ChipFlip
A penny apart, a decade apart. The Fractal Design Define C sits at $149.99 used, the Cooler Master HAF 922 at $150.00. One was built around silence, the other around moving as much air as physically possible, and that difference tells you almost everything.
The Define C is the modern build
Sound-dampening panels, a closed front, cable management routing that assumes you care what the inside looks like, and a PSU shroud hiding the mess at the bottom. It's designed for a build with a couple of quiet fans where you never think about the case again after it's assembled.
That closed front is also its limitation. Restricted intake means the Define C runs warmer than a mesh case under sustained load, and there's no fixing that without modifying the panel.
The HAF 922 is a wind tunnel with a price tag
High Air Flow, hence the name. A 200mm intake, a 200mm top exhaust, mesh everywhere, and no pretense of being quiet about any of it. For a build that runs hot, an older HAF still cools better than plenty of modern cases twice its price.
It's also from 2009. Front-panel USB 2.0, no USB-C, 5.25-inch bays you'll never use, and cable routing that predates anyone caring. Fitting a modern GPU and a front-mounted radiator takes measuring first.
Which problem are you solving
That's genuinely the whole decision. A quiet room, a modern front panel, and a build that looks tidy through a window points at the Define C. A hot CPU, a hot GPU, and no patience for thermal throttling points at the HAF, provided your parts physically fit.
Bottom line
At the same money, take the Define C for almost any current build. It's newer, quieter, and has the connectivity you actually need. The HAF 922 only wins if raw airflow is your binding constraint and you've confirmed your GPU length and cooler height clear its older internals.