Destroyer vs TT V3 Black vs CM330Elite

[GoStumpy]

Have to pick between these 3 cases due to budget reasons.. They are the only ones in this price range that are $9.99 shipping instead of $20+, as well as I think they are comparable build qualities... Which one would you guys pick and why?

Cooler Master Elite 330
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16811119243

Thermaltake V3 Black Edition
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16811133094

Rosewill Destroyer
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...&Tpk=destroyer

Destroyer has 3 fans, which is nice but really unnecessary... LED fan in front looks good.

Coolermaster has a nice silver accent on the front, I do like the looks of that.

Rosewill is $5 more than the others, but apparently was reduced from $69.99 to $49.99... So it may be overall a better case?

Will be ordering tomorrow or Friday

 

[Subyman]

I would go with the Rosewill as my first choice and the Thermaltake as my second. The Coolermaster's front bezel looks cheap and it doesn't flow well with the rest of the case. I like the USB placement and the front tray of the Rosewill more than the Thermaltake. The Rosewill bumps the top fans up, so there is more room inside of the case. Having 3 fans included saves you about 15 dollars and it will have a decent effect on cooling. Note that the Rosewill also has a vented bottom with, what looks like a filter. This is good for cooling the PSU. I can't tell if the others have that.

None have cable management slots, but these are pretty budget.

EDIT: It seems the Coolermaster does have a vented bottom. It also has quick connects for the 5.25" drives, which could save time, however the Rosewill has rubber mounts, which IMO are better in the long run.

 

[Slugbait]

I read thru the reviews...other than the fact that all three use very flimsy metal, they're not really comparable build quality. And don't be fooled by the pictures: they won't look nearly as nice in person.

Definitely avoid the Rosewill. The fans are utter garbage, you will never fit a performance aftermarket HSF, you will need to hack the power LED lead to get your power button to light up, expansion slots may not line up, has glued on rubber feet that just fall off, after your build is complete you have to remove the front panel to access the HDD cage...god, it just goes on and on. There are some 5-egg reviews that mention cons that would convince most sane people to properly select 3-eggs.

The Thermaltake has fewer cons than the Rosewill, but some are just as bad, such as stamped backplate instead of mobo stand-offs...and sometimes they aren't lined up correctly.

The Cooler Master has just one glowing con in it's previous version: the power button. It may not break for two years, it might break after two weeks...who knows. But it's not a matter of "if", it's a matter of "when". This design flaw in the older 330 is also highly visible at Cooler Master's forums, but if you use the correct email address, they'll send out a replacement...some day. If this issue was fixed in the 330U, that makes this case a good choice. But I could find no evidence that this flaw was resolved in the Upgraded version.

So if I could only afford a really crappy case for my build, I'd go with the Cooler Master...except that I would carve another $4 into my case budget at go with the 430 instead of the 330U: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16811119227

And if I could scrape together just another measily $15 beyond that, I would save myself tons of grief and go with a HAF 912: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16811119233

When it comes to cases, sometimes you get exactly what you paid for...and then other times, you don't get what you paid for.

 

[GoStumpy]

Thanks for your opinions and research!

The only cases I have personal experience with are the Coolermaster 430 Elite,the Antec 300, and Lian-Li PC-Q07B...

I am really trying to give this guy the best possible components for his budget ($1000).

I was thinking about the Silverstone PS-05B case for $51.99, but it adds another $15 or so to shipping.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16811163168

I would like to build with a new case (new to me) instead of the Coolermaster 430, even though it was quite a nice case. It's my fallback decision I suppose!

 

[GoStumpy]

Well look at that, just happened to browse over to NCIX.ca, and I see the HAF912 on for $59.99 with a $10 MIR.. Shipping is $20 though :thumbsdown: That ruins any savings

 

[Slugbait]

If you had said his budget was $500, I would have totally understood why you are selecting between three pieces of junk.

About 7 years ago I put together an X6800 performance machine, but went cheap with an Apevia X-Infinity...it had over 500 reviews at the 'egg, mostly positive. It was the only mistake I made, and after two years I junked it for an Armor. God, I hated that case...

 

[Subyman]

Ouch, if you have a 1000 dollar budget, then I would get a better case. I'd hate to try to pack a 2500k, 560TI, etc into a tiny, crappy case.

I'll second Slugbait on trying to string together around 20 dollars more for a slightly less bad design.

Personally, I wouldn't touch a case that doesn't have cable routing holes. You said you have experience with the Antec 300, why not give it a go (no cable routing though I believe)? I've seen them on sale for 45-65 recently. Best Buy had them for 45 a few weeks ago.

Here is a short list of decent budget cases to look into:
Lian Li k58
Antec 300
HAF 912
BitFenix Shinobi
NZXT Source 210 Elite

Be sure to double check the measurements to make sure your graphics card choice will fit. A lot of budget cases do not accommodate a 10.5" graphics card. I think you should seriously consider spending around $100 on the case though. Putting a 1000 dollar rig in a 50 dollar case is kind of strange.

 

[GoStumpy]

Sort of a typo, $1000 budget taxes and shipping included (12% tax here) so really it's a $900 shipping included budget.. or ~$850 budget.

I've got a 120GB SSD in there, 1.5TB HDD, Windows 7 OEM, Gigabyte Mobo, i3-2100 CPU, HD6790 video card, 8GB Ram... Things add up quickly!

 

[GoStumpy]

Decided to go with a Fractal Design Core 1000 case

Thought about it a lot and you're right, pick a good brand that you can trust.. Their low end cases at least won't be crap, they'll just be low end!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811352009

 

[Subyman]

Decided to go with a Fractal Design Core 1000 case

Thought about it a lot and you're right, pick a good brand that you can trust.. Their low end cases at least won't be crap, they'll just be low end!

FWIW, that's a microATX case. Hopefully you purchased a compatible motherboard. I only say this because my suggestions were based on the assumption of an ATX motherboard being used.

 

[GoStumpy]

Ahhh, I see. Sorry about that!

I've always got mATX motherboards, I suppose due to the price point I'm buying at... Same with Cases, I'm buying for price & looks & quality, size rarely matters for me, except smaller is usually better!

Motherboard being used:

GIGABYTE GA-H61M-S2H LGA 1155 Intel H61 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813128524



But barring mobo size, the Fractal will be a great case, possibly better quality than all 3 I listed originally?

 

[Zap]

Not necessarily. It is, after all, designed to slot into the under-$50 price point.