Mid-Tower Madness: 5 Midsize Cases Compared
Mid-Tower Madness: 5 Midsize Cases Compared
Posted 04/02/2010 at 6:10am
| by Nathan Edwards
21
Comments
Print
Five mid-size enclosures vie for the honor of housing your coveted gear
It seems obvious, right? The more stuff you have, the bigger the box you need to put it in. And in computer-land, you have options ranging from tiny micro-ATX cases the size of a hardback book to enormous full-tower cases into which you could cram every computer part you’ve ever owned. But not everybody needs or wants a full-tower case. Medium-size cases, or mid-towers, take up less space, weigh less, are more portable, and (hopefully) cost less than their full-tower brethren. What’s more, features that were once exclusive to full-tower cases, like dust filters, toolless construction, and CPU cutouts, are now finding their way into mid-size chassis—and not always accompanied by price increases. Indeed, just because you have two 5970 videocards and want to water-cool your CPU, it doesn’t mean you have to go with a full-tower anymore; some mid-towers have radiator mount points and room for your beefiest cards.
We have certain criteria for testing any computer chassis, and no case is exempt. Cases gain points for build quality, ease of installation, toolless mounting—but only if it’s sturdy!—stock-cooling ability, cable-routing options, and extra features like support for water-cooling installs, space for extra-long videocards, filtered intakes, and SSD brackets. Bonus points are earned for style and going above-and-beyond the expected. Points are deducted for thoughtless design flaws, poor build quality, bad cooling performance, lack of room for essential parts, and general suckitude. We don’t automatically add or subtract points for LEDs or other aesthetic flourishes, though tasteful use is appreciated.
This month, Maximum PC tests five of the newest and hottest mid-tower cases out there, from budget to luxe, steel to aluminum, tiny to nearly full-tower-size. These enclosures have their differences, but some of the similarities are surprising. All the cases in this roundup, for example, have CPU backplate cutouts in the motherboard tray (a first), and all have very similar front-panel connections. From the small and sub-$100 Zalman Z7 Plus to the big, beautiful, expensive Silverstone Fortress FT02, Maximum PC is, shall we say, on the case.
The Reviews
Zalman Z7 Plus
NZXT Hades
Cooler Master 690 II Advanced
Lian Li PC-B25F
Silverstone Fortress FT02
Next Page: Making a Case for Change >>
More like this
21
Comments
Comments are closed on this article
Athlonite
April 13, 2010 at 9:18am
pfft the Z7 and Hades trying to look like a cosmos case blurk they fail the CM690II just looks cheap n nasty
the lian li well its a lian li and ft02 isn't as nice as the RV02
Play till it breaks then learn how to fix it!
Abstract
July 17, 2010 at 11:44am
the z7 and hades make the others look like nothing. But i wished they would have thrown the antec 300 illusion in there. I wanted to see how my case would compare to those. And i was going to get the CM 690 2 but its like unpolished. Last two cases are good. I like my cases to have holes on the front for more ventilation
Abstract
July 17, 2010 at 11:46am
Accedentally double posted. But also some cases from companies like rosewill and others not so known also work. A $35 rosewill case compared very well to my antec 300 illusion for $60.
griffinii
April 07, 2010 at 11:51am
Please review the Lian Li Lancool PC-K62. They are a lot like the CM 690 II except they are missing the top SATA port. It has plenty roomy with the HDDs sideways, I fit a Sapphire 5870 in mine without any problems. You can find the box for under $100. I've already built a system in one but I'd like to see how it stacks up against the others. I also fit a CM Hyper 212 with no issues.
Personally, I would buy another one of these for my next build if they are still around.
CentiZen
April 02, 2010 at 12:15pm
I like the R4 Bulldozer. Because if my computer is a tank and is named after a tank, I want it to look like a tank too.
SHEILA: AMD X4 965 3.2GHZ ; 4 GB G.SKILL GAMING RAM ; RADEON HD 5770 1GB
lhatten
April 02, 2010 at 10:34am
I think the problem is there are no links on the second page. When you click on the case (object), on the second page, a larger picture of the case comes up, no review. It looks as if the second page is a histroy of the changes in cases, not a review. Somewhat confusing
DBsantos77
April 01, 2010 at 8:39pm
Meh, I really wanted you guys to review the Coolermaster 310 Elite. It's a $40 mid-tower case.
-Santos
Insula Gilliganis
April 01, 2010 at 7:10pm
Is that an original tribble from David G?? And has it eaten it's share of quadrotriticale yet? Just wondering!!
JonPhillips
April 02, 2010 at 6:27am
Yes, that is an original tribble. Gordon and I are having dinner with Mr Gerrold tonight -- assuming homeland safety allows even a SINGLE tribble onbaord the airplane he's taking to get to the bay area.
Cruzg10
April 01, 2010 at 6:54pm
Where the hell are the rest of the reviews? did someone turn this in at the last minute unfinished and with the intentions of blaming it on a website error? this isnt the 1st time its happened.
damn you!!
Havok
April 07, 2010 at 5:46am
You just lost The Game
Mac OS X 10.6.3 "Bandaged Kitty" : Available now
CentiZen
April 02, 2010 at 12:14pm
Click the clearly labeled hyper links at the end of the article my good sir.
SHEILA: AMD X4 965 3.2GHZ ; 4 GB G.SKILL GAMING RAM ; RADEON HD 5770 1GB
CleverBullet
April 01, 2010 at 7:03pm
What are you talking about? the reviews of the cases are in the links of their names.
DOOMHAMMA
April 01, 2010 at 9:03pm
I own that case for my i7 920 system....and my major complaint is, it needs some freaking fan filters! Otherwise, love it.
arch20002013
April 01, 2010 at 6:11pm
What about the HAF 922? I looked at that one and the CM690 II every since the CM690 came out. I opted for the 922 because it is a much better case in my opinion. It is much more roomy than the 690. I am glad I purchased it and it was even cheaper than the 690.
onewithazureskies
April 01, 2010 at 8:38am
@Nathan
Do you realize that all of the reviews are inaccessible at the moment?
JonPhillips
April 02, 2010 at 6:25am
Click on either the name or photo of an individual case. Links to the individual review.
Connect with MaximumPC
Featured Content
The gang discusses the GTX 690, Trinity, Ivy Bridge, Amazon, big-box stores, MMOs,...
This month's issue
Feature
Build a PC On Any Budget
Feature
Cloud Services Showdown
How-To
Encrypt Your External Drive
Build It
Upgrade an X58 Rig
Most Commented Articles
Latest Max PC Tweets
- maximumpc: Want to work at Maximum PC? Our Online Managing Editor, Alex, is moving away, so we need a new one. http://t.co/9Z7JCh0E1 day 3 hours ago
- maximumpc: Fraps 3.5.2 fixes lots of bugs, so if your motto, like @PCGamer's, is "always be frapsing," you should pick it up http://t.co/3DW3WUI01 day 5 hours ago
- maximumpc: Google Chrome Becomes World's Most-Used Web Browser, Kinda http://t.co/Xqgscmrp1 day 23 hours ago
