Need some opinions

[Est]

I'm looking to buy a new case and I'm trying to decide between two that I like. Both look good and got good reviews from various sites, and I don't really care about the price difference. I was just wondering if anybody has any of these two and if they like or dislike anything about them.

AMS gTower, or
Xoxide X300

Thanks

 

[cheapgoose]

personally, I think the ams looks a lot better than the other. plus, is that a 120mm fan in the rear? 7v or even 5v that sucker and it should be near silent. but yea, did i mention it looks better?

 

[Est]

Yeah, I like the look of the gTower better too, but the Xoxide is not bad to look at either. Also, I think they both have 120mm fans. They AMS in the rear and the Xoxide in the front.

Thanks for the input.

 

[HimeNoHogosha]

I don't have either of these cases, but just from looking at them I'd prefer the AMS gTower. It's all aluminum, which is reflected in the price, and appears to have better airflow throughout the case. On the Xoxide case, the inside shows that it can support two front intake fans, but there are no holes on the front panel to allow air to go in. The fresh air that would be drawn in would be very little, and the fans would just recycle all the air inside. At least that's what I think would happen. If you're going to buy the gTower, look at www.svc.com. They have pretty good prices on the gTower.

 

[Est]

Wow thanks. That's the lowest price I've seen on the AMS yet.

 

[OulOat]

I got the Xoxide X300 and my friend got the AMS gTower. I'll divide the comparisions up so it's easier to read.

Looks - Overall, the AMS looks better. The front bezel is cooler, and the side window allows for a larger, unobstructed view of the internal components. I'm not sure if the standard gTower comes with it, but my friend's has a top window too. The inside is pretty much the same for both. The X300 does have a cool power button though.

Cooling - The X300 wins hands down. The gTower gives the illusion that there are holes for the front fan, but you'll notice otherwise once you remove the front bezel. The front bezel is actually less than an inch away from the fan, and the air holes are too low for a direct flow of air to the front fan. You can even see it in the side view of the case on the website. With the X300, even though there is no front holes for air, there is at least an big opening in the bottom of the bezel for air. Also, the bezel leaves much more room for air to move in. Plus, an 12mm fan is much more useful as an intake rather than exhaust, for the following reason: postive pressure slows down dust buildup, and while the back fan usually have an unobstructed path allowing it to work at full capacity, the front has to fight for air thus lowering the cfms moved. The X300 also comes a side fan, not at the best location but still an extra fan. The side fan is pretty quiet for the amount of air it moves. In my case, I just have 3 case fans, 2 slow and silent NMBs (one intake and only one exhaust) and the stock side fan. My case is pretty quiet even when dirty and the case temps never go above 30 Cs.

Construction - They are pretty much made the same, except for the bar at top of the case, near the psu. That bar makes it hard to move the psu wires around and is pretty much useless. The chasis for both is pretty sturdy. The build quality for the AMS is somewhat less than the X300, since one of buttons (they are buttons, not screws) on the side of the AMS fell off in the first week.

I wouldn't get that case at X-Oxide though, the same case for $46 at bestbyte. I bought the X-Oxide case during X-hour (supposedly a big sale) for $49. :|

 

[Est]

Originally posted by: OulOat
Construction - They are pretty much made the same, except for the bar at top of the case, near the psu. That bar makes it hard to move the psu wires around and is pretty much useless.

About the quote above, which of the two were you talking about? Whichever it is, I think that now I'm leaning towards the X300.

Thanks for the input.

 

[OulOat]

Originally posted by: Est

Originally posted by: OulOat
Construction - They are pretty much made the same, except for the bar at top of the case, near the psu. That bar makes it hard to move the psu wires around and is pretty much useless.

About the quote above, which of the two were you talking about? Whichever it is, I think that now I'm leaning towards the X300.

Thanks for the input.

My bad, the AMS. The bar is in a bad location, because of the psu and your CD-ROM drive right there. Makes plugging in the CD-ROM and organizing the PSU wires a pain.

 

[Est]

Thanks, one question though. Can you turn the sound activated cathode off. It'd be pretty dumb if you couldn't but I haven't been able to confirm it anywhere. I know it has a dial on the back where you can set it to be on all the time or sound activated, but can you turn it off without completely disconnecting or removing it?

 

[OulOat]

It's not a cold cathode. It's an older neon bulb. Not as good as a CC, but hey, it comes with the case. I gave mine away, but as far as I can remember, it either has 3 settings (on, sound, and off) or you could turn the sensitivity all the way down to get off.