What case is the most appealing to you?

What cases do you guys prefer?
I was planning on building a new pc. For the first one, I used a Antec 900, and honestly it's alright. Couldn't do much in my part for cable management though.

Do these cases appeal to you in any way?
NZXT Apollo
NZXT LEXA
NZXT TEMPEST
NZXT Alpha
NZXT Guardian
Thermaltake Armor
Antec Nine Hundred Two
COOLER MASTER COSMOS

NZXT cases are really pretty in my opinion.
What is the main difference between mid tower cases and full tower cases? I know full towers are bigger, but for what purpose? Also if I missed out any other good cases, please list them

 

1. Considered it, bought a Lexa Blackline instead
2. Own two (one standard, one blackline), Love them
3. Considered it. Went for a HAF932 instead. More size
4. Recommend it on a regular basis, good cheap performer
5. Is this the new 921? The old Guardian was hideous. New one is nice, but other NZXT cases are better
6. Big, heavy, but mediocre for cooling. Some people like them, I think you can do better.
7. A good case, but expensive. I owned an original 900 but sold it as it was very poor at keeping HDD noise out, and had a number of design flaws (Most of which they solved with the 902, not sure about all of them)
8. Amazingly big, average cooling. Heavy!

Full towers are bigger because they allow much more space so they're easier to work with, can fit EATX motherboards (Very few boards are this size, but most dual processor socket boards are (Note, I do not mean dual core)), and obviously are better at cooling, and better at cooling very high end hardware without needing mega-high speed fans creating lots of noise.
My top picks for cases
cheap:
Antec Three Hundred
NZXT Alpha
Raidmax Smilodon (I don't like it much, but a lot of people do)
Coolermaster Centurion 532
Midrange:
NZXT Lexa / NZXT Lexa Blackline
Antec Nine Hundred Two
Coolermaster RC-690
NZXT Tempest
Full tower:
Coolermaster HAF932 (Large)
Lian Li PC-A70B (Giant)
Coolermaster Cosmos (Giant)
Silverstone Temjin (If money is no object)
Antec Twelve Hundred (Loud)
Coolermaster Stacker (Giant)

 

This is my favorite case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811165065

It looks like something out of a server farm, and it's stackable!

 

Having a really hard time choosing between the NZXT Lexa Blackline case and the NZXT Tempest. Look like the Lexa case sacrifices performance for sexual appeal But on the other hand, the Tempest seems like the top price/performance pick of the bunch. Correct me if i'm wrong =/

What is the best heatsink out there? I'm not planning on overclocking, but I still want an aftermarket heatsink for a more visually appealing interior, don't really want the ugly heatsink that comes with the processor, and I certainly don't want to go through the trouble of push pins.

 

Ultimately, the Lexa can cool any system except for Quad crossfire. That's why I chose a full tower. Up until that point it was fine, even with low speed fans.
Heatsink: Thermalright Ultra-120.

 

I like simple cases so Antec 300 and P182 are my favourite. I have assembled one computer inside the Tempest, it feels good and has enough space but personally i dont like the outside it looks kinda too plastic. Maybe its the window i dunno.

 

i have the nzxt tempest and if you plan on doing some cable management, then you should look else where. i mean, there are holes for you to make your case look neat, but i wouldn't consider this a good case for cable management. i think if you build a rig with the antec 900, then getting an nzxt tempest wont bring you any surprises.

maybe you can narrow down your case choices by deciding whether you want things like watercooling (if not, maybe in the future), chambers to separate heat, cable management, a side window, grills, LED lights, ect.

 

From your experiences with using the Lexa Blackline and the HAF932, do you have any complaints, or anything you could change?

 

The Lexa is great, especially with the carry bag, but the stock fans are very weak (though very quiet, which I prefer). The Lexa is the better product due to its lightweight aluminium design and including the carry bag. There are a few not-so-nicities, most tool-less PCI brackets annoy me, the Lexa ones included, so I unscrewed those, but other than that, the only real gripe I have is the lack of suitability for non-standard 5.25" bay devices such as fan controllers, once again due to the tool-less standard.

The HAF suffers fro the same problem really, although perhaps to a lesser extent. The HAF however has no dust filters so will rapidly fill with dust. Both cases have ridiculously bright LEDs (Power+HDD for the HAF, just HDD for the Lexa).

 

Wow haha that's wonderful. I was just wondering, do you have one 4870x2, or do you actually have two separate ones running in crossfire?

By the way, how's the cable management in the Lexa Blackline?

 

Two 4870X2s, in my HAF932. Cooling one was not an issue in the Lexa.

Cable management in most NZXT cases is pretty mediocre, but there is no case that need look untidy if you put some effort in and use some zip ties.

 

what temps did you get for your video card on both the HAF932 and the lexa?

 

Varies depending on the environment, and the fan control for the cards are adaptive to keep the temperature around 88-90ºC load regardless, but the fan speed in the HAF in a good room is 55% or so, it can reach 70-75% in the Lexa. With one card in the Lexa it was almost always 55% load, sometimes 60% if it got hot in the room.

 

I'm tempted to get the Lexa If I do, it's gonna be blue to match with my keyboard. Would cold cathodes fit in the lexa case?
What's your opinion on these?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16800888057

Are they a good alternative to cold cathodes?
Think you can give me a lik to a fan speed controller?

 

LEDs make heat...thats why cold cathodes are so popular. You might want to have a look around on frozencpu.com; they specialize in case modding gear and have a great selection of cold cathodes and fan controllers.

 

eddie: I bought those. They're naff, the LEDs aren't very bright at all. My favoured fan speed controllers are the Sunbeam Rheobus and Rheobus Extreme, excellent, but

KillerBug: What the? LEDs make heat? Cold Cathodes don't? Clearly you've never owned either! Cold cathode is the technology. CCFLs still generate a LOT of heat (often unpleasantly hot to the touch), and the inverters also need to be kept fanned or sometimes they can catch fire. LEDs don't even get warm apart from High current emitters which are never used in PC technology as they can cause eye damage.
Electronics 101: LEDs use negligible power, produce negligible heat.

 

I'm really interested in case modding now.. uh-oh... Let's say for my antec 900 case that I have, would this fan be able to replace any 120mm fan in the case?

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/5...20mm_Silent_White_LED_Fan.html?tl=g36c331s518

 

Yes, but one of the biggest design flaws with the 900 is that replacing the front fans will have you swearing your head off. Take the day off work.

 

It's not that bad...I don't like the case much myself, and the price is crazy-high, but there are many cases where the fans are hard to change.

NZXT Apollo=Case doors suck
NZXT Lexa=Case doors suck
NZXT TEMPEST=Not bad...not great either.
NZXT Alpha=Very nice for the price
NZXT Guardian=Case doors suck
Thermaltake Armor=Almost bought one myself...but the "armor" is almost as bad as a case door
COOLER MASTER COSMOS=Case doors suck

If you are actualy interested in case modding, go here: http://www.dremel.com

 

Case doors suck is a personal opinion. It should not affect rating a case on its overall merits.