New case - dust filters + great airflow - need advice

[The Michael]

Hey folks,

it's about time to ditch my current underperforming disgrace of a case and get something more... well... better.

Let's start with the specs:
- Needs dust filters already built in (for all entries)
- Must provide great airflow out of the box (air coolers included)
- Should cost around 150€
- I don't care about the looks of it (honestly, it's just a case)
- Should be a Midi-Tower
- Should be able to house a GTX 680 ASUS DirectCU II TOP (for the future)

Google was my very informative but quite silent friend for the last few hours.
During my search for a fitting case, i stumbled upon the Corsair Obsidian 650D, which is my favourite at the moment.
The Cooler Master HAF X seems to be another great case, in terms of cooling and size... it may be a tad to big for me.
It's little brother, the Cooler Master CM Storm Trooper seems to be performing well enough, i couldn't find anything about dust filers, though.
Some other cases i never heard of, like the SilverStone Raven RV03 are also looking quite interesting.

So guys, what do you think?
Will these cases do the job, or do you know something better (with the above mentioned specs).

[JUNKIE]

Take a look at the Cooler Master CM 690 II series. Has dust filter on front and bottom of case,easy to remove and clean.My EVGA 670 FTW fits in here no problem at all.

[StewieTech]

^good option.

I suggest the fractal design arc midi.

[Phragmeister]

If I didn't have my Antec 1200, I'd probably buy this -

CM Storm Trooper

• The first full tower chassis with two 90 degree rotatable 4-in-3 HDD modules
• The first with an easy-to-carry handle, and hidden tool box for storing private goods
• Removable dust filters on bottom and top intakes
• A built in fan controller for cool and quiet operation
• Supports up to 14 hard-drives for future upgrades
• Convenient external 2.5” HDD/SSD X-dock
• Supports high-end hardware, XL-ATX Mainboards and Quad SLI/CF with dual slot VGAs

[Veteran]

antec 1200 is still the best case regarding air flow and dust filters or you go for a case labs and bang loads of fans in it but its expensive

[Phragmeister]

^Agreed. I love my 1200, one of my best buys to date.

[StewieTech]

Three persons in a row suggest the antec 1200 and all of them have an antec 1200. It´s suspicious...

[lucidus]

What about the HAF-XM (it's a mid tower variant of the X).

[IcE]

The 1200 is out of date and not worth buying at this point. It's not bad, but it's old.

[Agent-A01]

Originally Posted by StewieTech

Three persons in a row suggest the antec 1200 and all of them have an antec 1200. It´s suspicious...

Originally Posted by IcE

The 1200 is out of date and not worth buying at this point. It's not bad, but it's old.

agreed. im currently using a cosmos 2 and it has very good airflow, but its out of your budget and is bigger than a full tower.

[Veteran]

I also own a Caselabs and the only reason i have not put me existing hardware inside this beautiful case is because the Antec 1200 is doing a mighty fine job....Old it maybe the Antec 1200,i agree but if you want the best airflow then there is no better case unless you go custom like i said and just because i own one it doesnt mean i would post incorrect information,what i have said is true.

OP asked best case for air filter and air flow,the Antec 1200 it is in my opinion.

3x120mm adjustable speed intake fans at the front with removable dust filters

2x120mm adjustable speed exhaust fans at the back with removable dust filters

1x200mm adjustable speedexhaust fan at the top

There is no other case to rival the Antec 1200 for the amount of features for the *price that you pay* on the market.

[Mufflore]

CM 690.
Looks lovely too.

[IcE]

Originally Posted by Veteran

I also own a Caselabs and the only reason i have not put me existing hardware inside this beautiful case is because the Antec 1200 is doing a mighty fine job....Old it maybe the Antec 1200,i agree but if you want the best airflow then there is no better case unless you go custom like i said and just because i own one it doesnt mean i would post incorrect information,what i have said is true.

OP asked best case for air filter and air flow,the Antec 1200 it is in my opinion.

3x120mm adjustable speed intake fans at the front with removable dust filters

2x120mm adjustable speed exhaust fans at the back with removable dust filters

1x200mm adjustable speedexhaust fan at the top

There is no other case to rival the Antec 1200 for the amount of features for the *price that you pay* on the market.

On the top you either get two 120's or a 200, not both. Not to mention more fans doesn't equal better airflow. There are cases that can match the 1200 in airflow that are much more up to date.

[airbud7]

Originally Posted by Veteran

There is no other case to rival the Antec 1200 for the amount of features for the *price that you pay* on the market.

Agree^ I have 2 Antec 900's....My next case will be a 1200!!!...I do not care how long its been Out......Antec Fanboy=yes

[Veteran]

Originally Posted by IcE

On the top you either get two 120's or a 200, not both. Not to mention more fans doesn't equal better airflow. There are cases that can match the 1200 in airflow that are much more up to date.

On the top you get a 200mm i never heard of 2x120mm on the top,are we talking about the same case here?I have the case to the right of me at this very second since 2008 so i dont know what case your referring too.....

You say there are better cases that can match the A1200 that are much more uptodate???Uptodate in what i ask you?

Also how do you get the same if not better airflow while finding the same quiet/airflow distribution *ratio* on a more uptodate case as you say?And i know your not talking custom cases like caselabs,your talking run of the mill so please explain....

[IcE]

Originally Posted by Veteran

On the top you get a 200mm i never heard of 2x120mm on the top,are we talking about the same case here?I have the case to the right of me at this very second since 2008 so i dont know what case your referring too.....

You say there are better cases that can match the A1200 that are much more uptodate???Uptodate in what i ask you?

Also how do you get the same if not better airflow while finding the same quiet/airflow distribution *ratio* on a more uptodate case as you say?And i know your not talking custom cases like caselabs,your talking run of the mill so please explain....

I thought you said there were two 120's and a 200 on top, either I misread or you edited it. As for up to date-ness, I didn't realize they made a V3 version so I suppose that point is irrelevant.

As for airflow, my only point is that more fans isn't really necessary. How can you even objectively measure a "quiet/airflow distribution" ratio? Everyone has different noise tolerances and acceptable temperature ranges. Almost any midrange case has the ability to properly cool components.

[Veteran]

Originally Posted by IcE

I thought you said there were two 120's and a 200 on top, either I misread or you edited it. As for up to date-ness, I didn't realize they made a V3 version so I suppose that point is irrelevant.

As for airflow, my only point is that more fans isn't really necessary. How can you even objectively measure a "quiet/airflow distribution" ratio? Everyone has different noise tolerances and acceptable temperature ranges. Almost any midrange case has the ability to properly cool components.

I didnt edit my original post with regards to amount of fans and there location,id have to be a complete retard to post mis-information about a case ive owned since 2008,i edited my post with regards to the last paragraph that i posted which i added,as for the V3 A1200 its usb 3 only which isnt being discussed here.

I do agree with you about people having different noise tolerances so therefore if your somebody who has a high tolerance regarding noise from fans then may as well get a case with a lot of fans and turn them up to full as you will have cooler temps which will increase longetivity and enable higher overclocks(not everyones cup of tea) and as a bonus the fan noise wont bother you.

If your somebody who has a low tolerance to fan noise(like myself) then Antec 1200 still wins as it has many fans all pushing/pulling air and your selected adjustable speed which in my case is the lowest and its almost silent.

As a bonus it has removable/easily cleanable dust filters which is handy as dust is the main culprit of overheating in any family PC/Laptop.

As for regarding Air flow performance/noise ratio the A1200 is still the best case you can buy regarding *Price for what you pay*,you will not find a better case unless it has fallen off the back of a lorry(stolen) or you buy something alot more expensive or do some modding.

The Antec 1200 is old yes agree but for Airflow and dust filters its hard to beat even with newer and expensive cases,with the Antec 1200 you really do truely *Get what you pay for* in a very positive way.

[DualCORE1]

theirs also the cm 932 haf pretty decent airflow apart from not having dust filters

[JUNKIE]

I went from the Antec1200 (great case) to the CM 690II.I have no regrets.The OP suggested that the case he was looking for was a mid tower.

[The Michael]

Thanks for the recommendations guys!

While the Antec is being praised like a godly creature, it might be too big for me.
I just got 2x STATA2 drives, a SSD and the other components, so i don't need that much space.

Even though the Corsair Obsidian 650D hasn't been mentioned here, it's getting rad reviews all over the web... so it's still on my list.

The Cooler Master Storm Trooper might also be too big.
The 690 II Advanced could be a nice alternative, though the reviews aren't quite as good as the 650D's (Stock cooling / airflow not as good as the 650D).

Right now my two favourites are the 650D and the 690 II Advanced.
So there you have it, i'm still undecided... and i hate myself for it.

[clawhamer]

Well... I’ll put in a good word for the 650D, I’ve had it for awhile and I don’t see any reason why it will be replaced for years to come.

[Sever]

why not the silverstone raven 2 or 3?

the raven 2 has 3 large 180mm silverstone air penetrator fans for a vertical positive pressure setup that keeps everything cool, works well with tower air coolers (less turbulence due to parallel flow and air coolers run better in this case too), can house cards up to 12.2inch long and has 5x 5.25inch bays, 5x 3.5inch bays, and a bracket for SSDs on the back.

the raven 3 has 2 large 180mm silverstone air penetrator fans, and can house e-atx motherboards at 14inch+ graphics cards, as well as housing up to 11 hard drives and a crapload of places to mount fans.

the raven 3 isnt as long as the raven 2 because the raven 3 mounts the PSU at the bottom instead of at the back.

[The Michael]

Just ordered the 650D. Can't wait til it's delivered.

In the end, it's the perfect fit for me.
A lot of space, great cooling out of the box and minimalistic looks.

Thanks guys!