# Which gaming case?



## qubit (Jul 11, 2009)

*UPDATE: I ended up getting the Coolermaster Storm Scout case. See my overly excited post on post 23.* 

I need a new case to house my PC. The current generic one is too short to fit my GTX 285 without it snagging on the hard drives, as they overlap - I can't use two drive bays and it makes it really awkward to fit and remove long graphics cards.

I've been looking for a suitable good quality branded case that isn't too expensive, but they all seem to be around 485mm like mine, which is too short.

Any suggestions for a longer case would be welcome.

EDIT: I don't want a case with the PSU at the bottom. My bad for not saying this before. 

ANOTHER EDIT: please ignore the above edit! I've thought about it and I now think that a PSU on the bottom would be fine, because the power switch is actually that bit easier to get to. Crikey, I don't know whether I'm coming or going today. lol


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## twicksisted (Jul 11, 2009)

im not sure what budget you have... but the best case i have ever owned is the Cosmos S!!!
Hands down its fantastic and big enough to accomodate and internal WC loop and tri sli etc


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## qubit (Jul 11, 2009)

Who makes the cosmos S?


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## Soylent Joe (Jul 11, 2009)

qubit said:


> Who makes the cosmos S?



Cooler Master. Give us a price range and we can help you out


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## CDdude55 (Jul 11, 2009)

If you have a low budget, the Cooler Master CM 690 is a good cheap case, i have it and it has tons of room for fans and expansion.

The Cosmos is also a great case if you have the cash.


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## n-ster (Jul 11, 2009)

If you have the cash, a HAF 922 or 932 will do a great job  made by coolermaster


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## LittleLizard (Jul 11, 2009)

Haf 932 or NZXT Tempest


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## qubit (Jul 11, 2009)

I'm looking at around £30-£60 or so. I'm quite flexible on price, so please don't be afraid to specify a £70 case!


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## kurosagi01 (Jul 11, 2009)

in all its glory a Coolermaster CM690 £55
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/131551


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## TheLaughingMan (Jul 11, 2009)

Ok for a case big enough to handle that card and under a $100 USD.  Don't know where you shop, but I will listed several options.  Fine the one you like the look of and go for it.

Mentioned Before:

Nzxt Tempest ~£70
Cooler Master CM 690 ~£50

New Pics:

CoolerMaster V9 ~£70
ABS A+ Monolith ~£50
NZXT ZERO 2 Crafted Series ~£65
ASYS CK-1022-6 ~£70


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## twicksisted (Jul 11, 2009)

yeah at that price thats a sure win 

but for a little more at ebuyer you can get the CM Scout:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/165238/show_product_reviews#

Everyone seems to rave about it, fits big heatsinks like the True, looks the biz and has impressive cooling


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## qubit (Jul 11, 2009)

n-ster said:


> If you have the cash, a HAF 922 or 932 will do a great job  made by coolermaster



hmmm... I've seen the 922 before and tended to pass it by until your suggestion. But I just looked up a couple of reviews and it's looking quite good now - the photographs especially let me take a good look at it. I like the sci-fi styling, it's got great build quality and most importantly, acres of space inside for my large graphics cards. 

This might be the case I get (and has typically blown the budget, of course. lol)

Any more suggestions from anyone would be most welcome.


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## qubit (Jul 11, 2009)

kurosagi01 said:


> in all its glory a Coolermaster CM690 £55
> http://www.ebuyer.com/product/131551



I looked at that, but incredibly, the power & reset buttons and the status lights are all on the right hand side, as shown in this Hexus review. Unfortunately, it's a dealbreaker for me, as I sit to the left of the PC and I can't see the switches or lights properly. Also, I there would be a good chance of pressing the reset switch when I meant the power switch. Seems a really stupid styling decision to me.

The case looks like a contender if it weren't for that.


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## twicksisted (Jul 11, 2009)

what do you make of that CM scout... (in my previous link)..
looks pretty sweet! and has rave reviews about build quality... also black interior and great cooling


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## qubit (Jul 11, 2009)

*We have a new front runner*



twicksisted said:


> what do you make of that CM scout... (in my previous link)..
> looks pretty sweet! and has rave reviews about build quality... also black interior and great cooling



Interesting, very interesting. I've found video reviews of the Storm Scout and HAF 922 cases. First time I've looked at video reviews and I have to say it was an eye opener. It really helps to judge products against each other this way.

Until I saw the video review, the HAF 922 was my hot favourite. However, I noticed on the video review, that the power and HD lights are on the top, where I can't see them and is almost a dealbreaker: I keep the PC on my desk to my right with the side permanently off and with such a tall case I can't see them. Checking the HD activity light is very useful and not something that I want compromised.

That Storm case seems to be a dark horse though, doesn't it?  

It's got a great design (visual & build quality) will take my big graphics cards, _has status lights where I can see them_, carrying handle (a big plus) for taking to the computer club and is cheaper.

That great look wasn't so obvious from the various photos I'd seen; they just didn't do it justice.

Judging by people's responses here, it seems that Coolermaster are #1 for cases.

Thanks for pointing this case out.


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## kurosagi01 (Jul 11, 2009)

get one you prefer the scout or 690,they both will do best job for the price range  its just wether you want the looks and the blue or red LEDs lol,even though their not important but you want your comp to look nice too.
For cases its either(not in order):
Silverstone
Antec
Coolermaster
Lian-li
NZXT
Rosewell(america only)

Any of these will do great job,bang on the buck for performance its between silverstone and coolermaster in my opinion.


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## qubit (Jul 11, 2009)

kurosagi01 said:


> get one you prefer the scout or 690,they both will do best job for the price range  its just wether you want the looks and the blue or red LEDs lol,even though their not important but you want your comp to look nice too.



Absolutely.  As you may have seen in one of my previous posts, the 690 has the fatal flaw of having all the buttons and lights on the right hand side. It really beats me why companies will compromise a product with stupid design decisions like this. It was a very good case apart from this. I'm likely to get the Storm case now though. Oddly, I can't find it on the Coolermaster website, even though it's widely available.


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## CDdude55 (Jul 11, 2009)

qubit said:


> Absolutely.  As you may have seen in one of my previous posts, the 690 has the fatal flaw of having all the buttons and lights on the right hand side. It really beats me why companies will compromise a product with stupid design decisions like this. It was a very good case apart from this. I'm likely to get the Storm case now though. Oddly, I can't find it on the Coolermaster website, even though it's widely available.



The buttons still work fine though, Its a great case overall.


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## qubit (Jul 11, 2009)

CDdude55 said:


> The buttons still work fine though, Its a great case overall.



Oh, absolutely. If the Storm hadn't been around, I may well have bought it and just added some LEDs dangling (inelegently!) on wires sticking out the side, as I don't put the cover on, when not moving the PC, as I'm always fiddling around inside.

I love that sci-fi look it's got, hehe.


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## n-ster (Jul 11, 2009)

BumbleBee's Guide on HAF 932

HAF 932 Thread


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## CDdude55 (Jul 11, 2009)

qubit said:


> Oh, absolutely. If the Storm hadn't been around, I may well have bought it and just added some LEDs dangling (inelegently!) on wires sticking out the side, as I don't put the cover on, when not moving the PC, as I'm always fiddling around inside.
> 
> I love that sci-fi look it's got, hehe.



The Scout looks nice. Reminds me of the Antec 900.


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## twicksisted (Jul 12, 2009)

i just checked out the reviews myself... id say thats a wrap... everything youve asked for and loads of modding potential if you wanted 

It is £70 so thats stretching the budget a bit, but hey in comparison to the other cases in the thread, its a real looker!
I reckon i may have talked myself into buying one for my second rig... probably for the black interior!


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## qubit (Jul 12, 2009)

twicksisted said:


> i just checked out the reviews myself... id say thats a wrap... everything youve asked for and loads of modding potential if you wanted
> 
> It is £70 so thats stretching the budget a bit, but hey in comparison to the other cases in the thread, its a real looker!
> I reckon i may have talked myself into buying one for my second rig... probably for the black interior!



I got the Storm case! £69.99 and I'm gonna open the box and set it all up this evening. Can't wait.  

I don't think you'll be disappointed with this one, dude.


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## twicksisted (Jul 12, 2009)

awesome... take some pics when youve set it up as id dig to check it out with your gear all setup.
I think end of month i will try one of these out for my 2nd rig... my NZXT lexa case the stuff is currently in is a bit warm and buggered looking


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## MilkyWay (Jul 12, 2009)

there is no such thing as a gaming case, they cannot help you in gaming

other than that for case recomendations i choose

NZXT Tempest
Cooler Master Centurion 590
Coolermaster CM-690 V2 Dominator

the 590 over the 690 i think as it looks better and is a bit better laid out
the nzxt has good airflow but its kinda hard to get it perfect for cable managment


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## qubit (Jul 12, 2009)

twicksisted said:


> awesome... take some pics when youve set it up as id dig to check it out with your gear all setup.
> I think end of month i will try one of these out for my 2nd rig... my NZXT lexa case the stuff is currently in is a bit warm and buggered looking



Piccies? Sounds like a good idea. 

If your stuff is running too warm, then yes, definitely do something about that. I don't know your setup, but perhaps there are cheaper options than a new case? Perhaps turning up the fans a bit, fitting new fans etc?

Unless you just really _want_ that new case of course and just need a reason to help you get it, hehe.


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## qubit (Jul 12, 2009)

MilkyWay said:


> *there is no such thing as a gaming case, they cannot help you in gaming*
> 
> other than that for case recomendations i choose
> 
> ...



Technically, that's true - it's just that the performance of a "gaming case" will be higher in terms of cooling high-end PC components and other things, such as space for large graphics cards than a "non-gaming" case.

Thanks for the case suggestions, but as you might have seen in posts 1 & 23, I've already bought the Coolermaster Storm Scout case and have it here with me now.


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## MilkyWay (Jul 12, 2009)

qubit said:


> Technically, that's true - it's just that the performance of a "gaming case" will be higher in terms of cooling high-end PC components and other things, such as space for large graphics cards than a "non-gaming" case.
> 
> Thanks for the case suggestions, but as you might have seen in posts 1 & 23, I've already bought the Coolermaster Storm Scout case and have it here with me now.



a case dosnt have to have the tag "gaming case" to have all those features whats the scout like anyway i didnt think it looked any good


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## twicksisted (Jul 12, 2009)

MilkyWay said:


> there is no such thing as a gaming case, they cannot help you in gaming



thats not 100% correct... for starters a gaming case will be able to hold long pci-e X16 cards like the high end cards... depending on if youre a lan player or keep it at home itll be light weight with easy carrying handles or a solid steel construction with loads of soundproofing, also if youre serious about gaming and getting the highest FPS out of your gfx card, then youre most likely going to need to overclock and with that comes very good ventilation... and most likely if you want to build a gaming rig youll want something that looks the part and feels powerfull 



qubit said:


> I've already bought the Coolermaster Storm Scout case and have it here with me now.


awesome... you should get some pics!


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## TheLaughingMan (Jul 17, 2009)

The great thing about building a PC now is stiff competition.  As such, there are a lot of great case options on the market.  All are great which is why I said get one you like to look at because you will be looking at it for the next couple of years.

Great pick, enjoy.


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## Deleted member 24505 (Jul 17, 2009)

I've super glued my gamepad to my case now its a gaming case.


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## TheLaughingMan (Jul 26, 2009)

tigger said:


> I've super glued my gamepad to my case now its a gaming case.



+10 points


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