Full tower or Mid tower?

900RR · 01-09-2008, 11:28 PM

I'm trying to decide on a case and can't decide between getting a mid like the antec 900, or a full tower like the coolermaster Stacker 830... what are the pros and cons of each?
I have plenty of area so I'm not worried about desk space. I want a lot of cooling so I can OC. I'm not sure how many 5.25" bays I'll need. Maybe DVD-RW, DVD-ROM, multi-card reader, and possibly some sort of temperature display / fan control? What do most people use to keep track of their temperatures without going to bios? I'm kinda new to performance computers but I'd like to setup something like that.

macdawg · 01-09-2008, 11:37 PM

For cooling reasons I prefer full towers, for size reasons I like mid towers. The Antec 900 is an awesome case and I've always liked cooler masters, overall if you can I'd go with the full tower and IMO for most enthusiast systems full tower is the way to go.

900RR · 01-09-2008, 11:46 PM

what do you guys think of a control like this?

Newegg.com - AeroCool GateWatch-SV Silver GateWatch with LCD display - Retail

i'm getting a tuniq tower cpu cooler with 120mm fan and I'd like to be able to monitor the cpu temp and adjust the coolers fan speed accoridnglt. And also control the case fans speeds.
It says it can control 4 fans, but the CM stacker has 4 case fans in the side cover alone... could I put all 4 of those fans on 1 channel? and control them together?
It takes up 2 x 5.25" bays, which pushes me towards full case..

Here is the gatewatch 2... looks like you can monitor cpu, gpu, hdd and case temperature (or fan speed? or both?) all at the same tim ewith this one.

anyone using something like this?

Poizen22 · 01-09-2008, 11:49 PM

go full tower, im preaty sure you can get adapters to run multiple fans on one conection, but the fans will all run same speed, that is the one connected thru the adapter.

hmammen · 01-10-2008, 11:31 AM

i would only go full tower if you are planning on some form of extreme cooling or have alot of hard drives, or dual GPUs. I personally only use full towers on my main rig, i just like the extra space.

helix2301 · 01-10-2008, 11:37 AM

I would go full Tower for cooling reasons. COOL control!

900RR · 01-10-2008, 06:37 PM

I'm going to get a full tower. Was planning on the Coolermaster Stacker, but now I can't decide between it and the Thermaltake Armor Series VA800...

CoolerMaster
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Stacker 830 RC-830-SSN3-GP Silver Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
Thermaltake
Newegg.com - Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail

I like the 4 120mm side fans of the 830, but the Thermaltake has more drive bays, more reviews and better ratings. They are the same price after rebate.... gah! decisions decisions..

Black Falcon 921 · 01-10-2008, 06:43 PM

Yeah the full tower is the way to go a lot more space and a lot more breathing room for everything. I think the cooler master is nice but your right the thermaltake sounds a little bit better I think I would go with that.

thirdshiftdj · 01-10-2008, 06:49 PM

I think the Thermaltake is ugly as h3ll plus with that intake fan in front your not going to be able to use 3 bays. Thermaltake will have 1 more open bay with the fan installed

Black Falcon 921 · 01-10-2008, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thirdshiftdj

I think the Thermaltake is ugly as h3ll plus with that intake fan in front your not going to be able to use 3 bays. Thermaltake will have 1 more open bay with the fan installed

Thats for sure it's not the nicest looking case.

01-09-2008, 11:28 PM	#1 (permalink)
900RR True Techie Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bradenton, Florida Posts: 200	Full tower or Mid tower? I'm trying to decide on a case and can't decide between getting a mid like the antec 900, or a full tower like the coolermaster Stacker 830... what are the pros and cons of each? I have plenty of area so I'm not worried about desk space. I want a lot of cooling so I can OC. I'm not sure how many 5.25" bays I'll need. Maybe DVD-RW, DVD-ROM, multi-card reader, and possibly some sort of temperature display / fan control? What do most people use to keep track of their temperatures without going to bios? I'm kinda new to performance computers but I'd like to setup something like that.

01-09-2008, 11:37 PM	#2 (permalink)
macdawg Ultra Techie Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 791	Re: Full tower or Mid tower? For cooling reasons I prefer full towers, for size reasons I like mid towers. The Antec 900 is an awesome case and I've always liked cooler masters, overall if you can I'd go with the full tower and IMO for most enthusiast systems full tower is the way to go.

01-09-2008, 11:46 PM	#3 (permalink)
900RR True Techie Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bradenton, Florida Posts: 200	Re: Full tower or Mid tower? what do you guys think of a control like this? Newegg.com - AeroCool GateWatch-SV Silver GateWatch with LCD display - Retail i'm getting a tuniq tower cpu cooler with 120mm fan and I'd like to be able to monitor the cpu temp and adjust the coolers fan speed accoridnglt. And also control the case fans speeds. It says it can control 4 fans, but the CM stacker has 4 case fans in the side cover alone... could I put all 4 of those fans on 1 channel? and control them together? It takes up 2 x 5.25" bays, which pushes me towards full case.. Here is the gatewatch 2... looks like you can monitor cpu, gpu, hdd and case temperature (or fan speed? or both?) all at the same tim ewith this one. anyone using something like this? Last edited by 900RR; 01-09-2008 at 11:51 PM.

01-09-2008, 11:49 PM	#4 (permalink)
Poizen22 20k 3d mark 06 member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 4,551	Re: Full tower or Mid tower? go full tower, im preaty sure you can get adapters to run multiple fans on one conection, but the fans will all run same speed, that is the one connected thru the adapter. __________________ cpu-q6600 3.6 1.368v -mobo 750iftm (miracle) -gpu g92 8800gts g92 sli . ram-1gb crucial -psu 600w silverstone strider-20410 3d marks in 06.

01-10-2008, 11:31 AM	#5 (permalink)
hmammen Self Proclaimed Immortal Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Denton, TX (UNT) Posts: 2,488	Re: Full tower or Mid tower? i would only go full tower if you are planning on some form of extreme cooling or have alot of hard drives, or dual GPUs. I personally only use full towers on my main rig, i just like the extra space. __________________ -For now- MacBook Pro with 8600GT

01-10-2008, 11:37 AM	#6 (permalink)
helix2301 True Techie Join Date: May 2006 Location: USA Posts: 164	Re: Full tower or Mid tower? I would go full Tower for cooling reasons. COOL control! __________________ helix2301 HP Accredited Platform Specialist CompTIA A+ IT Technician CompTIA Network+ Technician allamericancomp@yahoo.com http://www.allamericancomputerrepair.com http://www.helixzone.net

01-10-2008, 06:37 PM	#7 (permalink)
900RR True Techie Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bradenton, Florida Posts: 200	Re: Full tower or Mid tower? I'm going to get a full tower. Was planning on the Coolermaster Stacker, but now I can't decide between it and the Thermaltake Armor Series VA800... CoolerMaster Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Stacker 830 RC-830-SSN3-GP Silver Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail Thermaltake Newegg.com - Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail I like the 4 120mm side fans of the 830, but the Thermaltake has more drive bays, more reviews and better ratings. They are the same price after rebate.... gah! decisions decisions..

01-10-2008, 06:43 PM	#8 (permalink)
Black Falcon 921 Ultra Techie Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 536	Re: Full tower or Mid tower? Yeah the full tower is the way to go a lot more space and a lot more breathing room for everything. I think the cooler master is nice but your right the thermaltake sounds a little bit better I think I would go with that. __________________ Q9450 @ 3.6 ASUS STRIKER 2 FORMULA 780I 8 GIGS CORSAIR XMS 2 800 5-5-5-12 @1066 2 9800GTX SLI 7200 GS (Dual Monitors) 150 GIG RAPTOR - 1TB JBOD COOLER MASTER COSMOS 2 226BW 18,734 3D MARK Sincerely, The Black Falcon

01-10-2008, 06:49 PM	#9 (permalink)
thirdshiftdj up, up, down, down Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Lowell,Ma Posts: 3,014	Re: Full tower or Mid tower? I think the Thermaltake is ugly as h3ll plus with that intake fan in front your not going to be able to use 3 bays. Thermaltake will have 1 more open bay with the fan installed __________________ *Gigabyte EP45T Extreme / 4gb Micron D9GTS/ Lian Li V2000 / 9800GX2* D'TEK Fuzion V2 / MCP355 / XSPC Res Top Silverstone OP850 Last edited by thirdshiftdj; 01-10-2008 at 06:54 PM.

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