Which of these 4 cases would be best?

[WarmMachineME]

My old case has seen better days, and I think some extensive hardware upgrades are around the corner. A bigger, better case doesn't seem like a bad place to start.
Chenming/Chieftec comes pretty highly recommended to me. I've seen them in use, and they seem hard to beat without going to cases that are twice the money. A friend has had the same Chieftec case for a few years, and it's seen him through several complete upgrade cycles.
I'm definitely building for gaming and performance, so heat dissipation is important, as well as a case that can see me through as many hardware generations as possible. I've picked out four similar cases that appear to fit my general qualifications. (Big and roomy, heat efficient, durable, accomodating, and not $200.)

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811125446
I like the mobo tray and drive slides, but I wonder about the airflow compared to the other cases. The HDD rack doesn't appear to come out as easily as the cages in the others (assuming it comes out at all without a sawzall).

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811125480
I like the cages and fan placement here, especially the 120mm spot on back. Would move a lot of air, and seems a natural fit for a radiator for that watercool setup I've been toying with somewhere down the line. A fan could be mounted on the side in place of their vent, but that grating seems like a double edged sword. Good ventilation, but I'd have to dust that much more often. Also, the Chenming website has this case listed as "Prescott specialized." Hmm.

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811125435
Basically the same as above, only with no venting on the side and 2x80mm fan mounts on the back instead of 1x120mm.

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811125444
Another variation as above, this time with an 80mm fan mount in the side panel.

Thoughts?

[glc]

Get a case that you like the looks of and has features you like. Just make sure you use a quality power supply, most cases that come with power supplies use a low quality unit to keep the cost down.

All 4 links are Chenming? I don't see a problem with any of them - they all come with no power supply and Chenming makes decent quality cases. I personally don't like the looks, but that's a personal thing.

[WarmMachineME]

It might seem silly to compare such similar cases, but what I learned from my last one is that it's the details that'll make me crazy, whether it be a feature about the case that doesn't show up in descriptions and pictures, or something that just doesn't fit when I move up to a bigger mobo and so forth.

At least I do have decent ones to choose from to start with. Thanks for the advice.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by WarmMachineME http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811125446 I like the mobo tray and drive slides, but I wonder about the airflow compared to the other cases. The HDD rack doesn't appear to come out as easily as the cages in the others (assuming it comes out at all without a sawzall).

I think the airflow through this case would be sufficient for most setups.

The HDD rack doesn't come out at all. This case uses a drive rail system so the rack itself doesn't have to come out. You screw the rails onto the hard drives and then slip the hard drive into place in the cage. The rails then lock the hard drive in place.

Originally Posted by WarmMachineME http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811125480 I like the cages and fan placement here, especially the 120mm spot on back. Would move a lot of air, and seems a natural fit for a radiator for that watercool setup I've been toying with somewhere down the line. A fan could be mounted on the side in place of their vent, but that grating seems like a double edged sword. Good ventilation, but I'd have to dust that much more often. Also, the Chenming website has this case listed as "Prescott specialized." Hmm.

Nice case and basically the same as the following two. It's "Prescott specialized" because of the side duct that brings cool air directly to the heatsink fan.

Originally Posted by WarmMachineME http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811125435 Basically the same as above, only with no venting on the side and 2x80mm fan mounts on the back instead of 1x120mm.

Another nice case and would probably be a little quieter than the one above because it doesn't have the side vent. The two 80mm fans probably move as much air as a single 120mm so I think this is a non-issue...but then two 80mm fans would probably make more noise than a single 120mm fan and might be something to consider.

Originally Posted by WarmMachineME http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811125444 Another variation as above, this time with an 80mm fan mount in the side panel.

And it's a aluminum case for only $65.

Cricket

[andper10]

Personally I'd go with the last one because I like the looks of it better than the others. If you want quiet, get a 120mm exhaust. If you want a little more airflow, but more noise, get 2x80mm fans for exhaust. Personally, I like to have a fan blowing on my HD too. Like the others said, they all look like good case designs, so just choose the one that you like best.

[WarmMachineME]

Noise isn't really an issue for me. I've got 3x80mm and 1x120mm fans packed into my current dinky mid-tower case, and it isn't even as solid as these cases. So at worst it'll be as loud as what I already have, if not a little quieter. Besides, that's what good speakers are for. ^_^

I'll cross the first one off the list. I don't think I care for the drive rails versus other options. The 3rd one can go too, since it's so much like the others, and I may as well have something in the side. So that leaves us with...

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811125480
Side grating with vent - or a fan. Don't see a reason why anybody couldn't screw a fan (or two) in the side instead of using the vent.
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811125444
Or side window with fan mount.

I'm leaning toward the one with the vented side. Seems like a good choice, especially if I upgrade to a beefier rig in the future, and as long as I dust regularly.

Out of curiosity, some reviewers are reporting problems with the hard drive cages being in the way when installing the larger motherboards, but how much of an issue is that really? Boards that large are mainly going to be for full-on file servers, aren't they?

Sorry if I seem picky, but I'm hoping to make a good case buy, and be able to go quite a while before I have to think about another case for myself again.