Mid-Tower Mega Roundup

Feature Comparisons

To take into account the heat performance, we added all the temperatures together and then ranked the cases from coolest to warmest. We did the same thing with the dBa values as well. Note that these "total" numbers have no real-world value at all. They're simply being used to give the cases another value for which to judge them against each other.

Here is a breakdown of how all the cases scored:

Attributes	X-Cruiser	F3323	Trio	Centurion	Sonata II	P-180	Eclipse	PC-V1000
Ease-of-use	2	2	2	2.5	2	3	2.5	4
Sturdiness	1	4	2	3	3	3	2.5	3
Included Fans	2	0	2	1	1	3	2	3
Front Door	1	0	1	0	1	1	1	0
Stealthy CD Drives	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	1
Removable Drive Cages	0	0	0	0	1	2	2	0
Side-loading HDD's	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	1
Drive Rails (cages or drives)	0	1	0	1	1	1	1	1
Soft HDD Grommets	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	0
Lockable	0	0.5	0	0	1	1	1	0.5 (with padlock)
Front Port Cluster	1.5	1	1.5	1	1	1	1	1
Removable Filters	0	0	0	1	0	2	1	1
Tool-less 5¼" Drives	0	1	1	0	1	0	1	0
Tool-less 3½" Drives	0	1	1	1	0	0	.5 thumbscrews	0
Tool-less PCI slots	0	1	1	1	0	0	1	.5 thumbscrews
Built-in meters	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
Total dBa / rank (out of 9)	155/8	123/5	123/5	122/4	(low) 120/2 (high) 173/8	(low) 116/1 (high) 183/9	122/3	142/6
Total temp/ rank (out of 10)	332/4	318/1	338/6	352/10	(low) 342/9 (high) 333/5	(low) 341/8 (high) 320/2	330/3	339/7
Anti and Extra Features
	Top fan conflicts w/PSU	Motherboard mounts finicky	Tool-less PCI locks poorly designed			PSU far from motherboard	Tool-less PCI locks could be better	Big PSU's make it hard to fit six hard drives
	-1	-0.5	-1			-0.5	-0.5	-0.5
		Easy side door		Five 5 1/4" bays	Duct for expansion cards	Extra sound dampening	Light weight	Easy side doors
		1		1	0.5	1	1	1
		Hard drive rails difficult				Duct for expansion cards		Specific, targeted cooling
		-1				0.5		0.5
						Six HDD bays		Six HDD bays
						1		1
Total Score	8.5	12	12.5	15.5	14.5	20	17.5	17
Score + Ranks	15.5	25	20.5	20.5	(low) 22.5 (high) 20.5	(low) 30 (high) 28	30.5	23

First, an explanation of the "Score + Ranks" field; this simply means that we took the total features score, then added the number of ranks (10 for temperatures, 9 for noise due to a tie), then deducting the rank that the case actually received in the respective test. For instance, the Aspire case received 7 total rank points, because it placed 8th in the noise rankings (9 - 8 gives it one point there), and 4th in the temperature rankings (10-4 gives it 6 points there). This is merely a system that we're trying to use to compare the cases against each other. The simple "total score" field is more reflective of how the case is on its own, but obviously, if there are features which are more or less important to the individual, then these scores must be taken with quite a bit of caution. One nice thing is that we had no issues with any of these cases in terms of sharp edges, so we didn't even bother including a field for the "feature" of rounded edges. Also keep in mind that we didn't consider the inclusion of power supplies for any of the cases as a feature, since buying these cases from different distributors can affect what power supply is included, if any is at all.

Now, in terms of analyzing the results, we were rather amazed at the performance of the P-180 and Eclipse cases. It was satisfying to see cases that we felt so good about in our examination score so well. Also, the exceptional air-moving capabilities (not to mention high-pitched whine) of the Panaflo fan that we added have to be taken into consideration on the F3323's final score. With a more mid-range fan in place, it might not have scored nearly as well.

Perhaps most interestingly of all is the Lian Li's seemingly poor performance, but this is a case where the scores simply can't quite capture certain traits of a case that's so different. The PC-V1000 is still our favorite out of all of these in terms of sheer usability, and it offers a certain look that if it's what one wants, it's one of the only options out there like that. That being said, most all of the cases in this roundup have very unique looks that will certainly satisfy people looking for a particular style.