Thermaltake or Antec for i7 SLI ?

[ikuse]

I'll be upgrading my case, and atm only have Thermaltake or Antec to choose from.

My setup will be:
GTX285 x2 SLI
Intel i7 920 @ 3.8Ghz
Asus P6T
Corsair 750W
OCZ 6GB RAM
1TB HDD
Thermaltake Frio (I'll buy it this week)

Do I need to buy a full-tower for this ? Or an Antec 902-2 will do ?

Suggestions ???

[Major_A]

What are the case options? Cases are like shoes, what I might like you might hate and vice versa. Get the case you like better. As long as the case supports the ATX form factor (which 95% do) then your setup will work.

[bubba]

The Nine Hundred Two is an updated Nine Hundred, with blacked out interior, more than one person has crammed way more into one than you have listed. Was the most popular case for gamers for a good long time before the copy cats started.

The issue with the Nine Hundreds is with video cards that are longer than the mother board is deep you can loose drive bay space, cant remember how long a GTX285 is. Since your running only one drive shouldn't be an issue for you.

Any reason you are limited yourself to Antec and Thermaltake?

[ikuse]

What are the case options? Cases are like shoes, what I might like you might hate and vice versa. Get the case you like better. As long as the case supports the ATX form factor (which 95% do) then your setup will work.

I know, aesthetically I don't really care that much. What I'm really looking for is a great gaming case with good cooling options.

Any reason you are limited yourself to Antec and Thermaltake?

Atm, gaming cases are only imported by a couple of places here and the normal brands are Antec, Thermaltake, CoolerMaster.

List of current options are here

Currently I have only 1 gtx285 but selling would be like The best I can do is just buying a new one I think and set up a sli. Other ideas (rather than trashing it ) ?

[bubba]

Not sure what your budget it, but looking at the cases on the link you posted I would pick the Cooler Master HAF922. http://www.tranza.com/softis/pv/3226/

Its a bit more than the Nine Hundred Two, but its a bit more flexible on what can be done on the inside also has a fair bit better cable management.

[ikuse]

Yeah, after reading dozens of posts online one of the cons was the lack of air filters over the 902-2

[ikuse]

What about the Antec DarkFleet DF-85 hasn't it got better cooling and also cable management than the haf922 ?

What is better x2 120mm or x1 240mm ? Bigger fans are more quiet than small ones right ?

[Major_A]

Generally speaking bigger fans move more air at a lower RPM, thus less noise. It seems that the newer cases are using more 240MM fans than in previous cases. At this pace 120MM fans might go the way of 80MM/92MM case fans soon.

Like I said before get the case that YOU like the best.

[bubba]

Yup the look that you like is most important, if looks are secondary then I would look at the HAF.

I have used one for while, and have no issues with dust, but I dont have my stuff setting on the floor, nor do I live in a dusty environment. If filters are a need for you then any of the HAF series is out, they have no filters at all.

[DaddyRabbit]

The CM Storm Sniper is an excellent choice also,

- Quiet
- Great cooling
- Built-in fan controller
- World class cable management

Love mine

[ikuse]

Damn, I have no idea which one to choose from.

CoolerMaster Storm Sniper Black Edition
CoolerMaster HAF 922
Antec DarkFleet DF-85
Antec 1200


I don't care about the looks at all.
If dust filters are included, great.

They all have nice cooling and cable management.

Pros/Cons ?

[bubba]

The DF-85 and the 1200 are pretty much the same case, with some slight feature differences, and different exterior

Either of the HAF922 or Sniper, to me, have better cable management. The Sniper has filters too.

[Sparky]

You can't go wrong with the HAF 922. I just built the new rig in my signature and I for one love the tooless case. One of the easiest builds of done in quite some time, nice quality case, great air flow.

[ikuse]

I'm sure, they all look great. The Sniper has also great airflow, global fan control and dust filters (also supports bottom fan) but hasn't got liquid cooling cutouts I think (not necessary but if it has, better)

[bubba]

Yup the Sniper has water tube holes.. My review for it http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1131/1/

My others for ..
HAF922 http://www.legitreviews.com/article/970/1/
DF-85 http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1371/1/
1200 http://www.legitreviews.com/article/777/1/

and Ken's review for the 902 http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1207/1/

[ikuse]

I haven't decided yet xD

But I know am evaluating the cooling options:
Thermaltake Frio
Corsair Hydro H70

Most online reviews and feedback say that they are a bit pricey and loud. I think that it happens with almost every high-performance cooling systems.

Megahalems are also another possibility, but they are huge. And I think TT Frio has similar performance for OC.

[Major_A]

For the price of the H70 coupled with the fact it's water (meaning it could leak, pump stop working, etc...) I'd look at the Noctua NH-D14.

[ikuse]

Yeah xD It's fu$%& huge ! And to top it all, U$S190 in the only one store I can get it

TT Frio is going to be my choice I think.

[ikuse]

Two last questions:

1. The measurements of cases, coolers and alike are taken from the front right ? I mean Height would be like the Y axis, Width the X axis and Depth the Z axis ?


2. I'm not sure yet, but if I buy the Noctua, would it be compatible with any of the cases ? (According to the site, Noctua's width is 160mm with or without fan)

[bubba]

The DF85 and the 1200 can handle 160mm tall coolers, here is a shot of the DF85 with a 156mm tall Zerotherm Zen.

Cooler Master says that the HAF922 will do up to 160mm tall coolers, you will loos the side panel fan to do it. Same for Sniper, here is the Sniper with a 156mm tall CoGage True Spirit