I am looking to do a rebuild towards the end of the year and have pretty much sorted out what components I want to use. The one component I am having problems deciding on is the case. The criteria I am using to decide is: 1) It must look good 2) Good build quality 3) Reasonably quiet (will be using air cooling and have a pair of WD Raptors) 4) Space to install components and to run cables 5) Good airflow and cooling I realise that the first point about looking good is a very personal choice and that there is a bit of a trade off between points 3 and 5. My budget for the case is less than £100. My short list is: Cheiftec Aegis CH-05 (http://www.chieftec.eu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=289&Itemid=556&lang=EN#) Hiper Osiris (http://www.hipergroup.com/products.php?lv=3&cate=6&type=26&pid=126) Antec P182 (http://www.antec.com/uk/productDetails.php?ProdID=09182) NZXT HUSH (http://www.nzxt.com/products/hu001/) I would appreciate any views on these cases and their relative merits.
The P182.. It has the same basic (chambered) design structure as my NSK2480, and that looks good and gets AWESOME airflow. I'd get some fluid bearing fans for it though, if the case fans that come with the P182 are anything like mine.. you won't be computing silently.
Another vote for the P182... the fans aren't silent.. but they make a pleasing woooshing sound... well I don't mind it... It's also very easy to build a clean a system in and the build quality is second to none...
Again, I can only comment on the case I've used, but I love the P182, I also have air cooling and 2x150 gig raptors. Room for more fans as well, and speed selectors on default ones
I think the hyper case looks sooo badass and cool, and bit-tech did a review saying its very quiet and a good case, but its expensive. If i had the money...
you don't want mesh, fan wholes everywhere or window... The mesh and fan whole everywhere will make like if you have no case at all. S o it woul dbe useless. Windows don't damp sound they transfer, so you will ""amplify"" the output sound if you want. You also want anti-vibration HDD system and sound damping. The Antec P182 has everything you need.
The only trouble with the P182 is moving it around on the floor. I had a P180 and it was murder dragging it out of it's cave under the desk. I now have a CM Cosmos which is easily slide-about-able on its skis. I'd say get a P182 and fix some castors on the bottom.
Get a second hand Lian Li, they're more loved and they'll last a lifetime from what I've heard about them (eg. someone's got a 1999 Lian Li and they still use it for testing now
I advice everyone to add sticker-felt-things to the case feet no matter what the case. Makes moving the case around table / floor (w/o carpet) so much easier. The silicone feet of the P18x are great, but make the case vibrate like crazy if dragged around, and lifting a 20+ kg case from difficult angle can be truely back breaking. A bit of an offtopic, but I have massive scratches on my desk as I've been dragging cases around (metal pieces under the feet) so I advice you to still keep the dragging action to minimum, atleast if you give a flying sausage about the table finish
you won't be happy with p182's cooling if you move from 900. but change the top fan to a very expensive high-airflow fan should solve the airflow problem.
The Antec 900 is not a case... it has wholes everywhere... you are better off leaving your computer parts on your desk. Can't beat that level or cooling!
There are not holes everywhere, I happen to love my 900 case. it is not as loud as people say it is. I can sleep easily with it turned on in my room. there is more than enough room inside, you can fit lots of drives, the fans are easy to upgrade if you desire to do so, it looks good, its solid, and its not that expensive. I know its not for everyone, but for me, its perfect.
I used to love my thermaltake armor, now it's a heavy huge case with poor cable management, and the longer I've had it, the less and less i like the window design, but the rest of it is nice.
