PC Case Roundup: Spring 2008

[1971Rhino]

NZXT TEMPEST ...obviously an Antec 900 knock-off/rip-off. That side window looks wrong!

 

[garydale]

Too rich for my blood. I like my cases simple. I like to have my drives screwed in place, making good metal-on-metal thermal contact. And I hate front doors that obstruct access to the DVD writer. I keep my computers well off the floor to minimize dust intake, so I prefer side or front USB ports. And I've found that the screwless card clips too temperamental and not all that secure.

I do like the Sigma Unicorn's fold-down MB & card holder. Heck, I'd even re-arrange my desk for that feature. However, I think I'll stick with the cheap cases for now. I just don't see the point in paying twice the price for "features" that I consider flaws.

 

[TSIMonster]

The Sigma case is absolutely identical to the RAIDMAX Smilidon cases. The only difference is the door.

 

[judgedredd]

I love my CM 690...THAT HAS "tremendous airflow". And quiet...140mm fans...6 of them or you can run 120mm or 92mm or even 80mm since they drilled the openings for all those sizes except up front. The front fan is 120mm and there is a slim 80mm you can have on the backside of the motherboard where your CPU sits.

It is not a flashy case but it is like a hammer...doesn't have to be flashy to get the job done and done well.

 

[a 6pack in]

the antec 900 and 1200, and also the stackers..

i agree, all these cases are butt ugly. simplicity and cleanliness are always FTW!

 

[srslider]

Yea i like the Antec p182.

 

[srslider]

Yea I like the Antec p182.

 

[eclecticfortune]

I like the Cosmos.
I wonder what bf2gameplaya's idea of a good looking case is?

 

[1971Rhino]

I'm shopping for a new case, and the one thing I need to know is, does everything fit? If a case has 3 5.25 bays, 2 external 3.5, and 4 internal 3.5, will it fit drives in all 9 bays? With all 9 bays filled, can I fit a single or dual-slot full-length graphics card (3870 or 9600)? If the internal bays have room for a cooling fan, will the graphics card fit if I install the fan? For the record, I have 4 HDDs, 1 Floppy (XP + RAID), 2DVD drives, 1CD-RW (I could live without). My old Alienware/Antec case would have room for a large gfx card, but I would have to remove the fan from the HDD caddy, and with 4 HDDs that would be begging for problems. Also remember room for SATA and PCIe power cables! I expected more from a Tom's review.

Everything you have should fit nicely in and Antec 1200

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129043&Tpk=antec+twelve

It has loads of room and tons of airflow!

and as I always say....You'l get so much TANG [:datmanii:6]

 

[Guest]

I use a card board box for my case.

 

[fadirocks]

my last case was discounted on newegg for $50 and had 450W PSU everything is super loud but heh it did the job for a cheap built, maybe next time i get something better but yea there are alot missing cases but then as the review said only picked few cases, maybe some companies should've donated some cases to tomshardware so they can use it for comparison!

 

[Shadow703793]

I agree with Gravemind123

 

[Guest]

Another vote for the Thermaltake Armor here. A decent article nonetheless, even though it focused only on midtower cases; I know plenty of people prefer the full tower boxes for those machines we don't care to move that often.

 

[Pei-chen]

I think Antec NSK3480, Solo/P150/Designer, P180/P182, Nine Hundred and Twelve Hundred should be fit everybody's need. My friends and I have been buying Antec only for several years. Their clean and effective design is just unbeatable.

 

[Guest]

I love how the Unicorn has "a host of unique features" but is "internally identical to the Raidmax Smilodon".

You guys need to look up the definition of "unique". The Smilodon's had everything but the top power button (which itself is hardly "unique") for what, 2 years now?

 

[MTLance]

This is the worst case comparison ever. It is like comparing a single Lamborghini with ricers.
Where is the SilverStone TJ10? The Lian Li PC P80? The CM Classic 830 or CM 690? Man you suck Toms.

 

[jevon]

For the price (~$80) of the Coolermaster 690 and what you get, I just could never spend more on a different case! Esp when you start adding in the extra fans, etc. I know some people really need the extra space of some cases or want to do it for purely aesthetic reasons, but I like the simple design and full features of the CM 690.

That's my story and I'm stickin to it!

 

[rgsaunders]

With the exception of the Cosmos S, this roundup appears to be a collection of some of the ugliest crap they could find. Maybe my age is showing, but to me plastic excrescences and EMI transmitting windows are not attractive attributes for a case.

 

[aihyah]

basically they all fail the tap the finger on the side panel test that only the antec p182 passes. tap these cases and they ring like bells instead of the nice dull thud from the thick antec p182/92 case, the panels are thin and resonate. noise just passes straight through. and even if they bother with thicker metal, its generally nullified by a plastic window that just bleeds noise through. considering the price of these cases its rather sad they don't take noise seriously, they are mostly built for looks these days and well thats just not acceptable when better cases like the antecs exist.

 

[dobby]

Yea, long gone are the day are the FULL Alu cases, im gald i got my coolermaster wavemaster, makes these cases look like trash.

 

[Shadow703793]

I agree with Gravemind123. Poor round up in deed.

 

[blacklightknight]

I've been building puters since 2000 and it amazes me the nerve these manufacturers have to charge these adsurd prices for a metal box to put your parts in. There is nothing that justifies $120 and above for a pc case. Most of thses things are mass manufactured from stamped steel in the same assembly lines they build $25.00 cases and they are not much better. And please don't try and sell me that a Thermaltale or any other is worth what they charge because they use better metal or fans or blah, blah, blah.....it's all a rip-off. I guess they get away with it because teen-age noobs with mom's money don't really care what it costs as long as it looks "cool", which these cases can't even claim. Talk about boring. Sheesh!

 

[Crashman]

Lame...not the article, the comments. Dozens of comments like "I can't believe you PICKED those cases" and "How the heck did you chose this junk!"

You guys know how this works, someone at the site contacts all the manufacturers he can and asks for them to send a sample. Most don't reply on time. Those that do often send samples that nobody likes. You can't blame the author, who probably only got paid for a couple day's work out of the entire process.

Those of you who wanted the author to buy the case for more money than he was getting paid should slap some sense into yourselves...or offer to pay for them yourself.

 

[pdjh]

A 'round-up' should be far more comprehensive than a comparison of only eight obscure cases. If it is a case of not getting samples in time then delay the article until you have something worth publishing.

 

[No1sFanboy]

I agree with most of the comments here and felt no need to add my own comment until reading Crashman's. I find it incredible that you single handily dismiss the feedback from the readers and backup up your comment by presenting excuses. So let me see if I got this straight. The so called "roundup" ignores the many of the more relevant cases because:
-we got a poor response from case manufacturers
-companies are more eager to send us cases that are not selling well
-Tom's writers don't get paid enough to invest any real time
-If you want good parts reviewed then buy them for us.

In my work if I pass off poor results with a list of excuses I'd be shown the door. I'd see these as challenges that need to be overcome and not used as crutches to pass off irrelevant roundups. If Tom's traffic/revenues are just fine with these half efforts then this kind of writing is by some measures, adequate.