Advice on Computer Cases

Kipper said:

You want a case that will be in style years from now, well thought out, simply beautiful, and has it all?

Take a look at this review of the Corsair Obsidian 800D.

this was my suggestion. there willl also be a 700D released in april without the window and hot swap drive bays at a lower price point

If ya want to turn heads, you cant go past a CoolerMaster HAF 922, not too expensive, has the 'curves' plenty of fans.

Thanks for all the reviews, another question I had were about tooless maintenance for hard drive and such. As convenient that may seem is there a possible they can crack or even break and if that does happen, then what?

Yamato said:

Thanks for all the reviews, another question I had were about tooless maintenance for hard drive and such. As convenient that may seem is there a possible they can crack or even break and if that does happen, then what?

You'd just be SOL in that case.

Yamato said:

Looking at new computer cases and wonder if anyone had any suggestions. Been looking at the Antec nine hundred case. Main goal is to have case that will turn heads

I've always been quite happy with my Antec cases. Make sure to get a case with room behind the mobo to hide cabling and grommets through the mobo tray area to get cables out of the way. I'm not one that is into flashy cases with Windows and lights...I just prefer to stick to clean wiring and such to make a statement. And a great way to keep that cabling neat is to use nothing but a modular power supply. This way you only have to run the cables that you need.

The biggest problem with a lot of these cases are their sheer size. This may or may not be an issue for you...but it's something to keep in mind as many of these cases are 30-40lbs empty and they take up a lot of room.

The Corsair Obsidian is a beautiful case. I've yet to see one that outright beats that one for my personal tastes. Clean lines, all black inside, plenty of cable hiding points, access to the backside of the CPU without having to pull the mobo. My only issue was that I could not justify the nearly $300 for the case.

I have friends with the coolermaster cases, and they have all been happy with that choice as well.

Yamato said:

Thanks for all the reviews, another question I had were about tooless maintenance for hard drive and such. As convenient that may seem is there a possible they can crack or even break and if that does happen, then what?

With most of the tool less HDD slots/bays, you'd have to be pretty rough to break them. Even if the worst were to happen, there would be ways to jury rig a HDD into place.

As for the tool less PCI-e cards (video card for example) you are still better of using a screw to attach them in place.

Most of the cases recommended here can be made into 'head turners' with LED fans, LED or Cold cathode lights etc.

As pparks1 mentioned, size should also be taken into account.

Other considerations would be if the PC would be placed in a dusty/smoke/pet filled environment etc.

If you have an issue with any of those, a case with built in filters would be highly recommended.

For example,the only real Achilles heel I have with my HAF 932 is that it's a dust vacuum.


If you were to create a shortlist, I'm sure everyone will be able to pick out the good/bad points to each of them and then it's up to you to decide what suits you the best.

smarteyeball said:

For example,the only real Achilles heel I have with my HAF 932 is that it's a dust vacuum.

That's one feature of my Antec Sonata II's that I have loved. They have dust shields in the front and they capture just about everything. A few years ago we had some major brick repair work done to our house and cutting out all of that mortar made an incredible mess. Plus we replaced some basement window components...so we were getting tons of dust and dirt into the basement. My dust filters took a beating, but 6 months after the fact when I opened up the inside of my case, it looked like I built it the day before. There was no dust anywhere.

My current box at home uses an Antec P182 and it's got 2 dust filters in the front and they work very well. The box is only 8 months old, and it's squeaky clean inside.

At work, I have some Antec 300's with the BP430 PS combo and they also have front filters which do well. However, these cases have a side vent as well and dust certainly gets into the case through that side vent. If this were a home machine, I would fit the inside of that vent with a filter as well. For work, I don't care that much and will just blow the computer out from time to time with some compressed air.

The next case I go to will definitely have air filters. As much as I like this case - that really has been my one true bug bear with it.

Last winter I resorted to creating some 'ghetto' filters (nylon stockings ) but when summer came back - off came the stockings. Just like the ladies.

Now that summer is waving goodbye, I'll be able to reintroduce the stockings again. Again, just like the ladies :)

I had a low powered air compressor that I used to used to clean/clear non-electrical components, but that literally went up in smoke a few weeks back so as far as pristine conditions go - my computer is not. By the same token, it's certainly not at the level where it affects noise/temps.

Well on my ideal case lightwight would be ideal too if you wanna take it along with lan parties. So top handles are very nice too. I almost bought a scout case that looked lovely but backed out at the end since tax was going to cost me over 10 dollars online. So i'll just buy it online and have it shipped haha

smarteyeball said:

Now that summer is waving goodbye, I'll be able to reintroduce the stockings again. Again, just like the ladies :)

I'll have to move to where you are as the ladies here in the US don't seem to like wearing stockings at any time during the year. it's a darn shame, cuz they are my weakspot.

While I thought about putting stockings in my case, my wife would have accused me of just giving into my fetish.