New Build

I know of no problem. Just a suggestion of things one might want to look at. I also don't have a problem with Antec cases; I also use them. Just a suggestion of a couple of things to look at.

Layback Bear said:

I know of no problem. Just a suggestion of things one might want to look at. I also don't have a problem with Antec cases; I also use them. Just a suggestion of a couple of things to look at.

Right, okay.

kodi said:

OCZ Vertex 3 60GB SSD [06OSSDS3-25M-60V3] - $139.00 : PC Case Gear

I have this one and it is fantastic, have had no problems with it.

I'll go for the 120GB then. Do you use it for your OS and programs only?

JaidynM said:

I most likely won't be overclocking the GPU. The CPU sure, but I see no game that needs a performance boost from a 580

There are still quite a few games that respond nicely to a bit of a GPU overclock, but for the most part I run my 580 at stock.

JaidynM said:

I'll go for the 120GB then. Do you use it for your OS and programs only?

It's worth the extra for a 120GB - OS,apps and several of your favourite games/ones that benefit from faster loading times.

smarteyeball said:

JaidynM said:

I most likely won't be overclocking the GPU. The CPU sure, but I see no game that needs a performance boost from a 580

There are still quite a few games that respond nicely to a bit of a GPU overclock, but for the most part I run my 580 at stock.

JaidynM said:

I'll go for the 120GB then. Do you use it for your OS and programs only?

It's worth the extra for a 120GB - OS,apps and several of your favourite games/ones that benefit from faster loading times.

Fair enough. I'm scared I won't be able to fit everything though. The size of all my games adds up to around 20-30GB.

30GB is no worries on a 120GB.

I have all my apps and about 50Gb or so of games on each of my SSDs with room to spare. The only app that I don't use the SSD's for are virtual machines. Due to their size, they go on the RAID.

I use it for my OS and some programs that insist on installing on the "C" drive.
Just a word on your choice of case, I don't know what brand of fans it uses but 5 of those smaller fans can be very noisy please do some Googling and see what other people say.
I have an Antec 900 sitting in the shed because the fans were too noisy.

Antec uses the Tri-Cool fans. Pretty good, with a 3 speed switch. But on low, all of them can be noisy. But livable until the Noctua fan itch sets in :)

A Guy

Edit:

Speaking of the fans, you will find there is no lack of them in the DF-85. In the front there are three 120mm fans. Each fan emits a red glow of light and their speeds can be individually controlled with the twist of a dial. On the top, you will find twin 140mm fans. If you choose to remove them, this space will easily accommodate a 140.2 radiator. Antec keeps the feel of the 1200 in the back of the DF-85 with two 120mm fans to exhaust warm air from the chassis. The rear fans also come with red LEDs to add a bit of color to the inside of the chassis. All 4 of these are Antec TwoCool Fans with four little switches in the rear of the case for speed control.

TwoCool 120mm spins at ~1500RPM on the high setting and ~900 on low. The 140mm TwoCool spins at ~1200RPM and 800.

smarteyeball said:

30GB is no worries on a 120GB.

I have all my apps and about 50Gb or so of games on each of my SSDs with room to spare. The only app that I don't use the SSD's for are virtual machines. Due to their size, they go on the RAID.

kodi said:

I use it for my OS and some programs that insist on installing on the "C" drive.
Just a word on your choice of case, I don't know what brand of fans it uses but 5 of those smaller fans can be very noisy please do some Googling and see what other people say.
I have an Antec 900 sitting in the shed because the fans were too noisy.

Right. So I'll need no more than 120GB?

A Guy said:

Antec uses the Tri-Cool fans. Pretty good, with a 3 speed switch. But on low, all of them can be noisy. But livable until the Noctua fan itch sets in :)

A Guy

Edit:

Speaking of the fans, you will find there is no lack of them in the DF-85. In the front there are three 120mm fans. Each fan emits a red glow of light and their speeds can be individually controlled with the twist of a dial. On the top, you will find twin 140mm fans. If you choose to remove them, this space will easily accommodate a 140.2 radiator. Antec keeps the feel of the 1200 in the back of the DF-85 with two 120mm fans to exhaust warm air from the chassis. The rear fans also come with red LEDs to add a bit of color to the inside of the chassis. All 4 of these are Antec TwoCool Fans with four little switches in the rear of the case for speed control.

TwoCool 120mm spins at ~1500RPM on the high setting and ~900 on low. The 140mm TwoCool spins at ~1200RPM and 800.

Yes, I was quite worried about that. Too much noise for my taste as I won't be doing anything that will require that many fans anyway.

I've chosen either a Thermaltake Chaser MK-I or a Coolermaster HAF 932 Advanced. They're more or less the same size and are both full tower. Similar number of drive bays and both have USB 3.0. Thermaltake one looks like it has more fans though the majority of them are 'optional' which confuses me.

I'm leaning toward the Thermaltake one as it looks better too. You can also change the LED colour as well as fan speed from the exterior of the case which looks handy. Reviews also say it's relatively quiet.

Both are great cases and will perform well.
The fans that come with the Thermaltake are a 200mm in front, 200mm top, 140mm rear, 200mm side, you can fit a 120mm to the bottom if you want to. All the other ones are just extra mounting places for alternate fans.
With those fans you will hardly know it is on, I purchased a fan controller for my Haf-x and found that it was a waste of money as I run my fans at full and the noise is acceptable.

kodi said:

Both are great cases and will perform well.
The fans that come with the Thermaltake are a 200mm in front, 200mm top, 140mm rear, 200mm side, you can fit a 120mm to the bottom if you want to. All the other ones are just extra mounting places for alternate fans.
With those fans you will hardly know it is on, I purchased a fan controller for my Haf-x and found that it was a waste of money as I run my fans at full and the noise is acceptable.

Thanks, Brian. I'll see what the others opinions are too but I'll be going with the Thermaltake at the moment. :)