Help me choose a full tower case1

[Goi]

Hi,
I'm building a new rig and while I have a few choices in mind, I can't make a decision. The case doesn't need to aluminum, but all the good full towers seem to be aluminum.

I won't be water cooling, but I just love quality full towers that look great.

A few criteria that are desirable
1) Full tower
2) Clean, sleek look(no bling!)
3) Lotsa space to work with
4) Good cooling
5) Supports many 3.5" HDD (I will probably have at least 5)
6) Good cable management options
7) Not noisy(probably means 120mm fans, and drive grommets, sound insulation material, etc)
8) Good front panel I/O options(2-4 USB ports, Firewire, eSATA support desirable)


My choices are:
1) Coolermaster Cosmos S - looks good, one of the cheapest, but up to 6 drives only, unknown cooling potential
2) Lian Li PC-A70B - looks good, reasonable price, good cooling according to reviews, but up to 6 drives only, and is getting old(eg no eSATA port)
3) Lian Li PC-A77B - Brand new, up to 9 internal HDD slots, but one of the most expensive and I don't like the front bezel as much.
4) Lian Li PC-A7010B - Brand new, up to 10 internal HDD slots(90deg rotated), looks great, but one of the most expensive.
5) Silverstone TJ-07 - Looks great, internal organization is compartmentalized, but old, up to 6 drives only and one of the most expensive
6) Silverstone TJ-09 - Looks great, cool looking internal, reasonable price, but getting old, and up to 6 drives only
7) Silverstone TJ-10 - Looks great, cool looking internal, but expensive, no eSATA, and up to 6 drives only

Prices range from US$260 to US$360 where I am(not in USA).

Any opinions on my choices? TIA.

 

[Tullphan]

Don't forget the Coolermaster Stacker.
I realize it's not on your list, but perhaps you should check it out.
It'll probably cool probably better than the choices you have listed.

 

[Goi]

I thought about that, but I don't like the way it looks. Too bling for my liking.

 

[RallyMaster]

Originally posted by: Goi
I thought about that, but I don't like the way it looks. Too bling for my liking.

I think Tullphan might be recommending the original STC-01 stacker.

 

[Goi]

I went through all the stackers, didn't find one that caught my eye. Thanks for suggesting it though, but can we stick to my list?

 

[hsfnewbie]

You have the TJ07 listed twice?

Anyhow, I am looking into purchasing the TJ09. I love the sleek appearance of it. The Cosmos is cool too but that thing si pretty heavy. If you are sure you wont be caryring your computer anywhere, then Cosmos might be better. They have rails in there that make installing drives very easy.

 

[Goi]

oops, thanks for picking that up. Meant to be a TJ-10. The wonders of cut and paste...

 

[Goi]

OK I just found something else from Lian Li that caught my eye - the PC-A7010B. It costs about the same as the A77B but looks better to me, with better looking internals, 10 internal drive bays that are 90deg rotated. Damn, I think we might have a winner.

 

[aigomorla]

by far the sexiest lian li ever:

http://www.xoxide.com/lian-li-pc-343b-case.html

Otherwise i still <3 the classic look of a TJ-07 :T

 

[modoheo]

You don't like the Coolermaster Cosmos RC1000? I have it in transit and I'm pretty excited to put together my new build. It's big and quiet with great looking internals and great airflow (with aftermarket fans).

 

[Jumpem]

Antec Twelve Hundred.

 

[Goi]

I was originally quite impressed with the original Cosmos, but reviews have revealed that it has very lackluster HDD cooling.

 

[modoheo]

The Cosmos 1000 actually now ships with a bracket to install an extra 120mm fan in the HD area which solves the HD cooling issue - but I think it also takes up the space for two of the HD's, bringing max total down to 4 I believe.

Not an issue for me, but might be for the OP.

 

[Goi]

I am the OP, and 4 HDD slots is an issue for me. I need at least 5-6. A pity because I really liked the original Cosmos 1000. But I guess the Lian Li PC-A7010B looks as good and performs better

 

[Jumpem]

Originally posted by: Goi
I am the OP, and 4 HDD slots is an issue for me. I need at least 5-6. A pity because I really liked the original Cosmos 1000. But I guess the Lian Li PC-A7010B looks as good and performs better

You can fit 9-12 in the case I mentioned.

 

[modoheo]

Originally posted by: Goi
I am the OP, and 4 HDD slots is an issue for me. I need at least 5-6. A pity because I really liked the original Cosmos 1000. But I guess the Lian Li PC-A7010B looks as good and performs better

Turns out I was wrong. Received my Cosmos 1000 today and just finished inspecting it while waiting for the rest of my hardware to show up (tomorrow).

Either they changed the design slightly or the reviews we read on newegg were wrong. There is a bracket that allows you to install a 120mm fan above the hard drive cages (all six of them). This solves the cooling problem and doesn't block any of the HD cages. It does block the bottom two 5.25 inch ext slots, but there's three more above available. The bottom slot (which will be blocked) has the adapter for a 3.5 inch ext drive (floppy/card reader) preinstalled so you do have to remove that to install the HD fan (four small screws - you need a precision phillips screwdriver). This means if you want to install an ext floppy/card reader, you'll need to buy one that comes with an adapter/faceplate for a 5.25'' slot and use one of the three top unblocked ones.

Hope that makes sense. I couldn't be happier with what I've examined of the case so far - unbelievably nice in fact. Gigantic. Oozes quality and looks ridiculously easy to work with. I may post pix once the build is done.

 

[Goi]

Thanks Jumpem. The 1200 looks a little bit too bling for my liking, but I'll consider it as well since it's quite a bit cheaper than the other choices. Will have to dig up some reviews on it. With all those fans it doesn't look that quiet?

modoheo, that's good news, but I'll have to check if those modifications made it to where I am. I have a feeling we still have the original version over here...

 

[mmnno]

I could have sworn the A70B allowed up to 10 HDs? It just had one 3-drive removable tray in whichever PSU slot you weren't using, which meant only 7 HDs if you use 2 PSUs.

 

[Ozzy55]

Yes, I have a a70B and you are correct.

 

[Goi]

Oh ok...I saw on the Lian Li website that it only supported 6 drives...maybe they assumed 2 PSUs were installed, I dunno.

Anyway, the A7010 is leading in my short list now.

 

[SolMiester]

OP, the silverstone have an add-in HDD cage that fit in the 5 1/4 bays, it takes up 3 bay and gives 4 extra hard drive spaces....
CFP51

I believe it fits the TJ07, 09 & 10, I'd use it it my TJ06, but I already have a 4 bay SCSI cage setup between the optical drives. This would give you 10 HDD spaces...

 

[killster1]

i have a few thermaltake armor towers a cosmos and going to buy a antec 1200 when i can find one in stock for less than 200$ shipped the cosmos looks goofy to me but is nice and huge

 

[five4o]

Got my 1200 at MicroCenter for $179.
My best case yet, even though it's steel it's very light.

The leds don't bother me as much as i thought they would (they kinda grew on me)

 

[Goi]

OK, I just ordered the Lian Li 7010B. Couldn't resist how got it looks

 

[Goi]

OK, I bit the bullet and got the Lian Li PC-A7010B. A very nicely made case, but not without its shortcomings. Had a bit of a problem fitting my mobo with the Tuniq Tower installed, even with the removable mobo tray. Also the 8 pin mobo power connector was hard to route.

Some pics...
View of the innards. As you can see the Tuniq Tower is huge and almost hitting the base of the HDD cage above it. Some board acrobatics was required. Also the 8pin power connector is at the top left of the mobo, was a pain to reach from the bottom - http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/4148/pict2295ox5.jpg
Mobo compartment - http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/9983/pict2297rc1.jpg
HDD compartment. I love this, spiffy connections - http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/9166/pict2296vr8.jpg
Front - http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/742/pict2298up9.jpg