Enermax Chakra vs. Antec Nine Hundred

[ohfreak]

Building a system based around an E4300 and will be OCing it a bit so I've been looking at these two cases. PSU is going to be the Corsair VX450.

Question 1: Which do you prefer in terms of build quality? The Antec case is anywhere from $30-$50 more expensive, so I'm going to assume it's sturdier. Which one would you prefer to work inside/with?

Question 2: Ability to use a tower cooler (i.e. - AC Freezer 7 Pro) - would either of these (especially the Shakra w/its 250mm side fan) have any issues using a tall cooler?

Any other cases you think I should be considering, lemme know. Thanks!

 

[Ika]

If the Chakra has the same internal dimensions as the Phoenix (which I would assume it does), you're going to have some problems fitting a heatsink higher than... oh, about 145mm. A downwards-facing cooler like the Big Typhoon will work fine, but not one of the taller tower coolers (i.e. most of the 120mms).

In any case, the 250mm fan is only 1" thick, so it doesn't take up as much room as you might imagine.

 

[Skott]

The Chakra will take up to about a Zalman 9700hsf. Someone already tried a Scythe Infinity and it didnt fit so I'm sure the Tuniq 120 wont fit neither. I'm guessing the Chakra is a little more quiet running than the 900. Mine is extremely quiet. The 900 probably cools a little better since it has the 200mm fan ontop but I havent seen any actual case temp comparisons. The 900 might be able to hold a bigger hsf than the Chakra. You'd need to check into that. I can tell you the Zalman 9700 is the Chakra's size limit.

 

[Laminator]

I'd also check out the Gigabyte Aurora. It's huge and only $110 or so on NewEgg.

 

[Noubourne]

AFAIK, the 900 fits all heatsinks on the entire market.

I have an Ultra 120 in it.