Antec 902 vs 1200

StarSolitude · 11 Sep 2009 at 01:10

I'm building a new gaming PC soon, and I'm wondering what case to get. I'm pretty much in love with the design of these Antec cases, but I'm wondering- would an Antec 1200 be overkill? I'm just trying to save money where possible.

This is a build I'm considering (from memory):
Intel Core i7 920 @ 4Ghz
Corsair H50 CPU Water-cooler
Gigabyte X58 Motherboard
6GB DDR3 RAM
Nvidia 260GTX or ATI equivalent
1TB HDD
Two CD/DVD-RW drive's
Possibly a sound card

Would the above spec be fine for an Antec 902? Or would it be greatly enhanced in a 1200 case.

Would an Antec 1200 be MUCH more future-proof than a 902?

Thanks.

95thrifles · 11 Sep 2009 at 01:15

902 will be fine, dont worry about it, Ive got 1200 and mate has 902, to be fair I dint need the 1200, but when I bought it had reviews of THE best for air cooling, think it still is but 902 wont be far behind

StarSolitude · 11 Sep 2009 at 01:21

95thrifles said:
902 will be fine, dont worry about it, Ive got 1200 and mate has 902, to be fair I dint need the 1200, but when I bought it had reviews of THE best for air cooling, think it still is but 902 wont be far behind

Do you think the 902 will be good for another 4-5 years or so?

jamiehavok · 11 Sep 2009 at 01:27

StarSolitude said:
Do you think the 902 will be good for another 4-5 years or so?

powerfull pc parts like large graphics cards are likely to get smaller rather than larger in the future i reckon so shouldnt have any trouble. currently the 902 is big enough for the largest graphics cards and i dont think there going to get any bigger - with my 900 i had to remove the middle fan bracket to fit my 280 in and that's all. you might have trouble if you want to go sli with cooling as you couldnt fit a middle fan bracket so would have to rely on the hard drive bay fans to cool inbetween then maybe but that it

95thrifles · 11 Sep 2009 at 01:29

this is the same with the 1200, theres little/no difference in depth, which is what would effect this, the difference is in height, which allows for more drives bays, 3.5"/5.25"

StarSolitude · 11 Sep 2009 at 01:33

95thrifles said:
this is the same with the 1200, theres little/no difference in depth, which is what would effect this, the difference is in height, which allows for more drives bays, 3.5"/5.25"

Well, I am only going to have 1 hard-drive (2 at most) and probably only 1 DVD/RW drive (again 2 at most), so it probably makes sense to go for the 902, seeing as I won't make full use of all those slots.

Thanks.

EdGey · 11 Sep 2009 at 22:00

tbh, id get the 1200. bigger is better, and it looks better

dubcat · 28 Sep 2009 at 02:38

maybe im wrong but i get the impression that the fan in the side of the case is not useable in the 902 if you have any decent size gear in there whereas with the 1200 it's a bit more out of the way.

D1ngd0ng · 28 Sep 2009 at 09:44

Maybe I'm wrong but i get the impression that the fan in the side of the case is not usable in the 902 if you have any decent size gear in there whereas with the 1200 it's a bit more out of the way.

I cannot fit a side fan in my 1200 because Noctua HSF is in the way (not that it is necessary) If I was buying again and had the choice between the 902 and the 1200 I would have got the 902 as I just don't need all that room (although I do love the 1200)

maforduk · 28 Sep 2009 at 09:55

I have a 1200 and I LOVE IT!
It's HUGE and the air flow in side is chillingly cold

1200 all the way from me!

95thrifles · 28 Sep 2009 at 09:58

D1ngd0ng said:
I cannot fit a side fan in my 1200 because Noctua HSF is in the way (not that it is necessary) If I was buying again and had the choice between the 902 and the 1200 I would have got the 902 as I just don't need all that room (although I do love the 1200)

really? the side fan shouldnt effect CPU area in a 1200, think thats the point he was making before, in a 902 the side fan is above CPU, in a 1200 (certainly my 1200) its above gfx card area. To be fair though its moot anyway, they dont actually help, if anything they hinder due to interupting the otherwise perfect airflow from front to back

dubcat · 28 Sep 2009 at 10:14

yup 95thrifles - that is what i meant.. about the 902 having the fan above the cpu whereas in the 1200 it can be used to help cool the gfx card and is out of the way of the cpu cooler.

I don't really see how there is a 'perfect' airflow from front to back. There is a gigantic fan sucking air out of the roof.

Here is a video which shows the effect of the side panel fan on the 1200:

- skip to 3m35s though as he is just having a rant before that. I was a bit surprised at this test as it showed that using it for exhaust is the most effective use for it.

I was wondering if the following might be a good idea though. Using a 920 and a h50 cooler the side fan should be still usable. If you do this then how about using the back fan with h50 rad on it as intake as recommended by corsair. Keep the front as intake and use the side fan and top fan as the exhausts. Would this mess up the airflow too badly?

CK61938 · 28 Sep 2009 at 10:33

I would get the 1200. I have both these cases and the 902 has the Corsair H50 in it...It just about allowed room for the side fan to fit without hitting the tubing.

The 1200 however has the side fan right by the GPU so it gives you that extra room which can help with cooling I feel. My 1200 is pretty much water cooled all the way through (barring mosfets and chipsets) and I am glad I watercooled it cos the room inside is just immense (still thinking of a TJ07 or Corsair 800D in the future

).

So for the rig you have either case will do, but if you are thinking of future proof then the 1200 is your best bet.

D1ngd0ng · 28 Sep 2009 at 10:34

95thrifles its more because the NH-U12P is so damn big if the mount was about 5mm lower (or the NH-U12P 5 mm smaller) then it would fit fine. Mere millimetres :mad:

95thrifles · 28 Sep 2009 at 10:44

dubcat said:
yup 95thrifles - that is what i meant.. about the 902 having the fan above the cpu whereas in the 1200 it can be used to help cool the gfx card and is out of the way of the cpu cooler.

I don't really see how there is a 'perfect' airflow from front to back. There is a gigantic fan sucking air out of the roof.

Here is a video which shows the effect of the side panel fan on the 1200:

- skip to 3m35s though as he is just having a rant before that. I was a bit surprised at this test as it showed that using it for exhaust is the most effective use for it.

I was wondering if the following might be a good idea though. Using a 920 and a h50 cooler the side fan should be still usable. If you do this then how about using the back fan with h50 rad on it as intake as recommended by corsair. Keep the front as intake and use the side fan and top fan as the exhausts. Would this mess up the airflow too badly?

well airflow goes from front bottom to top back, I imagine use of side fan would depend largely on gfx card set up and specifically which cards and their cooling mechanism, if your gfx cards vent out the back, then youd want the side fan as an intake to push cold air onto the cards, if the gfx cards dont vent out the back and just circulate, youd probably want the side fan as exhaust to take the hot air away from gfx cards.
My two cents anyway

D1ngd0ng said:
95thrifles its more because the NH-U12P is so damn big if the mount was about 5mm lower (or the NH-U12P 5 mm smaller) then it would fit fine. Mere millimetres

LOL, annoying

dekez · 28 Sep 2009 at 10:51

I've got the 902 but wish I'd gone for the 1200 now. I'm looking to watercool my rig and it looks like I'm going to be a bit short on space.

dubcat · 28 Sep 2009 at 11:10

95thriles - ahh ok when you said bottom front to top back the penny dropped. I see what you mean about the perfect airflow now.