Could kick myself

[ICIT2LOL]

Missed out on a super deal for a Coolermaster Sniper but waiting too long and now the only ones I can access aer $100 more than what I could have got it for -$169.

So am looking at the HAF 932 Advanced as I do like the east / west HDD set ups and just wondering if anyone else has had one and their thoughts on the pros and cons please.

 

[smarteyeball]

Pros:

►Fantastic cooling with stock (even better after replacing stock fans)
►Room to fit adhoc fans (place fans where they normally wouldn't go)
►Is very roomy to work with. (big enough to fit a toddler )
►Will fit any video card with ease
►Good cable management
►Included USB 3.0
►Now comes in black on the inside as stock

Cons:

► Dust magnet. The front and side intake will draw dust. (There are some Demci flex filters available as on optional purchase. It will cut down on the dust, but will also hamper the cooling. Airflow restriction is only an issue if you OC heavily)
► Noise - due to it's 'open' styling (mesh everywhere) you will hear components like GPU's a little more than a more 'closed case'.
► Potential to be come a fan addict
► Aesthetics. Personally I love the look. In the flesh, it looks big and menacing But some find it to be 'ugly'.
► Size. It's a big and imposing case.


I had the original 932 and it is an awesome case. I regret giving it to my sister. Realistically my only gripe was the dust. But if you give it a wipe down at least once a week, it will mitigate a lot of accumulation.

Honestly, I don't think you'd regret it. it is a great case that looks good and will keep components very cool.

 

[Nitro58]

I also have one, and I love it. As smarteyeball said it's very roomy with great cable management ect. I don't think you would regret getting one!

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Thanks fellas might just go with this one then as yep I'm fan addicted already and have done so work on filter systems for fans and grills I know smarty it will cut down a tad on the air flow but with that many vents it should be ok.

Gary and I have been testing out some sheer curtain material after I originally tested with bridal tulle but found it still wasn't fine enough so have got this stuff now. Plus I have also tested out that Organza material too - it's just as fine as the factory made jobs and the only problem is I have only been able to find it in white.
Organza - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia & see pic you'll see what I mean.

Fixing it on I do with cloth duct tape I do on the inside of cases and although it ain't very erm pretty it does a fantastic job. I s cleanable or throw away as you please.

Oh plus it cuts down on the noise a bit too. That is the only thing that would annoy me - the noise.

 

[smarteyeball]

Thanks fellas might just go with this one then as yep I'm fan addicted already and have done so work on filter systems for fans and grills I know smarty it will cut down a tad on the air flow but with that many vents it should be ok.

Depending on material used, the decreased airflow is not that big of a deal. Components will still be well within safe ranges. With the demci flex filters. +7c was about the max increase. (they blocked dust, but were very restrictive. Psaantyhose 'gusset on the side panel was about 4-5c iirc.

Personally I found that replacing the rear 140MM with a more efficte fan, as well as replacing the side and top fans (4x 120mm side, two 120mm top (3 was a waste) ) was the most effective.

Adding another 120mm on the back on the HDD cage also augmented the front intake. Placing the side fans on a controller was a good trade off between noise and airflow.

Oh plus it cuts down on the noise a bit too. That is the only thing that would annoy me - the noise.

As mentioned - a fan controller helps with the case fans. Summer time - fans go up, winter, fans go down. Select some quiet fans and you can all but eliminate obnoxius noises. For cpu coolers I had noctua Nh-12P and a NH-D14 which which are quiet at full tilt. Add some resistors (if not over clocking) and they run virtually silent.

For most of my HAF's life I had reference cooled CF setups. Undoubtedly you'll be running a single GPU @ idle loads most of the time so the noise becomes an non-issue.

HDD's - never heard them.

(Iirc, you aren't a gamer)




If you'd like to mention the specs of of all components going into the HAF, I can help offer the best fan setup suited to your needs.

 

[Hopalong X]

I have been using my HAF 932 advanced for 2 years as my main and only rig.

Super quiet with stock fans. You can look at my specs on other hardware.
The three 230mm fans are hooked up direct to molex 12v and have been running 100% (800RPM???) 12 hours plus per day for the past two years.
No failures or noise.

Now if you go with water cooling with the radiator in the top I'm sure you will get more fan noise of course.
That will occur with any case used.

Dust is a nuisance with any case.
Just rig it up with panty hose as we discussed you suggested months ago in your thread in the Chill room.
Front and side intake. Works for me.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Ok Hoppy might just go with the HAF then - I'm not intending to use liquid cooling anyway just that we wanted to try out some OC and the dust well mate as I think I mentioned I found the Organza and the sheer curtain material that I shared with G are the best.

We did come up with a design for a grill using square gutter guard mesh that clipped onto the cooler - (fan / side) on the cooler too but have opted for the round ready made one with the filter over it. It is less noisy than those honeycomb grills - which you can make quieter with filter material though.

As for the rest of the case well nigh impossible to cover all entry points and I think one has to be realistic regarding that eh?

Actually I was thinking of asking Arctic (they probably think I am mad - which I probably am) if it were possible to have dry ice inside the pipes in coolers - these would no need the circulation of the conventional ones on account of the extreme cold in it's solid state. Only problem I can see is that it poses a risk to the machines owner by contact with the pipes. If you have ever let off one of those CO2 fire extinguishers you'll know what I mean.

 

[Zepher]

I have one as well,

The Haf-X is not too much more, looks cooler, and has 2 hot swap bays.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119239

They also have a Hax-XM mid tower that looks cool as well,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119257

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Thanks Zepher That is huge and so neat - love the big fans and also what is my favourite the east / west drive bays.

The only difference is I shall have the Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 Pro CPU Cooler as I have two already - one in my main and one in the tester and are incredibly efficient and they can only just be heard even with your ear next to the fans!

But nice looking case as it doesn't have all those chunky outside bits - not fussed over that sort of thing eh?

I also like Coolermaster not just for cases - main's a Centurion at the moment - but also the fans too.

 

[Hopalong X]

Ok Hoppy might just go with the HAF then - I'm not intending to use liquid cooling anyway just that we wanted to try out some OC and the dust well mate as I think I mentioned I found the Organza and the sheer curtain material that I shared with G are the best.

I knew you/we came up with some ideas for material I just couldn't remember them all.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

No probs mate I forget stuff all the time

 

[pparks1]

Don't forget to take a look at the Corsair 650D case. It's a great case, side mounted hard drives, etc. I personally don't like these enormous cases as they end up taking too much space and hardly ever get filled to near capacity.

My personal case is an Antec P182, and it's extremely quiet, and pretty much dust free inside (love that), but it's bigger by far than I need and my next computer will be in a smaller case for sure.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Don't forget to take a look at the Corsair 650D case. It's a great case, side mounted hard drives, etc. I personally don't like these enormous cases as they end up taking too much space and hardly ever get filled to near capacity.

My personal case is an Antec P182, and it's extremely quiet, and pretty much dust free inside (love that), but it's bigger by far than I need and my next computer will be in a smaller case for sure.

I'll have a look pp for those but I can't remember seeing refs to them.

 

[kodi]

I use womens anklet stockings which come in black as a filter, they come with elastic fitted to them and they just pop over the fan and the elastic holds them in place.
They are very cheap to buy and do not restrict the airflow

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Hum well have just looked the review in Youtube for the HAF XM and at that price $149 (here) and the PSU bottom dust filter which seems to be the fly in the ointment - which I can leave out and place an outside filter on instead.

Oh and yep kodi there are lots of cheap alternatives to the expensive ready made ones - I just like experimenting.

 

[smarteyeball]

Outside and accesible is the way to go. On my current case I have to remove the hdd cage to get at the front filter because its about .70mm to close the fan assembley. Pita...

 

[pparks1]

I too took some pantyhose and constructed filters out of them. I used cardboard to cut out templates to put over my input areas of my case and cut out windows in the cardboard and covered them with the pantyhose. They are working very well. This is on the inexpensive case that I used for my server recently. My nicer PC's have cases with dust filters.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Yep another cheap material is the polyester wadding that is used for upholstery. I use it mainly in my tropical fish tank in the over top filter but it would be just as easy to get the right thickness or even split the wadding down the centre and again to get the right thickness.

It's cheap and you can get all sorts of different sized "meshs". Now you can either wash it and let it dry - real easy and quick and if you are worried re the static then just use some of that anti static fabric spray. Or just throw it away my experience it doesn't last too many washes so you eventually have to throw it away.

However my favourite is still that Organza - if only I could find it in black - no not to wear cos I know what you're thinking LOL!!

 

[linnemeyerhere]

With steel cases I like to fab my own filters from fine mesh window screen materials also available in several colors. I put double face tape down then lay a sticky back magnetic strip down on all four sides and viola.







They are easily removed and then cleaned, filter well but don't impede air flow as much as a super fine mesh. I wish I could mount them on the front dual 120mm intakes but on my case it's all plastic. I was thinking of doing and dual Velcro but then you're dedicated as the Velcro is a semi permanent mount to the case.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Pretty cool linnemeyerhere you sound like a bit of an experimenter like myself don't know about you but it's almost like an adrenaline rush eh?

I'd like to get hold of some of that sticky sided magnetic stuff too as I can only find the non sticky variety.

Am about to experiment with Velcro too but have got to work around the finish side first