Antec SX1030B or Fong Kai 320-black?

[Jumpem]

Both are priced about the same. I'll be tossing the power supply iin whichever I get, and replace it with an Enermax. I will also be using standard beige drives, as the new Pioneer/Plextor drives aren't available in black. The Antec has the black door that will cover them, but the Fong Kai just has the semi-transparent drop down cover. Anyways, what would you guys choose?

 

[Insomnium]

The AntecSX1030 would be my first choice. I'm in the same boat as you and I'm planning on buying the Antec. Lots of room, lots of fans, and sweet all around

 

[dadx2mj]

Another vote for the Antec. I have it's little brother the SX830 and I love it. It is very well made great cooling and I like the way it looks.

 

[ZeroBurn]

check this post here.

 

[oreoafk]

Antec

 

[dcdomain]

Antec for me, both are great cases... why are you throwing out the power supply? Perfectly good one...

 

[lhplam]

I got a SX830 - get one, you'll be glad.

 

[ZeroBurn]

just curious- have all you that are raving about antec ever tried the fong kai's ? i'd just be interested to see what the general consensus is

 

[Turin39789]

I have the fong kai black and it is awesome, trouble is i just got handed a clear acrylic case that comes from a site bare(www.designcomp.com) for like 163, and that is without power supply. This one has a 300 watt athlon approved psu and 5 adda 80 mm fans! I dont know which to use

 

[jor888]

I got my 1030b from onvia it looks so professional unlike those funky new cases for kids hehe.

 

[rondeemc]

Both are excellent cases and you can't go wrong. I like the 320 because it uses larger fans (the rear's included)and comes with the cpu shroud. Less fans mean less current draw (and less connections) and I try to minimize that. Looking at the Antec website I got these numbers:

120x120 is 108 CFM at 42dba (wattage around 4.0 from Sunon website)
80x80 is 35 cfm at 32.5 dba (wattage around 2.4 from Sunon website)

So if you have two fans upfront in the Antec you still don't have the airflow of a single 120 and it is louder. In fact to equal the airflow you would need three. The Antec does win in the back where a single 92 only exhausts 45 cfm at 34dba. But then you have the Fong Kai cpu shroud that should also be a factor.

Antec: four antec fans that gives you 140 cfm / 130 dba / 9.6 watts
Fong Kai: one 120 and one 92 gives you 153 cfm / 76 dba / 7.0 watts

So you can put less strain on your power supply and move more air with the Fong Kai. Of course there are lots of fans out there with different attributes. I just used Antecs for comparison.

Down side is it's bay configuration. It works for me but the Antec's wins there. Both have great powersupplys which are more stable then most "300's" out there.

If you go with the Fong Kia buy it from Directron.com and use the $10 discount if you order on a weekend. You must be $100 or more so pick up a tube of Artic Silver for $3 or something to get you there.

good luck, Ron