Antec 1200 vs Silverstone Raven

[francesthemutes]

I've been looking at replacing my current case (generic Alienware tower) with one of these two cases.

Aside from looks (I like both equally), which would you choose?

Take into account:

-air cooling capability
-noise
-cable management
-expandability

Don't worry about factoring price in because after I add in 2 extra 120mm fans, the 1200 is only 20 dollars short of the Raven's price.

Which would you go for? Thanks!

[CMetaphor]

I find the Antec 1200 case overrated and not very stylish. Yes it does have decent cooling, but nothing innovative. I'd say take the "risk" and go with a gorgeous case like the Raven. At very least it's a great nerdy conversation piece.

[Soultribunal]

See thats a toughie....
I like the Raven for its cutting edge approach to case design (That and SS makes quality cases).
So, if your willing to go Nextgen on your choice, try out the Raven.

If you want Traditional Design, of course choose the Antec.
If you want to have the same case as 92% of our HWC population, pick the HAF 932!!!

Good Luck,

ST

[francesthemutes]

The HAF932 isn't my cup of tea aesthetically. Ahaha. Oh! I must mention that my DVI port on my monitor died so I'm using a DVD>VGA adapter. Think the Raven will house an extra 2 inches of cable lengh under it's top panel? I'm not sure how much clearance there is under that thing.

[FiXT]

I personally really like the Raven. Having worked with both, the Raven was FAR better in terms of cable management, as well I like the layout of the interior. The 1200 is more of a "simple" case. Though, on the plus side it will allow for more hard drives if you are running something like a server.

Though in terms of cooling, while the Raven does have a rather impressive airflow design, The 1200, even with its traditional vertical mounting, 6 120MM Fans and the top 200MM fan I can almost guarantee will cool better if you are going to be running a lot of hardware. Because the Raven is so big, it suffers from having a lot of interior space. Even with the large 180MM fans, hot air is still going to pool in the centre of the chassis if there is is to much hardware blocking airflow.

For a simple single video card setup, couple of hard drives, and an overclocked CPU or what not - They will cool about the same, though potentially I could see the Raven coming out ahead. But slap in a couple of giant GTX295's, an enormous TRUE 120 HSF, fill up the hard drive bays and have messy wiring and he who has the most fan power wins, the 1200.

Esthetically - The Raven is unique. People will look at that case and be impressed, and ask what it is. The 1200 looks like giant air conditioner, with a bubble on top.

Anyways thats my view. I voted Raven

[francesthemutes]

Thanks FiXT!

Though, I do suppose I should put my specs in

Asus P5W DH Deluxe
E6600@3.15GHz cooled w/ OCZ Vendetta 2
4GB G.Skill PK's DDR2800
HD 3870 Crossfire
X-Fi XtremeMusic
1HDD
1 DVD drive

It's a pretty bare set-up, really. My computer is in a small(ish) square room with walls that are nothing windows behind me and to my left. In the summer (and the winter too) this room becomes a greenhouse. It's crazy! I'm just sick of the heat. I figured the Antec 1200 would beat the Raven in cooling but if it's not going to cool *a lot* better then I was going to go with the Raven. I'm just unsure of the delta of cooling between the two cases.

[Eagle Eye]

In light of its shortcomings I still have a warm spot for the Raven I think its a bold move by Silverstone and thats deserving enough for my vote. I never much liked the Antec 900 or 1200 nothing really jumped out at me to say I have to have this case.

Regards,

EE

[AkG]

I'd go for the Raven....especially since one...or two... are now available in the HWC shop! :)

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...ded-store.html

[enaberif]

I don't like either.. but if I had to choose one it'd be the 1200.

Innovative as the Raven is... its just I dunno.. strange

[francesthemutes]

I was reading the bit-tech review and it just chewed the Raven apart. Didn't sound to good. The Anandtech review was also weird; the temp chart they had didn't look right.





Why is the Raven's ambient temperature so bloody high compared the the others?


I posted this same thread at Overclock.net and it seems to be getting more votes for the Antec 1200 than the Raven. Here, it seems the opposite. I'm still torn. That bit-tech review really made me think twice.