Best Case for the Price

[Exile_Chavez]

Hey hey people of the forums, well, some of you may have seen my thread about the power button, but being here on the US east coast, and having the manufacturer of the case on the other side of the planet provides some issues. So my impatience has over taken me, and I am just going to get a new case.

So far I have found 3 cases, and I like them all equally, but the benefit for the price is giving me problems. So I would like your guys' opinions on which would be the best for the price.

Here they are:

The Xclio Blackhawk Full Tower

XCLIO Blackhawk Black Finish 0.8 mm SECC / ABS Pla...

The Xclio A380Color

XCLIO A380COLOR Fully Black 1.0 mm SECC / ABS Plas...(If they get the plus version it has 2 120mm fans on top but is the exact same everywhere else)

The NZXT Phantom

NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Steel / Plastic Enth...

From the look of it, the Blackhawk has the best ventilation, the Phantom has great cable management and good air flow, and the A380Color is general all around decent(I have the A380bk right now) although it has some issues with cable management.

If you guys could be so awesome as to weigh in on this with your opinion, story, or personal favorite this will help me in my decision greatly

Thanks in advanced

 

[fenurch]

I highly suggest going for an Fractal Design. I have Core 3000 myself which is a slight downgrade from the R3 (which in my opinion is your best shot). I can't comment on its quality as I haven't tried it but I've heard only good things.

I can't comment on those Xclio cases as I've never heard of them before but personally I think they're horrid looking (particularly the second one) but hey, each to their own.

I've heard bad things about Phantoms quality.

If you don't like the R3 then you should consider the Core 3000 (personally I went for 3000 rather than R3 because of looks. I just love the 3000) or the ol' CM690 II which seems to be a very solid case.

Computer Hardware, Computer Cases,Fractal Design

Computer Hardware, Computer Cases,CM690

 

[Exile_Chavez]

The Fractal Design cases look really sturdy and of some really good quality, but the look doesn't quite tickle my fancy if you know what I mean.

What have you heard about the Phantom's quality? I've heard good and bad things about them, but it is a 95/5% split respectively, and the bad things I have heard are shipping issues breaking stuff. But if you could fill me in on what you've heard that would be great.

Thanks for the suggestions

 

[Irony]

Of the two you posted links to, I would prefer the A380COLOR, the one that's black and red. The front intake looks rediculously cool.

However, if you just asked me what case I would buy, (I currently own a Cooler Master HAF 922) I would get a CM storm enforcer; if I had it to do again. although it does cost more.
http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?category_id=19&product_id=3038

I got my 922 at Newegg for $89

Edit: I didn't see the NZXT at first glance. I would get it over the others, hands down.

 

[silkstone]

I also have a HAF 922, it's a great case for the price, the only thing i dislike about it is the inside isn't black. I wish i had bought a can of spray paint at the same time as buying the case.

 

[burtram]

I personally love the phantom, I have the white one, it's not as big as I was expecting (which is a good thing, since my desk sucks) it has a lot of room, it's stock fans are also really quiet and the top fan controller is awesome (i have one of the switches plugged in for my cpu cooler, which is the loudest thing in the case, and it's great).

 

[Frick]

Out of those the Phantom. I'm not a fan of the looks however, I would take a Fractal Design instead.

 

[Exile_Chavez]

Of the two you posted links to, I would prefer the A380COLOR, the one that's black and red. The front intake looks ridiculously cool.

That case has Xclio's new led fans, they generate up to 256 different colors allowing you to choose which ever one you want btw

 

[Exile_Chavez]

I've been thinking the phantom myself for the most part. The main thing I am having issues with is the price though, is that extra 20-30 dollars worth the extra benefits, it is seeming like it so far. I think making use of Newegg's compare feature now will come in handy.

By all means opinions and recommendations are still welcome.

 

[fenurch]

The Fractal Design cases look really sturdy and of some really good quality, but the look doesn't quite tickle my fancy if you know what I mean.

What have you heard about the Phantom's quality? I've heard good and bad things about them, but it is a 95/5% split respectively, and the bad things I have heard are shipping issues breaking stuff. But if you could fill me in on what you've heard that would be great.

Thanks for the suggestions

Well, I suppose I can't say much about Phantom since I've never experienced any probelms myself (since I've never owned it) but I remember a person going as far as to saying

"extremely bad cases (build quality wise)

things just start falling apart, worst £100 i have ever spent, am not alone in this as i know other people who have the same issues i had.

note- the build quality was only bad with the phantom models, my other nzxt (beta evo) is a pretty sweet case."

And I vaguely remember someone saying similar things on tek-9 but that's a troll paradise so can't really trust them.

That's about it but if I was you (and you didn't like the cases that I proposed) then I would go for the Phantom disregarding my comment since if you've heard mostly positive stuff then that's good enough.

Hope it helps

 

[brandonwh64]

I mATX cases like my NZXT Vulcan

 

[borden5]

i heard the new corsair carbide 400r are pretty good too you should check that out

 

[Exile_Chavez]

I ended up going with the phantom, since it had all the extra benefits over the others, and free shipping

I have everything switched over, it was pretty easy switch. The cable management is great, and there is TONS of room in it. More so than my old case. The removable 2 HDD bays were nice as it allowed for the PSU to have more room to run cables. The build quality seems pretty good to me, the abs plastic is way tougher than the stuff on my other case, and the toolless works pretty well all around, other than the HDD bays, which force you to plug in the HDD from the right side panel, I prefer it the other way. Overall it's a really nice case from what I have seen. If my computer wasn't broken I would say something about airflow, but if you look for a thread in General Hardware called Starting issues Help Please , then you can see my current issue.

If anyone has any questions about the case itself feel free to ask, Passing out thanks to those who helped

 

[Damn_Smooth]

I ended up going with the phantom, since it had all the extra benefits over the others, and free shipping

I have everything switched over, it was pretty easy switch. The cable management is great, and there is TONS of room in it. More so than my old case. The removable 2 HDD bays were nice as it allowed for the PSU to have more room to run cables. The build quality seems pretty good to me, the abs plastic is way tougher than the stuff on my other case, and the toolless works pretty well all around, other than the HDD bays, which force you to plug in the HDD from the right side panel, I prefer it the other way. Overall it's a really nice case from what I have seen. If my computer wasn't broken I would say something about airflow, but if you look for a thread in General Hardware called Starting issues Help Please , then you can see my current issue.

If anyone has any questions about the case itself feel free to ask, Passing out thanks to those who helped

Congrats on your choice man, I love mine.