Best ATX Full Tower for under $150

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Ninjabass

Weaksauce
Joined
May 28, 2007
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Simple as it sounds, what case would you guys recommend? Something that isn't too loud, plenty of room, and has good airflow. Lower than 150 bucks is ideal.
 
Well, The KL03 is pretty good! And yes, I would consider it a full tower case (It's huge!) It has room for 4X120mm fans, and I can attest to the fact that cooling/noise performance is very good. The HAF seems to be a popular case, although personally I don't like the looks of it.
 
NV-man said:
Well, The KL03 is pretty good! And yes, I would consider it a full tower case (It's huge!) It has room for 4X120mm fans, and I can attest to the fact that cooling/noise performance is very good. The HAF seems to be a popular case, although personally I don't like the looks of it.
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That's my main issue with the HAF. I'd buy it in a heartbeat if it looked sleek like a Lian-Li.
 
Vzylexy said:
That's my main issue with the HAF. I'd buy it in a heartbeat if it looked sleek like a Lian-Li.
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You need to keep an eye out for the CoolerMaster ATC-840. It's exactly what you're talking about, and should be available in late november.

It sports the same airflow, large fans, and interior layout as the HAF, with a classier brushed-aluminum skin. Removable mobo tray, the whole bit. A CM rep has even gone on the record lately about an option for the case to come fully blacked out, inside and out.

Price? The reps aren't saying yet, but there are hints. I'd expect it to come in at least $50 higher than the HAF, but if it runs $240-260 I wouldn't be surprised. It's currently listed on a German site for $239 (Euro), including a 19% VAT. Take out the VAT, throw in the conversion rate to American dollars, and I get $262 as a jumping-off point. Considering I was willing to spend $240 on a Cosmos S or $260-320 on a full-size Lian Li, I'd happily throw that down for this case. And I'd consider it a good value.

CM has done a great job listening to their customers on this case. I think they're hungry for market share in this segment. Silverstone cases haven't been very good for awhile now, imo. Lian Li has been running the high-end uncontested, and it shows in their latest batch of cases. I bought one of the new PC-7fw cases not a month ago, and I'll happily sell it off to someone and pay the upgrade price to get into this case. I was a big Lian Li fanboy there for awhile, too, but they're slipping a little on quality control and design while their prices just keep going up and up.

I'm glad to see CM will return to their roots and open up some whup-booty in the premium segment. CM's a great company, too, and there were a lot of CM fanboys out there waiting for a case like this.

-S
 
Ninjabass said:
I see in the pictures on Newegg that there is a slot for another fan on the side of the Antec. I can't really tell by eyeballing it what size fan would go there. Can anyone else tell what size that is?
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(8) Fan Bays ((1) Top 120mm Fan Bay, (2) Rear 120mm Fan Bay, (3) Front 120mm Fan Bays, (1) Side 120mm Fan Bay; (1) Middle 120mm Fan Bay)
 
I personally like the look of the HAF, I am a man, the case looks rugged so it looks good.

Its like what do you like better, a chevy silverado on a 40" lift or a vw toureg.

I like the rough exterior, and both the atc and has have identical insides, except i believe the HAF is a bit taller.

either way any cooler master case is a good choice,

just a small point thegiant fans that come with the HAF are silent.
dont know if the other cases even compare in that aspect.
 
semisonic9 said:
You need to keep an eye out for the CoolerMaster ATC-840. It's exactly what you're talking about, and should be available in late november.

It sports the same airflow, large fans, and interior layout as the HAF, with a classier brushed-aluminum skin. Removable mobo tray, the whole bit. A CM rep has even gone on the record lately about an option for the case to come fully blacked out, inside and out.

Price? The reps aren't saying yet, but there are hints. I'd expect it to come in at least $50 higher than the HAF, but if it runs $240-260 I wouldn't be surprised. It's currently listed on a German site for $239 (Euro), including a 19% VAT. Take out the VAT, throw in the conversion rate to American dollars, and I get $262 as a jumping-off point. Considering I was willing to spend $240 on a Cosmos S or $260-320 on a full-size Lian Li, I'd happily throw that down for this case. And I'd consider it a good value.

CM has done a great job listening to their customers on this case. I think they're hungry for market share in this segment. Silverstone cases haven't been very good for awhile now, imo. Lian Li has been running the high-end uncontested, and it shows in their latest batch of cases. I bought one of the new PC-7fw cases not a month ago, and I'll happily sell it off to someone and pay the upgrade price to get into this case. I was a big Lian Li fanboy there for awhile, too, but they're slipping a little on quality control and design while their prices just keep going up and up.

I'm glad to see CM will return to their roots and open up some whup-booty in the premium segment. CM's a great company, too, and there were a lot of CM fanboys out there waiting for a case like this.

-S
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Wow, thanks for pointing the 840 my way, that thing looks amazing!
 
The Twelve Hundred wins for me hands-down because the inside is already finished with matte black. And it's still on sale at Newegg for $140 shipped (coupon OCT20).
 
Merc187 said:
I personally like the look of the HAF, I am a man, the case looks rugged so it looks good.

Its like what do you like better, a chevy silverado on a 40" lift or a vw toureg.

I like the rough exterior, and both the atc and has have identical insides, except i believe the HAF is a bit taller.

either way any cooler master case is a good choice,

just a small point thegiant fans that come with the HAF are silent.
dont know if the other cases even compare in that aspect.
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...it's a computer, a desktop one. Rugged is fairly pointless.

Personally, I think it's hideous. See the ATC-110-SX1 for what a case should look like. ;)
 
hey you know what the say opinions are like a-------. Im just putting my two cents in. Everything is life is a matter of taste.

here is the other scenerio.

Just for argument

Say you have two idetical cars from the ground up (engine parts, interior, everything). One has a ugly car body on it say like an old ford ltd no dents mint. price is 5000.

the other being identical in every aspect except the body has a say bmw 5 series body on it for $15000 .

would you pay a difference of double or more for simply the exterior with the interior being the same?

So in case i was unclear i dont think the ATCS case is ugly or has a bad design or anything, i actually like it alot, but i dont like it for say a $300 price tag is all:D
 
My recommendation is the Rocketfish/Lian Li case. I'm not too sure if they're still available at BestBuy, so you might want to try Craigslist. They were going for about $50 at one point, which is an amazing price for an all aluminum, full tower LianLi case
 
Merc187 said:
hey you know what the say opinions are like a-------. Im just putting my two cents in. Everything is life is a matter of taste.

here is the other scenerio.

Just for argument

Say you have two idetical cars from the ground up (engine parts, interior, everything). One has a ugly car body on it say like an old ford ltd no dents mint. price is 5000.

the other being identical in every aspect except the body has a say bmw 5 series body on it for $15000 .

would you pay a difference of double or more for simply the exterior with the interior being the same?

So in case i was unclear i dont think the ATCS case is ugly or has a bad design or anything, i actually like it alot, but i dont like it for say a $300 price tag is all:D
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The SX1 was long ago discontinued, it was not even half of $300 brand new. Not sure how your analogy applies.
 
I have an ATCS 110 SX1 :D. Anyway, yea the ATC-840 looks like a great case, but will most likely cost a ton... Just like every other high-end aluminum case out there.
 
Merc187 said:
So in case i was unclear i dont think the ATCs case is ugly or has a bad design or anything, i actually like it alot, but i dont like it for say a $300 price tag is all:D
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Personally, I'd be surprised if it doesn't come in around $250 and undercut the newer Lian Lis and Silverstones by a significant margin.

But I agree. There's nothing "wrong" with the HAF, and it's a solid case at a solid price. f you can stand the looks, the HAF is a good buy. It's a few-frills work horse case.

The ATC case adds aluminum construction (not cheap at today's prices, btw), will be blacked out, and adds in a removable mobo tray and a sprinkling of misc. upgrades. (I like the front connection ports much better, by way of an example!) It does everything the base model does, looks better, and throws in a few extras. It's the premium version.

The HAF is a Chevy. The ATC is a Cadillac. Honda/Acura, Toyoa/Lexus, Ford/Lincoln, etc etc. If we want to talk about case re-badging, how about Lancool and Lian Li? Or Rocketfish?

-S
 
To defend the rocketfish, I personally think its one of the best looking cases on the market.

I guess that makes me a simple man.

The case is large, flat, and has a door covering the front bays. It is still a very strong case with a large hole cut out of the top.

Plus, for 70 bucks, you really cant beat the deal. I want to get like 5000 of them to build computers in.

However, their are some limitations. You may want a full ATX that has 5.25 bays lined top to bottom. You may want a case that is designed to optimize airflow such as some of the lian-lis with separated compartments.

Honestly though, this is my favorite case made. But to kind of refer to Merc187:

If you're on a limited budget, would you rather buy a cheaper case, but by no means cheaper quality, and get faster hardware

or

Be forced to buy cheaper hardware since the case is eating up a larger chunk of your budget.

May the force be with you, or something boring like that.
 
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