Cooler Master's Elite 430 targets Antec Three Hundred
Cooler Master's latest Elite 430 case will take on the budget market.
Despite its cost, there's still (just enough) space for a large CPU cooler such as the upcoming Cooler Master V6, and it'll even handle three GeForce GTX 480s without turning into a fiery ball of mess, we were told. The system shown had such a setup but the case sides were off to show the PC inside, which would have helped the cooling.
With space for two 120mm fans in the roof, one 120mm fan at the rear, one 120mm fan in the floor and another 120mm fan at the front, there's plenty of scope to add more cooling if you need it. There were no side panels for us to look at, so there might even be a mount or two more for GPU-specific cooling.
However, considering that the graphics cards installed in the system were already very close to the side of the case (thanks for those overhanging heatpipes, Nvidia) you'd need to use a very thin fan if you planned to install and GTX 480.
To keep things simple, the hard disk cage isn't sideways facing, so it'll be awkward to fit or swap disks once the system is built. However, Cooler Master does throw in some nice tool-free clips to secure your disks and the optical drives above.
Click to enlarge
The case even supports extended PSUs such as the giant 1.2kW Silent Pro Gold shown above, although this has meant that the demo system couldn't use the extra floor fan mount. The Elite 430 actually looks quite smart, with a neat and clean aesthetic. Unfortunately Cooler Master couldn't confirm a final price or a launch date, so you'll just have to keep checking bit-tech for updates!
Is this an Antec 300-killer? Or just another choice in the budget market is good for everyone? Let us know your thoughts, in the forums.
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Discuss in the forums Replywhere are the sleek cases. ask Antec to try again with their p183's exterior look.
But I do have a Stacker 832.
its not the ugliest case ive seen, but from the front it has the look of a cheap 'gaming' case imo
Many PC Gamers.
Cheap mobo, cheap case, cheap PSU + tons of fans and graphics = typical scenario for the uninformed at LAN parties I've seen.
When you put it like that i suppose it makes sense. How long before we see no name 1200w PSUs:(
The gaming case markets are so damn over crowded a case really needs to pack something extra and do everything right to stand from the crowd. By the looks of it, this is just another generic chassis.
I have 3 HDDs, a 4870, a TX750 and there is no room to manoeuvre at all.
Yep.
If it would be different there would be a problem with mainboards that have PWM heatsinks at the top of the board like for example the Gigabyte UD5 Intel boards or the Asus P6X58D Premium.
It can't surely add *that* much to the cost?
Agreed.
After seeing so many cases with that black interior, I've constantly thought about powder coating my Lian Li case.
But yeah that case is the oooglay and so is the antec 300.
Sorry but you're just plain wrong. The 300 is THE cheap case to get. End of story. Pretty much the ultimate one size fits all as well, just add some fans if it gets too toasty.
I agree with the previous statements that pc cases tend to get uglier at the moment, whether introduced at Computex or not.
Nah I'm only messin'. Even though it is ugly it's not that ugly.
Exactly, it's not fair to compare a high end case with a low end case, however the 300 has shown itself to be quite capable even with a high end system inside it. I use it and I wouldn't shun anyone for using one regardless of the hardware inside. It's a safe, smart buy.
If the 300 was junk, it wouldn't have taken this long for a viable competitor to emerge.
Um no, I have actually used and assembled within one, sure it is acceptable for the price but objectively speaking it is a terrible case. It desperately needs some kind of sideways HDD cage but then you may as well step up to the 900 to get some kind of room.
I kinda prefer this way round of hard drive mounting, as the airflow from a front intake is less obstructed (when using one or two drives) than with a sideways cage. Sure it's a pain to fit and change hard drives after a full system is built, but after I've stuck in my drives, I'm not likely to add any more for a good while. And when I do, I'll probably take then whole thing apart anyway, because it'll probably be rather dusty in there, and thermal paste might need changing anyway.
Edit: For those of you looking for a sideways mounted HDD cage, good cooling and a low price, the NZXT M59 (which I have) is awesome. Not much more than a 300 in price, and a lot more unique looking. Note how I say unique... some people (most people) call it ugly. I like it. Maybe I have a soft spot for uglyass cases, but I really like it. It's covered in flashy blue LEDs, but it cools really well (especially if you fill up the fan mounts, of which there are twin 120/140mm in the roof, and one 120mm in the front) and has a big ol' smoked side window for showoffs. Black interior, too. The cable management is... a little weak, but nothing that an extra 15 minutes of routing won't cure.
The only problems I have had with it are niggles. One is that the top 5.25" drive bay is covered by a flip down drive cover thing. It's decent if you want to cover up a cheap silver drive, but make sure the motor on that is good enough. My DVD-RW didn't have the power to push it down. It's kinda flimsy too.
The other niggle is that the right side panel (non windowed) is a bitch to get off. I had to employ a little WD-40 to loosen it before it would come away. And finally (this is tiny) the fan mounted in the window has 4 blue LEDs (which I like) but one of them started to flicker, and eventually shut off. Which is a shame, no doubt. Also, the fan wires from that are red and yellow, and stick out no matter how you try and hide them. I wrapped the bit that is visible through the window in gaffer's tape.
But I think it's a damn good case if you like the looks. If you don't, then you will hate it and my opinion is moot.
No, it just isn't. It's sturdy, easy to install and offers enough cooling for most. Also I'm pretty sure you can slide the extra hard drives in place through the front panel, easy peasy. What is it with "room" that some seem to obsessed with, extra space inside the case doesn't make ANY good. Usually it's in the wrong place to even make the installation any easier.
It seems to be marketed as a gaming case yet a 5850 squeezes in, so while the room would suffice for most it gets a bit cramped if you want to go for the longer graphics cards. I would agree that cooling options are good.
Not a reply, but an addendum: Extra space = extra material = extra cost. You won't find that for £40-50.
I would agree but I tend to see cases as an investment, keep them across upgrades and to make replacing stuff easier which is why I like space. It is also why I may have raged at the Antec 300 when I used it because my friend was a cheapskate and wouldn't spend a bit more on the case to make things easier for me to build.
I would also suggest a modular PSU if you want to put long graphics cards in and don't get motherboards with dodgy layouts.
> http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/446634-post1140.html
> http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/446639-post1544.html