Analyzing Mid-tower cases around $100

[gssjr]

I've been looking around quite a bit at "gaming" cases around $100.

So far I've boiled down to about three (3). Below are my comments/questions. Please feel free to suggest alternatives and comment yourself. At the end of the post I posted my potential build.

Cooler Master HAF 922:

NewEgg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-197-_-Product

Review/Overview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bszPOf0U6KI

My brother personally just used this case for his new build. My initial impressions:

Pros:
1) Lots of air cooling options:
Front: 200mm or 140mm or 120mm (intake)
Back: 120mm (exhaust)
Top: 200mm or 2x120mm (exhaust)
Side: 200mm or 2x120mm (intake)
Bottom: 120mm (intake)
2)Aesthetic design
3) Mostly tool-less design
4) Fits monster graphics cards and Cooler Master V8, etc

Cons:
1) No air filters
2) CPU access hole in motherboard tray does not completely align with EVGA X58 SLI (E758) motherboard for access to cooler back bracket. Don't know if this is an issue with other motherboards or not.
3) Not much room for plugging in SATA power on the hard drives since the back-end of the HDDs face the right side of the case (looking at the front). This gives very little room for the power cables and I would imagine it being a nightmare for anymore than two (2) drives.
4) The expansion (i.e. PCI) slot bays thumb screws are tool-less, but certainly not the best tool-less design (see below).

Lian Li PC-K62:

NewEgg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ian%20li%20k62

Overview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0hwk0Dd3Og

Review (K58 model, but very similar): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-D5AhqIjIc

Pros:
1) Completely tool-less design
2) Anti-vibration design
3) Highly aesthetic and functional
4) Air filters

Cons(?):
1) Limited air cooling options: No side fans??

DISCUSSION: Ok, it seems most of the Lian Li cases don't actually have side fans. I find this very interesting considering Lian Li is known for there extremely high quality cases. What implications are there considering most Lian Li cases don't include side fans when it is a common feature on almost every other case by other manufacturers? Is this a concern? How important are side fans?

THE SIDE FAN ISSUE IS MY ONLY ISSUE WITH THIS CASE T_T

Antec 902:

NewEgg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...pk=antec%20902

Review/Overview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-igk9kT2P8

Pros:
1) Good amount of air-cooling options (but see below)
2) Air filters
3) Aesthetic design

Cons:
1) (issue?) No ventilation for Power Supply
2) Very limited tool-less features

DISCUSSION: This case seems to be second to the HAF 922 when considering the air-cooling options. The TOP fan seems like it can only take a 200mm fan, 2x120mm would be far superior. There is only one side-fan option. This MAY be a non-issue, but this case has NO ventilation for the power supply: something both the CM and Lian Li cases have.

Potential setup:
Intel Core2Duo E8500 @ 3.16 GHz @ OC'd TBD
ASUS P5N-D nForce 750i (suggestions?)
2x2GB OCZ Reaper 1066 MHz CAS:5 RAM
Two-way SLI EVGA GTX 260 or better (depends how Step-Up treats me)
2xWD Caviar Blue 500GB HDD in RAID 0
Corsair 850TX Power Supply
Cooler Master V8 CPU rifle cooler

The ~$300+ I save by not going i7 will go towards buying a cheap laptop.

 

[Danube]

I was looking at some of the same cases the past few months. I opted to get the Cooler Master Scout since Newegg had it on sale last week for $70 and free ship. I liked the handle, the LED on/off switch, the black interior, the position of the USB/eSATA ports.

I'm coming from using Lian Li's. They are really nice cases inside but the outsides are very bland. I don't like the USB/eSATA locations on top of unit since I keep my unit up on a shelf and cant see the top (and the tops scratch more too). I am also sick of screws and at least My Lian Li model was freekin screw city.

I like the Half 922 and Antec but to me the Antec was a lot like the Scout just sans handle and with different bay connectors. The 922 wasn't black inside. I'm tired of the cold, surgical aluminum look of my Lian Li's.

I thought the Scout was too boxy looking on Newegg but in person it's nicer. It has a nice sheen and smooth aero edges. The window isn't as "venty" looking as I thought. It has all the fans I need - and that's not many. I think the fan thing gets overdone. If a person has a quality heatsink and knows how to get strategic "flow" in a case it's
really not necessary to have a hurrican of fans overblowing.

 

[MisterDonut]

I'd shoot for airflow over anything. I don't mind the simple and plain looks, such as the Antec 900/902. Great airflow and construction. Lian Li's also have great craftsmanship.

A simple mod can turn things right around (example: Antec 900 mod fixes the cable management issues). It's more convenience and personal aesthetics, IMO. So, I would go with whatever you think won't make you wanna start chucking trash into your case...but I'll vote the Antec because I own one .

As far as the build goes, the PSU is a bit overkill if you don't plan to upgrade the parts. I would go with 5770 (CFX if you want) and get a Gigabyte UD3P. I just don't prefer older architecture, especially if you're keeping the build around for a while (DX 11 support, Eyefinity).

The Corsair TX750/650 would do, but again unless you're planning to upgrade to 5870's in CFX, etc., you don't need 850w.

For the HDD's, go with Caviar Blacks, you will be much happier (Or a Samsung F1/F3, 32mb cache).

Whatever aftermarket cooler you decide to use, make sure it doesn't conflict with a side fan, if you're planning to use one. I'm sure you can live without one though...I doubt it's gonna shave significant temps if you have a good CPU cooler, well-managed cables, or you're planning to OC the GPU. I don't know if the V8 does well or not, but you should check out the new Zalman CNPS10X Quiet/Flex/Extreme. Those seem like really excellent coolers. Noctua NH-U12P, too. And if you wanna shell out more for a top of the line, TRUE, Megahalem, and a bunch more.

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

I've been looking around quite a bit at "gaming" cases around $100.

So far I've boiled down to about three (3). Below are my comments/questions. Please feel free to suggest alternatives and comment yourself. At the end of the post I posted my potential build.

Cooler Master HAF 922:

NewEgg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-197-_-Product

Review/Overview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bszPOf0U6KI

My brother personally just used this case for his new build. My initial impressions:

Pros:
1) Lots of air cooling options:
Front: 200mm or 140mm or 120mm (intake)
Back: 120mm (exhaust)
Top: 200mm or 2x120mm (exhaust)
Side: 200mm or 2x120mm (intake)
Bottom: 120mm (intake)
2)Aesthetic design
3) Mostly tool-less design
4) Fits monster graphics cards and Cooler Master V8, etc

Cons:
1) No air filters
2) CPU access hole in motherboard tray does not completely align with EVGA X58 SLI (E758) motherboard for access to cooler back bracket. Don't know if this is an issue with other motherboards or not.
3) Not much room for plugging in SATA power on the hard drives since the back-end of the HDDs face the right side of the case (looking at the front). This gives very little room for the power cables and I would imagine it being a nightmare for anymore than two (2) drives.
4) The expansion (i.e. PCI) slot bays thumb screws are tool-less, but certainly not the best tool-less design (see below).

Lian Li PC-K62:

NewEgg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ian%20li%20k62

Overview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0hwk0Dd3Og

Review (K58 model, but very similar): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-D5AhqIjIc

Pros:
1) Completely tool-less design
2) Anti-vibration design
3) Highly aesthetic and functional
4) Air filters

Cons(?):
1) Limited air cooling options: No side fans??

DISCUSSION: Ok, it seems most of the Lian Li cases don't actually have side fans. I find this very interesting considering Lian Li is known for there extremely high quality cases. What implications are there considering most Lian Li cases don't include side fans when it is a common feature on almost every other case by other manufacturers? Is this a concern? How important are side fans?

THE SIDE FAN ISSUE IS MY ONLY ISSUE WITH THIS CASE T_T

Antec 902:

NewEgg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...pk=antec%20902

Review/Overview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-igk9kT2P8

Pros:
1) Good amount of air-cooling options (but see below)
2) Air filters
3) Aesthetic design

Cons:
1) (issue?) No ventilation for Power Supply
2) Very limited tool-less features

DISCUSSION: This case seems to be second to the HAF 922 when considering the air-cooling options. The TOP fan seems like it can only take a 200mm fan, 2x120mm would be far superior. There is only one side-fan option. This MAY be a non-issue, but this case has NO ventilation for the power supply: something both the CM and Lian Li cases have.

Potential setup:
Intel Core2Duo E8500 @ 3.16 GHz @ OC'd TBD
ASUS P5N-D nForce 750i (suggestions?)
2x2GB OCZ Reaper 1066 MHz CAS:5 RAM
Two-way SLI EVGA GTX 260 or better (depends how Step-Up treats me)
2xWD Caviar Blue 500GB HDD in RAID 0
Corsair 850TX Power Supply
Cooler Master V8 CPU rifle cooler

The ~$300+ I save by not going i7 will go towards buying a cheap laptop.

At least get a Phenom II 720.

 

[nyker96]

out of the three haf 922 is best for airflow, I'd get that if I'm going sli now or later. as for dust, if I just run one card and is worried about dust I get the antec 902. lian li is nice but without the side fan the video card isn't cooled well, not something I'd go for if building a gaming rig.

 

[MisterDonut]

a side fan wouldn't matter much, unless you are planning to OC, in which case you should just buy an aftermarket cooler (you'll be much happier with the sound).

 

[Tullphan]

I just got rid of a CM Sniper that I had planned to replace my LL V1000B with.
It was an impressive case...massive, a couple of big fans, excellent cable management.
I used it for a couple of weeks & decided it was too big, too noisy (at full throttle) & wasn't the quality of my LL.
I really didn't notice much (if any) change in my temps, however. Running an i7 920 @ 3.8Ghz cooled w/a Prolimatech Megahalem, HD4850 w/Arctic Cooling, 2x640GB WD hdds, 6GB ram.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Check out the NZXT Tempest:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2036570

 

[Zepper]

Side fans aren't usually of much help and may interfere the flow through many CPU coolers, thus increasing CPU temps. I generally use only front and rear fans (along with whatever comes on the CPU sink, etc.) followed by experimentation with other available mountings to see what actually helps. Very little actual cooling design effort goes into a lot of cases (sometimes I even suspect LL of doing things just because "they can," not because it makes any technical sense).

Good PSUs (80 Plus rated or better) don't generate as much heat as they used to, so don't require a lot of flow to keep cool. Many are now straight thru designs, but even side mount PSU fans can get enough from the front fans. Plus being in the bottom, they don't have to deal with the heat off the mobo or other components.
. Back in the day when the PSU fan might be the only exhaust in the case, flow was more important.

.bh.

 

[Hey Zeus]

HAF 922 - 79.31
http://www.provantage.com/cooler-mas...p~7COOL06Y.htm