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New Case for Rig Recommendations

darkcircuitdarkcircuit Member Posts: 211
in Hardware

Hey all,

I currently have one of the original Antec P180 cases and although I think it was a great case of its time, it's now lacking a lot of the new features you see as pretty much standard in performances cases now-a-days (cable management, SSD mounting points, etc) and due to its age, pieces of plastic go flying off everytime I so much as look at the case (door is currently hanging off due to a missing pivot point). So its time to retire my P180 and look at something a bit more 'modern' and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations/experience of a good case to look at.

To give you guys an idea of what I'm looking/not looking for, I am currently looking at the Antec P280 as it seems to offer great cable management and I like how the HDs are mounted perpendicular to the case for easy access. I am not looking for a 'look at me, look at me' case, with windows and shiny LEDs all over it, I like the understated look of my P180 and I would like to stay with cases that follow that trend and preferably dark in colour.

Below is my spec so you have an idea about what I'm trying to fit in the case as my GFX card is quite big:

 

PSU: Seasonic X760W Gold 80+

MB: MSI P67A-GD53

HDs: Corsair Force 3 SATA III 120GB SSD

        Seagate 750GB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache

Cooler: Arctic Cooling Freezer 13

Graphics: ASUS 570GTX Direct CUII

Fan Speed Controller: Scythe Kaze Server Fan Speed Controller

System Fans: 4x Nexus PWN 120mm

 

As you can see I have 4 system fans, which I have only recently purchased and therefore I'm not really reviewing cases based on the fans supplied, but on where they are mounted and how many mounting points.

 

Thanks for any help.

P.S. I'd like to stick to the dimensions of the P180 as close as possible: 54cm (H) x 20.5cm (W) x 50.7cm (D)

Comments

  • Loke666Loke666 Member EpicPosts: 21,441

    Funny, that is exactly the same case I use myself for my hexacore.

    I stuck on a USB buss in front of it and got some 3,5" to 2,5" adapters for 2 bucks each to fit my SSDs. I had my server in it for a while and had a really expensive cooler master case for a while but I am frankly still a lot more happy with the old Antec case. And I got rid of the door a long time ago, it was just annoying.

    Just pimp up the old case a little and it will be good for another 10 years. :)

    If you want a new cyberlooking one, get this one:

  • darkcircuitdarkcircuit Member Posts: 211

    My eyes my eyes :P I really don't like cases with windows and flashy LED fans, I've grown past the stage where I want a bling case and instead I just want something understated :) The reason I'm getting rid of the P180 is mainly because its falling apart, the door is just the more extreme example, oh and the look of any form of cable management ;)

  • Loke666Loke666 Member EpicPosts: 21,441

    Originally posted by darkcircuit

    My eyes my eyes :P I really don't like cases with windows and flashy LED fans, I've grown past the stage where I want a bling case and instead I just want something understated :) The reason I'm getting rid of the P180 is mainly because its falling apart, the door is just the more extreme example, oh and the look of any form of cable management ;)

    Lol, agreed. Here are a few nice more classical looking ones:

    All nice and basic looking cases from 50 bucks to 150. :)

     

  • Jimmy562Jimmy562 Member UncommonPosts: 1,158

    I'll just throw this out there. 

    NZXT Phantom

    I have this case myself and it is very good. Lots of space, great cooling with a decent amount of fans as well as great cable managment. 

  • WhackoWhacko Member UncommonPosts: 137

    I say buy a cheap case and Mod it.

    Get out the dremel and go to work.

    Since time is of the essence though, the Phantom is a solid case. I'm also one of those that don't need a fancy amusement park type of box. Depending on your future upgrades you might want to think about a  Full Tower, atleast then you'll have no worries for expansion.

  • KabaalKabaal Member UncommonPosts: 3,042

    Corsair 650D, it's the one i'm using just now and i love it. It does have a window but that's not why i bought it http://www.corsair.com/pc-cases/obsidian-series-pc-case/obsidian-series-650d.html

    The 600T is another sweet case from Corsair, comes in black or white, white has a window black doesn't http://www.corsair.com/pc-cases/graphite-series-pc-case/graphite-series-600t.html

    Fractal have some really nice cases out too at decent prices http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=product&prod=57

    Its a shame Lian-Li have stayed at such a high price, theirs are always very good while being elegant but so many other companies offer the same thing for cheaper nowadays.

  • spookytoothspookytooth Member Posts: 508

    I use a P180 too,  I like the minimalist look of it.

    But I'll throw my suggestion out there. http://www.cougar-world.com/products/pc_case/evolution.html

    Not over the top style-wise. And both sides are removable so you can wire it through the right side and avoid cable clutter. Wish my current case could do that.

     

  • ElsaboltsElsabolts Member RarePosts: 3,476

    Check out the Cooler Masters, CMStacker cases.

    image

    " Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Those Who  Would Threaten It "
                                            MAGA
  • thamighty213thamighty213 Member UncommonPosts: 1,637

    Coolermaster Haf 912 (not the plus edition)  plain black and has everything you ask for.

     

    Lateral HD cage,  massive amounts of space behind mobo, great cooling with exapnadability (default is 200mm front 120mm rear,  has space for a 120mm side and either 2 x 120mm tops or a 200mm top), no window.

     

    Great cooling, great space in a neat looking package and at a great price point.

  • RidelynnRidelynn Member EpicPosts: 7,383

    I swear by Lian Li cases, although they tend to be pricey.

    Most of them are fairly clean looking, the internals are top-notch, and they are pretty easy to mod if you choose to do so.

    They don't typically come with a lot of the bells and whistles some of the newer cases come with though. But you won't find any cases that are built of higher quality and they cover pretty well every size and shape.

  • thamighty213thamighty213 Member UncommonPosts: 1,637

    Originally posted by Ridelynn

    I swear by Lian Li cases, although they tend to be pricey.

    Most of them are fairly clean looking, the internals are top-notch, and they are pretty easy to mod if you choose to do so.

    They don't typically come with a lot of the bells and whistles some of the newer cases come with though. But you won't find any cases that are built of higher quality and they cover pretty well every size and shape.

    I'd agree wholeheartidly.

     

    Excellent brand excellent build quality a little too subdued for my tastes :)

  • grunt187grunt187 Member CommonPosts: 956

    Nice cases here.

    The following statement is false
    The previous statement is true

  • gboostergbooster Member UncommonPosts: 712

    http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=6653

    This is a full tower, which I recommend in case you want to expand with another vid card. Plus it's just cool having a monolith case like this. This is probably one of the best air flow cases out there. It's what I use.

     

  • KabaalKabaal Member UncommonPosts: 3,042

    Originally posted by ghettobooste

    http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=6653

    This is a full tower, which I recommend in case you want to expand with another vid card. Plus it's just cool having a monolith case like this. This is probably one of the best air flow cases out there. It's what I use.

     

     

    It's a good case, fugly though.

  • eye_meye_m Member UncommonPosts: 3,317

    Originally posted by Kabaal

     

    Its a shame Lian-Li have stayed at such a high price, theirs are always very good while being elegant but so many other companies offer the same thing for cheaper nowadays.

    I have never found any manufacturer that makes cases with the precision that Lian Li does. They earn their dollar.

     

    All of my posts are either intelligent, thought provoking, funny, satirical, sarcastic or intentionally disrespectful. Take your pick.

    I get banned in the forums for games I love, so lets see if I do better in the forums for games I hate.

    I enjoy the serenity of not caring what your opinion is.

    I don't hate much, but I hate Apple© with a passion. If Steve Jobs was alive, I would punch him in the face.

  • drazzahdrazzah Member UncommonPosts: 437

    I have done quite a few computer builds through my little side business. Here are some recommendations i have.

    I mostly use Full-Tower cases, and I am now (personally) staying away from the CoolerMaster HAF cases. I have the HAF932 and hate it to be honest. Yes, theres a lot of room and such, but it feels cheap. The front USB hub is garbage and they installed the USB upside down. The blue HD LED is blindely bright, it collects a ton of dust, and im not a fan of the "industrial" look. The only thing i absolutely love about it though is the top tray where you can put like your wallet, keys, usb sticks, etc etc. The CoolerMaster HAFs and Antec 300/900/1200 are all very very very very common and not that good to be honest.

     

    A couple cases that i can recommend is the Corsair 800D. My favorite case of all time, have done a couple builds with this case and i absolutely love it. Very nice look, amazing finish, and looks very professional. Another case which is a little bit more custom-gamer looking is the NZXT Phantom cases. These cases are also built very well and offer a lot. 

    But just look at newegg or something and find something you like. I used to be into the whole custom LED lights and such a while ago, but now i perfer the more profressonal look and try to find cases that a lot of people dont have. I go to huge lan parties with about 200 people, and about 150 of the 200 either have a CoolerMaster or Antec case. 

    image

  • caremuchlesscaremuchless Member Posts: 603

    Originally posted by darkcircuit

    Hey all,

    I currently have one of the original Antec P180 cases and although I think it was a great case of its time, it's now lacking a lot of the new features you see as pretty much standard in performances cases now-a-days (cable management, SSD mounting points, etc) and due to its age, pieces of plastic go flying off everytime I so much as look at the case (door is currently hanging off due to a missing pivot point). So its time to retire my P180 and look at something a bit more 'modern' and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations/experience of a good case to look at.

    To give you guys an idea of what I'm looking/not looking for, I am currently looking at the Antec P280 as it seems to offer great cable management and I like how the HDs are mounted perpendicular to the case for easy access. I am not looking for a 'look at me, look at me' case, with windows and shiny LEDs all over it, I like the understated look of my P180 and I would like to stay with cases that follow that trend and preferably dark in colour.

    Below is my spec so you have an idea about what I'm trying to fit in the case as my GFX card is quite big:

     

    PSU: Seasonic X760W Gold 80+

    MB: MSI P67A-GD53

    HDs: Corsair Force 3 SATA III 120GB SSD

            Seagate 750GB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache

    Cooler: Arctic Cooling Freezer 13

    Graphics: ASUS 570GTX Direct CUII

    Fan Speed Controller: Scythe Kaze Server Fan Speed Controller

    System Fans: 4x Nexus PWN 120mm

     

    As you can see I have 4 system fans, which I have only recently purchased and therefore I'm not really reviewing cases based on the fans supplied, but on where they are mounted and how many mounting points.

     

    Thanks for any help.

    P.S. I'd like to stick to the dimensions of the P180 as close as possible: 54cm (H) x 20.5cm (W) x 50.7cm (D)

     

     

    I love the Antec P280. Smooth clean lines. Nice cable management.

    For me it was a tossup between that and a Corsair 500R

     

    500r Review  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9WKzIeDCRc

     

    Antec P280 Review http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIwvek4tDf8

     

    image

  • BenthonBenthon Member Posts: 2,069

    Rosewill Thor V2

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147053

    Also has a white edition:

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147158&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-pla-_-NA-_-NA

     

    Here's some reviews on it:

    http://www.anandtech.com/show/4648/rosewill-thor-v2-the-god-of-cooling-and-silence

    http://www.maximumpc.com/article/reviews/rosewill_thor_review

    http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fulmo-gt-thor-v2-vh6000bws,3072.html

     

    He who keeps his cool best wins.

  • CleffyCleffy Member RarePosts: 6,413

    I agree on the Rosewill's.  They are making some absolutely incredible cases.  Already purchased 2 about a year ago and my view on them as a case maker has only gotten better.  However, I would not use any PSU they come with, those are garbage.

    Normally I would suggest Thermaltake, but you don't seem to like the flashy cases and thats pretty much all they do.

  • 77lolmac7777lolmac77 Member UncommonPosts: 492
    I have an Antec 900 (got a good deal on it) and its pretty good I guess. The only negative things I can think of is that the PSU mounts on the bottom, the fan speed controls are inside the case, and its pretty large. But it is defintely a good case for keeping things cool and I dont mind the LEDs. The panel isnt very sturdy though I leaned on it one time and it has a crack on it now (not like im overweight either) so I wojldnt say DONT get it, but shop around a bit. A case is one part you can reuse for multiple builds so you want one that will last and be effective for what you're going for.
  • wilqwilq Member UncommonPosts: 144

    Im buing this one for the new rig, my raidmax smilodon is to small for it ;]

  • neorandomneorandom Member Posts: 1,681

    cant go wrong on submerging the guts in a fish tank of cooling gel!

  • rojoArcueidrojoArcueid Member EpicPosts: 10,722

    if i cant get the Acer Predator G7 Case for my rig, then i think i will go with

    Photobucket





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