The Final Five: Our Last Round Of Mainstream Gaming Cases
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Gaming
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Cases
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Last response: in Photo reports comments
Crashman
August 17, 2012 3:46:09 AM
We've already covered 10 models in our massive 15-submission round-up of mainstream gaming cases, witnessing a surprising range of quality and features between $80 and $120. Can the final five submissions rival the previous 10?
The Final Five: Our Last Round Of Mainstream Gaming Cases : Read more
The Final Five: Our Last Round Of Mainstream Gaming Cases : Read more
More about : final round mainstream gaming cases
bit_user
August 17, 2012 4:49:03 AM
I'm quite happy with my Lian Li PC-9F, thank you. It has good airflow, plenty of drive bays, good noise reduction, easily removable air filters on the intakes , and I'm a fan of its mature, understated looks. When you use a case like that, all the small touches really make you feel like you got your money's worth.
Score
0
Crashman
August 17, 2012 5:28:42 AM
bit_userI'm quite happy with my Lian Li PC-9F, thank you. It has good airflow, plenty of drive bays, good noise reduction, easily removable air filters on the intakes , and I'm a fan of its mature, understated looks. When you use a case like that, all the small touches really make you feel like you got your money's worth.
Yes, I'm usually a fan of Lian-Li's designs. On the other hand, the Antec Solo II is quieter than most of the Lian-Li's I've tested, and more durable, so there are options within these three sets of five cases that will please a wide group of buyers.Actually, Lian-Li doesn't usually compete in price-based roundups. I think some of that is due to their use of materials that bolster performance but boost price by a larger amount than performance. Appearance doesn't show up in a performance value chart, but the price you pay for it does.
Score
6
JOSHSKORN
August 17, 2012 5:44:30 AM
Crashman
August 17, 2012 6:05:01 AM
A Bad Day
August 17, 2012 6:12:39 AM
Crashman
August 17, 2012 6:40:11 AM
A Bad DayI would love to see a case specifically designed for GPUs that vent their exhaust sideways instead of through the rear.
One of the cases in THIS preview (Raidmax Seiran) has a side fan that can only be mounted as exhaust. But have you considered that a vented side panel that lets out twice the noise kind of defeats the purpose of a multi-fan GPU cooler that makes half the noise?Score
1
JOSHSKORN
August 17, 2012 10:08:25 AM
CrashmanLooks like the benchmarks are coming up a week from Tuesday. If you check every day until then, the increased traffic might give the the bosses justification to add another editor
Hopefully a competent editor...one that at least knows where the spell check button is. I'm not asking for too much, am I?
Anyway, I'll be looking forward to this. I'm on the fence about getting a new rig, now. That Antec Solo II case looks good to me.
Score
-2
The Antec case I'm sure is high quality, but being limited to only three drives limits my enthusiasm for it. If I use a SSD boot drive and a RAID-1 for my data, I'm already out of drive bays. An adapter in a 5-1/4 slot isn't an option; it's only got two, one for an optical drive and one for just one of: a utility drawer (those are really useful), a memory-card reader, OR a fan controller.
The InWin Buc was interesting; reminiscent of a 1950s locomotive. Some people will probably like that look and find it imminently suitable; although it isn't my personal style I can still appreciate it.
MSI has created another child's toy, and Raidmax looks gimmicked out the kazoo with a lot of plastic parts that look about as sturdy as a sugar wafer.
The InWin Buc was interesting; reminiscent of a 1950s locomotive. Some people will probably like that look and find it imminently suitable; although it isn't my personal style I can still appreciate it.
MSI has created another child's toy, and Raidmax looks gimmicked out the kazoo with a lot of plastic parts that look about as sturdy as a sugar wafer.
Score
0
cknobman
August 17, 2012 12:55:49 PM
I really like the Antec and Corsair designs but some of the other vendors cases in this roundup are fugly as heck.
I guess I am more of a less outspoken person these days vs my younger days when I built PC with flame throwing skulls illuminated by blue and red leds all over the side panels.
FTR I absolutely love my Antec P280!!!!
I guess I am more of a less outspoken person these days vs my younger days when I built PC with flame throwing skulls illuminated by blue and red leds all over the side panels.
FTR I absolutely love my Antec P280!!!!
Score
4
A Bad Day
August 17, 2012 1:06:27 PM
CrashmanOne of the cases in THIS preview (Raidmax Seiran) has a side fan that can only be mounted as exhaust. But have you considered that a vented side panel that lets out twice the noise kind of defeats the purpose of a multi-fan GPU cooler that makes half the noise?
Maybe a box could be placed over the side exhaust with only one opening, to the rear. Not as efficient cooling, but it should muffle more of the noise.
The only issue I can think of is that it may look unsightly.
Score
0
sjc1017
August 17, 2012 1:51:48 PM
I am not a PC builder or anything and I don't come across much technology so I read this site to make informed choices. In my new build I will be buying either a gtx670 or a 7970 (probably the latter) with two dvd drives, a xonar d2x and a tv card, and I want a quiet case. I won't ever be going for dual gpu configurations nor overclocking. So, can someone please tell me what would be the quietest case I could get? I have been looking at the Obsidian 550d but if anyone has any experience of a suitable case I'd appreciate opinions.
Score
0
sherlockwing
August 17, 2012 2:25:48 PM
JamesSneed
August 17, 2012 4:11:30 PM
Crashman said:
Yes, I'm usually a fan of Lian-Li's designs. On the other hand, the Antec Solo II is quieter than most of the Lian-Li's I've tested, and more durable, so there are options within these three sets of five cases that will please a wide group of buyers.Actually, Lian-Li doesn't usually compete in price-based roundups. I think some of that is due to their use of materials that bolster performance but boost price by a larger amount than performance. Appearance doesn't show up in a performance value chart, but the price you pay for it does.
I hear you but im with bit_user. Cases are funny things because you can't easily quantify via testing good looks, quality, easy to work in, etc that Lian-LI cases typically have. The PC-9F was selling on newegg $99-$120 over the past year and IMHO was one of the best all around cases last year.
Score
0
internetlad
August 17, 2012 5:56:42 PM
gm0n3y
August 17, 2012 6:15:20 PM
The Solo II looks like a good improvement on the latest Sonata (III?) case. I like that you don't have to open the door to get at the 5.25" bays and that the door gives access to the filters. Cleaning the filter on my Sonata I is pretty annoying. Of course I'd still take my Antec P183 over the Solo II, but it is much larger and likely more expensive.
IMO, the rest of the cases are ugly, but I prefer the clean looks of Antec and Lian-Li's cases.
IMO, the rest of the cases are ugly, but I prefer the clean looks of Antec and Lian-Li's cases.
Score
0
freggo
August 17, 2012 7:00:31 PM
nebun
August 17, 2012 7:40:02 PM
Crashman
August 17, 2012 8:54:20 PM
freggo41 page clicks to see the article... I don't think so.
You can just skip the pretty pictures then, and see the performance comparison a week from Tuesday. Really, the picture story is just a way to break up a comparison that took ten workdays to complete into two weekly articles. Without it, time constraint would prevent the editor from showing you as many features. Score
2
sjc1017
August 17, 2012 9:23:44 PM
buzznut
August 18, 2012 4:25:42 PM
in win and raidmax. Newbie cases, and ugly too. The best and most innovative case makers right now are BitFenix and Fractal Design. CoolerMaster has always made outstanding cases. I do understand that you review cases that are sent in for review, but I would weed out some of the more inferior models.
Score
0
sherlockwing
August 18, 2012 5:00:03 PM
sjc1017So what is the best noise dampened case for a system running at stock clocks?
The Antec is the only noise centric case in this review, most gamers prefer max airflow design over max noise reduction design as a Burnt system is worse than a Noisy system. I think Frantic Design Define R4 is one of the best noise dampened case.
Score
0
sjc1017
August 18, 2012 5:19:16 PM
Cantisque
August 18, 2012 11:39:50 PM
Anonymous
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Gaming
August 19, 2012 12:45:24 AM
jurassic1024
August 19, 2012 1:18:45 AM
Crashman
August 19, 2012 1:36:22 AM
springfield45
August 19, 2012 6:15:42 AM
jtt283The Antec case I'm sure is high quality, but being limited to only three drives limits my enthusiasm for it. If I use a SSD boot drive and a RAID-1 for my data, I'm already out of drive bays. An adapter in a 5-1/4 slot isn't an option; it's only got two, one for an optical drive and one for just one of: a utility drawer (those are really useful), a memory-card reader, OR a fan controller.The InWin Buc was interesting; reminiscent of a 1950s locomotive. Some people will probably like that look and find it imminently suitable; although it isn't my personal style I can still appreciate it.MSI has created another child's toy, and Raidmax looks gimmicked out the kazoo with a lot of plastic parts that look about as sturdy as a sugar wafer.
My wife uses an Antec (Mini P180) case and loves it. I am still using the old YY0221 cube case that I picked up 12 years ago. 6 external 5.25 bays, 2 external 3.5 bays, and 8 internal 3.5 bays. A lock on the door so my children cant push the buttons while I am working. I fear the day I have to give up this case.
Originally, it housed an Abit BP6 mainboard with two 1ghz PIII cpus. Now I am running an Asus board with a core I7. Almost every generation of cpu in between has passed through that case. I love it.
Score
1
mas
August 19, 2012 1:00:56 PM
Th-z
August 19, 2012 9:04:59 PM
I am a dust conscious user, if you guys review any case in the future, would appreciate to include detailed info on dust filtering features, for example, how many intakes are filtered, how good is the filter, and how convenient is it to remove them for cleaning.
A problem with most of these cases (except the Antec) is no front and side filters (if you want to use side as intake). And some case designs like to have upward facing USB ports. A horizontal plane will attract the most dust, which is not ideal for these ports, unless they include a cover or you'll have to improvise one. I'm still hunting for a case with positive air pressure and all intakes are filtered.
A problem with most of these cases (except the Antec) is no front and side filters (if you want to use side as intake). And some case designs like to have upward facing USB ports. A horizontal plane will attract the most dust, which is not ideal for these ports, unless they include a cover or you'll have to improvise one. I'm still hunting for a case with positive air pressure and all intakes are filtered.
Score
0
Crashman
August 20, 2012 3:17:43 AM
ChromeTusk
August 21, 2012 1:51:31 AM
ChromeTusk
August 21, 2012 2:14:24 AM
cknobman said:
I really like the Antec and Corsair designs but some of the other vendors cases in this roundup are fugly as heck.I guess I am more of a less outspoken person these days vs my younger days when I built PC with flame throwing skulls illuminated by blue and red leds all over the side panels.
FTR I absolutely love my Antec P280!!!!
. It wasn't until the Sonata IV that I even considered upgrading it for the family PC (which I still have not) due to better airflow. Also, I do not think my co-workers would consider the office a proper place for my Raven RV03-bw
gm0n3y said:
The Solo II looks like a good improvement on the latest Sonata (III?) case. I like that you don't have to open the door to get at the 5.25" bays and that the door gives access to the filters. Cleaning the filter on my Sonata I is pretty annoying. Of course I'd still take my Antec P183 over the Solo II, but it is much larger and likely more expensive.IMO, the rest of the cases are ugly, but I prefer the clean looks of Antec and Lian-Li's cases.
I also agree with you that their Performance One series http://store.antec.com/Category/enclosure-performance_o... is awesome.
Score
0
!
. I love that Antec decided to send the Solo II. Just happened to stop by my local computer store and noticed it on display. I cannot wait to see how it performs and I might use it for a HTPC/family-gaming build if it does well
.