$60 case

[frustratedrocka]

I've recently had to readjust my priorities a little bit, and that means that my upcoming build is going to have to settle for not being housed in a roomy ultra tower. Odds are I'm never going to end up water cooling the thing, and I do need it to be semi-compact, so I figure a budget mid tower should suit my needs just fine. I've narrowed things down to a few options that I'm having trouble deciding between. Any help making my mind up would be greatly appreciated.

 

Bitfenix Shinobi ($60)

Pros: Looks, SSD tray included, optional stealth optical drive bay cover

Cons: ?

 

Corsair Carbide 200R ($60)

Pros: Side facing drive bays

Cons: Only four 3.5" drive bays

 

Cooler Master N300 ($50)

Pros: Airflow

Cons: ?

 

Cooler Master HAF 912 ($60)

Pros: Airflow

Cons: Really, really ugly

 

NZXT Tempest 410 ($60)

Pros: Airflow, dust filters, gadget tray

Cons: Also ugly.

 

NZXT Source 210 Elite ($50)

Pros: Looks, known quantity

Cons: No included front fan, and I'm starting to get sick of building in these things.

[helping]

200R

[Bluethulhu]

I built a system in the 200R and it's really nice to work with, and it doesn't look like one of those cheesy "1337 gamer" cases.

[Evostatic343]

I've recently had to readjust my priorities a little bit, and that means that my upcoming build is going to have to settle for not being housed in a roomy ultra tower. Odds are I'm never going to end up water cooling the thing, and I do need it to be semi-compact, so I figure a budget mid tower should suit my needs just fine. I've narrowed things down to a few options that I'm having trouble deciding between. Any help making my mind up would be greatly appreciated.

 

Bitfenix Shinobi ($60)

Pros: Looks, SSD tray included, optional stealth optical drive bay cover

Cons: ?

 

Corsair Carbide 200R ($60)

Pros: Side facing drive bays

Cons: Only four 3.5" drive bays

 

Cooler Master N300 ($50)

Pros: Airflow

Cons: ?

 

Cooler Master HAF 912 ($60)

Pros: Airflow

Cons: Really, really ugly

 

NZXT Tempest 410 ($60)

Pros: Airflow, dust filters, gadget tray

Cons: Also ugly.

 

NZXT Source 210 Elite ($50)

Pros: Looks, known quantity

Cons: No included front fan, and I'm starting to get sick of building in these things.

save up a bit more and get a phantom 410 it has exceptional cooling and is stylish and a midtower

[Flyguygamer]

200r

[TheProfosist]

330r

[frustratedrocka]

The Shinobi and 210 elite are the same chassis, so if your sick of building in 210's then don't bother with the shinobi

 

Also how many hard drives are you really ever going to use in a budget build?

I have three drives and an SSD lying around the house, and I'm probably going to use all of them.

[Bonsai99]

The 200R is great.

[brownninja97]

I cant recommend any of those cases, out of them the corsair 200r is the best but still for the price i recommend the zalman z9 plus, it comes with 4 fans, 3 are led fans and they dont make much noise. They rubber the crap out of everything so you dont get vibrations as much(eg hdds and the psu). Also comes with a fan controller for two fans which isnt amazing but its a nice addition and it has a bunch of fan filters which are always nice. Its your decision, i think its out the 200r and the z9 plus, the z9 will get you better temps(around 3-5oc) but the corsair case looks better.

[WoodenMarker]

Antec One?

[frustratedrocka]

I cant recommend any of those cases, out of them the corsair 200r is the best but still for the price i recommend the zalman z9 plus, it comes with 4 fans, 3 are led fans and they dont make much noise. They rubber the crap out of everything so you dont get vibrations as much(eg hdds and the psu). Also comes with a fan controller for two fans which isnt amazing but its a nice addition and it has a bunch of fan filters which are always nice. Its your decision, i think its out the 200r and the z9 plus, the z9 will get you better temps(around 3-5oc) but the corsair case looks better.

I really don't like the look, though. If only they'd stuck that internal design on something I wouldn't mind having in my room...

 

The 200R is great.

 

 

200r

 

 

200R

 

Ok, I'll bite: What, exactly, makes the 200R the best of the options?

[Bonsai99]

Ok, I'll bite: What, exactly, makes the 200R the best of the options?

It is simple and clean.

[TheProfosist]

Which fits into any part of this thread how?

Should fit the price.

Antec One?

Please dont recommend that pile.

[Amanaman83]

You can try the Antec 300 or 302, the 300 has better airflow, but the 302 has more features

[WoodenMarker]

Please dont recommend that pile.

What so bad about it?

[TheProfosist]

What so bad about it?

Quality mostly. I could build something more sturdy out of cardboard.

[TheProfosist]

You can try the Antec 300 or 302, the 300 has better airflow, but the 302 has more features

300 has 10x better build quality and if you can het the illusion one for only a bit more its worth it as it is filled with all but the back fan.

[TheProfosist]

Isn't it more around the $100 price point?

Maybe msrp I thought I picked it up for $60 but it was $70 and the it has a mail in rebate as well.

[kizoku_95]

200R

[WoodenMarker]

Quality mostly. I could build something more sturdy out of cardboard.

Really? It looks sturdy to me.

[TheProfosist]

Really? It looks sturdy to me.

It really isnt one bit, for one example the back panel is held up by a piece of foam and I have seen cardstock easily thicker than what the case, especially the side panels were made of. It felt like the stuff that you were putting in it was what was holding it together and making it rigid.

[TheProfosist]

Cant recommend the Antec 300 highly enough. It is incredibly solid, and has great air flow.

Yes the one downside is no front USB 3.0 you can however buy the front ports from a 302 as replacement parts and they will fit.

[squarestar]

try this if you can chip in another $10

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811235039

 

I bought one for my friend, very solid and too much air flow.