PC Peripherals Cabinet Dilemma
- Thread starter touzeen
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I chose the USP 100 out of desperation and lack of options and my budget! My fan setup is as follows :-
[1]Coolermaster Blademaster 120mm--Bottom--beside the psu
[2]Coolermaster standard 120mm--Side panel--default fan with the cabinet
[3]Thermalright TR-FDB-1600--120mm--Rear panel--exhaust
[4]Coolermaster Blademaster--120mm--Front panel/front bezel
My hsf is a Coolermaster Hyper TX-3 with a 92mm Coolermaster Blademaster. My system runs silent because of the thickness of the cabinet and its solid construction. For more details read my review.
I would rather have gone for the Source 210 if it were available a year back! I wanted something simple but effective -- Coolermaster Sileo 500 was too expensive and not worth the money, Antec P182 is still my dream cabinet and will remain my dream cabinet!
Do check out the Coolermaster Sileo 550 -- if silent and led free computing is what you desire -- it is a very good cabinet --- Silencio 550 - Cooler Master - Leading Provider of Computer Case | Cooler | Power Supply -- I have no idea bout pricing and availability.
[1]Coolermaster Blademaster 120mm--Bottom--beside the psu
[2]Coolermaster standard 120mm--Side panel--default fan with the cabinet
[3]Thermalright TR-FDB-1600--120mm--Rear panel--exhaust
[4]Coolermaster Blademaster--120mm--Front panel/front bezel
My hsf is a Coolermaster Hyper TX-3 with a 92mm Coolermaster Blademaster. My system runs silent because of the thickness of the cabinet and its solid construction. For more details read my review.
I would rather have gone for the Source 210 if it were available a year back! I wanted something simple but effective -- Coolermaster Sileo 500 was too expensive and not worth the money, Antec P182 is still my dream cabinet and will remain my dream cabinet!
Do check out the Coolermaster Sileo 550 -- if silent and led free computing is what you desire -- it is a very good cabinet --- Silencio 550 - Cooler Master - Leading Provider of Computer Case | Cooler | Power Supply -- I have no idea bout pricing and availability.
^^ The NZXT H2 seems to be a direct run on the Cooler Master Silencio 500 ~ NZXT H2 Review - Page 1/6 | techPowerUp
Actually Primeabgb has already listed it.Meg@M!nd said:
Here: NZXT Source 210 Elite Mid Tower Cabinet
It is even headlining on their home page! So surely it will be available very, very soon.
So, if anyone is into Source 210 Elite, wait up!
I am not impressed with what Source 210 brings over the table...
Cons:
1. It doesn't have side way HDD bays so if you would install a long GPU then it would just interrupt with the HDDs...
2. it doesn't have dust filters not even for the front intake fan so expect a lot ov dust to come in...
3. it doesn't have rubber pads for PSU to just lower the vibration... So dont get surprised if your table starts shaking when your computer would be on...
4. It doesn't have power LEDs.. yes it may not be a deal breaker for some people but for some people it would be coz some people who leave their computer on and go out for work and come back from work to checkout that the stuff they keep on downloading have got downloaded or not wouldn't be able to figure out that whether their computer is still on or got shut down due to some reason... C'mon man such little important features even come in cheap zebronics and iball cabinets why NZXT didn't put such little feature in this cabby...
5. It doesn't look good... IMO CM Elite 310 looks better than this cabby...
The advantages that it has over NZXT Gamma is that it has front USB3 port and it comes with two fans... IMO NZXT Gamma is much better than this cabby with features like side way HDD bays, dust filters, rubber pads for PSU and eSata port...
If NZXT would have upgraded the NZXT Gamma cabby with USB3 then it would have sold like hot cakes... And spending anything higher than 2.5 to 2.7k on this cabby would be a waste... People who desperately want front USB3 port should go with this cabby otherwise i dont see any point in spending more on a cabby which is inferior to NZXT Gamma...
Cons:
1. It doesn't have side way HDD bays so if you would install a long GPU then it would just interrupt with the HDDs...
2. it doesn't have dust filters not even for the front intake fan so expect a lot ov dust to come in...
3. it doesn't have rubber pads for PSU to just lower the vibration... So dont get surprised if your table starts shaking when your computer would be on...
4. It doesn't have power LEDs.. yes it may not be a deal breaker for some people but for some people it would be coz some people who leave their computer on and go out for work and come back from work to checkout that the stuff they keep on downloading have got downloaded or not wouldn't be able to figure out that whether their computer is still on or got shut down due to some reason... C'mon man such little important features even come in cheap zebronics and iball cabinets why NZXT didn't put such little feature in this cabby...
5. It doesn't look good... IMO CM Elite 310 looks better than this cabby...
The advantages that it has over NZXT Gamma is that it has front USB3 port and it comes with two fans... IMO NZXT Gamma is much better than this cabby with features like side way HDD bays, dust filters, rubber pads for PSU and eSata port...
If NZXT would have upgraded the NZXT Gamma cabby with USB3 then it would have sold like hot cakes... And spending anything higher than 2.5 to 2.7k on this cabby would be a waste... People who desperately want front USB3 port should go with this cabby otherwise i dont see any point in spending more on a cabby which is inferior to NZXT Gamma...
vip
Explorer
I'm having a similar dilemma too;
I posted regarding this way back after being disappointed by the Lancool k58 but I think the points hold for most of the smilarly priced cases.
Worthless features that all cabinet makers like to entice us with;
-tool less/screwless design; guess what screws are lighter not flimsy like the plastic crap in budget cases and actualy does the job of holding the component far better. There may be exceptions like the cool and effective clamps like in the lancool cases for expansion cards and psu but I'm pretty sure those contributed a lot to the case price
- thick sturdy sheets; also translates to a lot more weight and if you've ever transported your pc then you'd know how much of a difference an extra 5-6kg makes. Even the really cheap and flimsy looking zebronics/generic cases with the thin sheets last as long as the heavy ones.
- hdd cage; again major contributor to weight and price and don't really hold the hdds in place properly either. only good thing is the ability to mount hdds both ways but that could be done with a single removable panel or something
Good features;
- rubber gromets; I'm don't know if the reduced vibrations amounts to much as far as life of hdds go but they definitely do the job well
- well thought out layout; better able routing, bottom mounted psu etc
- no sharp edges on the sheets
I'm also on the lookout for a plain but well made cabinet in the 2-3k range ~4kg or less and the ugly gamma seems to be the only decent option and even that is really a couple of kgs too heavy
I guess there are also some Zebby cabinets like the bijli/glacier etc which are interesting too.
I posted regarding this way back after being disappointed by the Lancool k58 but I think the points hold for most of the smilarly priced cases.
Worthless features that all cabinet makers like to entice us with;
-tool less/screwless design; guess what screws are lighter not flimsy like the plastic crap in budget cases and actualy does the job of holding the component far better. There may be exceptions like the cool and effective clamps like in the lancool cases for expansion cards and psu but I'm pretty sure those contributed a lot to the case price
- thick sturdy sheets; also translates to a lot more weight and if you've ever transported your pc then you'd know how much of a difference an extra 5-6kg makes. Even the really cheap and flimsy looking zebronics/generic cases with the thin sheets last as long as the heavy ones.
- hdd cage; again major contributor to weight and price and don't really hold the hdds in place properly either. only good thing is the ability to mount hdds both ways but that could be done with a single removable panel or something
Good features;
- rubber gromets; I'm don't know if the reduced vibrations amounts to much as far as life of hdds go but they definitely do the job well
- well thought out layout; better able routing, bottom mounted psu etc
- no sharp edges on the sheets
I'm also on the lookout for a plain but well made cabinet in the 2-3k range ~4kg or less and the ugly gamma seems to be the only decent option and even that is really a couple of kgs too heavy
I guess there are also some Zebby cabinets like the bijli/glacier etc which are interesting too.- Status