Which "Enthusiast" Case?

[Neo_VR]

Ive just been forced to upgrade my PC due to my mobo frying.

So now im the proud owner of a Q9450 o/ced to 3.2gig, a 8800GT and a DFI LT-X48-T2R mobo.

Problem is my ol' stalwart case, a Lian-Li PC60b seems to be struggling on the cooling front. its one of the original designs from way back in the day of pentium 3's when cooling wasnt really an issue.
So i fancy an upgrade.. something a bit bigger too, as its very crowded in my case at the moment.

Ive "kinda" narrowed it down to either a Antec P182, or a Silverstone KL03. - The Antec is winning at the moment because i like the look of it and i can route cables round the back of the mobo tray.

Does anyone have any comments/other suggestions?

The case has to house the following, and be quiet too as the machine is in my bedroom..

4 hard drives
2 optical drives
Overclocked Q9450
8800GT

Thx in advance

[MaddAussie]

I love my P182 tho its a heavy bugger

[Thorsson]

The cooling king seems to be the Antec 900, but it's not everybody's cup of tea.

[dodgybob]

What I like about the p182 is the easily accessible dust filters at the front. Clean em once a week and the inside of the case stays dust free.

The only negative in my opinion is the antec tri-cool fans. Having previously had nexus fans in my old case they seem a little loud even on low, but one of these days I'll get round to buying some more nexus fans and all will be well

[Taz]

Another vote for the Antec P182 case. A useful feature is being able to route some of the power cables around the back of the of the motherboard.

[Eddd]

I have the Antec 900. Love it, it cools very well on the 'low' setting and is also very quiet on this setting.

[danroyle]

i like the antec p182.

no offence to the the 900 owners but it looked cheap and not well built when i looked at getting a new case. (and yes i did see a real one not just a pic)

i ended up getting the nzxt lexa which looks wicked but is at best ok at cooling

[Eddd]

i like the antec p182.

no offence to the the 900 owners but it looked cheap and not well built when i looked at getting a new case. (and yes i did see a real one not just a pic)

i ended up getting the nzxt lexa which looks wicked but is at best ok at cooling

I've heard lots about fans being very brittle and breaking under the slightest pressure, but I've not experienced this (but I have only had the 900 for a week ) I do agree that some areas on the 900 has it's flaws (*cough* no fan filters *cough*) and some areas look cheap. But overall it's a nice case for the price.

[UseItNow]

Whether you choose the P182 or the 900, they are both excellent choices. I love both designs, the P182 has great cable management with cooling probably going to the 900. I brought the 900 for a sibling and cannot fault it.

[merdat]

As said above they are both good cases, P182 prob has the edge as better cable management and not so much of a dust collector, but properly modified the 900 would run it mighty close.

[staffsMike]

The P182 would be my choice too it's a great case. The fans aren't loud by most peoples standards. Nexus fans are certainly silent so they will be loud in comaparison but if you aren't looking to total silence then they will probably amaze you

The cable management is very good, the coolermaster cm690 offers the same system. It's a cheaper case in price and quality but certainly does a good job of cooling, as well if not slightly better in some reviews than the 900 I believe.

[ikix]

The 900 just looks fugly to me (filles my stupid word usage counter for today), the 182 is much nicer for a 'cleaner' look both in and out aswell as sound and cable management but the 900 does have it for extra space and ridiculous airflow should you be overclocking like your chip will last till next tuesday

[EtheAv8r]

Can't go wrong with Antec P182 on air - Great case.

[staffsMike]

The one thing I did like the 900 when I eventually saw it, it is quite compact especially given it's cooling potential.

That said I agree it does look a bit tacky and lack some of the sound deadening stuff that most antecs feature.

[SiM]

The P182 would be my choice too it's a great case. The fans aren't loud by most peoples standards. Nexus fans are certainly silent so they will be loud in comaparison but if you aren't looking to total silence then they will probably amaze you

The cable management is very good, the coolermaster cm690 offers the same system. It's a cheaper case in price and quality but certainly does a good job of cooling, as well if not slightly better in some reviews than the 900 I believe.

Do you have a pic to illustrate its cable management?

[staffsMike]

For the CM690?

you can see it here



Obviously its not quite as fancy as the P182 with the well placed holes to feed the cables back in but it's still not too bad, especially give it's price which is often less than £45.



There you can see it from the front. This isn't mine just found on google.