MasterDan

I currently have two cases, An Antec 900 (lol wall 'o' fans) and a Thermaltake Xaser 2 Which looks like this, only black

I'm stuck between the two, I like my 900 because it cools better and is slightly quieter, I hate it because of the crap plastic side panel, top and fans. I've had solder break on all of the fans. The PSU is at the bottom, which IIRC, The heat from it rises, causing more problems.

The Thermaltake:

I love it because of it's stealth, yet custom look. it has alot of space, and is quite durable (really thick metal, hinges and bays) I don't like is it's loud, with 5+ 80mm Fans screaming at full RPM, it's abit loud.

If you had a choice, which would you pick? I know the Thermaltake was one of the original die-hard PC fans case from back in the early 2000's, to this date it's still costly and widely used.

I look at the Antec has a show-off Ricer type case, (I deleted all the LED's because I didn't like them) but it's good for cooling at a low volume.

I just want opinions, I know when it all boils down to it, it's personal opinion. I'm just wondering what you guys would go for (Besides the obvious mod both, or w/e I plan on modding, but I think that's gonna sit back for a while)

tl;dr Antec 900 vs Thermaltake Xaser 2.

lithgroth007

If I had to pick, I would go with the 900 all over again. I agree with you that the LED's are annoying, so I replaced all the fans with yate loons which were quieter and more efficient.

I do however like having the bottom mounted PSU, it makes cable management easier IMO. I also cut a hole in the bottom of the case so I could isolate the PSU in its own heat area. Even if you dont do this "heat rising" isnt a problem because every PSU has fans on it that will move its heat out of the case before it has sufficient time to move up.

Honestly, I think that the TT looks more like a ricer wanna be, it has too many curves and eye catching features. The 900 is much simpler, which I like.

MasterDan

I see. I always thought the Antec was more ricer, because of the top part, and the fans. Seriously? that's alot of fans, I don't live in a very dusty area thing, but find myself wiping walls of dust off the front.. I tried filters but that seem to have an angry growl and for some reason messed up my flow, and these were filter-types recommend on another forum.

iquark

OT

Put the case somewhere off the floor and it will reduce the amount of dust you collect by a pretty decent amount. If you have a space for it off the floor that is...

/OT

eflyguy

I personally love the simplicity of the Antec's, I've had the 900 (sold that rig), 300 and 1200. Airflow is great too.
..a

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Short Stroking - Why, and How / Should I worry about Trim? / Confused about Boot Devices and the MBR? / Airflow direction?

gr1mo

I would definitely go with the Antec 900, as it is a much more professional, better over all quality case.

kurosu

I would personally stick with the Antec 900. Also I am not sure if you did this yet, but you should cut a hole in the bottom where the psu goes, in order to orient the fan down to suck in fresh air which would help with cooling.

If you like the thermaltake then just keep it and either get a fan controller or buy some new quieter fans. The decision is simple if the only bad thing about the Thermaltake is just the noise.

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eflyguy

Although I agree from a cooling perspective, fan on the bottom will suck in a lot of debris.

I am switching my 300 and 1200 around so air is brought in from the top, and blown out the front and back, to reduce the amount of dust and debris sucked thru the case. All this "hot air rises" talk has no bearing on our cases with fans moving the air around (I tested this extensively)..
..a

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Short Stroking - Why, and How / Should I worry about Trim? / Confused about Boot Devices and the MBR? / Airflow direction?

MasterDan

I decided to go with the thermaltake since it can take more "abuse" and has alot more space, so if anyone wants to purchase my 300 i will gladly sell it. lol