Looking for a new case with good cooling, silverstone ft02 or ?

[xvizx]

Hello everyone, I would like some help finding a case with better cooling than my current case (Lian Li PC-7FNW). My budget is $200 and I want to buy from amazon. Looking for something with good gpu cooling, low noise, removable dust filters, and preferably less than 21" in height. The system going in consists of atx motherboard (msi p55-gd65), noctua nh-u12p (158mm h), corsair hx750 psu, and hd7950 (msi twin frozr). I will probably add another 7950 sometime next year when I upgrade my cpu.

Some of the cases that I'm considering are:

Silverstone FT02 (~$240): I like the looks and it seems to meet all my requirements except for my budget, but I've read conflicting reports on poor cooling performance with the msi twin frozr cooler which makes me wary of buying this.

Corsair 650d (~$160): I like the looks and features but according to the anadtech review it has mediocre cooling performance. Unsure if it will be good enough for my needs.

Fractal Design Define xl (~$150): I like the look and it seems to be low noise case, but not sure on cooling performance and I will need to rearrange desk/office since it is over 21" tall. Also it is currently oos.

Cooler Master haf x/xm (~$180x/$130xm): X Good cooling, features, and lots of expandability. I do not like the looks, noise can be a concern, and it is over 21".

Antec 1100 (~$99): Good cooling, but after buying additional fans and usb 2.0 to 3.0 adapter price gets up there with the higher end cases.

Since this is an unexpected purchase, spending a $100 really hurts the wallet, but since I need it, I might as well buy a case that will not need to be upgraded for a while. So any advice, opinions, or other suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[supremor]

You're going to have to compromise in either noise or cooling since most cases will only excel at either one or the other.

I know many people love the FT02 and it's a great air cooling case. I'm not sure if there's any issues with using open air cooler GPU's like the TFII but I don't see why there should be a problem. The Define XL should have good cooling and fairly low noise while the HAF-X would have great cooling but probably mediocre acoustics. If you're going to CF down the road I'd lean more towards the X if you can stand the size and looks of it (I'm getting it for my new build). If you think you're gonna stick to a single card the Define XL would be a good choice too and it's quite cheap at that.

 

[Smoblikat]

Rosewill blackhawk ultra?

 

[xvizx]

Thanks guys for the replies.

@supremor, I had settled on the ft02 until I read that some (not all) with custom coolers like the msi twin frozr had poor cooling performance. On Silverstones website in their faqs they explain why certain non blower type coolers perform poorly in the ft02. So now I'm stuck trying to decide on which case because they all have their +'s and -'s.

@Smoblikat, that looks like a pretty large case, but it seem to be a very good case. Now I need to search for reviews on it, thanks for the suggestion.

 

[dma0991]

You have to tradeoff silence for cooling performance, you can't have both. Get the CM HAF XM or CM 690 II Advanced.

 

[Arcanedeath]

How about the Antec P280? that should fit the bill

 

[Delusive]

CM haf XM great cooling, pulls all the dust it can into the case, not crazy about the looks.
I use to have one.
If I had a newer home there may not be as much dust but with a grandson running in an out and dog running in and out not sure if it would help.

 

[xvizx]

Thanks for all the help guys, I ended up getting a ft02.