graphics card without overtightening, the power switch was broken, you it was the last one as far as I can tell in SA, and since my client wanted that case, i had to bloody repair that too,ended up making new mountings, installing new buttons i scavenged from and old VHS. 12 hours on an PC build, its about 10 and a half too many at the worst of days, i will not recommend you buy anything electronic ever from Raidmax
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October 15, 2012 7:35:47 AM

Omega15362Worst case i ever seen...i will not recommend you buy anything electronic ever from Raidmax
Perhaps that's why the article doesn't recommend Raidmax :) 
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May 31, 2013 1:39:05 AM

Im trying to find that cooling system they used for the 120mm fan up the top, with the 4 cards of ram next to it, can someone please tell me what that is called? I only know it is made by coolink
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May 31, 2013 1:46:28 AM

im looking into building with this case, but im a bit confused as to what that cooling fan is up the top, is it the coolink corator DS? someone please confirm for me
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