CM 690 or Antec 900?

I planning to get a new case to replace my TT Soprano soon. I have tried my best to mod the Soprano but the temp is still very bad because of lack off cooling fans.My CPU is pretty hot because there is only one 120mm exhaust fan. PSU's 92mm exhaust is pretty useless. One thing though my case is quiet because I use fan controller.

In Japan, CM 690 is only around 3000yen cheaper than Antec 900. That would be around 25dollars. I have read lots of reviews for both cases and here's my opinion for both cases :

1) CM 690 is much roomier than the 900. Cable management seems easier for 690.
2) Cooling performance wise, Antec 900 is better than 690 with stock fans. 900 has more fans than 690 at stock settings. (3x120mm,1x200mm vs 3x120mm). CM fit more fans than 900.
3) 690's HDD cage seems to be better positioned compared to 900. It has rubber too to absorb vibration.
4) Noise wise, according to Madshrimps, at stock settings 900 is quieter than 690. I'm not sure how this could happen since 900 comes with 4 fans compared to 690's 3 fans.

I want to get a case with efficient cooling and at the same time low noise. I'm leaning towards the 690 now but if 900 is really the better one, I dont mind forking out another 3000yen for the Antec. I'm really lost now so hopefully you guys can give your suggestions. Thank you.

I would go with the cm 690, I had an antec 900 and although it was good it was much too confining and hard to work with.

I went to a store not to long ago that has a cm 690 on display. I took the whole case apart in front of all the people there, not really noticing I was being watched by the compusa staff.

Needless to say they were a bit concerned lol, anyway I was very impressed with the build quality and space for a mid tower, like 3 people bought the case after I gave my stamp of aproval and showed them how to reassemble it.

Was really funny. Nice case though and much easier to work with than the 900, if I needed a case I would be grabbing it for sure.

You could grab some yate loons which are inexpensive here and make it just as quiet and cool running as a 900 without issue.

Out of the box though the 900 is the best air cooling case I have to admit.
Every time I built with it though I absolutely hated it.

hehe I love it when computer noobs watch me doing something which looks amazing to them, but I don't even think about it. I mean we do this stuff all the time.

to us OCF members, taking a PC apart comes just as naturally as switching a computer on hehe...

I really like the design of the 900, it just makes sense to me.

But I would listen to rattle

Well, I personally recommend the CM690.

If you want full pics (TONS of them), I wrote a review showing MANY parts of the case (I think all, but I could have missed a couple).

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=527998

I have one of the orginal 900's and it is a PITA to work in. Just built for a friend in a "new" 900 and it was better but they still have issues. The wire management is the pits. I am considering replacing my 900 with the CM690 acutally.

I really like my 690, price was awesome cause there was a rebate with it at the time. I picked up a bunch of yate loons and cooling is pretty sweet in this case.

Yeah, the 900 has impressive cooling right out of the box, and it gets even better if you replace the fans, put the middle fan housing on the top, and add a fan controller. (Dropped 5c, even with the fans at 600rpm.)

A toolless design would have been nice, Wiring it sucks, and the dust... Oh lordy the DUUUSST. Also an external HD port would have been nice...

I think you have a choice between two good cases. Your not going to hate either of them.

I'd go with the 690 in any of the cases, but even from a cooling standpoint I'm pretty sure the 690 wins if you replace all of the fans.

I like the CM690 much better..

I like them both but I'd have to nod at the 900 just because the cooling is damn good right out of the box. Yeah it can be tight to work with but so are all the other mid tower cases. Tool-less redesign of the 900 would be the cats a$$ but how often will you be pulling those drives out anyway ? Every 6 months ? The cm is good but I doubt the cooling will match the 900 without buying more/better fans. I'd say the cm beats the 900 slightly in interior room, it looks to have a slightly longer body. Over all though I'd go with the 900...if space is an issue then a full tower like the Gigabyte cases are a better option than either of these....

http://techgage.com/article/cooler_master_cm_690/2

I go for the 900-
Better cooling
theres a fire wire port on the top if you really need an external hard drive
it looks amazing
As for cables... not really much you can do except tie them all to one side for the case like I did. They dont really block the air flow after hiding them underneath the bottom HDD bay.
Tooless operation- not really that bad. My first time build in it was simple...
An if you want space for for a CM stacker, but it isnt rreally that crowded in there for my rig.
Having never used an CM 690, I cant really say, but I looked around when buying my stuff and the Antec just looked and was reviewed better so....

Personally I would go with the Antec 900 based solely on aesthetics. Airflow-wise, these two cases are probably very similar (hopefully we might see a test comparing the two some day). I saw the CM690 on display in J&R and I have to say, I was a bit underwhelmed. Of course the Cooler Master is considerably cheaper, so if money is a factor at all, the 690 would be the right option.

Honestly, you can't really go wrong with either. Keep in mind that these are mid towers though, so space may be an issue.