Mid Towers vs. Full Towers (poll)

Which do you guys own?

I am trying to decide which one to get myself. I like the extra airflow and ease of the Full, but hate how it will take up a lot of my desk.

Which do you guys own?

I am trying to decide which one to get myself. I like the extra airflow and ease of the Full, but hate how it will take up a lot of my desk.

Snosavan24

Unless you have are going to be an extreme overclocker or using SLI you dont need to worry about airflow at all. My case has only one small fan as an extractor and my overclocked CPU and 8800GT are more than happy. Just remeber that one intake fan is fine for most gaming PC's.

[QUOTE="Snosavan24"]

Which do you guys own?

I am trying to decide which one to get myself. I like the extra airflow and ease of the Full, but hate how it will take up a lot of my desk.

daytona_178

Unless you have are going to be an extreme overclocker or using SLI you dont need to worry about airflow at all. My case has only one small fan as an extractor and my overclocked CPU and 8800GT are more than happy. Just remeber that one intake fan is fine for most gaming PC's.

If your PC's ambient case temperature is as much as one degree warmer than your room temperature you're doing something wrong.

I wouldn't touch a case with less than 4-6 120mm fans.

[QUOTE="daytona_178"][QUOTE="Snosavan24"]

Which do you guys own?

I am trying to decide which one to get myself. I like the extra airflow and ease of the Full, but hate how it will take up a lot of my desk.

WDT-BlackKat

Unless you have are going to be an extreme overclocker or using SLI you dont need to worry about airflow at all. My case has only one small fan as an extractor and my overclocked CPU and 8800GT are more than happy. Just remeber that one intake fan is fine for most gaming PC's.

If your PC's ambient case temperature is as much as one degree warmer than your room temperature you're doing something wrong.

I wouldn't touch a case with less than 4-6 120mm fans.

4-6 120mm fans....what kind of hardware do you use? I know people like to have their hardare cool but i think people have this idea in their head that components are alergic to heat. Like i said before i only have that one fan and i have NEVER had a heat issue, even during summer time. I know the newer GPU are pumping out more heat but c'mon,,,,4-6 120mm fans minimum?

[QUOTE="WDT-BlackKat"][QUOTE="daytona_178"][QUOTE="Snosavan24"]

Which do you guys own?

I am trying to decide which one to get myself. I like the extra airflow and ease of the Full, but hate how it will take up a lot of my desk.

daytona_178

Unless you have are going to be an extreme overclocker or using SLI you dont need to worry about airflow at all. My case has only one small fan as an extractor and my overclocked CPU and 8800GT are more than happy. Just remeber that one intake fan is fine for most gaming PC's.

If your PC's ambient case temperature is as much as one degree warmer than your room temperature you're doing something wrong.

I wouldn't touch a case with less than 4-6 120mm fans.

4-6 120mm fans....what kind of hardware do you use? I know people like to have their hardare cool but i think people have this idea in their head that components are alergic to heat. Like i said before i only have that one fan and i have NEVER had a heat issue, even during summer time. I know the newer GPU are pumping out more heat but c'mon,,,,4-6 120mm fans minimum?

I think 4 120mm fans would be optimal, however my old case only had an 80mm intake and a 120mm exhuast, cooling was great, altough I would've appreciated a 120mm intake. Cases with 120mm intake and exhaust plus a 120mm side panel offer great cooling as well, anything more than that and cooling is superb I would say.

As for all the fans I have, it's great for an HD 4870 CF setup like I have.

[QUOTE="daytona_178"][QUOTE="WDT-BlackKat"][QUOTE="daytona_178"][QUOTE="Snosavan24"]

Which do you guys own?

I am trying to decide which one to get myself. I like the extra airflow and ease of the Full, but hate how it will take up a lot of my desk.

Marfoo

Unless you have are going to be an extreme overclocker or using SLI you dont need to worry about airflow at all. My case has only one small fan as an extractor and my overclocked CPU and 8800GT are more than happy. Just remeber that one intake fan is fine for most gaming PC's.

If your PC's ambient case temperature is as much as one degree warmer than your room temperature you're doing something wrong.

I wouldn't touch a case with less than 4-6 120mm fans.

4-6 120mm fans....what kind of hardware do you use? I know people like to have their hardare cool but i think people have this idea in their head that components are alergic to heat. Like i said before i only have that one fan and i have NEVER had a heat issue, even during summer time. I know the newer GPU are pumping out more heat but c'mon,,,,4-6 120mm fans minimum?

I think 4 120mm fans would be optimal, however my old case only had an 80mm intake and a 120mm exhuast, cooling was great, altough I would've appreciated a 120mm intake. Cases with 120mm intake and exhaust plus a 120mm side panel offer great cooling as well, anything more than that and cooling is superb I would say.

As for all the fans I have, it's great for an HD 4870 CF setup like I have.

Well for someone with two large graphics cards like yours so close together i would say at least one 120mm intake would be needed because them things getting hot,,,but for someone with a single card and a modest'ish CPU 1 intake fan is more than enough.

[QUOTE="Marfoo"][QUOTE="daytona_178"][QUOTE="WDT-BlackKat"][QUOTE="daytona_178"][QUOTE="Snosavan24"]

Which do you guys own?

I am trying to decide which one to get myself. I like the extra airflow and ease of the Full, but hate how it will take up a lot of my desk.

daytona_178

Unless you have are going to be an extreme overclocker or using SLI you dont need to worry about airflow at all. My case has only one small fan as an extractor and my overclocked CPU and 8800GT are more than happy. Just remeber that one intake fan is fine for most gaming PC's.

If your PC's ambient case temperature is as much as one degree warmer than your room temperature you're doing something wrong.

I wouldn't touch a case with less than 4-6 120mm fans.

4-6 120mm fans....what kind of hardware do you use? I know people like to have their hardare cool but i think people have this idea in their head that components are alergic to heat. Like i said before i only have that one fan and i have NEVER had a heat issue, even during summer time. I know the newer GPU are pumping out more heat but c'mon,,,,4-6 120mm fans minimum?

I think 4 120mm fans would be optimal, however my old case only had an 80mm intake and a 120mm exhuast, cooling was great, altough I would've appreciated a 120mm intake. Cases with 120mm intake and exhaust plus a 120mm side panel offer great cooling as well, anything more than that and cooling is superb I would say.

As for all the fans I have, it's great for an HD 4870 CF setup like I have.

Well for someone with two large graphics cards like yours so close together i would say at least one 120mm intake would be needed because them things getting hot,,,but for someone with a single card and a modest'ish CPU 1 intake fan is more than enough.

1 intake fan? I'd rather stab myself in the nuts than have your case. I truly feel for your 8800GT. All that hot air in their just swirling around and no way to escape.

Why do you think so many people buy Antec 900/1200 cases, or Thermatake Armor cases? HEAT IS BAD. VERY BAD. If it wasn't for condensation people would have refrigerated PC cases.

[QUOTE="daytona_178"][QUOTE="Marfoo"][QUOTE="daytona_178"][QUOTE="WDT-BlackKat"][QUOTE="daytona_178"][QUOTE="Snosavan24"]

Which do you guys own?

I am trying to decide which one to get myself. I like the extra airflow and ease of the Full, but hate how it will take up a lot of my desk.

WDT-BlackKat

Unless you have are going to be an extreme overclocker or using SLI you dont need to worry about airflow at all. My case has only one small fan as an extractor and my overclocked CPU and 8800GT are more than happy. Just remeber that one intake fan is fine for most gaming PC's.

If your PC's ambient case temperature is as much as one degree warmer than your room temperature you're doing something wrong.

I wouldn't touch a case with less than 4-6 120mm fans.

4-6 120mm fans....what kind of hardware do you use? I know people like to have their hardare cool but i think people have this idea in their head that components are alergic to heat. Like i said before i only have that one fan and i have NEVER had a heat issue, even during summer time. I know the newer GPU are pumping out more heat but c'mon,,,,4-6 120mm fans minimum?

I think 4 120mm fans would be optimal, however my old case only had an 80mm intake and a 120mm exhuast, cooling was great, altough I would've appreciated a 120mm intake. Cases with 120mm intake and exhaust plus a 120mm side panel offer great cooling as well, anything more than that and cooling is superb I would say.

As for all the fans I have, it's great for an HD 4870 CF setup like I have.

Well for someone with two large graphics cards like yours so close together i would say at least one 120mm intake would be needed because them things getting hot,,,but for someone with a single card and a modest'ish CPU 1 intake fan is more than enough.

1 intake fan? I'd rather stab myself in the nuts than have your case. I truly feel for your 8800GT. All that hot air in their just swirling around and no way to escape.

Why do you think so many people buy Antec 900/1200 cases, or Thermatake Armor cases? HEAT IS BAD. VERY BAD. If it wasn't for condensation people would have refrigerated PC cases.

Most people get those cases because they look cool, the amount of people i have seen on this forum with cheap parts and super cooled PC is huge! If i had an antec 900 right now i would be getting no extra performance from my PC! Also if my pc was so hot it was doing damage it would simply reboot or give me artifacts,,,,and thats a FACT.

i think you dont realise the kind of temperatures these chips are designed to withstand...you really should do your research. I admit i may reduce the life expectancy of my GPU from 15 years down to 10 by having it constantly warm,,,,but most people dont keep their hardware for more than 3 years anyway so i guarantee you iam fine.

So in recap if you think your hardware is instantly damaged at the slightest hint of heat you dont know much about PC's. Secondly people dont NEED a Antec 900 or similar case unless the have SLI'd powerful graphics cards or have VERY overclocked CPU''s.

1 intake fan? I'd rather stab myself in the nuts than have your case. I truly feel for your 8800GT. All that hot air in their just swirling around and no way to escape.

Why do you think so many people buy Antec 900/1200 cases, or Thermatake Armor cases? HEAT IS BAD. VERY BAD. If it wasn't for condensation people would have refrigerated PC cases.

WDT-BlackKat

WOW!, just wow.

Good airflow is good airflow. The way I see it is your case sux if you need 4-6 120mm fans to give it good airflow. Sounds like it was designed pretty badly if it need that many fans.

A modest PC with a good designed case will be fine with just an exhaust case fan. Now if you want to OC and run high-end hardware a front intake is more important.

Most people get those cases because they look cool, the amount of people i have seen on this forum with cheap parts and super cooled PC is huge! If i had an antec 900 right now i would be getting no extra performance from my PC! Also if my pc was so hot it was doing damage it would simply reboot or give me artifacts,,,,and thats a FACT.

i think you dont realise the kind of temperatures these chips are designed to withstand...you really should do your research. I admit i may reduce the life expectancy of my GPU from 15 years down to 10 by having it constantly warm,,,,but most people dont keep their hardware for more than 3 years anyway so i guarantee you iam fine.

So in recap if you think your hardware is instantly damaged at the slightest hint of heat you dont know much about PC's. Secondly people dont NEED a Antec 900 or similar case unless the have SLI'd powerful graphics cards or have VERY overclocked CPU''s.

daytona_178

Woah, you're both right, lets not turn this into a major argument here. 1 intake fan with no exhaust will leave hot air stagnent in your case. Yes hardware is designed to withstand quite a bit of heat, enough for cases limited cooling and general hardware not to overheat and fail.

No one is saying the slightest amount of heat is going to kill your PC. I have seen some PCs overheat, but they were OEM minitowers with one 80mm fan exhausting at less than 1000rpms clogged with dust.

Some of us just like things working effeciently, plenty of intake and exhuast. Others feel 1 or 2 fans are fine as long as their hardware is stable.

1 intake fan? I'd rather stab myself in the nuts than have your case. I truly feel for your 8800GT. All that hot air in their just swirling around and no way to escape.

Why do you think so many people buy Antec 900/1200 cases, or Thermatake Armor cases? HEAT IS BAD. VERY BAD. If it wasn't for condensation people would have refrigerated PC cases.

WDT-BlackKat

People have those wide-open cases either because they have seroius needs for one (Tri-SLI + Quad-Core, or maybe a 12-disk file server), because they THINK they need them, or because someone told them to get one (or, because they think the case is cool). For typical gaming machines, any ol' mid-tower with decent exhaust is sufficient.

I'm not sure exactly which components are going to suffer from slightly elevated heat. CPUs have high tolerances, GPUs are even more heat resistent (and get replaced more often), and even HDDs last for several years, from what I've seen. Why in the world do you think case ambient should equal room ambient? Unless you have watercooling or peltier, that's impossible. Chips create heat; hard drives create heat; every active component in your case creates heat. Some of that is going to stay in your case, no matter how hard you try.

If I turn off all intake fans in my Rocketfish case, leaving only the exhaust fan, CPU fan and PSU, idle temps for a Phenom X4 and passively cooled HD3850 are 40C ambient, 35C core, and 46C GPU. All of these temperatures are well within the specs of these components, and should have no appreciable effect on their lifespans - the typical gaming PC gets upgraded often, compared to other PCs.

Antec Three Hundred + Zalman Fan Controller + 4 x 120mm / 1 x 140mm = ^_^Staryoshi87

Cooler Master CM 690 + Sunbeamtech Rheobus Fan Controller + 4 x 140mm / 2 x 120mm = ^_^ x 2

[QUOTE="WDT-BlackKat"][QUOTE="daytona_178"][QUOTE="Snosavan24"]

Which do you guys own?

I am trying to decide which one to get myself. I like the extra airflow and ease of the Full, but hate how it will take up a lot of my desk.

daytona_178

Unless you have are going to be an extreme overclocker or using SLI you dont need to worry about airflow at all. My case has only one small fan as an extractor and my overclocked CPU and 8800GT are more than happy. Just remeber that one intake fan is fine for most gaming PC's.

If your PC's ambient case temperature is as much as one degree warmer than your room temperature you're doing something wrong.

I wouldn't touch a case with less than 4-6 120mm fans.

4-6 120mm fans....what kind of hardware do you use? I know people like to have their hardare cool but i think people have this idea in their head that components are alergic to heat. Like i said before i only have that one fan and i have NEVER had a heat issue, even during summer time. I know the newer GPU are pumping out more heat but c'mon,,,,4-6 120mm fans minimum?

That's interesting because I noticed a 4C change in temp. from my old Antec Midtower, to my new CM Stacker. I even notice a 2C change when I put the covers on my CMStacker. And I've got 4 120mm fans blowing from on the entire Mortherboard are, an exhaust fan on top, and an exhaust fan on the back. So...yeah, bigger = better! Any girl that tells you otherwise is full of it and I'd think about upgrading (wink).

Why 4 120mm case fans? Thats overkill IMO. My case has only 1 120mm fan and it does just fine. My 4850 runs at 54 celcius Idle. My OCed CPU runs at 35 celcius. albi321

35C...you must be Duo, not quad. Regardless...how's it overkill? That's like saying water cooling is overkill...is it? Really? Pretty bold statement not knowing my motherboard and the northbridge I'm running. I've I've also got two DVD's, two Raptors, an OC'd 8800GTX, and an OC'd Q6700, and live in Las Vegas where ambient Temps are 110 right now, room temp. at 78...so once again overkill? Hell, if I could I'd stick my comp. in the fridge.

[QUOTE="albi321"]Why 4 120mm case fans? Thats overkill IMO. My case has only 1 120mm fan and it does just fine. My 4850 runs at 54 Celsius Idle. My OCed CPU runs at 35 celcius. 2005wrxsti

35C...you must be Duo, not quad. Regardless...how's it overkill? That's like saying water cooling is overkill...is it? Really? Pretty bold statement not knowing my motherboard and the northbridge I'm running. I've I've also got two DVD's, two Raptors, an OC'd 8800GTX, and an OC'd Q6700, and live in Las Vegas where ambient Temps are 110 right now, room temp. at 78...so once again overkill? Hell, if I could I'd stick my comp. in the fridge.

[QUOTE="Staryoshi87"]Antec Three Hundred + Zalman Fan Controller + 4 x 120mm / 1 x 140mm = ^_^Marfoo

Cooler Master CM 690 + Sunbeamtech Rheobus Fan Controller + 4 x 140mm / 2 x 120mm = ^_^ x 2

I dont' buy Sunbeam anymore. Especially their PSUs (one blew ;)). Their fan controllers are ugly power hogs :D

Most people get those cases because they look cool, the amount of people i have seen on this forum with cheap parts and super cooled PC is huge! If i had an antec 900 right now i would be getting no extra performance from my PC! Also if my pc was so hot it was doing damage it would simply reboot or give me artifacts,,,,and thats a FACT.

i think you dont realise the kind of temperatures these chips are designed to withstand...you really should do your research. I admit i may reduce the life expectancy of my GPU from 15 years down to 10 by having it constantly warm,,,,but most people dont keep their hardware for more than 3 years anyway so i guarantee you iam fine.

So in recap if you think your hardware is instantly damaged at the slightest hint of heat you dont know much about PC's. Secondly people dont NEED a Antec 900 or similar case unless the have SLI'd powerful graphics cards or have VERY overclocked CPU''s.

daytona_178

so true, I have a buget case with one 80mm exhaust fan and have never had a single heat problem. cases are way overated. sure if your going to run dual highend gpus it might make it difference but most of the time they are just to 'look cool'

[QUOTE="WDT-BlackKat"]

1 intake fan? I'd rather stab myself in the nuts than have your case. I truly feel for your 8800GT. All that hot air in their just swirling around and no way to escape.

Why do you think so many people buy Antec 900/1200 cases, or Thermatake Armor cases? HEAT IS BAD. VERY BAD. If it wasn't for condensation people would have refrigerated PC cases.

opamando

WOW!, just wow.

Good airflow is good airflow. The way I see it is your case sux if you need 4-6 120mm fans to give it good airflow. Sounds like it was designed pretty badly if it need that many fans.

A modest PC with a good designed case will be fine with just an exhaust case fan. Now if you want to OC and run high-end hardware a front intake is more important.

that is what some people don't get. I took out my intake fan a few years back and it made no difference what so ever to temps. there is a strong suck of air in the front of my case without it. the cpu gets pleanty of air from the cpu tunel intake. Its funny when people spend heaps on cases then have heat issues.

It seems the new p/s possitions in many expencvie cases isn't as good as the good old top rear a lot of the time. and putting the p/s in the bottom front is never going to work as well as at the back

[QUOTE="WDT-BlackKat"]

1 intake fan? I'd rather stab myself in the nuts than have your case. I truly feel for your 8800GT. All that hot air in their just swirling around and no way to escape.

Why do you think so many people buy Antec 900/1200 cases, or Thermatake Armor cases? HEAT IS BAD. VERY BAD. If it wasn't for condensation people would have refrigerated PC cases.

ajkalan

People have those wide-open cases either because they have seroius needs for one (Tri-SLI + Quad-Core, or maybe a 12-disk file server), because they THINK they need them, or because someone told them to get one (or, because they think the case is cool). For typical gaming machines, any ol' mid-tower with decent exhaust is sufficient.

I'm not sure exactly which components are going to suffer from slightly elevated heat. CPUs have high tolerances, GPUs are even more heat resistent (and get replaced more often), and even HDDs last for several years, from what I've seen. Why in the world do you think case ambient should equal room ambient? Unless you have watercooling or peltier, that's impossible. Chips create heat; hard drives create heat; every active component in your case creates heat. Some of that is going to stay in your case, no matter how hard you try.

If I turn off all intake fans in my Rocketfish case, leaving only the exhaust fan, CPU fan and PSU, idle temps for a Phenom X4 and passively cooled HD3850 are 40C ambient, 35C core, and 46C GPU. All of these temperatures are well within the specs of these components, and should have no appreciable effect on their lifespans - the typical gaming PC gets upgraded often, compared to other PCs.

Agreed. My case only has a 120mm exaust, 120mm intake, and a 80mm side fan. My 9600GT idles at 41C and my cpu idles at 26C (with a heatsink thats not to much better than the stock intel ones) and my HDD runs at 27C The notion that people have to have 6 fans on there case is crazy, as if they think their hardware is going to instantly die. 2-5C does not make a lick of difference when at low temps. Computer components usually outlast the time the owner actually usues it.

Well, i'd recommend a full tower because u will need the airflow space.In addition, a couple of years back i got a mid tower and filled it up with everything i could now there is no way i can fit a 9800gx2(which i really want) in there so space is another thing u will need............