Okay, so the point
isn't which is "better". I just thought it would be interesting to make a comparison on several fronts.
So some time ago, to deal with temporary constraints on living space, I built this grow box. It measures about 3' x 1.5, give or take. It has core/shell construction, so that it is expandable from 2.5' to nearly 6' in height. This allows moving the lights, while maintaining light seals and the ventilation sucking from the lights.
Shown here is the bottom half of the box, with the spray plastic lining and irrigation shown:
So in the lid of the box, I installed 6x42W CFLs, rated at about 2700 lumen apiece. After vegging for some time, I decided to install a 150W HPS in there as well. Here you can see the lid propped up on the top. You can also see the muffin fans that did a great job of keeping everything cool in the top portion of the box:
So the box worked nice, and I grew some (box-shaped) plants:
Although I had to harvest early, yield and smoke were good.