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Need Help choosing a Full Tower Case £180 Budget.

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:hello: 

I'm looking for a Full tower PC case, my budget is £180, I've done some searching around and can't find a suitable case. The closest I've found is the Corsair Obsidian 800D, it has almost everything im looking for in a case. Unfortunatily its over my budget and also the stock air cooling is well......rubbish.

Things the case has to have.
**Black Interior
**Full Tower
**Cable management holes
**Water cooling holes
**Good stock air cooling

Things that don't matter.
**Who makes the case
**What materials its made of

At the moment I'm using a Coolermaster HAF 932, which is great for cooling and cable management, but IMO is Ulgy and that just won't do :pfff:  (BTW it was a B'day Gift.)

System Specs
Ci7 920 4ghz
Gigabyte GA-EX58 UD5
OCZ Triple channel 3GB 1333mhz
Coolermaster Real Power M700
ASUS ATi HD5850
Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB
LG DVD ROM Drive.
TRUE with 2 fans.


Thanks for any suggestions :love: 

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Questionable aesthetics aside, the HAF932 is an excellent case and it may be difficult to best it.

Two cases I would recommend would be the Antec 1200 and CoolerMaster ATCS 840.
Although the interior of the ATCS 840 is not black, neither does it have a windowed side panel so it should be less of an issue.
Both have great stock cooling and are of excellent quality.

Thanks outlaw6669 I really like the CM ATCS 840, it has some great features like a removable motherboard tray and stylish looks. Shame it hasn't got a slide panel window and black interior, but its still very much in the running.

I have 1 major gripe about the Antec 1200, I hate those blue LED fans, I want professional, modern and stylish, sorry should have mentioned that in my orginal post.

The CM ATCS fits nicely into my budget, Does anyone else have any recommendations???
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Homebuilt system Master

I second the HAF 932. It's probably the best case around. If it's too expensive, the HAF 922 is a mid tower that's almost as big as most full-towers, and it's just slightly cheaper.

Uhmmm........MadAdmiral, you may want to read my orginal post again..

I have the CM HAF 932, and looking to sell it and get a different case.

I know its a great case, but its fugly, also it has no dust filters and i have a cat, and now my PC components are hairy : /
Homebuilt system Master

My bad. I really more of skimmed the opening post...

In that case, I really like the 1200, but since you don't like the blue LEDs, I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest the Coolermaster Cosmos 1000. It's not a black case, which may take it off your list entirely, but it's a good case. It's a tad cheaper than the ATCS 840 over here in the US.

EDIT: Apparantly, there is a black version. The description says it comes with a PSU (the specs don't mention it), which you could either sell to reduce the price, or keep for another build.

You could also just buy some dust filters for the fans if the case doesn't have them...

Yeah, sure is a looker :o 

You can get a good look at its layout Here.

The only thing I might be concerned about is the relative lack of cooling.
ONE 120mm intake to 3x 120mm exhaust, insulated panels and no hard drive cooling either unless you shell out for an optional hard drive cooler :/ 

Also, the above link to the ATCS Review is fixed.
Stupid best of media address censoring....

Yeah the lack of cooling isn't to much of a concern to me, as I plan on going watercooling.

I plan on having one loop for my Ci7 with a top mounted triple rad. And have a second loop for the 5850 which would have a double rad (120.2)

Not to sure if all that would fit in the CM cosmos black case, maybe mount the 12.2 rad externally??

@ MadAdmiral, I read a user review at overclockers.co.uk and he/she said that the case doesn't come with a PSU or aftermarket cooler : / I guess that was for the limited edition.

HDD cooling is a concern : /

Thanks guys for your suggestions, really appreciate it : )

@Silvune The Lancool is alomst there, but like the antec 1200 it has those (IMO) horrible blue LED fans and the CM 690 is a midi tower and i plan on putting quite alot of hardware in my PC including watercooling, and im not sure that case has the space

@obsidian86 I've considered the Raven before, but decided i couldnt live with that much plastic : /

I'll look into the Lian Li some more : )

The CM Cosmos Pure black doesnt have a side window and doesnt come with a PSU or aftermarket cooler, only the limited edition (black label) has those things.

Why spray it black and not have a side window? Doesnt make sense to me.

Homebuilt system Authority

omgitzfatal said:
I have 1 major gripe about the Antec 1200, I hate those blue LED fans, I want professional, modern and stylish, sorry should have mentioned that in my orginal post.?


The 1200 gives you best of both worlds......lights have switches....you can turn them OFF like I do (old fart mode) or you can "go blingy" (teenage mode). :) 

Best thing about the 1200 is it fits the CP-850 PSU.....which puts $75 - $100 back into your system build as compared w/ any other PSU of its quality and acoustic performance.

ohttp://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=...
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article971-page7.html

I thought it was just the big top fan that you could turn the lights off...but if its all of them then its back in the running : ) (Old fart mode FTW)

The CP-850 certainly is a good PSU, but I already have a good PSU and most likely won't be replacing it any time soon.

Do you know if the Antec 1200 is any good for watercooling? I'd like to know if you could fit a 120.3 and a 120.2 rad in or outside the case?

I'll let you know in a week or so when I get mine :p 

I think the 1200 should work great for water cooling.
My plan is to mount a 3x120mm radiator directly behind the exhaust fans with the excess sticking over the top of the case.
If you are using a 2x120mm radiator, it should mount beautifully (no overhang on the top of the case or over the expansion slots).
As I don't have the case yet I can not check the internal space but, from what I have seen, there should be enough space to internally mount your radiator.
I would prefer to keep it external regardless.
Why dump all that heat back into the case when you can get it out in one shot?

Damn it! : (

I've made up my mind, im going to have to save up roughly £210 for either the Corsair Obsidian 800D or the CM Cosmos PURE black + side window extra.

Thanks to all of you, great help as always :) 
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