News Cooler Master's Elite 430 targets Antec Three Hundred

Agreed.

After seeing so many cases with that black interior, I've constantly thought about powder coating my Lian Li case.

But yeah that case is the oooglay and so is the antec 300.

 

Much prefer my Centurion 590

 

Sorry but you're just plain wrong. The 300 is THE cheap case to get. End of story. Pretty much the ultimate one size fits all as well, just add some fans if it gets too toasty.

 

Looks-wise the Antec 300 wins the contest with the CoolerMaster 430 hands-down.

I agree with the previous statements that pc cases tend to get uglier at the moment, whether introduced at Computex or not.

 

I was just managing my hangover and thought I could handle a little bit of browsing but unfortunately this case pushed me too far and made me vom.

Nah I'm only messin'. Even though it is ugly it's not that ugly.

 

I dont thinks its fair to say the antec 300 is crap tbh, fair enough if you have a high end gaming system it would be crap, but you have to remember at that price point, you will be hard pressed to find as case like it. Its a case for people on a budget

 

Exactly, it's not fair to compare a high end case with a low end case, however the 300 has shown itself to be quite capable even with a high end system inside it. I use it and I wouldn't shun anyone for using one regardless of the hardware inside. It's a safe, smart buy.

If the 300 was junk, it wouldn't have taken this long for a viable competitor to emerge.

 

Um no, I have actually used and assembled within one, sure it is acceptable for the price but objectively speaking it is a terrible case. It desperately needs some kind of sideways HDD cage but then you may as well step up to the 900 to get some kind of room.

 

Hee, everyone hates on cases like this, but I like it! It's kinda aggressive looking, but not too tacky. If it can cool like a 300, and costs about the same, I'd buy it.

I kinda prefer this way round of hard drive mounting, as the airflow from a front intake is less obstructed (when using one or two drives) than with a sideways cage. Sure it's a pain to fit and change hard drives after a full system is built, but after I've stuck in my drives, I'm not likely to add any more for a good while. And when I do, I'll probably take then whole thing apart anyway, because it'll probably be rather dusty in there, and thermal paste might need changing anyway.

Edit: For those of you looking for a sideways mounted HDD cage, good cooling and a low price, the NZXT M59 (which I have) is awesome. Not much more than a 300 in price, and a lot more unique looking. Note how I say unique... some people (most people) call it ugly. I like it. Maybe I have a soft spot for uglyass cases, but I really like it. It's covered in flashy blue LEDs, but it cools really well (especially if you fill up the fan mounts, of which there are twin 120/140mm in the roof, and one 120mm in the front) and has a big ol' smoked side window for showoffs. Black interior, too. The cable management is... a little weak, but nothing that an extra 15 minutes of routing won't cure.

The only problems I have had with it are niggles. One is that the top 5.25" drive bay is covered by a flip down drive cover thing. It's decent if you want to cover up a cheap silver drive, but make sure the motor on that is good enough. My DVD-RW didn't have the power to push it down. It's kinda flimsy too.

The other niggle is that the right side panel (non windowed) is a bitch to get off. I had to employ a little WD-40 to loosen it before it would come away. And finally (this is tiny) the fan mounted in the window has 4 blue LEDs (which I like) but one of them started to flicker, and eventually shut off. Which is a shame, no doubt. Also, the fan wires from that are red and yellow, and stick out no matter how you try and hide them. I wrapped the bit that is visible through the window in gaffer's tape.

But I think it's a damn good case if you like the looks. If you don't, then you will hate it and my opinion is moot.

 

I have an Antec 300 and its a good case with plenty of room. That being said, I'm not trying to stick three video cards on my MOBO even though it can handle it. Unless you are into 3D rendering or similar, I think more than one (maybe two) video cards is a waste of money. Today's high end system is a midrange one six months from now.

 

No, it just isn't. It's sturdy, easy to install and offers enough cooling for most. Also I'm pretty sure you can slide the extra hard drives in place through the front panel, easy peasy. What is it with "room" that some seem to obsessed with, extra space inside the case doesn't make ANY good. Usually it's in the wrong place to even make the installation any easier.

 

It seems to be marketed as a gaming case yet a 5850 squeezes in, so while the room would suffice for most it gets a bit cramped if you want to go for the longer graphics cards. I would agree that cooling options are good.

 

Oh indeed the current highend cards may not fit, sorry I didn't really think of that. At the time it came out it fit all cards...

 

Not a reply, but an addendum: Extra space = extra material = extra cost. You won't find that for £40-50.

 

Aye, but in my books the extra price simply doesn't necessarily add any value.

 

Another case with ugly window side panel. The Antec 300 is 1000s better them this because there no window can't we let the window/LED fan trend of 2000 die.

 

I would agree but I tend to see cases as an investment, keep them across upgrades and to make replacing stuff easier which is why I like space. It is also why I may have raged at the Antec 300 when I used it because my friend was a cheapskate and wouldn't spend a bit more on the case to make things easier for me to build.

I would also suggest a modular PSU if you want to put long graphics cards in and don't get motherboards with dodgy layouts.

 

IMO modular PSU is a must anyway. Also I simply don't agree with extra space making installation any easier. Guess it's just an opinion as well. I've reviewed huge cases such as Antec 1200, Lian-Li PC-X2000 and Corsair Obsidian, but still don't see what's the point As long as the parts physically fit, smaller is better (given the layout is about usual..)

 

Why don't they all make the room between top motherboard and roof 4cm, so we can fit a radiator with fans on it?

 

Hybrid

I like this case. Compactness Cheesecake. Made A hybrid. Because i loved the Black interior of the Elite 430 but loved the Front of the Elite 370.
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