The Choice

[Gerry_W]

Well, I've been searching for cases in the $0-$150 range, and I came up with these.

Cooler Master Ammo 533

It's pretty sturdy-looking, but the front bezel is cheezy and cheap, and it weighs 25 lbs. The carrying handle is nice, but it's not a LAN case, and I don't need a LAN case.

Another choice, and hopefully it'll get a rebate:

Cooler Master Praetorian

Nice. What can I say. It has a case door, but the power button and ports are outside. Three fans.

Third:

Thermaltake Soprano

It has a nice look, paint finish, but the paint can chip. Also, the power button and ports are hidden inside the case, and it looks kinda ugly underneath. It'll spend a significant amount of time open and it only looks nice on the outside.

The Antec P180 is also nice, better than the Soprano, but it suffers from the same problems (e.g. power button on inside) and I like the top-mounted power button/ports since I'll be putting the case on the floor.

I also considered the Antec P160W, but it's cheap-looking.

Those Silverstone Temjins cost an arm and a leg.

Lian-Li's website is rather chaotic. I haven't really seen any of their cases that I liked; I know they function superbly, so could anyone give me a reccomendation here?

I consider any case within my price range that's a mid-tower if you guys suggest it. Sooooo....Thanks for reading this long post!

--Gerry

 

[NathanM]

I like the P180 and the Soprano the best out of those. This case is a little on the pricy side, along with the P180, but check it out and see if you like it. If you do, I can definetly recommend it as it is a great case: NZXT Lexa http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811146018

 

[Microsoft_Boy]

i'd go with the aspire x-navigator it's reall solid and has some nice features

 

[Gerry_W]

Strike out the Ammo. Too.....strange.

The X-Navigator seems alright, judging by reviews, but it kinda screams GAMER. I dunno.

The NZXT Lexa is an innovative one. I'll add it to my list.

Anyone else have a fav case?

 

[NathanM]

I'm glad you like it. There's plenty of good reviews just a Google away. That's how I made my decision.

 

[NeedAcpu]

The new Antec P180B. I love the P180 more then any case and the P180B is an improvement of the P180.

 

[NathanM]

I saw that for the first time on Newegg yesterday. I normally choose black before any other color, but the silver just looks so good on the P180. If I were to buy a P180, I'd definetly get the silver. The black takes away from its unique look imo. The P180 is the only window-less case I like.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129017

 

[NeedAcpu]

Yea but the P180B is better. It's just a different color.

 

[Spartan]

I would say the P180 (get the black one, it looks much nicer than the white/silver version). In my opinion, the NZXT Lexa is absolutely ugly.

 

[Gerry_W]

The way I see it, now it's basically NZXT Lexa vs. Cooler Master Praetorian 730 vs. Antec P180.

Lexa pros: Light enough to carry easily (comes with a case of sorts), very cool, and quiet, power button outside the door.

Lexa cons: Some say it is flimsy (which cannot be too big of an exxageration, it weighs 12 pounds), the front panel is plastic, weird exterior, ports come on the left.

Praetorian pros: Ports and power button in all of the right places (for me, at least), solid construction, sleek-looking.

Praetorian cons: The least quiet of the bunch (but still quiet) and rather heavy (22 pounds); most expensive as well. If I'm getting it it'll be on a rebate or sale.

P180 pros: Solid, quiet, cool; very good construction, it'll look nice next to the fridge .

P180 cons: HEAVY 33 pounds or so. Yeesh. That's the price you have to pay for cool'n'quiet, though. Power button's on the inside of the door. Also, once the door is open....it's kinda ugly.

Basically it's ultralight vs. midweight vs. heavyweight. It gets pretty subjective from here on out, but I'm sure you guys have some opinions to give .

The P180 is very popular. The power button location just irks me. Maybe I'm being nitpicky, but I don't want to have to open the case (and expose the less-than-beautiful interior ) just to turn it on.