I want to replace my Antec 1200

flame696 · 4 Mar 2010 at 16:56

Hi guys

ive been thinking about wanting to change my Antec 1200. I have come into a bit of money so my budget is £200 max. ive been looking at the corsair 800d but that case is only good if you have a water cooling setup in it or corsairs own H50. I dont see the point of buying the H50 when i have 'TRUE' which is lapped. so do you guys have any recommendations, i have also been looking at the silverstone Fortress FT02 but im not sure

alex24 · 4 Mar 2010 at 17:01

Why do you want to change the 1200? The reason may give us a better impression as to what to recommend you.

£200 on a case is a lot of money. There are great cases for ~£100 too. Depends on what you want from it.

flame696 · 4 Mar 2010 at 17:20

well the main reason is becuase im bored of looking at the 1200 (i know stupid excuse but i bought the best air cooling case) also even on low the case is still noisey. i modded the case, painted the case and fans so now im out of ideas and just really wanted something new to look at.

I want a case that will keep my rig (see sig) cool and be reasonable quiet

bJN · 4 Mar 2010 at 17:27

the CM690 II Advanced has 10 spaces for fans I think, so if you had all those working it could be quite quiet

And the 800D is in no way JUST for watercooling, you can do whatever you want in it - it may be a full tower yes but that does not mean it MUST be watercooled...

alex24 · 4 Mar 2010 at 17:33

Most high end cases won't have a problem cooling that spec if you've built it well and managed cables sensibly.

I've always liked silverstone cases, the FT01 is a lovely looking and well made piece of kit. The FT02 is nice too, I'd choose depending on which you prefer personally.

They won't be silent though. The key to a quiet case is managing the fan speeds yourself. In fact, are you still using the default antec fans? There is much to be gained by replacing them and adding a fan controller at the same time, the difference is massive. Noctua fans are the best for performance and noise.

For quiet cases, look at the P183. It's not the best at cooling, but will be good enough, and will be the quietest with some decent fans I think. It's built to be a bit more subtle and quiet in general. Cases like the Lian Li's will be a bit more prone to vibration as they're built from aluminium. If you can mount things like HDDs and optical drives in there and dampen them (e.g. bungee mod) you'll be laughing, as Lian Li cases are some of the best designed in terms of airflow.

flame696 · 4 Mar 2010 at 19:07

bJN said:
the CM690 II Advanced has 10 spaces for fans I think, so if you had all those working it could be quite quiet

And the 800D is in no way JUST for watercooling, you can do whatever you want in it - it may be a full tower yes but that does not mean it MUST be watercooled...

The reviews i have looked at for the corsair 800d (which are quite a few) the temps are very high when air cooled due to the case haveing to bend air through tight angles and awkward places so it wouldnt be beneficial for me to get a case which deliver below par cooling when using air cooling. i need something that will be close to my antec 1200 (i know theres probably nothing out there that can beat it in terms of cooling, but i want something at least that comes close especially when spending £200)