Akasa Eclipse 62 or Antec 900

[DecomposingStar]

Both are putting up a great fight in my interest books.

The Antec 900 has brilliant cooling as standard and looks absolutly brilliant.

The Akasa Eclipse 62 has been recommended by several, has buckets of space but is a bit ugly, and there is no word of included fans (all i could figure out is that they are loud IF there is any).

From personal opinion the Antec takes my fancy, at a lower price (in total, including the fans i'd have to buy) and nicer looks.

But i've had alot of recommendations for the Akasa, so i'm torn. Is there anything wrong with either of these cases?

[DaKid]

I have the eclipse. Not svelte, for sure, but I don't think it's ugly, per se. It's almost elegant in a fairly sizeable way

It doesn't include fans though ... this does mean you can choose the fans you want though ... with or without lighting; for power or for lack of noise

[DecomposingStar]

I spose the word "ugly" was a bit heavy handed, but it's not particularily aesthetically pleasing.
I do see the advantage of choosing my own fans, however it bumps the price of it up by another £15, also i'd have to buy a side window... yet another £15.

All opinions welcome.

[doddsy]

I have the eclipse too, I agree it's not the prettiest case in the world. My girlfriend thinks it's an absolute monstrosity! (silly woman)

It is a fantastic case though, plenty of room for everything you could ever want, it's a pleasure to work in and cable tidying is easy because of certain little hidey holes. Get some yate loons or nexus fans (or even akasa ambers) and you won't hear a thing. Temps are pretty good on it too, pretty much because there's so much room in there.

I personally like the look of the 900 but it just looks like a dust trap, and with the amount of fans (which are tri-cool fans and that means you have to open the case to change the setting, which is possibly the most annoying thing in the world!) it could be pretty noisy.

[GSte]

Originally Posted by doddsy

I personally like the look of the 900 but it just looks like a dust trap, and with the amount of fans (which are tri-cool fans and that means you have to open the case to change the setting, which is possibly the most annoying thing in the world!) it could be pretty noisy.

I thought it would be a bit of a dust trap, but turned out better than my Raidmax Ninja, in that there aren't as many choke points for the dust, so it's actually easier to manage.

It looks very masculine in my opinion which is a good thing, and does keep everything lovely and cool. I swapped the tri-cool fans for red LED ones (because I like pretty lights, okay?) and have them all working off a controller. The removable HDD racks are the best thing about this case for me, just makes things so much easier.

The only downer is the way the fan attaches to the side panel. It's held by moulded clips that dont fit correctly, so the fan vibrates very loudly. Why didn't they just let us use screws! I put a dampening kit on and it has lessened it a lot, but there's still a hint of sound.

Overall though, the best case I've owned yet. Very happy

[Dreaming]

I'm not too fond of the 900, I think it's too big. But, it comes down to personal opinion really. I've never seen the akasa, but you can't go too far wrong with Antec. I think whatever case you get you'll be pleased, unless you start comparing it, then no matter what you'll wish you got the other one . (I often wish I had got a solo instead of a p180, so much easier to carry! - but where would I have fit everything in lol)

[aidanjt]

I'd never get the 900, I wouldn't have anywhere to stick my feet up

The Eclipse gets my vote.

[Carbine]

Eclipse also gets my vote, loads of space and quite a bit of modding potential to make it look nice... far from ugly anyways

[bee]

the 900 definetely has the better cooling and imo the better looks but the eclipse is much better to work with and hide cables etc.

[JimNastics]

I hadn't seen the Eclipse 62 before I read this thread so decide to check it out... sorry but, unless the photo doesn't do it justice, that is one god-damn ugly case!

http://img.hexus.net/v2/cases/akasa/.../front_big.jpg

[Thorsson]

D'accord. It's butt-ugly. And I can't see how you're gonna get any decent airflow.

It's probably popular because it's so big it's an easy builder.

[doddsy]

It's not butt ugly, admittedly no-where near pretty (Unless you have a custom w/c loop in it all UV'd out!) but the air flow is fantastic. Temps with it are great.

[neonplanet40]

another vote for the eclipse here. its the best case i have ever bought and when fitting with 2 120mm fans it is quiet and cool!

[Thorsson]

Originally Posted by doddsy

It's not butt ugly, admittedly no-where near pretty (Unless you have a custom w/c loop in it all UV'd out!) but the air flow is fantastic. Temps with it are great.

How is the airflow fantastic? There doesn't appear to be any way to have an intake at the front.

[doddsy]

The fan goes between the HD caddy and the front of the case, i'll put pics up to prove it's there if you want? And there are a series of slots in the front of the case which allow air to pass through to said fan.

[aidanjt]

The Eclipse isn't ugly, it's simple, and elegant, as is the rest of the design of the case, it's amazingly practical, and if you want to tart it up you can get the optional windowed side panel and whack a watercooling loop and uv lighting. At least it has room to do these things and still keep the cabling tidy.

I don't like cases with face plate bling and over-engineered solutions that just get in my way.