Need some advice from PC gurus..

[Glowing_Amraam]

I don't mind a clean look, it's just that the cooler master case is cheaper, and has bigger fans to blow out the hot air. And it seems i can have the PSU either at the bottom, or on top inside the case, at my own liking.

 

This is harder than i thought... :P

Can't decide!

[MTFDarkEagle]

:P

 

What you could do is look up some reviews of both cases, see the pros/cons and than decide which case you want to get. That's how I got mine: It was a debate between the NZXT Tempest and the Antec 900. In the end it became the tempest.

 

I found when building my system (I had a top psu mounted case beforehand) that the bottom mounted PSU is very comfortable to work with. There is however a small hickup with it: the length of the +12V 8-pin CPU power cable (though there are make-it-longer-cables for it :D).

 

Hope this helps :)

 

Cheers!

[Glowing_Amraam]

Hmm, any info i get is helpful. :)

 

But ok, I've found some i like..

 

Take a look at the following, and just ignore the norwegian jibberish all over the place, just look at the specs and info, and tell me what would be an awesome choice for a cooled, high-end machine! :P :)

 

http://www.dustinhome.no/pd_5010169492.aspx

 

http://www.dustinhome.no/pd_5010464484.aspx

 

http://www.dustinhome.no/pd_5010587509.aspx <-- awesome design IMO

 

http://www.dustinhome.no/pd_5010586811.aspx

 

Opinions?

[EtherealN]

Regarding the HAF, do note that there are no dust filters on the side intake, and that it does pretty much nothing to control sound. If you have loud components, be prepared to hear them. That aside, I use a standard black 932 and is very pleased with it's cooling capabilities (and I'm one of those who have literally slept next to industrial hydraulic pumps, so sound is no worry for me personally), though I did end up spicing it up a bit through replacing the door fan with four 12cm Zalman LED fans.

[RSharpe]

The NZXT Phantom is a fairly cool case. Check out OC3D's review on it. Depending on your needs, it may not be as big as some cases though

 

 

I'm running a HAF X and it's quite decent. It's quite ugly, but it offers great air cooling and there's lots of room inside to work with.

 

I'm just finalizing the configuration and it's still a mess inside, but you can see how much room there is inside. There's a 200mm ducted side fan that blows air right on top of the video cards, and the 120mm ducted fan pushing cool air at the front of the video cards also helps with GPU temps.

 

Edited April 8, 2011 by RSharpe

[Glowing_Amraam]

I'm really starting to lean towards the Phantom case now. Seems like a good choice, with lots of space and freedom to install additional fans.

[RSharpe]

It's definitely a nice case. It was one my short list of cases to get.

[celticcoho]

GA I have Silverstone RV01 and Rv02 Cases, Both will take the BIG GPU's, Biggest Difference is MOBo is turned 90 degrees, Makes for much better cooling, As Heat Rises.....So, Everything on Back of your PC, IS now on TOP!!!!Cheers Jim:thumbup: Your GPU's will be Vertical!!!

 

http://s753.photobucket.com/albums/xx175/Celticcoho/ORIGIN%20FREEDOM/

Edited April 9, 2011 by celticcoho

[power5]

I vote phantom. HAF is not quite sleek enough for my taste and LianLi are too bland for me to spend that much.

[Succellus]

LOL, are you trying to air condicioning your room with that case ? :)

[EtherealN]

A case won't AC the room unless you build in a heat exchanger into it. :P

 

Which, incidentally, is something I've been thinking about doing for a custom case build. But even then; to actually AC the room, you need to feed the exchanger out of the room. Pesky laws of thermodynamics. ;)

[EtherealN]

Makes for much better cooling, As Heat Rises....

 

Sorry, but I don't see how that will ever matter. It would only matter if convection is strong enough to overcome the power of your fans, and to make that happen you need to cause a stupidly huge temperature differential: which means your computer already literally melted.

 

That stuff is just like the shroud on my P67 Sabretooth mobo: blingy gizmos that sound nice but don't actually work.

[Glowing_Amraam]

Ok, i ended up buying this case:

 

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1311/1/

[MTFDarkEagle]

Good choice :)

 

But, from what I've heard: be prepared for some noise :P

(Unless you get an insulation kit, and silent fans :) )

[Glowing_Amraam]

Noise is the least of my concerns, lol :P

 

I chose it because, its got really good ventilation, keeps my pc cool.

Plus, quality wize, it's better than the phantom case.

[MTFDarkEagle]

Ah well :) In that case: good choice :D

 

What you could do (if you want even more airflow), is get rid of the stock fans, and purchase some high quality case fans instead. But I suppose the stock fans should be addequate.

[topdog]

My HafX (greeny nvidia styled - I almost took the black one though) is awesomely quiet.

 

The VGA duct fan was mental when I had it plugged into the motherboard, it was outputting more noise than everything in that PC and the one next to it combined. Once I put it on the PSU headers and moved the side-door fan to its place on the mobo, all perfect (I've since removed the VGA duct fan completely since it'll be blowing back into the end of the graphics card I am using currently and would interfere with its own cooler - this isn't a prob, the duct is optional anyway).

 

No aftermarket fans swapped in or anything, they were good enough in conjunction with a high quality CPU cooler (Noc D14 like yourself).

[EtherealN]

Nice purchase GA! Cooler Master aren't joking around when they named that chassis series High Air Flow. :) You'll like it.

 

Topdog, the issue never really was the case itself, it is that the case does not defeat component sounds. It's obviously still possible to have a quiet PC - if all components are quiet the HAF case won't add much on it's own. But if you have loud components (say the GPU fan speeds up or whatever) you will get all of that sound straight at you.

[RSharpe]

Noise is the least of my concerns, lol :P

 

I chose it because, its got really good ventilation, keeps my pc cool.

Plus, quality wize, it's better than the phantom case.

 

I run a HAF X, and the case itself. That's with all fans installed for me, which includes 3 200mm fans, 1 140mm fan and 2 120mm fans. However, since the case is quite open, graphics cards throttling up to high RPMs will be heard.

 

A 590 could be problematic, since it's blowing air to the rear and to the front of the case. You may not want to use the ducted 120mm fan. Just install another 200mm fan and let those things pull out as much hot air as possible out the top. The ducted fan is designed for other reference cooler designs not including the 590.

[Glowing_Amraam]

A 590 could be problematic, since it's blowing air to the rear and to the front of the case.

 

I'm quite aware of this, which is also why I wanted a case with lots of cooling solutions. :)

 

I think this case will get the job done pretty decently.

In my current 5 (almost 6) year old case, i only have 2 120mm fans. :P

[BHawthorne]

I also run the HAF-X. The case is a beast -- including it's weight. Definitely not a LAN party case.

[RSharpe]

I also run the HAF-X. The case is a beast -- including it's weight. Definitely not a LAN party case.

 

Tell me about it. It barely fits under my desk/.