so right now i have a cm storm scout which is great and all but ive out grown it big time with my currently second build. so right now im trying to find either a haf 922, 932 or a nzxt phantom and i cant decide. so if yall have had any of these cases i would like to hear your thoughts. P.S- if yall post prices have them either from newegg or tigerdirect cause im in Texas.
haf or phantom
- Thread starter techman95
- Start date
draemn
Well-known member
I've been pretty happy with my NZXT Phantom. THe biggest thing I like is the wicked design and fan controller. I gotta say, that fan controller is super awesome! I've had mine since it came out in September.
A few things to note:
-Somewhat cheap construction material, but doesn't seem to be a big issue.
-Doesn't come with 3/7 fans, doesn't have a good supply of fan/opening filters (especially since it is inclined to be a negative pressure case)
-The stock fans are very quiet at idle.
-You can't put a dual GPU in the last slot (7 slot case) as some ATX mobos will make the 7th slot the only place to put a 3rd GPU.
-It's big... Full ATX case... that's big.. but tons of room to work with, although you'll have to watch large heatsink installation with the size of your side mounted fan.
Now, on to the things I really like?
-the fan controller is just great!
-I love the magnetic door latch on the front for your drive bays... it's just the perfect strength imo.
-Has pretty damn decent cooling when you crank up the fans (especially the top fans).
-Remove the additional HDD bays to make more room in the case (otherwise don't buy a long PSU if you need those extra slots).
-Can sort of mount SSDs without needing any adapter tray (sometimes the screws don't line up perfectly or fit 100%)
-REALLY GREAT cable management and wiring. This is a great perk that NZXT did an awesome job at doing all the wiring for all the case fans + headers, etc for you, so everything is already in place and super neat! Also, it's pretty good (but not perfect) at the rest of cable management as you install the rest of your devices.
-Did I mention that I love the design? The liberal use of tool less design is pretty damn good, although it could have been a bit better.
A few things to note:
-Somewhat cheap construction material, but doesn't seem to be a big issue.
-Doesn't come with 3/7 fans, doesn't have a good supply of fan/opening filters (especially since it is inclined to be a negative pressure case)
-The stock fans are very quiet at idle.
-You can't put a dual GPU in the last slot (7 slot case) as some ATX mobos will make the 7th slot the only place to put a 3rd GPU.
-It's big... Full ATX case... that's big.. but tons of room to work with, although you'll have to watch large heatsink installation with the size of your side mounted fan.
Now, on to the things I really like?
-the fan controller is just great!
-I love the magnetic door latch on the front for your drive bays... it's just the perfect strength imo.
-Has pretty damn decent cooling when you crank up the fans (especially the top fans).
-Remove the additional HDD bays to make more room in the case (otherwise don't buy a long PSU if you need those extra slots).
-Can sort of mount SSDs without needing any adapter tray (sometimes the screws don't line up perfectly or fit 100%)
-REALLY GREAT cable management and wiring. This is a great perk that NZXT did an awesome job at doing all the wiring for all the case fans + headers, etc for you, so everything is already in place and super neat! Also, it's pretty good (but not perfect) at the rest of cable management as you install the rest of your devices.
-Did I mention that I love the design? The liberal use of tool less design is pretty damn good, although it could have been a bit better.
Grampa
Well-known member
I pretty much agree with everything that has been said here.
Phantom is quite a nice case, however the construction material (the steel side panels) feel pretty cheap.
Aside from that though, it will hold just about anything you can think to throw at it (with some modifications of course).
HAF-X is one of the most user friendly cases I've come across, and I find it to be a very very solid well built case.
One other bonus I like, is the ability to house XL-ATX sized motherboards.
I don't think you can go wrong with either case.
Having said that, I would go with whichever suits your budget best.
Not too sure about pricing in the USA, but if you live anywhere near Microcentre, I hear they have some of the best bargains around.
Phantom is quite a nice case, however the construction material (the steel side panels) feel pretty cheap.
Aside from that though, it will hold just about anything you can think to throw at it (with some modifications of course).
HAF-X is one of the most user friendly cases I've come across, and I find it to be a very very solid well built case.
One other bonus I like, is the ability to house XL-ATX sized motherboards.
I don't think you can go wrong with either case.
Having said that, I would go with whichever suits your budget best.
Not too sure about pricing in the USA, but if you live anywhere near Microcentre, I hear they have some of the best bargains around.
