Best buy case to fit 6870 graphics card

[Stranger1066]

I've just gone and bought a whole range of computer components to upgrade my current computer. The only things I was keeping was my zalmon flower processor fan and my antec 900 (original) case.

I will be running an ati hd 6870 in it and will eventually buy another to crossfire them. However, I doubt my case will fit them. Originally I had hoped that by sliding the drive bays forwards a fraction it would fit. (or so I was informed).

Can anyone tell me for definite will it fit in? If not I need to but a bigger case. One that doesn't get so much dust inside and preferably a quieter one.

I will hardly overclock it at all, and not at all if fans are too noisy. Any suggestions?

I'd like to spend less than £80 but I realise that thats a very small amount for what I'm asking.

 

[Meatymutawings]

It will definitly fit in.
The antec 900 can fit a 6950 maximum.

 

[Stranger1066]

Cheers. Bet that's a tight fit. Did you have to move the drive bays or take any of the graphics card casing off?

 

[Stranger1066]

It will definitly fit in.
The antec 900 can fit a 6950 maximum.

Do you run an Antec 900? I was going to put a small water cooling kit in. Again, having case issue. Some say you can, some say you can't. Don't suppose you've tried?

 

[RussK1]

Do you run an Antec 900? I was going to put a small water cooling kit in. Again, having case issue. Some say you can, some say you can't. Don't suppose you've tried?

Got this pic from Overclock.net:
2 6950's in CF, your case will fit 6870's easy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4LY7eT75PI

 

[Uther39]

They will fit but if you still want to upgrade your case to a dust free roomy cool environment then heres a few for you....

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/coolermaster-haf-912-plus-black-mid-tower-case-w-o-psu

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/antec-dark-fleet-df35-black-mid-tower-gaming-case-w-o-psu

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/coolermaster-haf-922-black-mid-tower-case-with-20cm-silent-fan-w-o-psu

 

[Stranger1066]

They will fit but if you still want to upgrade your case to a dust free roomy cool environment then heres a few for you....

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/coolermaster-haf-912-plus-black-mid-tower-case-w-o-psu

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/antec-dark-fleet-df35-black-mid-tower-gaming-case-w-o-psu

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/coolermaster-haf-922-black-mid-tower-case-with-20cm-silent-fan-w-o-psu

If I changed my case I'd look to move to a full tower as opposed to a mid tower. I've had a look at the ones you recommended and I am amazed at how cheap they are. I was thinking more like an antec 1200. Any recomendations of large cases like this?

 

[Stranger1066]

Got this pic from Overclock.net:
2 6950's in CF, your case will fit 6870's easy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4LY7eT75PI

That looks great. It's very tight and as the cards seem to have power cables on the end it effectively stops the use of those bays. Currently I moved my DVD-rw drive bays to the middle of my case and the fan and hdd bay to the top. This creates an air tunnel with my salmon fan and Really improves CPU cooling without increasing my fan speeds.

I'll try it to see what it's like, if not, are there any full tower cases I should consider?

 

[Stranger1066]

Zalman fan! Stupid auto correct on iPhone. A salmon fan would be too smelly.

 

[RussK1]

That looks great. It's very tight and as the cards seem to have power cables on the end it effectively stops the use of those bays. Currently I moved my DVD-rw drive bays to the middle of my case and the fan and hdd bay to the top. This creates an air tunnel with my salmon fan and Really improves CPU cooling without increasing my fan speeds.

I'll try it to see what it's like, if not, are there any full tower cases I should consider?

I'm going to be putting together a whole new system here shortly and I like the Antec's. It's a little of pain in the arse cleaning the dust filters and removing the drive bays due to the screws, but on the other hand, screws don't break as easily like some of the cheap plastic clips other makers use. I'd rather have reliability than pure convenience. An example is being with heatsinks... I really hate those cheap plastic pushpins, I'd rather use a retaining plate and screw the heatsink down.

Anyway, I'm going to be going with the Antec 1200 v3


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129100

...as for the tight fit of the 6950's? Yeah their tight, but the cards get direct filtered air from that bay which is really nice and put say, a Scyth Slipstream 120mm fan on the side panel is sweet as well.

 

[Stranger1066]

Anyway, I'm going to be going with the Antec 1200 v3


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129100

It is a great case. But in the UK the best price from a website with a reliable rating is £140! Whereas the product on that link directly translated into £ is about 97-98! That's an increase of nearly 50% on the USA price.

I just think its too much to pay for the exact same product. I realise there are other fees involved like transport, however I feel this is too much of a mark up. I'll have a look at getting one second hand. Any one know any good second hand websites besides ebay?

Can anyone recommend a not quite so good large full tower?

 

[mekunekud]

It is a great case. But in the UK the best price from a website with a reliable rating is £140! Whereas the product on that link directly translated into £ is about 97-98! That's an increase of nearly 50% on the USA price.

I just think its too much to pay for the exact same product. I realise there are other fees involved like transport, however I feel this is too much of a mark up. I'll have a look at getting one second hand. Any one know any good second hand websites besides ebay?

Can anyone recommend a not quite so good large full tower?

HAF 932's go for roughly £100 here. They are ALMOST as good as the HAF X which is one of the top cases in its neighbourhood. I would get one of them from Scan. Plenty big enough and enough cooling to chill even the most hardcore overclockers CPU and gear.

 

[Stranger1066]

HAF 932's go for roughly £100

Not the prettiest case I've ever seen, but it sure looks like it will do the business. I have some Blue LED components which may clash with the red, but I suppose I could replace them for pence.

I've never had any of the cooler master products before. They seem to get great reviews. One of my friends mentioned that Cosmos 1000. I've seen it for the same price as the Antec 1200, and was wondering it this would be a better bet on the quiet computing front. I notice that on some sites they the case only comes with one fan, does this mean I need to but another three fans to get a decent temp on the case? (It looks like most people run 4 fans on them.)

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/coolermaster-rc-1000-cosmos-silver-black-silent-aluminium-full-tower-case-w-o-psu-new-v2!?utm_source=google+shopping&utm_medium=google+shopping

If I pay £140 for a case, do you think I will can get a quiet gaming case that will suffice if I don't really over clock my computer. I've seen people with insane results for the I5 2500k, however at the moment, I'd rather settle on a quieter system to live with than getting the max out of my CPU and GPU. It's more than I wanted to spend, but I want a case that I can use for the next 5 years of upgrading.

A dust free, quiet, cool case with loads of space is what I'd look for. I can't find any mention of whether the HAF 932 comes with dust filters. (P.s. Dust and dog hairs killed my graphics card and made my CPU fans life a misery on my previous computer.) No matter how long I spent cleaning them every month, I could never keep on top of the battle against it.)

 

[Meatymutawings]

That looks great. It's very tight and as the cards seem to have power cables on the end it effectively stops the use of those bays. Currently I moved my DVD-rw drive bays to the middle of my case and the fan and hdd bay to the top. This creates an air tunnel with my salmon fan and Really improves CPU cooling without increasing my fan speeds.

I'll try it to see what it's like, if not, are there any full tower cases I should consider?

They don't have power cables on the end, it's on the side, please look at pic again.
putting fan at top creates an air tunnel for your CPU, putting it at the bottom creates an air tunnel for your GPU/PSU, the fan comes at the bottom for a reason.
the 6870 is quite a bit shorter than the 6950, it won't interfere with driver bay usage.
I worked on a 900. It's a nice case, buying a 1200 won't be worth it unless you plan to get huge graphics cards, which you aren't.
spend the 140 pounds on another 6870 rather.

 

[Stranger1066]

Cheers. Good advice. Thanks.

 

[mekunekud]

HAF 932's go for roughly £100

Not the prettiest case I've ever seen, but it sure looks like it will do the business. I have some Blue LED components which may clash with the red, but I suppose I could replace them for pence.

I've never had any of the cooler master products before. They seem to get great reviews. One of my friends mentioned that Cosmos 1000. I've seen it for the same price as the Antec 1200, and was wondering it this would be a better bet on the quiet computing front. I notice that on some sites they the case only comes with one fan, does this mean I need to but another three fans to get a decent temp on the case? (It looks like most people run 4 fans on them.)

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/coolermaster-rc-1000-cosmos-silver-black-silent-aluminium-full-tower-case-w-o-psu-new-v2!?utm_source=google+shopping&utm_medium=google+shopping

If I pay £140 for a case, do you think I will can get a quiet gaming case that will suffice if I don't really over clock my computer. I've seen people with insane results for the I5 2500k, however at the moment, I'd rather settle on a quieter system to live with than getting the max out of my CPU and GPU. It's more than I wanted to spend, but I want a case that I can use for the next 5 years of upgrading.

A dust free, quiet, cool case with loads of space is what I'd look for. I can't find any mention of whether the HAF 932 comes with dust filters. (P.s. Dust and dog hairs killed my graphics card and made my CPU fans life a misery on my previous computer.) No matter how long I spent cleaning them every month, I could never keep on top of the battle against it.)

Problem with that case is the airflow won't be that good. If you want a case with those sort of dimensions then get an Antec 300. I imagine it could hold a 6870 and its still plenty ventilated. Boring case but you would save quite a bit on room.