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Case War! Argh! Can't Decide!

B

bozzz

Junior Member
Hey everyone, I'm having a hell of time deciding between the Antec 1200 and the CM 932. I will not be using water cooling (yet). I will not be accessing my drive very often. I'm not looking for alternate case suggestions (unless you really think I should consider something else).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-043-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-213-_-Product

I love the dust filters on the Antec, but I really like the tool-less design of the CM. They both seem really good. Does anyone have experience with either? Things you don't necessarily like about one or the other?

Thanks!
Dave
 
ATCS for 169.99. Aluminum, Removeable MoBo with tons of room for cable management behind the MoBo tray. Can fit a 3x120 with push-pull and 2x120 without cutting, with tons of room to spare for the rest of the WC gear. Dust filters for all intakes. 3x240mm fans in its default config for monster airflow without the noise. And it looks classy, unlike the others in this thread.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119187
 
Dust filters are over-rated and greatly affect the cooling even when clean. I have a Antec P-182 Stainless and removed both dust filters and even the doors that they were under. Just doing that dropped the temps on my SLI GTX 470s by about 5 degrees C. And really if you have a video card that pulls alot of air flow (which 2 GTX470s do, even 1 GTX285 did) it finds ways to suck dust in where the filters are not (ie around the drives).

Maybe without the filters i will need to blow out my case more often, and technically you could get enough dust on the cards to raise the temps, but having the filter on alone raises the temps.
 
If you ever plan on going with water cooling, I would advise against the 1200. I have one, and in order to fit what I have in it, I had to mod this shit out of it.
 
Did a test and interesting results, dust covers may not in themselves increase temps, but here is what I found with my case. Just for furthur info incase you are not familair with the case, it has a closing front cover, flip doors over the fan areas and then the filters clip under those doors.

Door open, no filter, no flip door - Temp 49-50 idle.
Door open, filter, no flip door - Temp 50 idle (did not change in 8mins)
Door open, filter, flip door - Temp 52 idle (increased over 6 mins)
Door open, filter, no flip door - Temp 50 idle (decreased over 9mins)
Door closed, filter, no flip door - Temp 52 idle (increased over 5mins)

So the filter did not seem to increase the temps, the little flip door over the filter did and so did closing the big door (which is why they advertise on the P183 increase airflow around the door). I would suggest for cooling avoiding a case with too many doors on it. I keep my upper flip door off (but leave the lower flip door on or it "steals" air from the upper bay) and use small magnet on top of the magnet already there to keep the door slightly open (works well, no increase in volume, but feeds the air into the case).

Edit: Interesting, I put the filter on at 52 and over 5mins it went to 53. Took it off and it dropped down to 50 in 2mins. Then I put it back on and the temps stayed at 50 again. So it seems the filter can increase temps under certain conditions.
 
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HAF932 could fit 2x240 and 1x320 rad if you mounted two on the door and one inside the case in the top, antec case would require modding to easily mount one, and the drive bay orientation in the 1200 provides much worse cable management than the HAF932, in addition to getting in the way of long graphics cards, a problem the 932 simply doesnt have. the 932 also comes with better cable management out of the box, where as the 1200 requires significant moding to get to the same level. as has been mentioned, the ATCS840 builds on this, and adds additional features which are also really nice. im not sure on radiator support, i know it can fit a 360 rad in the top, possibly a 480?, and there is space for a 240 rad by the hard drive cage. you could also get the side panel replaced and add enough space for a couple more 360 radiators at least, if you get a custom panel
 
If you're willing to look at it, the ATSC840 would probably be a better choice, as others have said. Plus it really does look a lot better than the cases you listed. I've never understood why so many case manufacturers feel the need to make all their cases look ridiculous...
 
Should definitely consider the ATCS 840 if you're in that price range for the reasons the people above have already mentioned.
 
I have the haf 932, I think it does have an advantage over atcs 840 in that the side panel can be out fitted with 4x120mm which is very useful if you have multiple g-cards. however, from looks to the premium aluminum construction, at 160ish, 840 is a very good case.
 
I've used both the Antec 1200 and the HAF 932 in builds. I like them both. I feel that for cooling performance the HAF 932 will outperform the Antec 1200 if you replace the 230mm fans that come with it with 120s.

There are several reasons for this, but the lack of dust filters is actually to your advantage on air flow (although it requires more frequent cleaning). Additionally, the back cover design for the HAF932 allows pretty extreme cable management to be done with relative ease, getting all obstructions out of the way.

The Antec 1200, I feel, is is more solidly built in construction than the HAF 932, and it's also painted black inside as well as outside, which is nice. Additionally, with the Antec 1200, most components are vibration dampened or isolated, which makes it an extremely quiet case.


Both are good picks. If you're doing water though, you want a Mountain Mods case.
 
 
if you want something very cool check this out :
LIAN LI PC-T1B Black Aluminum Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case

The Black Spider :]
 
Thanks everyone for the great info. Haven't decided yet but I've definitely got a lot more data to work with.

Thanks again!
Dave
 
I own a Antec 1200 and I can tell you it is the quietest case I ever owned. Also, all the fans have speed adjustments (knobs easy to reach). I have them all on low and my cores are chilling at a nice 27C.

The only complaint I have is with those dust filters. Sure they provide you with a cleaner case, but its a hassle taking them out. You have to unscew the case (both sides), and unscrew and remove the drive bays to get those air filters out and washed. Thats especially a problem for me, since my case is stored inside the desk, thus I have to completely unplug and remove it, plus its heavy. So cleaning does become a hassle.

Other than that, its a solid, well built case.
 
CM sells an all black version of the 932 now as well, so if you want all black just make sure you get the right model, newegg has them.
 
bozzz said:
Thanks everyone for the great info. Haven't decided yet but I've definitely got a lot more data to work with.

Thanks again!
Dave
Click to expand...

How many loops? What is your definition of watercooling?
Rule of thumb.... bigger the better.. and even then u will still run out of room.

Henry Chinaski said:
Take a loOk at these ones:

SILVERSTONE TEMJIN TJ07

CORSAIR OBSIDIAN 700D +800D
Click to expand...

Those 2 are excellent for water.. however back to question 1. What is it that your watering?

Qmicra makes an awesome SFF case designed for water.
Theres also Mountain mods.. and they dont take 6 months unless you custom order each piece.

mafia said:
I own a Antec 1200 and I can tell you it is the quietest case I ever owned.
Click to expand...

I can tell you its not the quietest case you can possibly have.
Its an air case.. means it has open spots all over for air to circulate.
Also uses a lot of Fans...

The OP however said he was gonna water... that means he doesnt need all those open ports, and can quiet the case down even more then an Antec 1200 could in a Corsair case for example.


I really need to know what your watering.. and how you intend to water.
H5O is not considered true water unless you mod the hell out of it.
And if you do mod the hell out of it.. you were better off going custom from the start.
 
yea if i wanted something in the form factor of the H50 i would get a single 120 swiftech QP rad, DDC 3.x (depending on expansion later pick the right version) + XSPC res top, an enzotech sapphire for the block, bitspower 1/2" barbs (AKA DD Fat Boy) for everything, and enough 7/16th ID tubing to run a couple loops with since you WILL want to redo it at some point, and its FUCKING HARD to pull that tubing off once you get it on 1/2" barb fittings :awe:

$40 shipped for the block http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835708019
$30 radiator http://www.petrastechshop.com/swmcqposerab2.html
top + pump $40 + $55-80 depending where you get it and which version you pick.
$2.50 x 6 for the fittings http://www.petrastechshop.com/dadepofbofig.html
$0.59 per foot tubing http://www.petrastechshop.com/7id5odmagepu.html


alternatively you can go with a D5 instead, but you would also need to pick a different res, unless you want to just use a t-line, but it takes a lot longer to bleed out and it's harder to fill and drain, but is also about $25 cheaper after the cost of a T adapter and fillport to plug the hole at the top with
 
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