My own Writeup: ASUS TA-M1 V/S CM 690 chasis

[shajeel]

well guys this was a reply for my man Abobobilly..thought of sharing here so u all can benefit...

it was supposed to be a small reply..i got carried away and did a writeup

so here goes....



ASUS TA-M1 V/S CM 690


ASUS TA-M1

And

CM690

First issue....

so just see the dimensions of the both the cases....the cm690 is clearly wider...which means CPU HSF's like the Sunbeam core Contact or the Thermalright Ultra Extreme ( the big tower coolers) WONT be a problem for the CM 690 chasis... where in the the ASUS they will give issues during installation..especially with the side fans there ( though they can be removed..which MIGHT solve teh problem...but i wouldnt bet on it)...besides the cm690 chasis is overall bigger..considerably...thats why most ppl hesitate to call it a mid tower...cause its so spacious...


Secondly....

The Asus TA-m1 is perfectly designed for Airflow....Fully meshed front and sides are exactly whats needed... But lemme point out that this air flow is strongly POSITIVE AIR PRESSURE...which means the case will draw more air in than it can possibly dissipate through the rear at the same time....IMO thats not so good...though more fresh air is good...

But our Hardware and esecially in our weather.. heat up really quickly and heat dissipation needs to be FAST.... which means im suggesting the negative air pressure..which draws cool air also automatically from every mesh or hole present in the case...but beware this does invite more dust...so regular twice a month cleaning is advised ( though not necessary )..

whereas the Cm690 has Negative air pressure...as can be seen from the numebr of fan slots...Two intakes and 3 exhausts... im not counting the two side fan slots...cause one of them cant be used mostly cause of the CPU HSF and teh second just disrupts teh airflow... Trust me ive studied a lot of airflow...and the side fans disrupt the Tunnel effect from front to back...and may cause turbulence..

i myself have tried both the Airflows with my chasis the CM 690..via controlling fan speeds to get the respective pressures through my fan controller..and have experienced much better temps with Negative Air pressure i.e a faster exhaust system than an intake system...more( or stronger ) exhaust fans than intakes.

Thirdly...

I see the ASUS TA-M1 has no cable management options...no back of the case routing features neither clips to hold the wires..all of which is present in the cm and can be really efficiently used in the CM 690


And finally to Conclude...

i could go on and on describing the pro's and Con's of each chasis...but for the sake of this article...here's the roundup !

For the Price tag.. i.e of Rs 4300 of the Asus TA-M1 .. its an excellent Mid-tower Chasis.. with great airflow features...Decent amount space in most areas...FOUR 5 1/4" bays which are enough for most if not all... and they all have tool less design for ease of installation which is always a plus.

A noticable thing is that there are no Watercooling features in the chasis..though i doubt anyone on a budget would go for Watercooling..but since the CM690 has them..they were worth mentioning.

What the TA-M1 Mainly lacks is Wire management features..A botttom mounting PSU option wud have been much appreciated though...but well for the Price tag Stated...its an excellent buy for the budget gamers and Pc builders.. You do get most features one would desire from an Aftermarket Chasis... So Props to ASUS for creating a impressive budget chasis...

As for the CM690.. you get the whole package...great airflow..full cable management features...ESATA...Watercooling Options...Tool less Design .

BUT this comes at a significant 34% increase in Price ( RS 6500)...Though all the features provided are totally worth it (no question abt this..need proof? lemme know ) ..but one can surely do without them if on a budget...

And for all the modders out there the Cm690 still remains the most MODD-ABLE case around...as everything can be taken apart and put back together in a really nice way...



So there u have it...a detailed comparison from my side..in the end the choice is yours..what ur budget allows and if u desire teh features that the more expensive cm 690 has to offer....

Regards...

P.s dont mind the "...." this was a reply to friend and i got carried away and thought i might as well do a write-up for other ppl to benefit from too.


Comments appreciated ! (1)

 

[AFQ]

Nice little review shajeel.
the no. of led fans provided with asus amazed me!!

But overall CM690 rocks, em lovin it!

 

[abobobilly]

Ufff ... Just Fantastic yaar
Wasnt Expecting a Brief Answer ... BUt its Damn Comparison you've made man.

Sorry if i Lack better words for Appreciation.
Hats off nigga' :wink2:

 

[Pleasant]

Thats a superb article really clears up about negative and positive air flow pros and cons of both casing
i feel my self blessed i have cm 690 which i bought at 5300RS which is much more affordable and great

 

[sunny945]

ahhaa good work shajeel a long long answer

 

[shajeel]

^^lol yeah but trust me its worth the read... you will gain a lotta knowledge

thanks a lot guys !

 

[Necrokiller]

Nice work. I suggest you do these small write-ups (be it informal) for any case that you personally had the opportunity to work with. Would be a great contribution to the Hardware Zone. :wink2:

 

[Pleasant]

Nice work. I suggest you do these small write-ups (be it informal) for any case that you personally had the opportunity to work with. Would be a great contribution to the Hardware Zone. :wink2:

I second that (1)

 

[theDarkDisciple]

A very good write up Shajeel. And I absolutely agree that both the chassis are worth their respective sale prices.

I'd like to add that I got absolutely zero difference in temps when I switched over from the -ve to the +ve airflow. Whereas the amount of dust inside the chassis was reduced considerably. Right now I have more intakes than exhausts and all intakes are higher CFM fans. Temps remained the same as when I had negative airflow, but much less dust inside.

 

[Eddy]

That is a great comparison shajeel........!!!!!

 

[NajeebUllah]

Great sharing there dude. It really is helpful. I think one should not compare these two casings because of there price difference. There are few advantages of 690 (as you have mentioned) but comes at extra price as well. Although I would like to add a bit more as follows:

so just see the dimensions of the both the cases....the cm690 is clearly wider...which means CPU HSF's like the Sunbeam core Contact or the Thermalright Ultra Extreme ( the big tower coolers) WONT be a problem for the CM 690 chasis... where in the the ASUS they will give issues during installation..especially with the side fans there ( though they can be removed..which MIGHT solve teh problem...but i wouldnt bet on it)...besides the cm690 chasis is overall bigger..considerably...thats why most ppl hesitate to call it a mid tower...cause its so spacious...

Definitely, the side fans may cause problem in such cases but I think this problem is not just with TA-M1 i.e. 690 also has side fans. Still 690 being wider (and bigger) wins here (taking the "cost" thing out of equation".

The Asus TA-m1 is perfectly designed for Airflow....Fully meshed front and sides are exactly whats needed...

Yup, both casings have meshed sides and fronts.

But lemme point out that this air flow is strongly POSITIVE AIR PRESSURE...which means the case will draw more air in than it can possibly dissipate through the rear at the same time....IMO thats not so good...though more fresh air is good...

But our Hardware and esecially in our weather.. heat up really quickly and heat dissipation needs to be FAST.... which means im suggesting the negative air pressure..which draws cool air also automatically from every mesh or hole present in the case...but beware this does invite more dust...so regular twice a month cleaning is advised ( though not necessary )..

whereas the Cm690 has Negative air pressure...as can be seen from the numebr of fan slots...Two intakes and 3 exhausts... im not counting the two side fan slots...cause one of them cant be used mostly cause of the CPU HSF and teh second just disrupts teh airflow... Trust me ive studied a lot of airflow...and the side fans disrupt the Tunnel effect from front to back...and may cause turbulence..

i myself have tried both the Airflows with my chasis the CM 690..via controlling fan speeds to get the respective pressures through my fan controller..and have experienced much better temps with Negative Air pressure i.e a faster exhaust system than an intake system...more( or stronger ) exhaust fans than intakes.

I, personally, have no experience in this regard but there is a mix of opinions about the "negative and positive air pressure". Some think negative (more exhaust fans/CFM than intake fans/CFM) is good while some prefer the positive (Opposite to negative one). Maybe it does not matter that much specially in cases which are not airtight/sealed i.e. meshed. But in the end, what matters most is personal experience. For you negative pressure has worked well than positive. Maybe its just for CM 690. Maybe others, having other casing (say TA-M1), will get better results with postive pressure.

You said that you have 2 intake and 3 exhaust i.e. 5 total but I have learned from Google search that CM 690 comes with 3 fans only. 1 front intake, 1 side intake and 1 rear exhaust. All of them being of the same size and operating at same RPM, wont make positive pressure instead? Even if you take the side fan out, still the pressure wont be negative but instead neutral (Not counting the PSU fan). You can do the same with TA-M1, take the side fans out and you will be left with 1 intake front and 1 rear exhaust.

If you believe that one has to buy the extra fans for CM 690 to get the desired results (negative pressure) then it will become much more expensive and we are talking about budget casings.

You cannot also overlook the 3 led fans of TA-M1 (4 in total) as compared to 1 of CM 690 (3 in total). For looks, we again would run in to mix opinions. Everyone has its own taste, some may like 690 while eyes of some others are caught by TA-M1.

I see the ASUS TA-M1 has no cable management options...no back of the case routing features neither clips to hold the wires..all of which is present in the cm and can be really efficiently used in the CM 690

A noticable thing is that there are no Watercooling features in the chasis..though i doubt anyone on a budget would go for Watercooling..but since the CM690 has them..they were worth mentioning.

Watercooling in budget cases? Very few people uses water cooling as cooling method and those who use have plenty of money and most likely will opt for much bigger and better casings (say 922). A budget user who wont be using water cooling (hence the name "budget user") should not spend 2k approx extra on casing having a feature he wont ever use (or able to use).

A botttom mounting PSU option wud have been much appreciated though...

And why would that be? Any useful gain?

So there u have it...a detailed comparison from my side..in the end the choice is yours..what ur budget allows and if u desire teh features that the more expensive cm 690 has to offer....

Thats all that matter in the end (budget). If I had 6.5k, I still would have not bought 690 but TA-M1 instead and would have prefered to spend the extra money on something else.

I own Asus TA-M1 and have not had any problems with it yet. I dont have any experience with CM 690. So my views of CM 690 might not be correct but as far as TA-M1 is concerned with its price tag of about 4k, its definitely worth buying for a budget user like me.
You know, I had planning for a cheap 2k generic casing as non of the 4-5k casings looked pleasing to me and I had not enough money to go for 10k+ casings but TA-M1 is worth the extra 2k than any other cheaper casing.

I am not here to counter your (Shajeel) statements but just to add information about TA-M1 from my personal experience.

 

[shujaswati]

good review b/w the budget and most targeted chassis.

 

[abobobilly]

From all your Statements, I would like to point out Only the Following which can just "END" the talks right here

in the end, what matters most is personal experience

TA-M1 is worth the extra 2k than any other cheaper casing

 

[opethian]

well shajeel excellent writeup!
i wud say if u add few closeup pictures to support ur points wud make it much better!
as one guy has failed to understand

Spoiler: show

Watercooling in budget cases? Very few people uses water cooling as cooling method and those who use have plenty of money and most likely will opt for much bigger and better casings (say 922). A budget user who wont be using water cooling (hence the name "budget user") should not spend 2k approx extra on casing having a feature he wont ever use (or able to use).

as most of us have bad memory but i do remember one user nomidangerous ... who is using/was using a water cooling stuff in cm690 ... what shajeel wanted to point out is that cm690 has holes cutout in the back for pipes n a RAD can be mounted in the back (outside the case) or at the top (outside and inside as well)
but this feature cant be used in asus! ...
i wud say why shajeel has written this .. he just wanted to make few pros n cons ... if some one has money but cm690 is not avail ... then he has the option of buying asus ... but he should know what all he will loose! or will be unable to use!

i wud divide casing (avail in pakistan) in something like this!

low end or budget sensitive buyer
a. generic casing or promedia

b. asus ta1 if he has budget of 4k max for casing

mid range buyer

asus ta1
or
gladiator
or
cm690 if he has 6 to 7k for casing

enthusiast
cm690
or
cm scout
(buyin nvidia edition is not a wise decision its just a modded cm690 this mod can easily be done by some pro modder or skilled labour)
or
haf 922/cm storm sniper/haf 922 (depending upon the cash avail)

uber gaming rig
haf 932
storm sniper
cosmos
cm 840 (or whatever is its complete name)

it all depends upon the cash avail!

water cooling has nothing or no relation to casing price ... its not must if some one is going for water cooling he should have haf 932 ... cm690 can also be used ...

bottom line asus ta1 is a gud replacement of cm690 if 690 is not locally avail ... otherwise cm690 is superior to asus keepin in view its accessories fileters n bast value for money!

 

[ASKnASK]

Good job man M1 rocks

 

[Pleasant]

man cm 690 used to be at the price off 5.3k at that price 690 is always the choice becoz of roomy interior and wire management

asus is upperhand to generic casing i mean it pwns at this price range

 

[NajeebUllah]

well shajeel excellent writeup!
i wud say if u add few closeup pictures to support ur points wud make it much better!
as one guy has failed to understand
as most of us have bad memory but i do remember one user nomidangerous ... who is using/was using a water cooling stuff in cm690 ... what shajeel wanted to point out is that cm690 has holes cutout in the back for pipes n a RAD can be mounted in the back (outside the case) or at the top (outside and inside as well)
but this feature cant be used in asus! ...
i wud say why shajeel has written this .. he just wanted to make few pros n cons ... if some one has money but cm690 is not avail ... then he has the option of buying asus ... but he should know what all he will loose! or will be unable to use!

I really appreciate Shajeels work and as I have said before, My purpose to post was not to deny his statements but just to add to it. If a user has money and want the extra features (water cooling, cable management, extra space) then he can go for 690 or even higher than that. User who is confused between these two casings is because of his tight budget. And tight budget means that he wont be doing any big upgrades (water cooling) in the very near future so its better to spend the extra money on something that may matters more at that time. You would say that why not a cheap generic casing then? Its personal taste. If one can compromise on looks for performance then 2k would be enough for casing. But one who want balance between looks and performance can opt for either TA-M1 or 690 (TA-M1 for me). And one who cant see anything other than casing looks and features (like syavash ) will get best (he sees) no matter what.. :lol: (Although he has money for the performance factor as well).
We are not here to enforce our view on others but just to make them know what we know and let them decide themselves. If you take out the watercooling and some other features of 690, TA-M1 looks much more attractive (looks wise) to me because of its 3 blue led fans while the other has just one. So I might even sacrifice the extra features of 690 and get TA-M1 instead even if the price was same. On the other hand if a person does not like the looks of TA-M1 (e.g. I guess AFQ) then he will go for 690 anyway even if its 2k more expensive.

Moreover, noobs like me often get distracted by features which may not matter to us that much. Say, Physx in nVidia GPUs might not be that much of advantage over ATI GPUs (as of yet) but one might still go for nVidia GPU for some extra cash just because of Physx for self satisfaction. Same is the case with casing. The lack of cable management, extra space and water cooling at cost of saving some money may not be that much of disadvantage but most people might still get 690 for the extra cost just for the features which might not be that worthy (to him specifically).

The case of user you mentioned is exceptional. He might have bought the 690 long time ago when his budget was not that flexible. But then uss ki koi lottery nikal aayi and he decided for water cooling. Even if at any time later after buying casing, one decide to do water cooling would have enough money to replace his casing as well.

i wud divide casing (avail in pakistan) in something like this!

low end or budget sensitive buyer
a. generic casing or promedia

b. asus ta1 if he has budget of 4k max for casing

mid range buyer

asus ta1
or
gladiator
or
cm690 if he has 6 to 7k for casing

enthusiast
cm690
or
cm scout
(buyin nvidia edition is not a wise decision its just a modded cm690 this mod can easily be done by some pro modder or skilled labour)
or
haf 922/cm storm sniper/haf 922 (depending upon the cash avail)

uber gaming rig
haf 932
storm sniper
cosmos
cm 840 (or whatever is its complete name)

it all depends upon the cash avail!

water cooling has nothing or no relation to casing price ... its not must if some one is going for water cooling he should have haf 932 ... cm690 can also be used ... bottom line asus ta1 is a gud replacement of cm690 if 690 is not locally avail ... otherwise cm690 is superior to asus keepin in view its accessories fileters n bast value for money!

Most of the users seeking help here in building a PC have no specific budget for casing but for the whole pc. So in the budget of 25-30k, generic casing in 1.5-2k is good enough but if he want some looks as well then he can either get TA-85 by adding a thousand or go for TA-M1 by adding two thousands. Although I will not suggest TA-M1 in such budget but if the person has been looks hungry for years (like me who had been tired of small form factor compaq desktop :$ ) can maximum go for TA-M1. Going for anything higher than that will leave his rest of budget insufficient for getting other pc components.

We should leave the decision of going for any casing to the buyer. All I can say is that:

Asus TA-M1 = No cable management, Watercooling not supported, Enough space but may not be enough for everyone, Excellent looks but again may not be for everyone at Rs. 4k.

CM 690 = Cable management, Watercooling supported, Enough space but some still some may find it not enough, Excellent looks (again personal taste) at Rs. 6k

 

[opethian]

Physx in nVidia GPUs might not be that much of advantage over ATI GPUs

this is a useless feature ... bro i think either aap nay farak daikha nahe ya u dnt know how it looks ... 4 sum like me it is a huge difference ... dat will not make me FANBOY lol

and but trust me bro ... i have used quite a long list of hardware thankx to alitayyab n fireblade ... n after going through all i narrow down my choices of casing to these

best value for money cm690 (u can do anything in it which cosmos n haf can handle ... except 5970 lol)
best full tower casing with best features ... cm storm sniper u get every feature from cm690 till cosmos ... mobility space style air filters ventilation cable management etc etc
baki it all depends on ur pocket ...
n one more thing ... these USELESS features ... if ur not using them ... then y u buy such hardware ...
n dnt compare current prices of anti n nvidia ... its illogical ... ati had to introduce 5800 n 5700 series so 4800 had to be cheap ... unless gt300 is not out dnt expect gt200 to drop its prices
n again ... i wud recommend dnt give examples of graphics cards here offtopic posts start ho jayen gee so better keep it within the scope of this thread ...

again bottom line ... if u dnt have cash get desi ... if u have upto 4k ... asus is ur dream come true
n if u can afford 6k plus for casing then cm690 is awesome (dnt forget galaxy is raping us for its monoply) ... keep that thing in mind ...

 

[shajeel]

thanks opethian...that is what i wud have said.... wud like to add though

The case of user you mentioned is exceptional. He might have bought the 690 long time ago when his budget was not that flexible. But then uss ki koi lottery nikal aayi and he decided for water cooling.

Even if at any time later after buying casing, one decide to do water cooling would have enough money to replace his casing as well.

Thats just like saying im getting a 9500gt now..my powermaster 750W ( 350W in reality..really low amps on +12v rail ) psu will handle it...and then u save up for 2 months and finally have 12k in ur pocket...u decide to go for GTS 250 and BAM ur Psu wont support it... ab pehle hi agar sensibly corsair CX400 le li hoti tou this wudnt have happened.... so better to add 2k or save 2k more and then buy Cm 690 ( as everyone like to call it Future proofing.lol ) ..in the meanwhile run ur hardware open air ! FTW

sorry i did go a bit offtopic...

 

[susman]

nice sensible argument going..
if i had the choice i would buy the asus
lets take cm690 as an example...
u will get atleast 4 fans extra fo0r ti right..2 for the top and 1 for the bottom part and 1 extra for the intake....like many have done..
cm 690 + 4 fans(considering u get PAPST fans which are of 500rs each)
total around 8k-8.5k
u will have awesome airflow...but see the price.?...


one more thing i would like to point out is that in the asu u could fit a 5970 because of the part empty under the hdd rack..

---------- Post added at 03:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:15 PM ----------

forget 5970...5870 is 11inches. right.cm 690 has space of a max of 11 inch card//..

if u put the card in there//u wont have space for the intake of the card..in the front..
but in the asus u have