Which case to choose?

[versaceSTL]

Need some advice on which case to get. I just game alot so i need the best cooling/air flow.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811124115

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1901960&Sku=TC3J-4048&SRCCODE=NEXTAG&CMP=EMC-NEXTAG

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811196021

There was also one more i liked but i cant seem to find it on the web. it had like 6 or 8 fans on the side of the case, thats all i remember and i saw it at comp usa.

[AsianBatman]

Re: Which case to choose?

the antec 900 =D

[Spongebob]

Re: Which case to choose?

The A 900 seems to be built solid and has alot of quite, controllable, well placed fan cooling, it also has ports in the back if you want to add water cooling. The only lights on the case are its fans which are easy to replace if one burns out. I like where the contol buttons and USB ports ect are located but might not be idea for everyone. I think its the best PC case I've tried so far.

On the downside there is very little room for media drives of any sort on the front of the case but probably enough for most people. It might also be a stretch for someone that has a PSU with short cords since the unit will be mounted at the bottom of the case and your DVD/CD drive will be way up on top, but I'm guessing Antec did this to help eliminate heat from the PSU next to the CPU. The case is also also rather spendy in my opinion and the fan controls are in the inside of the case with too short of cording to fix on the outside without cutting and/or adding wires, but atleast the fans can be controlled without added hardware.

[casecutter]

Re: Which case to choose?

Ummmmm. You could put a ton of media drives in the front of the case. All you have to do is remove the cages and you can fit up to 9 DVD/CD drives if you really wanted to. Besides, unless you are buying a case that will only be used to burn 8+ CD/DVD's at a time, why would you need more than 2 optical drives anyways?

To me, the ONLY downfall of this case is the lack of space to hide wires without drilling holes.

[[email protected]]

Re: Which case to choose?

Agreed.

I love the air flow and cooling benefits, but the PSU wiring is cramped.

[Spongebob]

Re: Which case to choose?

Ummmmm. You could put a ton of media drives in the front of the case. All you have to do is remove the cages and you can fit up to 9 DVD/CD drives if you really wanted to. Besides, unless you are buying a case that will only be used to burn 8+ CD/DVD's at a time, why would you need more than 2 optical drives anyways?

True if you remove both the cage and sacrifice a front fan I guess, but as it stands the 2 free and exposed 5.25 bays are 1 more than I need, although a rich PC users might have both a blueray and HD DVd and god knows what else. My 3.5 bay is taken up by a card reader. It might pose a bit of a problem or added expense to get another fitting to match the case if I ever need something else that uses a 3.5 bay. Luckily it seems the only thing a diskette drive is used for anymore is raid drivers or an old OS boot disk, I think (right?). Theres probably other things that might use another exposed bay such as some type of controller or digital temp monitor but I guess I'm good for now with the bays its has. Just thought it was worthy of mention.

[versaceSTL]

Re: Which case to choose?

Ok guys i went to best buy and got the Antec 900 Gaming case for $111 dollars which is comparably cheap. Brought it home and started putting it together. Haven't finished yet as i have ran into some problems. Love the posistioning of the Power supply, and i have a thermaltake which has enough length in the cords to reach all areas of the case, the motherboard fit in fine no problem and i have ordered two 120mm fans for the optional 2 fan slots. the problem i came into is the front of the case that doesn't really have to much to offer, 3 slots for dvd/cd and or 2 if you need a slot for a floppy driver. (BTW im still trying to figure out how that floppy piece and the plastic piece fit together. Also i have adjustable fans like on the cpu that require extra floppy slots, so now i will have to figure out how to custom modify the case for one more slot without removing the two front fan slots. I haven't got a chance to start it up yet so i havent heard the fans, but i cannot wait. The case is overall, nicely put together, and looks to flow air well. I just wish there were 120mm fitment for the side fan so that i could vent it right to the cpu for direct cooling. Who knows i might customize something for this as well. I will be posting some pictures of it in a few days to show the progress and final opinion. I have customized atleast a dozen cases in my life and look forward to doing this one. Hopefully someone can use this intellect and apply it to their own case. Thanks again for the opinions guys, you made the right choice once again! ~S. McSneakerson

[Spongebob]

Re: Which case to choose?

the problem i came into is the front of the case that doesn't really have to much to offer, 3 slots for dvd/cd and or 2 if you need a slot for a floppy driver. (BTW im still trying to figure out how that floppy piece and the plastic piece fit together.

I had to use a drill to drill new holes in the peice so I could mount it back futher in the case when I used it for my card reader. That way the 3.5" bay grill fitting would fit plush with the front of the case. If you need more than one 3.5" adapters to match the case I'm guessing ordering from Antech might be the only option:(.

[bobin8ter]

Re: Which case to choose?

Yeah, I looked at all those cases, and I also think the Antec 900 was the best choice.

Only thing I did really love was the top mounted case controls and ports, since my case is on my desktop and it's not easy to reach them.