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Antec P180 or Thermaltake Armor, or Coolermaster Stacker 830?

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Jumpin Jack

Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2004
Location
Australia
Still can't decide... All have good and bad features....:bang head
My PC room is Air Conitioned, although I like the cases to have decent cooling, its not essential (no need for water cooling). I like the components to be access easierly, and the case to look nice (well presented)....


Antec P-180
http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=81802
It probably looks the nicest, has a removable HDD tray, has good cooling, but has no mobo tray, and lack space for the latest breed of vid cards (11 1/2" long).

Thermaltake Armor
http://www.thermaltake.com/product/Chassis/fulltower/armor/va8000bws.asp
It looks OK (got no idea what the flaps do in the front), has good cooling, has space for the latest breed of vid cards, has a removable HDD tray, but has no mobo tray, and is only partly made of aluminium.

Coolermaster Stacker 830
http://www.coolermaster.com/index.p...RC-830&other_title=+RC-830+CM Stacker 830 Evo
It looks OK, its the largest of the 3, has probably the best cooling of the 3, has space for the latest breed of vid cards, has a removable mobo tray, but has no HDD tray, and do I need all this additional space and extra cost too??

please help....:confused: :confused:
 
My first choice would be the P180, because I have one and must defend my purchase at all costs like a proper Internet forum poster :). But seriously, it's a nice case, and I hear the video card issues are caused by the upper drive bay, which you shouldn't use anyway because the PSU chamber is more than capable of cooling drives. Also, the PSU chamber helps cut down on noise and probably increases PSU longevity. A cool PSU is a happy PSU.

My second choice would be the Stacker 830, because even though I hate it for being overpriced and overkilled with fans, it still seems pretty workable and it looks nice.

Well, my real second choice is the Ultra Aluminus, which looks pretty nice to me. If you get it at performance-pcs.com, they can even cut a top and side 120mm blowhole for you, which is very nice. (Except you live in Australia which I guess means you can't)
 
Why don't many people rate the Thermaltake cases... there's a lot of support for the other 2, but TT is missing. They seem to have the most of the going features (cooling with air/water, space, windows, aluminium, competitive price, etc)? There "looks" are a bit out there, I agree...

But why don't they get support (my observation, anyway)....
 
I have an armor. Totally love it. Its almost 100% aluminum. Only the front roundy plastic piece to trim it is plastic, the flaps are solid aluminum and the rest of the interior is as well. I take it to Lan party's every other weekend and its yet to bend or give in any way what so ever. Its big enough for all the new video cards (8800GTX) and wide enough for coolers like the ultra 120. TT stuff generally isn't the best but this is one of those cases that set some standards for TT.
 
Jumpin Jack said:
Antec P-180
http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=81802
It probably looks the nicest, has a removable HDD tray, has good cooling, but has no mobo tray, and lack space for the latest breed of vid cards (11 1/2" long).
Case is kinda hard to work with. I found few ways to improve it. It will fit 8800gtx just remove the hard drive cage. Nice case if you looking for quiet setup but it may take some figuring out how to go around limited space.


Thermaltake Armor
http://www.thermaltake.com/product/Chassis/fulltower/armor/va8000bws.asp
It looks OK (got no idea what the flaps do in the front), has good cooling, has space for the latest breed of vid cards, has a removable HDD tray, but has no mobo tray, and is only partly made of aluminium.
Large, reminds me of original stacker so I like it better than stacker 830. Pretty light considering that it is made out of aluminum.

Coolermaster Stacker 830
http://www.coolermaster.com/index.p...RC-830&other_title=+RC-830+CM Stacker 830 Evo
It looks OK, its the largest of the 3, has probably the best cooling of the 3, has space for the latest breed of vid cards, has a removable mobo tray, but has no HDD tray, and do I need all this additional space and extra cost too??

Well I never came around to like this case, probably the price tag scare me off. I like original stacker TC01 or whatever it is called becasue it is cheaper and offers more space. Though it is not light.



I didn't like it but you may l since you are considering stacker 830 and it is in the same price range or close, Lian Li g70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811112067
 
yeah the p180 definitely has its quarks... the power supply is pain in the *** to get in and mount. Most psu's will make the lower 120mm fan useless since there's no space to mount it. Also the 5.25 drive bays mount pretty far out and there's no way to mount them flush with the front panel. So if you have any kind of front bays (ie. soundcard front panel) you definitely won't be able to close the door.

Just my 0.02 with my p180 so far...
 
If the new Stacker is anything like the old one, I'd get that. I couldn't be happier with my CM Stacker.
 
Stacker 830 by far. Very nice case, I can show many pics of this case. Sure the other ones aren't bad, but the Stacker 830 by far is the best case for air cooling.

Stacker 830 is just an a great quality case. Go with that if you can, and if you need pics of the case, I can always bring some.
 
I eventually went with the Armor..... Thank-you for all your comments very much appreciated.....

First impressions/ issues....

I bought the Black case..... I originally read these cases were SECC Metal, but someone here said his was all aluminium, both are true. The Black is SECC, and the silver is aluminium.... So be sure on what your preferences are.

The Case has enough room for all I could imagine, and yes the Stacker is bigger, but I think for my purposes by the time I run out of room in this case I'll be wanting a new case anyway (decades down the track), and saved $80 over the Stacker....

Cooling is very good, I can now run my CPU without the tornado fan on it and nothing overheats. Its sooo much better not running a tornado... arrhh the peace and tranquillity..... get better

Wiring is an absolute mess. I need to buy new cables (IDE, SATA, Audio, etc) cos none of them reach properly without looking untidy, so "No Picture" please..... Going from my old case to any new large case, this would have happened no matter which case I bought.... The front panel Audio, USB, etc cables that comes with the case could have been a few inches longer as this would make the wiring loom much nicer when I'm finished, but we'll see how I go...

Power Supply was a little difficult to position due to its size (OCZ 600W) and the cables coming out of the PS fouled the roof case fan (92mm). I had to gently/forcibly squeeze the cabling around the fan. I could have rotated the PS 180 deg, but this would have meant the exhaust fan of the PS would have been venting from the bottom of the PS, and my preference was for it to be at the top. Anyway, it's all good now...

Now my final decision is where to position the damn thing, as my old case use to fit under my desk... this sucker will need to go else to access it properly..... hmm


Hope this helps... as it was nightmare thinking about it for so long, glad its done now....
 
Well I've got my fans, extra long cables, and some lights... all done....




Its OK for my first attempt at lights...:eek:
 

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