Computer Cases Suggestions

[Fadingz]

Debating between the following cases:

1. NZXT Zero Black/Silver Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case
2. Thermaltake Xaser VI VG4000SNA Silver / Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case
3. Thermaltake Armor Series VA8003SWA Silver ATX Full Tower Computer Case w/ 25CM Fan
4. LIAN LI PC-A71B Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
5. COOLER MASTER cosmos S RC-1100-KKN1-GP Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case
6. COOLER MASTER Stacker RC-832-KKN1-GP Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case

I have an extra long GPU, and I need some space for cooling.
I'm currently thinking about Cosmos S, but I'm not 100% sure yet.

[Coolsvilleman]

Those are some pretty expensive cases. If you really need the cooling power you may be better off buying some kinda water cooling system.

[runawayprisoner]

How about this one?
Newegg.com - Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

$99.99, mail-in rebate down to $59.99, and has more than enough room for any GPU and cooling. Hey, yours cannot be as long as mine. But to be honest, I think anything will fit. I'm running an mATX system here, and I can fit in this much stuffs.

[Fadingz]

I've heard a lot of good things about Antec 900, indeed;
however, I'm building a workstation for heavy task 3D rendering (Maya and 3Ds MAX),
and I'm not sure if everything can fit in a Mid Tower with water cooling.

Here are what I plan to get:

CPU: Yorkfield [waiting for price to drop as it comes with the Q-series], duo Xeon is out of my budget range...and I'd rather get SLI GPU before that, if I can afford it that is.
GPU: FireGL or Quadro (will see about price in the near future as I am waiting for CPU)
mobo: EVGA 780i as I am likely to get a [Quadro FX4600?] (or FX5600 if the price ever drops below $2000...)
2 SATA 500GB HD on RAID 0
4 x 2GB 1066 memory
2 x DVD drives
a $70 or less sound card

and I don't think I'm going water cooling since I don't think I'll be OC'ing except for the CPU, since I'll cry if the comp bursts into flame...
and I also may add more HD's if my HD space run out.

[Spyhop]

Antec is win.

Don't get a case that looks like a lit-up toy robot. That's so played out.

[skoreanime]

The Stacker is always a good choice.

[runawayprisoner]

Then the Antec is your choice. It's got perfect airflow. And by the way... hmm... you might want to consider dual Wolfdale Xeon setup, since you might be able to bring them to 4GHz easily. That's 4 cores at 4GHz for ya.

[Phil]

the stacker 832 is the best from your list. or come to the big leagues with me an spyhop: antec P182 0r the seriously expensive antec P190..

[PCXL-Fan]

I've seen the Xaver VI up close in person and actually laid my hands on it. Not very impressive at all and has a cheap flimsy look and feel to it, especially inside the case. I guess thats to reduce weight so you can take it to lan parties.

Although I have not seen the Aluminum 8000 series in person case I can see from the pics it is quite similar to the Xaver VI.

Like Spyhop said Side panel windows are overrated. If you wanna show everybody your great internals and wiring job, just pop off the side panel which is really easy.

I have the Cosmo 1000, and its an excellent case very high quality in appearance and build quality.
The only gripe I have about it is the poor hdd cage design which causes the hdd to get hot and the fact there is little room to route large thick wires through some areas behind the motherboard so you can have very tidy cable management.

THe Cosmo S fixes the hdd heat problems at a cost of having less 3.5 bays. If you don't need 4 or more hdds in your system I'd pic this case. Even if you need more hdds you could just get an hdd mounting kit for the 5.25 bays

Great noise dampening is something to consider too and the Armour and Xaver fail at those big time.

[Rufoo]

Is the Antec 900 case quiet? I was thinking about getting a nice rig with a good case so it runs quietly.

I was interested in the Antec Sonata III or Sonata Plus 550 as they are both advertised as noise reducing cases. But I don't know if they would be ideal for say a Core 2 Quad, 2GB RAM, GeForce 8800GTX, Sound Blaster X-Fi, 1TB HDD, DVD Burner etc...

I intend to the use machine for gaming and animation/graphic design. Would either of these two cases suffice?

[Fadingz]

Yeah, I'm majorly debating between the two cooler masters;
I don't think Antec can fit my needs since I do plan to add more components to the comp when as I save enough money in the future.
Cosmos is easier for water cooling if I ever want to get one in the future when I really need it, where in Stacker, I can get a few fan and coolers less than $50 to make it really cool, though weaker than water cool.
I might just go for stacker for price I think.
For the Armor, I do agree that the side window is kinda too bright, as I check a few photos ><

@runawayprisoner
2x Xeon?! that is some 2,000+ USD you're talking about...
I'm spending my budget on my GPU, and I rather get SLI Quadro than duo Xeon if I ever rob a bank...since I'm not doing extreme programming any way, so a OC'ed Yorkfield is more than enough for me.

[runawayprisoner]

Well, two of these bad boys:
Newegg.com - Intel Xeon E5430 Harpertown 2.66GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 771 80W Quad-Core Processor - Retail

Would do wonders. I bet they can go up to 4GHz with ease... if they have adequate cooling.

Anyhoo, I just ordered a Yorkfield... and hopefully, the thing will arrive tomorrow! Will tell you what happens. And yeah, this time, it's another Xeon processor.

[PCXL-Fan]

Originally Posted by Fadingz

Yeah, I'm majorly debating between the two cooler masters;
I don't think Antec can fit my needs since I do plan to add more components to the comp when as I save enough money in the future.
Cosmos is easier for water cooling if I ever want to get one in the future when I really need it, where in Stacker, I can get a few fan and coolers less than $50 to make it really cool, though weaker than water cool.
I might just go for stacker for price I think.
For the Armor, I do agree that the side window is kinda too bright, as I check a few photos ><

@runawayprisoner
2x Xeon?! that is some 2,000+ USD you're talking about...
I'm spending my budget on my GPU, and I rather get SLI Quadro than duo Xeon if I ever rob a bank...since I'm not doing extreme programming any way, so a OC'ed Yorkfield is more than enough for me.

The Xaser is garbage VI. You should see it in person. Head on down to a computer store. Its not very impressive in person. Check all the cases in person is what I say. The pics you see on the internet really don't give you the full deal what the case is like. Really all those cases provide decent cooling. So I'd go for the p190, stacker or the Cosmo S which give nice noise reduction.

[Fadingz]

Okie, I'll head down to a comp store soon!
p190 is too much to afford :/
Noise it's really a big deal since I use a $5 Home depot 500mm x 500mm x 100mm fan to cool my current comp O..O)-b
I just need really good airflow, I think, for the tasks.
So, I guess Stacker? with 5 additional fans.

[runawayprisoner]

I wonder why you need such a fan to cool your current system? Is it really running that hot? And by the way, if you plan on getting a Yorkfield, my advice would still be... to keep it very simple. Don't over-complicate things with a whole bunch of fans or anything. Heck, if you overdo it, the fans could rock the board and make things quite... unstable. Just keep it simple, make sure everything is secured, and allow room for the system to breath.
Just telling ya... because I am using a dead-quiet system that's overclocked quite... hard. The temps are good enough, too... considering how hot it is here.

[Fadingz]

Hmmm, I see, thanx.
I'll get the fans when things start to heat up then, since they are $5 each

[Bubbafat]

I dont know, my father has the Antec and i love it. Although it gets annoying all the wind it makes!! seriously, it makes you cold!

[Squall-Leonhart]

Antec is ****, if you want stability, go with ThermalTake.

so far i've had to replace 7 antec psu's in systems i have built.

[Phil]

well their not that thrashy....but i do have a thermaltake toughpower so I can't really talk

[PCXL-Fan]

Originally Posted by Squall-Leonhart

Antec is ****, if you want stability, go with ThermalTake.

so far i've had to replace 7 antec psu's in systems i have built.

Well cases and psus are 2 totally different things. Antec may make less than stellar psus but their cases are great.