New case thoughts and recommendations.

pparks1 said:

As the original poster said, he isn't into the look of the HAF X. It's not for everybody. I'm not into the "industrial" look as I call it and I really dislike lights and windows and all that fancy stuff.

Just as you’re not into the "industrial" look remember that not everyone is into the conservative look either

As to the "industrial" look of the HAF X, I agree, it's not for everyone, but functionally, the case performs very well, especially if you're air cooling your components.

If you are not into the clear windows that’s ok. As far as the "lights"…. the case only has one lighted fan, and it can be turned off by a switch on top of the case!

Yeah, I loved the clean look of the Antec P182 myself, but it grew old and out dated for my needs. Incidentally, I passed on the Antec P193 because of aesthetics, to me that's one ugly looking front side on the P193.

But yes, to me, Corsair’s 700D & 800D does look better than the HAF X, but for my needs, and wallet, it's too big and too expensive for what you get.

Example, the HAF X comes with two hot swappable bays built in. You can only get these on the 800D, and the 800D is like 249, whereas the HAF X is like 199. You also get two SATA 3 connections; neither the 700 nor 800D has them.

Anyways it’s a moot point since the OP made up his mind on what to get, and a nice one I might add :)

I just wanted to make a point.

Peace

@ kylehimself, nice case

Hopalong X said:

I didn't think they could make a case bigger than a CM HAF 932!
The height is about the same, well maybe, but yours is deeper, front to back by a couple of inches at least.

The HAF came with wheels but I think you may need a crane when you get everything upgraded.!

CM HAF 932 - 22.70" x 9.00" x 21.50"
Corsair 800D- 24.00" x 9.00" x 24.00"
You just had to go there and make everyone on this thread jealous!!!

Looks great! Enjoy!
Mike

I always knew it was big and I even got the tape measure out to check before it arrived, but you only get the real idea of how big it is when you see it.

The funny thing is, I wanted a "subtle" case and while the styling is as such, the sheer size is as subtle as a brick to the head! lol

sygnus21 said:

Just as you’re not into the "industrial" look remember that not everyone is into the conservative look either

As to the "industrial" look of the HAF X, I agree, it's not for everyone, but functionally, the case performs very well, especially if you're air cooling your components.

If you are not into the clear windows that’s ok. As far as the "lights"…. the case only has one lighted fan, and it can be turned off by a switch on top of the case!

Yeah, I loved the clean look of the Antec P182 myself, but it grew old and out dated for my needs. Incidentally, I passed on the Antec P193 because of aesthetics, to me that's one ugly looking front side on the P193.

But yes, to me, Corsair’s 700D & 800D does look better than the HAF X, but for my needs, and wallet, it's too big and too expensive for what you get.

Example, the HAF X comes with two hot swappable bays built in. You can only get these on the 800D, and the 800D is like 249, whereas the HAF X is like 199. You also get two SATA 3 connections; neither the 700 nor 800D has them.

Anyways it’s a moot point since the OP made up his mind on what to get, and a nice one I might add :)

I just wanted to make a point.

Peace

@ kylehimself, nice case

I can see where you're coming from mate. At the end of the day it's each to their own. Some people love the complete over the top and others like things a bit less oblivious.

As for the price though, I got it for £206 so not much more than the HAF X. Though most places I've seen it it has been £250 and some even as high as £280!

pparks1 said:

In all seriousness....that's a bit ridiculous . I can totally understand the desire to have some more room to work around...but honestly this just seems like way, way, way too much for the hardware that you have now and will likely have in the next few years.

Oh no doubt. I will have the HD5870 by the lestest the end of November and as I said, I hope to have a 2nd by mid 2011. presuming the 6xxx series will have been announced and the 5's will have gone down in price. Should also be adding a few new HDD's in there too because my 500GB just isn't enough. Even at the 800D will never be filled... but sure. It's massive but it's not in the way so the size isn't an issue. Plus given that I got it for £200 odd and the size isn't a problem, I might as well get as much case for my money right?

pparks1 said:

Any reason that you want the extra cooling? You certainly don't have a cooling problem. Adding those extra fans seems to be excessive simply for the point of being excessive.

That is true, and from seeing my friends Vapour-X 5870 in action I know that when I pick mine up the temps will probably improve more without extra cooling but again, I've got the space, why not use it?

pparks1 said:

I'm happy that you are happy and I'm glad I got your directed towards a case that you really love. It's too bad they don't make a 1/2 size of that case with all of the same features because even that would have provided nearly limitless expandability.

I'm happy, you're happy, I'm happy

kylehimself said:

I'm happy, you're happy, I'm happy

That's the bottom line :)

Peace

sygnus21 said:

Peace

Good man yourself!

linnemeyerhere said:

My vote and purchase was all for the Corsair 800D but when I found it discounted then the freight was an extra $80.00 and when full price free shipping couldn't find both which for the saving of over $150.00 had me go with the Thermaltake Element V Black Edition. It's a little small for a full tower but overall I can't see anyone complaining about that. No removable mobo tray but every thing else is spot on.

Nice pick up mate. How much did that cost you in the end?

linnemeyerhere said:

I feel that the case is one of if not the most important choices if purchased correctly it will never need to be replaced and that reduces crap in our landfills.

Too true, my old one will be going in to a new build for my mum who will likely use it for 10 years. Her current system is older! and the 800D isn't looking like it's going to need updated... Ever! It wont so long as the hardware doesn't drastically change.

I notice you have an SSD in there mate. Do you use it for the OS? If so, how is it? It's something I've wanted to do for while but not sure if it's worth the cash, even just for a small one for the OS alone.

pparks1 said:

I'll be honest, I've never encountered a single person who bought an SSD and later complained that it wasn't worth the cash. The only complaint I ever heard was, "why didn't I do this sooner".

I took the plunge a while back and went with the 80GB Intel for my box, just for the OS and my apps. By far, it was the single biggest upgrade that I have ever made on a computer. I just keep a 1TB WD Caviar Black in the box for downloads, music, and larger data files that I don't want sitting on the SSD.

I've not played around with configured HDD's or anything before, so this question might be a bit daft. I presume the 2nd drive you have just connected as normal via S-ATA but shows up in "My Computer"? Almost like an external HDD?