andrubruer

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Nov 12, 2009
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18,510
I'm hoping to get some insightful input on choosing the right case for my gaming rig that is to come. Here are some of the integral parts that are going in it:

ASUS Crosshair III Formula AM3 790FX
Phenom II 955 BE
(2) Radeon 5770 1GB in CrossFire
Corsair 850W PSU
4GB Mushkin RedLine (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600
(1) OCZ Vertex 60GB Solid State hard drive (system drive)
(2) 500GB Western Digital YS enterprise grade SATA hard drives (data drives)

I just need the case that will tie it all together. Thanks for any and all suggestions.
 

welshmousepk

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my favourites are the antec six hundred, and the Lancool Dragonlord K62.

the antec because its very awesome looking, unimposing and with clean lines. it also has amazing airflow.

the dragonlord because it looks cool (the sort of case your fellow lan goers would be jeaolous of) and its tool-less design is a dream come true.

 
Earlier today I recommended the Antec 600 in another thread. The poster was from the UK and he was on a limited budget. He provided a link to a UK vendor. It appears the 600 is new and not yet available in the USA.

The same thing happened when I accidently stumbled onto the LanCool Dragon Lord cases. It was available in other countries before it was available in the USA. Since then Lian Li has come out with an aluminum version of the Dragon Lord but under a different Lian Li model name. Again, the new model is not yet available in the USA.
 

andrubruer

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Nov 12, 2009
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18,510
Thank you all for the great suggestions. I like Antec and CoolerMaster, always have, so I figured they were pretty solid choices to go with. Money is really not an issue as I have been stacking cash for a while for this ultimo rig. Portability is not really an issue either since I host most of the LAN parties at my casa because I have my house wired up sweet with a nice Gigbit LAN and a solid 12MB Internet connection that seems to be plenty of bandwidth for all the gamers to use, when we're playing online. What do you guys think about the Antec 900? I may want to go with the 1200 as it will have more scalability because of its size. I don't know, that's why I'm asking for some input. Thanks.
 
I have three 900's. Like them - obviously.

The 900 or 902 would be a little cramped with 2 video cards - doable if you are not going to put more than a couple of hard drives in.

And you should know that the cases do not include a case speaker.
 
If you like Antec cases, then go for the Antec 900 or newer 902. The 900 is one of the most popular, if not the most popular case, with gamers. Ventilation, airflow, and cooling are excellent.

The Antec twelve Hundred is a classic black case. It's one of those cases you buy and keep for a very long time. Again, ventilation, airflow, and cooling are excellent.

Sometimes case selection is a matter of personal preference.
 
If you look at Page 3 of PC Gamers' 2009 Holiday Edition you will see that Antec placed a full page Advertisement on the Antec 600. And I got to say it looks REALLY NICE. Surprisingly they have not posted pictures of it on their website yet. To me the Antec 600 appears that it is going to replace the Antec 300. They are about the same size however the 600 looks a whole lot more stylish. I think it is neat that they put a sunroof on the top of the case.

Here are my predictions:

It appears that Cooler Master may be discontinuing the ATCS 840 Cases. If you notice Newegg, Tiger Direct and other sites have discontinued the silver version and only the black Version is remaining.

See here where Newegg Deactivated the Silver ATCS840:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119186&cm_re=N82E16811119186-_-11-119-186-_-Product

The year 2010 is coming.

My prediction is that Cooler Master will come out with a Stacker 850 case or an ATCS850 case to replace the 840 that will have numerous refinements that will likely include a black interior. It will also replace the Aging Stacker 830 which is in need of 2 or 3 years worth of improvements.

I believe the Antec 1200 came out in January of 2009. My guess is that Antec is making a Full Tower gaming case that will likely be named the Antec 1500 (or less likely the Antec 1202 or 1300) that should debut Jan 2010. I am thinking that it will look a lot like the Antec 600 but be much bigger with cable management holes, and a black interior just like the 902 and 1200.

I believe the ATCS840 came out in January of 2009 also. This would make a lot of sense because both companies (Antec & CM) would release full towers the same month to go head to head with each other. Or maybe there is no marketing strategy and they are just going to release the 2010 cases in the first month of 2010.

I also expect that CM will add a new case to the CM Storm line up not as a replacement but a new model all together.

It may be worth holding off on a case until Feb 2010 to see what the new year brings. These thoughts are just purely speculation backed with no facts but I think some of what predict will likely happen.
 

andrubruer

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Nov 12, 2009
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18,510
Many thanks for all the replies. I have decided that I am going to go with the Antec 902. It's such a bad ass case, will be plenty for me, and how can you not like that black finish on the interior? Thanks again.