alexruiz
Platinum Member
Hi everyone. I just upgraded my main rig, jumping finally to quad core land (AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE, Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4P, OCZ platinum DDR-1066 2 x 2GB and the addition of a Samsung Spinpoint F2 HD502HJ 500GB)
I already had the rest of the components in the previous rig (OCZ stealthXtreme 600W PSU, Powercolor Radeon HD4830, Hitachi Desktar 7K1000.B 1000GB, and 4 optical drives) Previous rig was an Athlon 64 X2 5000 BE+ in a GA-MA78GM-S2H with 2 GB DDR2-800
The case I have currently, circa 2005 is a supertalent (AMS) CF2029.
The old case is gorgeous, very nice looking, front ports are conveniently located and spacious enough. However, like the metal cases from its time, ventilation is poor, and the case is very heavy, built like a tank. I am getting ripped just by moving my computer! 😉
All the stuff fits very cramped, and specially, the ventiliation being poor, the system is always hot. It is stable, but obviously not the ideal environment. I have decided to replace the case, and these are the main deciding factors, listed in decreasing order of importance
1) Mid tower ATX. This one goes inside a desk space for a computer, so a full atx tower won't fit.
2) Must have great ventilation, spacious inside and ready for several fans
3) Bottom mounted PSU.
4) I want to keep cost around $70 dollars
5) 4 external 5.25 bays. I want to keep all my DVD burners
6) Firewire "front" port. eSATA acceptable. Firewire prefrered as I still capture video from miniDV, and my eSATA port in the back have long cable to reach the desk.
7) HD cage rotated with HD connectors facing to the sides.
8) "Front" ports preferably by the front
9) Not too heavy
After doing some research, my top picks are as follows (also in order of preference):
1) Tagan CS-A+ Seenium
2) NZXT Beta Evo
3) CoolerMaster Centurion 590
I have also considered the Rosewill Wind Knight. I am even open to the coolermaster CM690, the antec 300 or the coolermaster gladiator 600. While I love the centurion 534 look, the top mounted PSU will be hard to swallow, so it is out.
The Tagan is my top pick because it has all I want. Reviews at the egg even complain that the steel is 0.6 mm, so that is also a plus as it won't be too heavy. The bezel is classy, and I like the concealed front ports. It already includes 2 fans. As downside it has no fan filters, and the buttons location will obstruct some intake air. At $59 with free shipping, hard to miss. Somebody here at AT mentioned this is a CM 690 with the centurion 590 feet and the 534 front.
The NZXT has also almost everything also. Looks also nice. As advantages it even has opening for water cooling pipes and a filter for the PSU fan. As downside it has no 3.5 external opening, includes only one fan and the front ports are in the top, but so close to the front that I can live with them. No firewire but has eSATa as consolation prize.
The coolermaster centurion 590 needs no introduction. As downside the hard drive faces forward, has no reset button and no filter for the PSU fan.
The others are just wildcards. The rosewill has fan filters, includes 2 fans, but the ports location is awful and has neither firewire nor eSATA. However, it has a combo right now with a free PSU that makes it more attractive. The Antec 300 has only 3 openings for 5.25 drives, and while it has the 140 mm top fan, it doesn't have eSATA or firewire either. The HDs cage is also facing forward, so unles omeone points me to something amazing about this case, it is pretty much out. The gladiator seems to have no real flaws, and I just discovered it, so I need to take further looks at this one.
What do you think?
Alex
I already had the rest of the components in the previous rig (OCZ stealthXtreme 600W PSU, Powercolor Radeon HD4830, Hitachi Desktar 7K1000.B 1000GB, and 4 optical drives) Previous rig was an Athlon 64 X2 5000 BE+ in a GA-MA78GM-S2H with 2 GB DDR2-800
The case I have currently, circa 2005 is a supertalent (AMS) CF2029.
The old case is gorgeous, very nice looking, front ports are conveniently located and spacious enough. However, like the metal cases from its time, ventilation is poor, and the case is very heavy, built like a tank. I am getting ripped just by moving my computer! 😉
All the stuff fits very cramped, and specially, the ventiliation being poor, the system is always hot. It is stable, but obviously not the ideal environment. I have decided to replace the case, and these are the main deciding factors, listed in decreasing order of importance
1) Mid tower ATX. This one goes inside a desk space for a computer, so a full atx tower won't fit.
2) Must have great ventilation, spacious inside and ready for several fans
3) Bottom mounted PSU.
4) I want to keep cost around $70 dollars
5) 4 external 5.25 bays. I want to keep all my DVD burners
6) Firewire "front" port. eSATA acceptable. Firewire prefrered as I still capture video from miniDV, and my eSATA port in the back have long cable to reach the desk.
7) HD cage rotated with HD connectors facing to the sides.
8) "Front" ports preferably by the front
9) Not too heavy
After doing some research, my top picks are as follows (also in order of preference):
1) Tagan CS-A+ Seenium
2) NZXT Beta Evo
3) CoolerMaster Centurion 590
I have also considered the Rosewill Wind Knight. I am even open to the coolermaster CM690, the antec 300 or the coolermaster gladiator 600. While I love the centurion 534 look, the top mounted PSU will be hard to swallow, so it is out.
The Tagan is my top pick because it has all I want. Reviews at the egg even complain that the steel is 0.6 mm, so that is also a plus as it won't be too heavy. The bezel is classy, and I like the concealed front ports. It already includes 2 fans. As downside it has no fan filters, and the buttons location will obstruct some intake air. At $59 with free shipping, hard to miss. Somebody here at AT mentioned this is a CM 690 with the centurion 590 feet and the 534 front.
The NZXT has also almost everything also. Looks also nice. As advantages it even has opening for water cooling pipes and a filter for the PSU fan. As downside it has no 3.5 external opening, includes only one fan and the front ports are in the top, but so close to the front that I can live with them. No firewire but has eSATa as consolation prize.
The coolermaster centurion 590 needs no introduction. As downside the hard drive faces forward, has no reset button and no filter for the PSU fan.
The others are just wildcards. The rosewill has fan filters, includes 2 fans, but the ports location is awful and has neither firewire nor eSATA. However, it has a combo right now with a free PSU that makes it more attractive. The Antec 300 has only 3 openings for 5.25 drives, and while it has the 140 mm top fan, it doesn't have eSATA or firewire either. The HDs cage is also facing forward, so unles omeone points me to something amazing about this case, it is pretty much out. The gladiator seems to have no real flaws, and I just discovered it, so I need to take further looks at this one.
What do you think?
Alex
