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Help me choose a case! :D

V

vagabond142

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 11, 2007
Messages
138
Hello [H]arders :D

I'm in need of a case that will do five things, and do them well. These five things are:

1) Have dust filters on ALL intakes (I live in a very dusty suite)
2) Have excellent airflow
3) Be extremely good with cable management holes/cubbies/etc. This includes a hole for CPU backplate access.
4) Be QUIET on pure air cooling. The Antec 900 I have right now sounds like a jet taking off a mile away... not TOO loud, but just enough to be bloody annoying when sitting next to it all day >_<
5) Be LESS than $120 CDN

Now you see why this is a bit of a challenge :p I'm going to be mildly overclocking my E8400 in this case as well, and I will have a Scythe Mugen 2 Rev B cooling the CPU. The high airflow is for RAM and VRM cooling, as well as feeding delicious cold air to my 6850 :D

To use a marketing buzzword, I'm looking for "quiet performance," of at least an equivalent level in my 900... GPU load is ~65-70 C (HIS HD6850 1GB) and CPU is 27/38/38 at idle on stock HSF (CPU/Core1/Core2). I just don't want to have as much white noise and air noise if at all possible.
 
CM 690 II Advanced

should be more than enough room for the Mugen not 100% sure but prety sure
 
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Excellent airflow and quiet is going to have to be a compromise. Most of the ones that meet your maybe criteria are Antec, Corsair or CM and except the one listed above they are all going to go over your budget.
 
Depends on your definition of "quiet". If anything you could always purchase aftermarket fans that are quieter and/or adjustable.
 
The R3 case from Fractal Design should meet most of your demands and is less than CAD120.

As others have said though great airflow AND quiet doesn't go too well together, but I have a friend that have built a crossfire system in this and have no issues at all.
 
Well, I will make a minor change: 4) QuietER than than the 900. Unless buying Scythe fans (I already have a couple of Kaze-Juni's in there) will make a huge diff... however, I've had the case since the stone ages, a nice refreshing change is in order (and the 900 is horrible for cable management)
 
vagabond142 said:
bastage: interesting... will look into reviews on the HAF
Click to expand...

yea I had been recommending it for some time in gen hard just because its got a solid design. & it wasn't until recently I realized it had mountings for 200mm fans stock & then I ordered one for myself. Still waiting on my fans to arrive though.
 
I'm honestly liking the looks of the HAF912 + 2x200 CM fans. I have two Scythe Kaze-Juni fans from a while back that are really damned quiet, could use one as the door fan in place of the stock CM one, and keep that one as a spare for the rear fan :D

Still looking at reviews and watching videos o_o
 
Just a quick question in regards to fans.... are there any other fans in the 200mm range other than CM? As the goal is quiet-yet-effective, I do want to measure my options.
 
vagabond142 said:
Just a quick question in regards to fans.... are there any other fans in the 200mm range other than CM? As the goal is quiet-yet-effective, I do want to measure my options.
Click to expand...

there are other fans, problem is the 200mm fans are not standardized. The holes do not line up between brands.
 
bastage said:
there are other fans, problem is the 200mm fans are not standardized. The holes do not line up between brands.
Click to expand...



...... bugger >_<

Ah well, I found a place that lists the CM 200's at $11 each, just gotta print that out and take it to the local computer wholesaler that matches online prices :D The case is gonna cost me $57 (1-3 day shipping included), the fans another $22+tax. Altogether, I've come in (massively) under budget, which is excellent, thank you Bastage :D And thanks everyone else for their input, I did check/read/research on each case suggested before settling on the HAF912. It simply has the best value-to-silence-to-cooling ratio. 2x200 mm = quiet, and the stock exhaust will be replaced with a spare Scythe Kaze-Jyuni 1600cfm. Quieter than stock CM fans :D

Preordering DiRT3.... ;)

EDIT: Another thing that sold me on the HAF912 over an equivalent budget case (under $70 CDN) is the fact that the interior is partially modular. Nice to be able to set up the interior as I want it, and be able to cable route. And have excellent, quiet airflow :)
 
Last edited:
Well, teh 912 arrived today and I tore into it with wild abandon. It's MUCH quieter than the Antec, and I'm still probably going to replace the rear fan with a Gentle Typhoon, so the loudest fans will be the CPU cooler and the GPU fan. And they're fairly quiet :D Also, my cable routing sucks, but it's heads and tails above the 900.

Lastly, I did a CPU burn test in the new case. In the 900, with the Mugen 2 Rev B, I was hitting 48-52 C after an hour of burn. In the HAF912, I can't break 42 C, no matter how much I stress the CPU. (I downclocked to stock to check, as that's what my base temps are)
 
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