105 replies to this topic

[wevsspot]

LianLi Lancool K62

Mid Tower
$99 - $129 depending on sales, etailer etc.

Pros
HDD trays face side to side instead of front to back
You can install your hard drives with the connectors pointing to the right side of the case - hence hiding them from the left side panel view
Decent cooling in stock form - even better if you add a 120/140mm fan in the left panel window
Stock comes with a window - custom windows available or you can mod your own
Twin 140mm fans up top for exhausting hot air from the case
Decent build quality
Interior already painted black
Backside cutout in the motherboard tray so you can change cpu coolers without taking out the whole board (depends on motherboard socket location)
Entire case is pretty customizable
A good looking case IMHO
Great price point for the features and build quality
It's a stripped down LianLi
Fairly roomy for a mid tower
Tool-less PCI/PCIe system is outstanding - best I've ever worked with
Tool-less HDD racks work well

Cons
Wish the right side of the case had more room between the m/b tray and side panel. Pretty tight to get the panel back on after you've stuff a ton of wires back there
Side panel alignment with the top and front bezel is pretty poor on mine
Wish the motherboard tray was about 1/4 inch lower inside the case

Other thoughts - I love Cap's suggestion about a removable insert for the top vents. If you move your top fans to the inside of the case you can fit a 220mm rad on top, but not without cutting out the vent slots

Edited by wevsspot, 07 March 2011 - 09:05 AM.

[jammin]

Mid Tower

$50 - $99

Antec SOLO

Pros

- Solid Quality Construction
- Hard Drive Suspension mounting system included, and does greatly reduce HDD noise
- Sound deadening panels (not substantial but work reasonably well)
- Front panel easily removed for access to front fan and hard drive bay
- Cable management hooks behind (right side) hard drive bays make cables easy to tuck out of the way
- Compact and understated styling
- Very quiet with the right fans and a fan controller


Cons

- Can be a little cramped to work in, PSU must be installed first. Large graphics cards may not fit.
- HDD Suspension elastic gets a bit slack (fatigued) after a while
- Limited cooling potential: 2 x 92mm front mounts and 1 x 120mm rear
- Included Antec TriCool rear fan is not quiet
- No case speaker (you'll need to have spare to connect if you want to hear beep codes)


Overall it's very good if you are aiming to build a reasonably compact and quiet system.

Edited by jammin, 07 March 2011 - 01:37 PM.

[MasterAV]

Corsair 800D
$250.00-$300.00
@ Europe 350/400USD

Personal Opinion

Pros:
1. Top 360 rad mount or 480 [with some work]
2. Great and Unique cable management
3. All black and excelent outside finish
4. Hot Swap
5. Lot´s of space to work


Cons:
1. High price
2. Bad Airflow [aircooling system]
3. Very heavy

[yamilegend]

139.99 USD NZXT PHANTOM full tower

Pros: sleek design
fan controllers
good airflow
GREAT cable management
almost tool less
if your thinking of modding you can make it AWESOME

Cons: have to mod to put some WHEELS (lol)
no side window
have to spent a lot more if you wanna have all the FANS


there maybe other pros and cons but thats what i can say about, is been with me for over a week so thats all i can think about it right now if some one can add more to it then please do so and as JK says LONG LIVE THIS THREAD !!!!!

[wevsspot]

All of this has got me comparing cases and reading case reviews again

I've found two cases on the recommended list that I really like based on features and appearance.

I'm really digging both the NZXT Tempest EVO and the Coolermaster 690 II Advanced, especially considering their aggressive pricing/feature set.

Both appear to be water cooling friendly with the option to incorporate at minimum an internal 220mm radiator. I wish CM would release a better
side panel windowed model though.

Last thoughts - why do the case mfgs. jump from 120mm side panel fans up to huge 200mm or larger fans on the side panel.

It seems to me that one or two 140mm low rpm fans would be ideal.

Edited by wevsspot, 08 March 2011 - 06:10 AM.

[El_Capitan]

I agree, they do look good. I think they make huge 200mm fans or larger just to be different.

[Knight_72]

Cooler Master HAF932
My opinions
Pros:
1.The best airflow case , I have modded it with 15 fans in total.
2. No tools needed to fit drives
3. Massive for the biggest cards
4. The window is nice to show off your stuff to people
5. Nearly all mesh so hot air escapes quickly

Cons:

1. Heavy
2. Dust (but if you're an oc'ing enthusisast like me then you do not care and want the best airflow )
3. Not black inside (but easily paintable like I did)

[GabrielTessin]

Lian Li Lan Cool K58 $75-$90 depending on store.

Pros:
Looks nice.
Nearly Silent
Cools fairly well.
Roomy.
Optional side window.
No blue fans

Cons: (I really had to think about these.)
Not as many fans as the K62
Largest of graphics cards may not fit.
Heavy.
No blue fans.

Edited by gabrieltessin, 08 March 2011 - 08:22 AM.

[Knight_72]

P.S , I stickied it . This has the potential to be a great thread

[El_Capitan]

Thx Nyt!

[wevsspot]

Yes, thanks NYT.

We appreciate the opportunity to make everyone into conformists and own only the cases we like

On another note - I happened upon a case mfg. that I think shows some great potential. Initial reviews show that
cooling still needs some work - but man they got everything else nailed IMHO.

http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/

[jk336699]

Micro Tower
NZXT Crafted Series Vulcan

- Price range: 70
- Personal opinion
pros
1. Great Air Flow (with Mesh Side Panel)
2. Top Handle
3. Filters (rarely seen in MicroTower)
4. Holes for liquid cooling tubes
5. Protable
6. Fits long card (such as 5970)
cons
1. too little expansion bay (in 3.5, ex 5.25 and ex 3.5, each 2)
2. the side panel mexh doesnt have filter...
3. not full tool-less design
4. High price
5. not much space for hiding cables

Edited by jk336699, 09 March 2011 - 11:53 AM.