Cases Looking to upgrade a case....but which one? So many to choose from!!

Hi

I'm looking to upgrade my ageing Antec P180 case as i feel it has seen better days and i would like tinker with my overclock a bit more but I feel the airflow in my case isnt sufficient. PLus the cable management in it is shockingly bad! i have been looking around but dont know which case to get. i quite like the P183 or even the 193 but have read that it maybe wont accomodate my noctua HSF. other options are the lancool k62, coolermaster stacker or HAF but they arent quite as sleek as the antec cases (although im not sure about the hernia on the p193).

Also maybe in the future i might look at water cooling so something that can accomodate this would be a bonus.

Maximum i'm looking to spend is £130

 

I'm using a Cooler Master HAF 932 and even when playing Crysis I feel cool air coming out of it...
So my recommendation is The "HAF"

 

seriously, I believe the P180 and P182 are teh best case.
- Lot's of room
- HDD vibration damping
- lots of air flow
- Sound damping panel
- Good build quality

The other case I see these days are all super ugly, or doesn't even come close to a quarter of the features of the P180/182 case, especially in term of quiet computing. I say, stay with what you have.

 

Yeah the P180 series were great, however finding one is even harder, (at least the 180 and 182).

I'd say if all else fails get the ATCS 840 and put some dampening in yourself, or bricks.

 

BRICKS! Brilliant!

 

Noctua UH-P12 w/ two P-12 fans fits perfectly fine in my P182 with lots of clearance. As for other alternatives? Many of them are pretty ugly, the HAF is half decent (see what I did there?) but after looking at a system built with it I think it looks nicer in photos. My personal choice is either an Antec P1xx series case, or "go all out" and get a Corsair Obsidian 800D or a Silverstone case, both are fantastic.

 

Most cases can fit the Noctuas.

Now if they can fit the Scythe Orochi or the Prolimatech Meghalem...that's a different story.

 

I read a couple of places saying that the noctua U12P didnt quite fit in the p193 because of the side vent.

Although the Corsair 800d is a nice case i dont want to have to sell my kidney to fund it!lol which silverstone case would people recommend?

 

Not ever having purchased an aftermarket case other than my current one i dont know how valid my input is but here goes.

2 years ago i found a steal on the ebuyer website which meant that i was able to purchase a coolermaster stacker for the the astonishing price of £70.

Now i can honestly say for this price i am thoroughly pleased. It is not the best case in the world as i do have some gripes but that may just be my particular one. But bearing in mind i didnt pay the £140 most people were asking for i dont mind.

But on the thow the build quality is good and the sliding removable mobo tray is certainly a big plus.

However looking around i saw the coolermaster scout for circa 70 and this review here.

 

I have a black Hiper Osiris which I think is great.

 

Yeah but Hiper have gone bust so you can't buy them any more.

 

Really? i quite liked their media cases aswel but their power supplies were never the best.

Any opinion on the thermaltake element S, it doesnt look all that bad or coolermaster sniper

 

Yep.

I'm not a fan of Thermaltake cases I must admit, and that one looks like a typical plasticky affair. The Cooler Master will have better build quality, and almost certainly better cooling too.

 

i would go for the cooler master cosmos 1000 as for me it cover just about everything you could want it to do

 

I've heard good things about the Thermaltake Element S, doesn't look bad

 

I've seen it in person, it's not that bad. But I'm not a fan of it, if only because the build quality is still shoddy.

 

For the price it isn't bad, the review at com.puter.TV was pretty good for that price range


+ you get a painted interior and a professional look

 

True, But upon closer inspection(and at the time the HAF932 was only about $10 more) it wasn't such a good buy.

 

custompc reviewed it it wasn't that great, lots going for it but the build quality wasn't very as always with thermaltake cases, has got a good design though

 

Now that's I've read some in depth reviews, it isn't great but it looks stunning. Simple and not too flashy to be a work station case but enough cooling to be a pretty good all around case