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I have wanted a "nice" case for a while now. About 3 or 4 years ago I bought an Antec Super Lanboy because I was on a small case kick, and it has served me quite well, although I do find it a bit noisy. My new kick is a more elegant (ghey sounding, I know), basic look, with near silent (constrained by budget) high performance air cooling being priority. I have watered (1/2 arsed, was function over form, that's for sure), and don't fancy the added headache and expense water brings to the equation. I really like the TJ-09 (motherboard tray!), but the black pearl looks nice too, and I like the inverted mobo setup. I have read (somewhere) that inverting the mobo may decrease NB heatpipe heatsink designs, can anyone shed some light on that? Personal experience perhaps? Which case would be quieter, fan selection aside? They appear to be similar, because of the fan vents up top. Would the TJ09 be quieter because the front intake is placed further in the case? Lastly, are these cases worth the $175 premium over an $80 CM690? I much prefer the looks of the 590, but it looks smaller. The CM's are most likely louder, simply because they have more fan grille openings, wouldn't this let sound escape easier? Input is appreciated. I need to be convinced to spend 3X as much as I should on a case.
__________________ 3800+ X2 Toledo 2.94Ghz, 294x10 1.44v || Noctua NH-U12F || DFI Lanparty UT nF4 Ultra-D (modded to SLi) BFG 8800GT OC @ 765/1916/1050 Gfxchilla 54c G.Skill ZX 2x1gb 2-3-2-5 196mhz (hits wall @ 208mhz, 7/10 divider doesn't seem to work) || Audigy 2 ZS Enermax EG565P-VE 535W || Antec Super LanBoy (it's packed full!) Samsung SH-S203B || WD 120GB 8mb SATA || Seagate 320GB Sata 16mb Built July 2005. 2gb ram Feb 06. X2 CPU June 06. 8800gt Jan 08. Last edited by Fracture; November 13, 2008 at 08:33 PM. |
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As far as sticking with the lower end cases vice grabbing a higher end one goes??? Depends on the lower end case, but speaking for myself, once I had a taste of a non-budget case I could never go back. :)
__________________ Gigabyte P35-DQ6 / Q6600 / 2X2 Gig Mushkin PC2 8500 Ascents / Corsair TX750W PSU / Sparkle GTX275 Plus / CoolerMaster Cosmos S / MCP655 WC Pump / MCR320 Rad / 6X Yate Loons / PA120.1 / 2X Scythe Ultra Kaze / Swiftech Apogee GTZ WB / Dell Ultrasharp 2209WA MSI 790FX-GD70 / AM3 955be / 2X2 Gig OCZ PC3 12800 / PC P&C 750W Silencer / 4X EVGA 9800 GT / MCR220-QP-Res / DD DDCPX-Pro / Apogee GT / Swiftech MCW30 / Highspeed PC Tech Station / Samsung 931BF / BenQ Q9T4 |
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If I were to spend the extra 70-80 bucks for a P182 over a 690, I'd be even more tempted to spend the other extra hundred bucks for a Silverstone or Black Pearl. Edit, Also stumbled on the FT01 From Silverstone. I REALLY like the looks of this case, it's not huge, but it would be big enough for me, being 2 1/2" taller and deeper than my current case.
__________________ 3800+ X2 Toledo 2.94Ghz, 294x10 1.44v || Noctua NH-U12F || DFI Lanparty UT nF4 Ultra-D (modded to SLi) BFG 8800GT OC @ 765/1916/1050 Gfxchilla 54c G.Skill ZX 2x1gb 2-3-2-5 196mhz (hits wall @ 208mhz, 7/10 divider doesn't seem to work) || Audigy 2 ZS Enermax EG565P-VE 535W || Antec Super LanBoy (it's packed full!) Samsung SH-S203B || WD 120GB 8mb SATA || Seagate 320GB Sata 16mb Built July 2005. 2gb ram Feb 06. X2 CPU June 06. 8800gt Jan 08. Last edited by Fracture; November 13, 2008 at 08:17 PM. |
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Have you looked into Lian Lis? I would say they would be your best option.
__________________ Rig // PC-A7010 :: Revo85+ 1050W :: Rampage :: Q6600 :: 8GB Redline :: GTX 260 Raptor-X RAID-0 :: 4x WD1001FALS RAID-5 ARC-1210 :: 2x WD1002FBYS RAID-1 :: 3x WD15EARS :: 7 Pro x64 2408WFP :: G15v2 :: G5v2 :: Auzen Forte :: DT770/80 :: Onkyo TX-SR605 :: Klipsch RB-61 :: SVS PB10-NSD |
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The Black Pearl is actually a re-branded Lian Li.
__________________ Intel i7 920 EVGA X58 Classified Asus GTX285TOP, Xonar DX Silverstone TJ07 "Murdermodded", Strider 850W OCZ Vertex WC Loop: Heatkiller 3.0 MCP655 Feser 360 EK 150 Res |
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The door is pretty important to the sound deadening feature, like the side panels its also a 3 layer construction. I'll agree it can very cramped in the case if you fill it up with 2 video cards numerous HDDs and 5.25 devices, also the case doesn't accomodate larger PSU 850w+ very well they extend past the bottom bracket and its very tight fit with the fan at the bottom.
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FT01-B looks like a winner for me so far... still reading up
__________________ 3800+ X2 Toledo 2.94Ghz, 294x10 1.44v || Noctua NH-U12F || DFI Lanparty UT nF4 Ultra-D (modded to SLi) BFG 8800GT OC @ 765/1916/1050 Gfxchilla 54c G.Skill ZX 2x1gb 2-3-2-5 196mhz (hits wall @ 208mhz, 7/10 divider doesn't seem to work) || Audigy 2 ZS Enermax EG565P-VE 535W || Antec Super LanBoy (it's packed full!) Samsung SH-S203B || WD 120GB 8mb SATA || Seagate 320GB Sata 16mb Built July 2005. 2gb ram Feb 06. X2 CPU June 06. 8800gt Jan 08. |
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It's a tough choice. FT01 - slightly bigger than my Lanboy. Would be big enough for me, I'm done with dual graphics cards, no water cooling. Slightly lower price tag than TJ09. Absolutely gorgeous case. Cons - 180mm fans, which might not be that bad. TJ09 - larger, MOTHERBOARD TRAY, less attractive front when compared to FT01 IMO. LOTS of room for everything, about $40 more than the Fortress. Lanboy - 8.2" x 16.5" x 17.1" (WxHxD) FT01 - 8.3" x 19.1" x 19.4" TJ09 - 8.3" x 20.7" x 23.8" Looking at the FT01 vs the CM690 makes the CM look like a toy. I can't imagine the difference in person.
__________________ 3800+ X2 Toledo 2.94Ghz, 294x10 1.44v || Noctua NH-U12F || DFI Lanparty UT nF4 Ultra-D (modded to SLi) BFG 8800GT OC @ 765/1916/1050 Gfxchilla 54c G.Skill ZX 2x1gb 2-3-2-5 196mhz (hits wall @ 208mhz, 7/10 divider doesn't seem to work) || Audigy 2 ZS Enermax EG565P-VE 535W || Antec Super LanBoy (it's packed full!) Samsung SH-S203B || WD 120GB 8mb SATA || Seagate 320GB Sata 16mb Built July 2005. 2gb ram Feb 06. X2 CPU June 06. 8800gt Jan 08. |
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Just purchased the Silverstone TJ09 and it is amazing....as Mr. Wilson states...once going to a higher end Case....you'll never go back to anything less...pulled my Temps down significantly as well as tons of extra room for my 2 x GTX 280's (desiganted cooling Fan for those babies as well )...great Case!!!!
__________________ See "My System Specs" For Primary Rig > 2nd Rig E8400 @ 4.05 Ghz Evga 780i 2 x 2GB Mushkin Redlines @ 1000 Mhz 74 GB Raptor (OS) 320GB Barracuda (Data) 2 x Evga 9800 GTX+ SLI - OC'd of course!! 750W PC P&C W7 HP x64 NoteBook: Asus G51J A1 I7 720QM 1.6Ghz - 2.8Ghz (Turbo Mode) 2 x 2GB DDR3 1066 Mhz @ 1150 Mhz (7-7-7-20 1T) GeForce GTX 260M 1 x 80GB Intel G2 SSD 1 x 320 GB Seagate Momentus 7200 RPM 15.6 "1920 x 1080 HD W7 HP x64 . |
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__________________ See "My System Specs" For Primary Rig > 2nd Rig E8400 @ 4.05 Ghz Evga 780i 2 x 2GB Mushkin Redlines @ 1000 Mhz 74 GB Raptor (OS) 320GB Barracuda (Data) 2 x Evga 9800 GTX+ SLI - OC'd of course!! 750W PC P&C W7 HP x64 NoteBook: Asus G51J A1 I7 720QM 1.6Ghz - 2.8Ghz (Turbo Mode) 2 x 2GB DDR3 1066 Mhz @ 1150 Mhz (7-7-7-20 1T) GeForce GTX 260M 1 x 80GB Intel G2 SSD 1 x 320 GB Seagate Momentus 7200 RPM 15.6 "1920 x 1080 HD W7 HP x64 . |
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The Lian Li is a beautiful Case as well....agree fully Mr Chilly.....the only reason I didn't go with it was that the model I wan't didn't come w a Window (or wasn't available)...like to see my jewelry!
__________________ See "My System Specs" For Primary Rig > 2nd Rig E8400 @ 4.05 Ghz Evga 780i 2 x 2GB Mushkin Redlines @ 1000 Mhz 74 GB Raptor (OS) 320GB Barracuda (Data) 2 x Evga 9800 GTX+ SLI - OC'd of course!! 750W PC P&C W7 HP x64 NoteBook: Asus G51J A1 I7 720QM 1.6Ghz - 2.8Ghz (Turbo Mode) 2 x 2GB DDR3 1066 Mhz @ 1150 Mhz (7-7-7-20 1T) GeForce GTX 260M 1 x 80GB Intel G2 SSD 1 x 320 GB Seagate Momentus 7200 RPM 15.6 "1920 x 1080 HD W7 HP x64 . |
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Thanks all!
__________________ 3800+ X2 Toledo 2.94Ghz, 294x10 1.44v || Noctua NH-U12F || DFI Lanparty UT nF4 Ultra-D (modded to SLi) BFG 8800GT OC @ 765/1916/1050 Gfxchilla 54c G.Skill ZX 2x1gb 2-3-2-5 196mhz (hits wall @ 208mhz, 7/10 divider doesn't seem to work) || Audigy 2 ZS Enermax EG565P-VE 535W || Antec Super LanBoy (it's packed full!) Samsung SH-S203B || WD 120GB 8mb SATA || Seagate 320GB Sata 16mb Built July 2005. 2gb ram Feb 06. X2 CPU June 06. 8800gt Jan 08. |
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