You like the 180 and complain about the build quality on the HAF series? Well from using both I can tell you the HAF can take a (physical) beating that will make the 180 cry (in pieces). Just simply letting the 180 fall over will break it. The 180 is also a thermal nightmare in comparison. The only case I've found as it comes that can "outcool" the HAF series is the silverstone RV02/FT02 series and those are generally in another price tier particularly the FT02.
Of course without filters it's gonna get dusty inside but if dust is that big a concern anything with dust filters will clog and temps will soar. Any filter worth a hoot is going to impede airflow too. Perhaps people should work on the indoor air quality some?
I don't mind the ultilitarian look at all. As long as it has the toughness to back it. The heavy steel panels are plenty tough. The HAF-X will also fit larger motherboards like the EVGA Classified 762 (4 Way SLI) and ridiculously overpriced Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD9.
The Lian-Li Lanboy series is also another modestly priced (for Lian-Li haha) case that people seem to like.
Here is the inside of mine:
Like I said above, the only thing I wish different is the inside being painted black. One day I might just paint it myself.
well I like my 932 very much, it's 230mm fans are very quiet and pushes about 110cfm each. It cools graphics card well. You can pretty much put a tri-SLI/xfire in there, that's how much room it's got. On top of that, the cable management is excellent. I also love the option of going water if needed later. I use a hefty Mugen 2 cooler in there, that case can take pretty much any large air cooler no problem. overall, Love it!
If buying new and you got money I'd go with X for the extra filters, although dust isn't too much of a problem with my 932. I vacuum it about every 5-6months and it's ok. The X also has USB 3 which is nice as well as adapters for SSD. It's more future proof. Black interior doesn't hurt either, although for me, I never open the case much so it's not so useful of a feature for me. Also another thing is 932 you can put 4x120mm on side panel while X doesn't allow that due to dust filtering. Overall, if money no problem and you are buying new X gives you more features and conveniences.
I just ordered the 932 Black Edition. It has the same features as the 932 only with a black interior. Coming from an Antec 902 I am sure my cable management will get better. The 902 sucks for cable management.
The HAF 932 arrived today along with some of the parts for the new build. Motherboard is scheduled for delivery on Wednesday. (I love Amazon Prime)
My wife threw a wrench in my plans though...she's taking ALL the boxes of parts and putting them under the tree.
(see my related rant in OT) :biggrin:
The case is H-E-A-V-Y!! I've been using a POS Aspire X-SuperAlien case for several years. It's ugly as hell, it was ugly as hell when I bought it, but it was priced right at the time, had a PSU (crappy one though) and fit my needs...but I've NEVER liked the thing.
The HAF 932 looks HUGE by comparison, even though they're actually very similar in size.
The Aspire is aluminum with plastic trim, where the HAF is steel with plastic trim. BIG difference in weight.
Even though it won't be moved very often, I'm going to install the wheels to give me more clearance from the carpet to improve air flow to the PSU. (and to make it easier to take outside when I blow the dust out...we live on the edge of farm country and this is the dustiest place I've ever lived...I have to clean the case every month or two)
I love my 932. The Red LED is not overly bright at all. The 932 does not come with a toggle to turn off the fan LED light, the 922 does, not sure about the X.
One complaint is that the blue LED for the hard drive access is just stupidly bright. I fixed it with some scotch tape colored with sharpie. Still visible, but not blindingly so anymore.
Dust... 250mm fans move tons of air and thus tons of dust. I live in a dusty old house with terrible carpets.. my HAF basically is an air filter, it collects so much fuzz I clean it about once every other month. (I'm a bit nuts)
The 250mm fans on the 932 are mounted with a weird hex bit that I did not have in any of my tool kits. I was able to get them undone with a torx bit, and replaced them with standard Phillip's head fan mount screws so I wouldn't have to worry in the future.
The 250mm fans bearings do wear out faster than normal fans. My case is about a year old and I do leave my system on almost constantly. The fans are starting to wobble and also make weird noises with spinning down, I will be replacing them soon.
The wheels are not cheap and actually very useful. My case full loaded weighs close to 50lbs. Yes I actually weighed it.
The stupid rubber flap on top for "refilling your water cooling reservoir" is useless and just falls off when you transport the case.
Overall this case is almost perfect for my needs. No other case offers this much space, this much quiet, and this much cable management for the price.
My specs:
Phenom II X4 940 with Xigmatek 120mm cooler
XFX 5850
Nvidia 7600gs (This computer runs 3 displays and a projector)
Asus Xonar Essence STX
6 hard drives
Corsair 650tx
It all fits wonderfully.
Ah crap...I think you're right. The HAF X has the on/off switch for the front fan...:\
Well...if they get too annoying...I have dikes.
I'm disappointed to hear the fans seem to be short-lived. That's gonna be a PITA over the long haul.
The red LED fan is far from bright and annoying though. You will probably not find it distracting.
All my small complaints aside, I'm sure you will love this case. It is the best case I have ever owned.
The HAF 932 arrived today along with some of the parts for the new build. Motherboard is scheduled for delivery on Wednesday. (I love Amazon Prime)
My wife threw a wrench in my plans though...she's taking ALL the boxes of parts and putting them under the tree.
(see my related rant in OT) :biggrin:
The case is H-E-A-V-Y!! I've been using a POS Aspire X-SuperAlien case for several years. It's ugly as hell, it was ugly as hell when I bought it, but it was priced right at the time, had a PSU (crappy one though) and fit my needs...but I've NEVER liked the thing.
The HAF 932 looks HUGE by comparison, even though they're actually very similar in size.
The Aspire is aluminum with plastic trim, where the HAF is steel with plastic trim. BIG difference in weight.
Even though it won't be moved very often, I'm going to install the wheels to give me more clearance from the carpet to improve air flow to the PSU. (and to make it easier to take outside when I blow the dust out...we live on the edge of farm country and this is the dustiest place I've ever lived...I have to clean the case every month or two)
Well I got my 932 Black Edition in and so far I am loving it. I am considering swapping out the top 230mm fan with three 120mm red r4's. Do any of you think that would be a better cooling solution to have them exhausting out the top? Mine has the clear side panel without fans. Anyways here is my pic:
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
The case will actually be more-or-less recessed under the desk, so (hopefully) the overly bright CPU LED won't even be noticed...I had considered buying "non-LED fans" to replace the ones in the case, then decided against it, if only because of the added cost. (by the time I replaced all the red LED fans, I could have bought the HAF X...and still have red LED fans...
You should be able to cut the leads to the LEDs