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Best Case for ~$100

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Successfully Trolled by Megalith
Joined
Jul 18, 2010
Messages
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Things that are important to me:

-Good cooling overall.
-Good to excellent cable management, prefer under motherboard tray space to run cables.
-Room for 6 Hard drives (I have 4 now, will probably have 6 by end of year), with good cooling to the drives
-Easy to work in, support for full size vid cards. I like nicieties like quick mount 5 1/2" bays, etc.
-The quieter the better.

I'd also like to have dust filtering if possible. I don't really care about case looks so much, I tend to be utilitarian more than anything, but the less flashy the better.

I realize at ~$100 some compromises might need to be made, but I'm just looking for some suggestions.
 
I just purchased the Fractal Design Define R3 and it has been great. Has some flaws but its only $109.99 which is close to your budget and spec request.
 
Yeah the Fractal R3 is definitely awesome for the price. really worth taking a look at imho.
 
Other cases to consider: HAF 922, Antec 902, CM Storm Scount, CM 690 II Advanced.

The R3 is definitely the best fit given your requirements, though.
 
Thanks for all the input guys/gals. Very helpful.

It's a toss up between the HAF 922 / R3 at this point.

I like the internal design of the HAF 922 a little better, but I like the filtering and noise supppression of the R3 better.

How is the 922 noise wise compared to the R3, anyone heard or used both?
 
The R3 is going to be much more quiet by virtue of its design, it has noise-dampening foam on 4 of its 6 case surfaces (no back or bottom). However, should you choose to open up dampened vents for cooling on the side or top, you're going to lose some performance. Still, you'd have a hard time making the R3 louder than the 922, which has a rather open design with copious mesh.
 
Not sure if it's a valid point or not, but the R3 is freakin' gorgeous in addition to being really nice for the money.
 
EDIT: NVM, case didn't have cable tie downs, and only one exit point for cables under tray.
 
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I just built my system with the HAF 922 and the hard drives are the loudest part of my build. I couldn't be happier.
 
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