Full or Mid? Help with case choice

[Dashel]

I'm being indecisive on a case for my next build. I currently have an Antec 900, like it. No issues, but a tiny bit cramped when I was building... some cables were a little tight around the GPU etc.

So now I'm deciding between another 900, the new 900, the new 1200 or the HAF Full sized. My build will be a sandy bridge Z68 Asus Pro board, i 2500k, 570 GTX (probably), SSD, 1 HDD and the rest.

Any advice on which way to go?


COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced RC-932-KKN5-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Compucase Case with USB 3.0 and Black Interior
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119160
154.00

Antec Nine Hundred Two V3 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Gaming Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129097
99.99 after instant rebate

Antec Twelve Hundred V3 Black Steel ATX Full Tower Unbeatable Gaming Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129100
159.99

The original 900 is 99.99.

 

[Topweasel]

I am a big fan of the HAF series so I would say the 932.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I am a big fan of the HAF series so I would say the 932.

. . . As am I . . . .

Another friend spends gobs on cases. Together, we did indeed get some bargains on the Coolermaster Stacker-midtower -- all aluminum. But despite what is known and said about the lower thermal resistance of aluminum, its weight and other things -- an efficient cooling system (air OR water) will remove enough heat from components that the expense of aluminum won't matter compared to steel cases.

I modded this old ProLiant Server case for an early Kentsfield quad-core I built. It . . . is . . . huge . . . It would be great for a water-cooling system. It IS great for lots of hard-disks, like my 4-drive RAID5. It's taller than a full-tower; wider than most anything.

But things have changed. you don't NEED a 4-drive array. You may not want water-cooling, but even so -- it should fit in a mid-tower.

I tried a HAF-922 for a WHS server I built. Very pleased. Especially -- the 200-something-millimeter fans. You get two of 'em. The case ships with one of them on the case-top. I stuck a piece of black foam-art-board cut to size to block the holes on top -- securing it with some black wire-ties through slots in the foam-board -- after removing that fan and installing it in the case-side-panel.

Some would whine that the front-bezel and other exterior parts of the HAF are "plastic," but it's a solid case. Just installed an extra StarTech SATA hot-swap tray in that sucker -- no screws, no fuss.

So I bought another one for my i7-2600K system -- in the works . . . . I think there was recently a "Spesh-ul Dee-ul" at the Egg recently, and you could order the HAF 922 for maybe $90+tax and free shipping.

Now . . . if you want the 932 full-tower, it's got the same features, but bigger. And . . . that's a choice. I might have chosen the full-tower for the WHS build, but . . . . I don't think I need it. What I need is SPACE!!