Corsair 800D or Silverstone FT02 Fortress

[CoolHandL]

I posted this on another forum hoping to get some serious feedback.
as the title says Corsair 800D or Silverstone FT02 Fortress ?I need HELP choosing. For now im only aircooling, but who knows what the future may hold. I love my Antec 300 that i just finished modding but dammit i have a PC components bug and wanna get a new case to house my gear. I like both case's Look.

What i want is a nice roomy case, simple lines, great air cooling with silence. the 2 cases i like here come windowless as well which might be what im more geared towards, but help me choose which one. any owners?

Or anyone have any other suggestions?? Silence, Cooling, Roomy, Cable management and functionality (i like the hot swap idea of both cases)

thanks for you opinions!!!!!!!

things i dont like:
LED's
Windows

[Realityshift]

If your staying air cooling, Id say go with the fortress, the 800D has a few dead zones and is more meant for the watercooling crowd, that said I love my 800D and would choose no other case over it. As far as I knew the 800D came stock with the side window as well. Right now with my watercooling setup set for simple gaming with fans turned down I can bairly hear my system, its whisper quiet, the stock fans in the 800D are fairly silent as well. Cable management and space could not be less of an issue in the 800D, this case makes it rediculously easy to clear 98% of visible cables to the back of the motherboard tray, the cover over the Sata hot swaps is really nice for this as well.

Im an 800D owner so I am a tad bias but I would never buy a different case, ill be sticking with this one for quite a while.

[CoolHandL]

so before you went water cooling did you try the case on air? ive heard great things about it on air. I like the FT02 but i want a little more room inside with better cable management. But i dont want a 300$ case that will cook my componants.

[Realityshift]

When its on air it only has 1 intake fan and can tend to struggle to supply air to all components, although when I had my video card air cooled it did just fine so who knows.

[MrDiaz]

I'm using it right now on air, no issues whatsoever. This is the best case I've ever owned, hands down

[ipaine]

Well I have the Zalman GS1000 SE and I really like it. It has quite a bit of room, although not as much as the 800D. There are also the GS1000 and the GS1000 Plus (which looks like it would improve on air cooling)

You can have hot swap with the GS1000 and GS1000 Plus and with an extra board you can do it in the SE version

NCIX.com - Buy Zalman GS1000 Plus Black Aluminum Full ATX Tower Case 4X5.25 6X3.5INT No PSU Front USB E-SATA Audio - GS1000+ B In Canada.

I will say that if I could get it right now I would get the Plus version as my temps are fine but my drives are a little bit warmer than before. I did add a fan to the bottom and to the top, that I'm sure makes a good difference.

Oh and it is about $70 cheaper than the 800D.

[FiXT]

Corsair 700D has no window :)

Just saw the Zalman the other day, unfortunately not impressed. I feel like there is way to much plastic They have a really nice matte brushed aluminum side panel.... and then the top and front is a shiny piano black plastic. It is two polar opposites in terms of design. The interior and layout is great, but based on personal taste, i think Zalman made a case fashion faux paux.

Between the 700D and FT02, its a very tough call.

I would lean towards the FT02... but then I don't like the cable management as much in it. Whereas the 700D has some of the best and easiest wiring around... but unlike the FT02, airflow is a bit more of a concern.

[miggs78]

^ +1 on FixT.. I still admire the Cooler Master Cosmos S case. Since you don't like windows and leds I will not suggest the HAF 932, honestly if you forget about the bling bling are of it, it is probably one of the best cases around for air cooling, lots of potential too.

The Cosmos S is a very nice case too. But amongst those two you mentioned I have to give Silverstone the nod, the FT02 has descent air flow in it, where as the 700D/800D has problems with air flow, plus the FT02 I think is cheaper.

[FiXT]

Oohh yes, I too am a fan of the Cosmos S - though it is a HEAVY beast and the design definitely isn't for everyone.

Probably one of my favorite cases to date was the Cosmos S Black Label, a limited edition version entirely blacked out with a side window. I still wish I had gotten my hands on it.

[Digikid]

I would say that the Corsair 800D is the better case between those two. Excellent quality and is a very simple looking case....which is good. Too many ugly cases around like the HAF series that have too much junk on them IMHO. LOL!!!!!!!

The Corsair has better cooling and HDD space compared to the 02.