If you had about 150 to 175 to spare...

[AstaLaVista]

Which Gaming Case would you buy and why?

If you can, can you tell me if the "why" is because of first hand experience or reviews on some other site?

I am ready to pull the pin on a case since I seem to be having issues with high temps with the case I own right now and I am not handymand enough to dremmel the hell out of it to install more fans.

I have look, search, read and read some more but there are to many options and I will like to know what you guys use and how you like them so far.

 

[MrNeeds]

Which Gaming Case would you buy and why?

If you can, can you tell me if the "why" is because of first hand experience or reviews on some other site?

I am ready to pull the pin on a case since I seem to be having issues with high temps with the case I own right now and I am not handymand enough to dremmel the hell out of it to install more fans.

I have look, search, read and read some more but there are to many options and I will like to know what you guys use and how you like them so far.

antec 900 all the way, heres a few pics of my antec 900 and my temps right now

 

[AstaLaVista]

Yes, the antec 900 is on the list of cases I was looking at. How many fans does the Antec 900 comes with?

What kind of CPU Cooler is that? Reason I ask you is because the instructions on my Artic Pro 7 stated that the fan should be pointed towards the back of the case and yours look like its pointing to the front.

Also, are those temps at idle or while gaming? if at idle, those are pretty much the temps I see on my rig so I don't know if the expenditure to get that case is worth it.

 

[MrNeeds]

Yes, the antec 900 is on the list of cases I was looking at. How many fans does the Antec 900 comes with?

What kind of CPU Cooler is that? Reason I ask you is because the instructions on my Artic Pro 7 stated that the fan should be pointed towards the back of the case and yours look like its pointing to the front.

Also, are those temps at idle or while gaming? if at idle, those are pretty much the temps I see on my rig so I don't know if the expenditure to get that case is worth it.

the case comes with 4 fans, two at the front, one as an exhaust and one at the very top, the cpu fan is blowing toward the exhaust fan, thats why my cpu and general system temperature is so cool, my processor is overclocked to 3Ghz(my temp before the overclock is attached to this) and my gpu is a 260GTX which is renown to overheat, mine is always at 45-49c and only goes upto 69c when gaming. The CPU fan is a zalman cnps9700 tritium (nvidia edition).

 

[AstaLaVista]

Yes, I just looked at the CPU cooler picture again and it is pointing towards the back. I don't know why I thought it was the other way around.

So, you are saying that idleing temps of mid 40's are cool temps for a CPU? Mine is also OC'ed a bit but I have heard others that are running low 30's so I figured mine was somehow buggered!

Perhaps I can invest that money on another gtx260 then? :D

Yes, my GTX260 runs extremely hot. Well, when compared with the temps of my old 8800GT. I guess the treshold of the gtx260 temps are much higher than others?

 

[calhounhusker]

Antec 900 or Antec 1200. My last case was the 900 and my current one is the 1200. Both are great cases, lots of cooling and the 1200 has a TON of space and makes cable management easier.

If you had the cash and don't mind the size I would go with the 1200.

Antec 900 has 4 fans but room for 6, the 1200 has 6 fans but room for 8.

 

[AstaLaVista]

When you say "Room" for 6 (900) or 8 (1200), does that means they come with the holes to just install more fans or you need to dremmel your way into making the holes to install the extra fans?

 

[bruce2]

Yes, I just looked at the CPU cooler picture again and it is pointing towards the back. I don't know why I thought it was the other way around.

So, you are saying that idleing temps of mid 40's are cool temps for a CPU? Mine is also OC'ed a bit but I have heard others that are running low 30's so I figured mine was somehow buggered!

Perhaps I can invest that money on another gtx260 then? :D

Yes, my GTX260 runs extremely hot. Well, when compared with the temps of my old 8800GT. I guess the treshold of the gtx260 temps are much higher than others?

Hi AstaLaVista, if you are going to get another GPU, the Ultra Aluminus will give you heat problem for sure. There will be a pocket of hot air trapped at the spot between the GPUs and the HDDs. Either you can add an exhaust fan there as shown in pix below or get a case which you are able to mount the PSU at the bottom so there will have ample space for fresh air circulation for the GPU turbines air intake.

Also, I may check check to make sure your PSU has sufficient amps for SLi.

Here is my $.02, I wouldn't spend more then $75 on a case. Imagine what a $100 will do if invest in a CPU or GPU.

Hope this helps,

Bruce

 

[MrNeeds]

Yes, I just looked at the CPU cooler picture again and it is pointing towards the back. I don't know why I thought it was the other way around.

So, you are saying that idleing temps of mid 40's are cool temps for a CPU? Mine is also OC'ed a bit but I have heard others that are running low 30's so I figured mine was somehow buggered!

Perhaps I can invest that money on another gtx260 then? :D

Yes, my GTX260 runs extremely hot. Well, when compared with the temps of my old 8800GT. I guess the treshold of the gtx260 temps are much higher than others?

the reason i said it was cool is because my pentium 4 with stock fan was nicely cooking on idle at 50c and 70c under load, so i didnt really have good cooling with the crap case i had before, my system used to look like this:

 

[Everlong]

Coolermaster 690 would be my choice, a bit cheaper than Antec 900 and 1200 I think.

Mine came with 3 fans inside I think(1 front, side and back). There's space for 2 on top (depending on size of CPU cooler, I can only fit 1), and 1 on bottom.

I have 1 fan on top, 1 front, 1 bottom, 1 side and 1 back right now, and temps are fine. CPU gets about 30C idle and only about 40C while gaming. GPU is about 40-50 idle and high 50s when gaming.

Although I have the Nvidia Edition of this case, I still think the normal 690 looks nice, too.

 

[AstaLaVista]

You guys, little by little, are all pointing out the Cases I have read and want to buy, at least, I was looking at the right place.

Bruce2, the running of another card for SLI was just a dream but, if I did, I already got a new PSU coming in so I am sure I will have enough juice for them.

My other choice, seeing as how I will eventually have to buy a new case is to butcher the hell out of this one and install 80mm fans wherever I have room.

Which brings me to my next question... "Is there an easy way to know how does the fan blow? What I mean is, how do I know if the fan is blowing air out or taking air in?"


EDIT: Holly smokes, I just noticed that I became a Senior Member and "SKILLED" to boot? Aren't we lying to the new members by giving me such titles? :D

 

[Everlong]

Case fans have arrows around the outside to show which way the fan spins and which way the fan blows air.

 

[bruce2]

Which brings me to my next question... "Is there an easy way to know how does the fan blow? What I mean is, how do I know if the fan is blowing air out or taking air in?"


EDIT: Holly smokes, I just noticed that I became a Senior Member and "SKILLED" to boot? Aren't we lying to the new members by giving me such titles? :D

It really depends on where it is located such as the mod I posted earlier on this thread, blowing out. As a rule of thumb, more/equal number of fans blowing out then/to blowing in.

As for the "skilled" thing, you may follow it with "but careful" if it will make you feel more comfortable.

 

[AstaLaVista]

Case fans have arrows around the outside to show which way the fan spins and which way the fan blows air.

Ahhhhhhh, good to know... I'll check mine tomorrow just to make sure they are pointing towards the correct end.

Which brings me to my next question... "Is there an easy way to know how does the fan blow? What I mean is, how do I know if the fan is blowing air out or taking air in?"


EDIT: Holly smokes, I just noticed that I became a Senior Member and "SKILLED" to boot? Aren't we lying to the new members by giving me such titles? :D

It really depends on where it is located such as the mod I posted earlier on this thread, blowing out. As a rule of thumb, more/equal number of fans blowing out then/to blowing in.

As for the "skilled" thing, you may follow it with "but careful" if it will make you feel more comfortable.

Thanks again and... yeah, I do try to help but there are some posts that even if I wanted to help, I wouldn't know where to begin.

 

[MrNeeds]

Case fans have arrows around the outside to show which way the fan spins and which way the fan blows air.

Ahhhhhhh, good to know... I'll check mine tomorrow just to make sure they are pointing towards the correct end.

Which brings me to my next question... "Is there an easy way to know how does the fan blow? What I mean is, how do I know if the fan is blowing air out or taking air in?"


EDIT: Holly smokes, I just noticed that I became a Senior Member and "SKILLED" to boot? Aren't we lying to the new members by giving me such titles? :D

It really depends on where it is located such as the mod I posted earlier on this thread, blowing out. As a rule of thumb, more/equal number of fans blowing out then/to blowing in.

As for the "skilled" thing, you may follow it with "but careful" if it will make you feel more comfortable.

Thanks again and... yeah, I do try to help but there are some posts that even if I wanted to help, I wouldn't know where to begin.

you can check if the fans are pointing the right way by looking at the fan itself, the fins are curved so you can tell by the outside of the curve pointing toward the intake(the air blowing in), and the inside of the curve is the air blowing out, the other way to tell is the sharpest point of the fins are pointing towards the blowing out part.
the image means the air is blowing in from the front(the part closest to you)
through the heatsink and out the back.

 

[jimSON]

Coolermaster 690 would be my choice, a bit cheaper than Antec 900 and 1200 I think.

Mine came with 3 fans inside I think(1 front, side and back). There's space for 2 on top (depending on size of CPU cooler, I can only fit 1), and 1 on bottom.

I have 1 fan on top, 1 front, 1 bottom, 1 side and 1 back right now, and temps are fine. CPU gets about 30C idle and only about 40C while gaming. GPU is about 40-50 idle and high 50s when gaming.

Although I have the Nvidia Edition of this case, I still think the normal 690 looks nice, too.

I second that.
I'm using the CM 690 Case (Normal - Not Nvidia edition) and I'm very happy with this case. It came with 3x12cm (1 HDD, 1 Rear and 1 Side) coolers and has place for 4x12cm more (2 Top, 1 Bottom and 1 Side). If you place your optical drives on the top shelfs you could even put another fan under them. Most of the case is build like a strainer so air get out very well in any case.

Link to the CM 690: Cooler Master CM 690 - mid tower chassis

Link to the CM 690 nVidia Edition: Cooler Master - Ultimate provider of Computer Chassis | Cooler | Power Supply

 

[AstaLaVista]

I am leaning towards the full tower because there is always more space, not that I use that many HDD's and other DVD Roms but I always liked big cases and I feel that Mid-Towers will make a cramped space for me.

I don't know, I will try to go to the nearest Best Buy to see if they have the cases I am leaning towards in hopes to see those changes on each one.

 

[calhounhusker]

When you say "Room" for 6 (900) or 8 (1200), does that means they come with the holes to just install more fans or you need to dremmel your way into making the holes to install the extra fans?

Both cases have a spot on the side to place another 120mm along with a spot on the inside where a 120mm fan can be put.

 

[AstaLaVista]

Thanks for all the help guys. I have family at the moment so I can't play with the PC all that much this week but I am going to try to do something over the weekend.

The new PSU came last friday and I am itching to install it and I think that while I am doing that, I am going to try to install 1 or 2 more fans on the case to see if that helps, all the while, I am also going to check the fans to see if they were installed correctly

 

[thepizzaman]

you want a case? this is a case lol
Cooler Master HAF 932 Full Tower Black Case RC-932-KKN1-GP at TigerDirect.com
just wish i had money for one.....