Potential case replacements?

mv2devnull

Golden Member
Apr 13, 2010
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Although I'm rather happy with my CM Stacker STC-T01, I keep wondering whether there is something equally fancy out there. Actually, I recently "bravely" changed some bits in it (after five years of use): moved PSU to bottom and added 2*80mm fans into its previous spot. And finally "managed" cables a bit.


Anyway, it is on the floor and has the caster wheels. I would not mind moving the wheels to a new case, if possible. There is dust, after all.

From dust one naturally gets into dust filters on intakes. The ones on Stacker are not the easies to clean. And there is none on the bottom, where the PSU now dwells.

PSU in the bottom does make sense. It did help with the cabling. "Cable management" sounds a nice feature too.

Obviously, with a case of that size, size does not matter. (Actually, the previous case was even taller and beige, from previous millenium, a very first generation ATX.) Inner size ... ATX, ~9" GPU minimum, and potentially one of those ~160mm tower coolers.

Four 3.5" HDD, floppy, and DVD. Not giving up on that floppy yet. And I love to use tools.

Silly me.
 

Maverick2002

Diamond Member
Jul 22, 2000
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I've gone through about 30 cases over the years as a reviewer and I'm still using the CM Cosmos I got a few years back. This ranged from lower-end and designer stuff all the way to top offerings from Antec, Lian Li, Cooler Master, etc. It's the best case I've ever had, hands down. Very clean, minimalist design (one could say "very IKEA") since the front magnetic door covers all the drives. Sturdy as hell. I've hauled it all over the place by the handles many times. PSU mounted on the bottom with a separate intake & removable filter - great for cable management and adds to stability by lower the center of gravity. Filters are easy to remove and clean (hand wash, wipe with a towel, slide them back in). Intake fan mounted at the bottom (the legs provide solid clearance to get enough air in) and pointed up at a slight angle towards the CPU/GPU. 120mm exhaust in the back and 2 optional 120mm exhausts at the top. The single latch side panel removal is perfect. No screws to worry about, never comes loose - just really well made. Comes with noise isolating foam pre-installed. It's a big case so there's plenty of room for all sorts of stuff. Power/reset buttons and ports at the top, angled forward, so it's perfect for placing on the floor (you don't have to reach down to press anything). Call me biased, but this is the most thought-out design I've ever seen. If mine ever breaks or I need another, I'm going to buy the same thing.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...119138&cm_re=cm_cosmos-_-11-119-138-_-Product

Worth every penny.
 
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mv2devnull

Golden Member
Apr 13, 2010
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Not bad at all, but not quite to my liking. The lack of emergency affords being choosy. :p
 

mv2devnull

Golden Member
Apr 13, 2010
1,516
152
106
Quality, but could be over the top. Corsair and Fractal Design ... some potential.

Still, attaching some elevation underneath feels desirable for on-the-floor-under-the-table.