Choosing a case: ANTEC, Cooler Master, or Thermaltake?

[polobunny]

Originally Posted by Capper

I'd personally choose the nine Hundred over the P-180, and the Thermaltake Armor Jr over both

I can't honestly see the Armor Jr compete in terms of "coolness" to the P180 and the 900 though. It's a nice case, but it's nowhere near those two in terms of temps.
However, as a 900 owner, I have to say the dust is my worst ennemy. =/
Temp wise I couldn't be happier. The 900 all fans on low is really a nice air cooling case. =)

[Dr. V]

with capper in the equation who to believe

damn lol.

nice discussion nonetheless, still unclarity shields the decision!!!

i always REALLY liked the P180. the cable management is the only thing although i might be able to maneuver strategically around the frame. also the dust of the 900 is what ive heard many complain about.

im guessing the P180 is topping everything as of now based on what i can see...

im still curious as to why Capper really likes the Armor Jr. more than all of them - One4 too!

[Capper]

Its good to get varying opinions, different people see different issues from different angles.

The P180 is a beautiful case, but cable management aside, there are issues with cable length, several PSUs have problems reaching the 24 pin and 4/8 pin 12V connectors, so keep that in mind. Thermally I also found it to be a bit lacking.

I'm personally using the Nine Hundred, but agree with pb that while the thermals are good, its got a serious flaw with dust management. as far as PSU placement, thats not even an issue as the fan moves the heat out just fine, and the Nine hundred has that 20CM fan at the top......by the way, great write up Dread

[Dr. V]

yea that was a great write up

and capper its true many different angled opinions are always good. I'm gonna still be reading and reviewing for a bit -- I'm slowly beginning to lean towards the P180 just by a few degrees i think.

i can make sure the PSU is long enough (OCZ GameXStream should take care of that) and as for the cable management i can find away to get around that (maybe something with cable management like a Liberty or a Modular solution)

[Capper]

We always post reviews from other sites, and link other sites in every review we write, because we want you to get all the information possible before spending your money.

Also, you bring up another good point, different opinions also mean different importance, meaning what maybe important to you isn't necessarily something I might worry about, and vice versa. We simply try to give you the information and let you decide (however we also give our opinion).

[Dr. V]

yea because having an opinion probably focuses on a certain pro/con of a case, and it may or may not be something WE would consider a pro/con. in any "case" its good to have so we can compare different opinions and pretty much determine which case is best for US by reading the unbiased review, and then the biased opinion based on that unbiased review. not only will every opinion be different, but because of that, u'll get a variety about different parts of the case.

and like always, more info = better decision.

[onebxr]

I was in your boat a while back but I was looking mainly at the armor jr. I really like that case. However I found the nzxt lexa and got that case instead. If you want more info about the lexa I can get it to you. I also looked at the 900 but after looking at it I thought it felt kind of flimsy, and really no place to hide the wires. I dont know about the p180. All of this is just my opinion YMMV.
-1

[Dr. V]

sure NZXT is nice!!!

[onebxr]

NZXT Lexa
Pros:
-big case
-alot of room for wire management
-comes with or without psu(i dont trust nzxt psu's so I opted W/O)
-great airflow, comes stock with 3 120mm fans, 1 60mm fan (2 blue led fans door/window, 1 reg 120mm fan up front, 1 60mm fan up top, and a hole in the bottom of the case where you can place a fan.) all fans come with filters.
-tooless design
-looks different than any other case
-solid aluminum construction

cons:
-no removable MB tray
-silver door is just painted plastic
-front panel i/o could be labled better
-HDD led on front of case is BRIGHT, I had to take a black sharpie to mute this blinking I think I was developing seizures.

Overall very happy with this case, most of my complaints are nitpicky things. IF you want more in depth reviews just google NZXT lexa or you can go to NZXT.com and they have forums that are pretty informative.
-1

[Dr. V]

lol WOW i just realized this is the exact case i built a computer for my cuzin in.

it was very easy to work with, fans and layout all beautifully placed. oddly enough the HDD light didnt seem to bother me, him, or anyone who was using it -- it must be a personal thing.

im still greatly considering this case, just not completely sure about temps in it.

sorry for the trouble of writing up pros/cons -- great mini-eval of it though i must admit!