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Best case for sub-$70?

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pantsaregood

Senior member
Just need something that performs well airflow-wise. A simple looking case is preferred - I have no interest in something that looks like it is from another planet.

I've been considering the Antec 300. Front USB 3 isn't much of a concern.
 
Thermaltake V4 Black Edition is a great choice at only $40. I'd say it's better value for money compared to more expensive alternatives like the Antec 300.

Some of the key features:
-6x120mm fan mounts, 2 of which can take 140mm fans as well
-Bottom-mount PSU
-Small side window
-Pre-cut holes for water cooling
-Black interior (most budget cases have unpainted interiors).
-Tool-less 3.5" and 5.25" bays

I like that the PCIe slots are held in by scews, since most tool-less PCIe slots in this price range are quite flimsy. The build quality is quite good for a budget case. The styling is also quite conservative...it's definitely not "out there" by any means.
 
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Antec 300 Illusion is the best case u can buy at that pricepoint. Or the CM 690 II Basic if you have extra fans you can add in.
 
996GT2 said:
Thermaltake V4 Black Edition is a great choice at only $40. I'd say it's better value for money compared to more expensive alternatives like the Antec 300.

Some of the key features:
-6x120mm fan mounts, 2 of which can take 140mm fans as well
-Bottom-mount PSU
-Small side window
-Pre-cut holes for water cooling
-Black interior (most budget cases have unpainted interiors).
-Tool-less 3.5" and 5.25" bays

I like that the PCIe slots are held in by scews, since most tool-less PCIe slots in this price range are quite flimsy. The build quality is quite good for a budget case. The styling is also quite conservative...it's definitely not "out there" by any means.
Click to expand...

I bought a ThermalTake V4 Black Edition at Microcenter last time I was there, and it seemed like the cheapest non-crappy case that they had.

It's not a bad case, it's fairly nice, but the Antec 300 is much, much nicer. The Antec 300 is also more solidly built, has two intake fan slots, removable dust filter on the inside of the bezel, and the Antec comes with both the rear exhaust and the top exhaust fans. The V4 only comes with one LED rear exhaust fan, and on mine, it sometimes doesn't even spin up when I power the computer on. That should be an example of ThermalTake's less than stellar quality. The Antec fans appear to be tri-cool fans, but not lighted. (Antec 300 Illusion, I think that they are blue LED fans.)

Also, the middle post where you would normally put a standoff, on the V4 (and V3), there is a bolt coming up there instead. A non-removable bolt, and with no nut or anything included to screw down on it. I don't know why they went with that design, but I'm guessing, that allows you to lay the mobo down, and align it, and with the bolt sticking up, it allows you to screw in the other screws without worrying about keeping the mobo aligned.

Also, the V4 doesn't use standoffs, it has pre-formed and pre-drilled standoffs. That shows that it is a "cheap" case, as only the cheapest cases don't even bother to include proper brass standoffs. It does make assembly quicker, but I prefer the normal standoffs, of which the Antec 300 uses.

Oh, and it seems that ThermalTake includes only a few of the tool-less HD/CD mounts in the V4. You have to step up to the Dokker to get the full compliment of them.
 
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Responses in bold.

VirtualLarry said:
I bought a ThermalTake V4 Black Edition at Microcenter last time I was there, and it seemed like the cheapest non-crappy case that they had.

It's not a bad case, it's fairly nice, but the Antec 300 is much, much nicer. The Antec 300 is also more solidly built, has two intake fan slots, removable dust filter on the inside of the bezel, and the Antec comes with both the rear exhaust and the top exhaust fans. The V4 only comes with one LED rear exhaust fan, and on mine, it sometimes doesn't even spin up when I power the computer on. That should be an example of ThermalTake's less than stellar quality. The Antec fans appear to be tri-cool fans, but not lighted. (Antec 300 Illusion, I think that they are blue LED fans).

-My TT fan was fine (using it for side intake on my GTX 460). It's very quiet because it spins at <1000 RPM.

Also, the middle post where you would normally put a standoff, on the V4 (and V3), there is a bolt coming up there instead. A non-removable bolt, and with no nut or anything included to screw down on it. I don't know why they went with that design, but I'm guessing, that allows you to lay the mobo down, and align it, and with the bolt sticking up, it allows you to screw in the other screws without worrying about keeping the mobo aligned.

-It's there for exactly that reason. To help you align the motherboard during installation.

Also, the V4 doesn't use standoffs, it has pre-formed and pre-drilled standoffs. That shows that it is a "cheap" case, as only the cheapest cases don't even bother to include proper brass standoffs. It does make assembly quicker, but I prefer the normal standoffs, of which the Antec 300 uses.

-What's wrong with pre-drilled standoffs? They are no less sturdy than normal brass standoffs and make installation faster since you don't have to position the standoffs and screw them in.

Oh, and it seems that ThermalTake includes only a few of the tool-less HD/CD mounts in the V4. You have to step up to the Dokker to get the full compliment of them.

-Mine came with 2 tool-less mounts for the 5.25" bays and 4 for the 3.5" bays. Plenty IMO. The Antec 300 has no tool-less bays to speak of.
Click to expand...



Also keep in mind that the V4 black can be had for as little as $30 AR from Microcenter, which is about half the price of the Antec 300. The Thermaltake also has advantages in a few other areas, like having a fully painted interior as opposed to the Antec's bare metal interior. The V4 Black has a large hole behind the motherboard plate for mounting a heatsink backplate without removing the motherboard, which is very convenient. It also has a 2.5" mount for an SSD on the floor of the case. Only the newer revisions of the Antec 300 have these two features.

Here's a picture of my build with the V4 black:
v4black.jpg
 
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The cases that incorporate more modern designs like haf 912, Inwin BUC are all alternatives you can consider. I prefer BUC since it's pretty got all the best modern case design philosophies into one package but it's like 90AR so might be out of your range. However, that 20 extra will buy you hell of a lot of case!
 
NZXT Vulcan works well
157.jpg


145.jpg


141.jpg



most up to date, with the 6950 and a themo controlled rear 80mm fan(that basically never turns on)
cpubuilds029.jpg

its 15&#37; of newegg for the next 48 hours
 
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Zargon said:
NZXT Vulcan works well
157.jpg


145.jpg


141.jpg



most up to date, with the 6950 and a themo controlled rear 80mm fan(that basically never turns on)
cpubuilds029.jpg

its 15% of newegg for the next 48 hours
Click to expand...

This is a great cheap case! I've used a few on builds... A little time and the cable management isn't bad either...
 
Bought one of these just recently to put my secondary system in which an EVGA X58 triple SLI board w/I7 920... This is just a C0 cpu but have it at 3.8Ghz w/1.400V and am using a stock intel HS/fan yes a stock unit with this voltage and its doing quite well... Also have an XFX 6950HD 2gig card installed was kinda tight but fits and the case has good cable mgt. also has the PS mounted in the bottom... I`m going to add a Corsair H60 here soon just to keep it very cool but the air flow is great in this case and of course it can be adjusted which is a plus also... The finish is glossy and will finger print easy but just wipe it down and its a shiny gem as compared to my CM Sniper Storm which looks more like it has a "rat rod" paint job... All in all very pleased with it and its in your price range + shipping...

Note... It also has the slide outs for mounting the HD`s from the side and is a screwless design...:thumbsup:


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811322020
 
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