Conclusion
Let’s go one case at a time.
The ABS Canyon 695 is the Maybach in a roundup between the 745i, S550, and A8. All of these cases are nice, sure. But the Canyon is the one to grab when opulence is a way of life. Shoot, we’ve built entire systems—fast systems, even—for the price you’ll pay for a bare Canyon 695. Check out our $625 System Builder Marathon if you want proof. Build quality is flawless thanks to Lian-Li’s expertise with aluminum. Weight remains low as well, since there’s no steel to be found. It’s the quietest enclosure in our roundup. And the case didn’t perform poorly in our thermal tests, though it did run warmer than the boxes designed for more free-flowing circulation. Side-mounted 5.25” drive bays were a design decision we wouldn’t have made, and it was a shame that our PC Power and Cooling PSU wouldn’t fit. Also, the backplane-based storage subsystem may keep you from deploying SSDs or WD VelociRaptor hard drives, so careful there as well.
Antec’s Twelve Hundred is more of a benchmark with which to evaluate our other cases here. It isn’t as beautiful as ABS’ Canyon, and my back will tell you that it’s significantly heavier. We did have a couple of nitpicks on the design. For example, installing a hard drive requires popping off both side panels, removing eight thumb screws, screwing in the drive, and putting it all back together again. Also, you’ll want a power supply with an 8-pin +12 V cable able to reach the top of the motherboard on its own—our barely made the stretch and Antec doesn’t include an extension like other vendors. But otherwise, the Twelve Hundred is a fairly simple enclosure able to house a lot of hardware at a very reasonable price. It was one of the louder cases we tested (likely a result of the free-flowing design), but it also managed to place second in our thermal testing, just after the Cooler Master HAF.
Priced similarly to the Twelve Hundred, Cooler Master’s HAF 932 and the Antec chassis are our real head-to-head contenders here. The two cases share a lot of design philosophy. Mainly, open panels plus large fans should equal cool, yet quiet, running. In most cases, that’d be true. But add a couple of Radeon HD 4870s idling at 80 degrees C, and you’re suddenly looking at a couple of components able to foil the non-insulated chassis design. As such, the HAF 932 registered the loudest at load and second-loudest at idle. It also delivered the most compelling temps, though. We like that Cooler Master’s case can take an eATX motherboard, includes smart accessories like a power supply cable extension, and tool-free hard drive trays.
Right smack dab in the middle, from acoustic performance to price to thermal performance, is Thermaltake’s Spedo with the Advanced Package. Decidedly more aggressive in design versus the Cooler Master or Antec boxes, the Spedo includes some very cool innovation. Right at the top of our list would be the side panel fan, which gets its power from two contacts built into the chassis itself. The Advanced Thermal Chamber 3 concept is inventive as well, taking its cues from automotive engine bays. However, we’d hesitate to say the bundle of plastic parts warranted an extra $50 over the Twelve Hundred and HAF 932. Thermaltake’s cable management system, on the other hand, is incredibly cool, and it did a great job of cleaning up the case’s interior.
Overall
The real battle here is happening between Antec, Cooler Master, and Thermaltake. ABS is in a league of its own. If you can afford to pay $600 for a case without a power supply that doesn’t include a complete water cooling kit, there’s really no competition. The design, construction, and quality of the Canyon 695 are unparalleled by any other case here.
But at a more palatable price range from $150 to $200, we’re faced with three strong contenders. All of them prominently feature big fans and lots of circulation, but Cooler Master’s HAF 932 has to be our favorite for its strong design, easy installation and aggressive price.
The Antec Twelve Hundred is quite close, being an overall quieter case that requires a little more work to put together.
Thermaltake’s Spedo is close as well. We did have a little trouble with thin metal at the bottom of the case warping during shipping, which complicated power supply installation. However, the enclosure’s cable management and innovative side-panel fan were welcome differentiators in a market where it’s difficult to stand apart. More attractive right now would probably be the Spedo without the Advanced package, which is selling online for $139 after a $30 mail-in-rebate. Those significant savings drastically alter the case’s value versus some of the other offerings here.
