CM-690 (dominator) vs HAF 922 vs HAF 932

[zephod]

At price of £65, £90 and £100 respectively, which is the best buy. The HAF 932 has mass rave reviews and afaik the 922 should perform similarly. I only need ATX and wont be running more than 3 hdds in that case (more usually 2) so I don't need a massive case.

Part of me says the 932 is a bit big to lug around, but at only £10 more, if the airflow is improved then I may as well go for that.

However, the smaller dominator with similar fan layout might prove the best fit of the entire lot for a high airflow system.

Thoughts?

[Coolone]

high airflow system - Maybe you better go for an Antec Twelve Hundred?

[LuckyNV]

CM-690 has certain layout issues, most notably the fan cable holes are quite small and the top ones are partially blocked if you use top fans.
Several other minor issues with general build quality too.
I might be putting it down but you get a very good feature set for the money, however I would only recommend it these days if it was £50 which was how much I bought it for.

I upgraded to a HAF-932, still a high level of plastic presence but at least the build quality is much better and definitely well worth £100, air cooling is I would say the best there is (better than Antec 1200), cable holes are nice and big, but I don't use it much because there is so much room at the bottom anyway.
Plenty of room inside, its a full tower and plastic/SECC build which makes it heavy once filled up.

HAF-922, not bad, looks great on the cooling too, but for £10 I would opt for the HAF-932

[Hicks12]

I have the 690 and its a great case, i got mine from scan at £40 awhile back though so im not sure about £60 for it.

Pros:
Very good tool free system
Easy cable management
Big enough case
Quiet hard drive mounts
Looks nice(imo)
Good cooling


Cons:
Doesnt support ide hard drives as the molex connection and ide cable wont fit on the back due to the rack design. You could change one 5" bay to a 3" though.
Build quality could be improved(its still good though!)


Thats all i can think of lol, its really easy to move stuff around it but at the moment mines full of crap loads of cable that really needs sorting but to busy .

Looking at the HAF-932 it looks like a really great case, better than the cm690 albeit not as subtle in aesthetics and personally i would get that instead but it depends entirely on your budget because the cm690 is quite a bit cheaper and offers similar features.

[zephod]

I think i've discounted the CM-690 actually, although I do still like it as a case it is moving into the same price bracket as some of my other options and it just isn't quite as good. Im also looking at the CM storm as an option - it is really hard to choose. Probably if anything I'm looking at drops in price in the next few weeks I'll just press buy.

[Pob255]

If I'm not too late
Antec 300

the new HAF 922, nice layout and cooling without being very large (I've always found it odd when people buy giant cases but never actually put much in them)
the problem with the 922 in my eyes is the price it's just far too high, if it was around £70 it would be a good option but at £90 it's too much.

CM690 is very nice main complaints are
if you have/reuse an older ide hard drive, it will not fit in the drive cadie things
Side panel fan vibration/resonence issues, if you get the option to buy the side window version or the panel with the side window go for it. it only has one side fan but uses a far better mesh grill which does not cause resonence issue and if you use a 120mm fan tower cpu cooler you cannot use the 2nd fan on the normal side panel anway.

[mightymouse]

i guess its more down to personal preference. i just dont like the looks of the HAF series! then again i am really still considering whether or not to get the 690. i kinda like the looks and it being nice and compact really appeals to me.


i've seen some reviews on cable management with the 690 and i think it is decent.

[zephod]

I have a 900 and it currently houses my file server. Loved using it but didn't like the HDD bays at all. I mess around a lot and it was just too much fuss. A friend has the 300 and its about the same.

[LuckyNV]

Originally Posted by zephod

I have a 900 and it currently houses my file server. Loved using it but didn't like the HDD bays at all. I mess around a lot and it was just too much fuss. A friend has the 300 and its about the same.

Well if you are the type to upgrade or change drives often then yes you do need a case that allows easy access and changing of drives, not yet seen anything that is as quick and easy as the HAF-922/932/ATCS-840 method, installation and cables is done in 10 seconds, however both panels need to be removed (same applies to Antec cases though)

[Stanman]

Originally Posted by Hicks12

I have the 690 and its a great case, i got mine from scan at £40 awhile back though so im not sure about £60 for it.

Pros:
Very good tool free system
Easy cable management
Big enough case
Quiet hard drive mounts
Looks nice(imo)
Good cooling


Cons:
Doesnt support ide hard drives as the molex connection and ide cable wont fit on the back due to the rack design. You could change one 5" bay to a 3" though.
Build quality could be improved(its still good though!)


Thats all i can think of lol, its really easy to move stuff around it but at the moment mines full of crap loads of cable that really needs sorting but to busy .

Looking at the HAF-932 it looks like a really great case, better than the cm690 albeit not as subtle in aesthetics and personally i would get that instead but it depends entirely on your budget because the cm690 is quite a bit cheaper and offers similar features.

I;ve got the 690 and fiited ude no problem along with 3 sata.