NZXT H440 vs Corsair Air 540 vs Corsair Vengeance C70

[farmfowls]

I know many of you said not to worry about the H440 in terms of temps, (and are quite annoyed with my threads / FYI last post on the subject) but I have one final issue. I have come down to the NZXT H440, Corsair Air 540 and the Corsair Vengeance C70 as my case with this build (http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/bPMBzy). What case would work best with my current components and in the future in terms of future proofing and upgrading, SLI, cooling, sound, etc etc etc. What is your opinion on the best case out of the three. Thanks 

[TheSLSAMG]

In terms of all around, for now and the future, I would buy the Air 540.

 

For build quality, the C70 is king.

[Emkryan]

Seems like you're big on low temps in which case I would say go with the 540. Since all the extra components like the PSU and extra wires are not near the main components, help lower temps as well as a much bigger space for air to circulate inside

[farmfowls]

What would the differences be in terms of temps with the three?

[arnavvr]

Air 540 for airflow, with air cooling not water.

[farmfowls]

How is the C70?

[TR1ALZ]

I personally like the C70, just change the front fans to be in front of the HDD bays for better air flow. Air 540 is always a strong choice though.

[farmfowls]

I personally like the C70, just change the front fans to be in front of the HDD bays for better air flow. Air 540 is always a strong choice though.

Does it have good airflow without moving the fans? What kind of temps are we talking about?

[TR1ALZ]

Stock fans placement is actually quite silly.I have no idea why they mount them there by default. You would knock a few degrees off imo, depending on how many drives you put in the bays.

[farmfowls]

ok

Stock fans placement is actually quite silly.I have no idea why they mount them there by default. You would knock a few degrees off imo, depending on how many drives you put in the bays.

So the C70 would fit all of the components I have now without any problem and allow for future upgrades such as SLI without adding too much heat? Are there any better cases in the $100-$150 mark?

[TR1ALZ]

Depending on the card length. You might have issues with sli and the HDD bays. It wouldn't fit 2 x r9 280X toxic from memory.

 

If you want features, that will house SLI, good cooling and water cooling potential, then the Phanteks Enthoo Pro would be the best value IMO.

 

But cases are very personal and subjective. I know there are better cases for features, and performance, but that didn't stop me from purchasing a 760T.

 

pcpartpicker.com is also a good resource. Put all your components, and case and see if there is any known compatibility issues. As well as do some research on the case. Linus / HWC / OC3D all do reviews on each of the cases you listed. Watch and make a personal, informed decision IMO.

[farmfowls]

Here at around 4:50 when he says that there are better cases for the same price tag, what cases is he referencing to? If I were to just post my build without the case, and gave a $100-$150 with a little wiggle room, what would you recommend as the best case for me in terms of airflow, upgrade-ability, future proofing, etc?

[airdeano]

Here at around 4:50 when he says that there are better cases for the same price tag, what cases is he referencing to?

 

if you'll note the date that review was done in july 2012 so much has changed since.

 

at the end of the day, you are the one to look at the case and it has to pass your

aesthetics test. you can ask all the comparo questions, but no one has owned all

three of your candidates and cannot give you a conclusive answer as you are

directing. all you'll get are owners of each and their opinions on what worked for them.

they are all fine choices and do different things due to the styling, setup and options.

 

we can spend your money pretty good, but you are the one to stare at it for the rest

of its service. pick the style that best suits your hardware needs/wants and get on

with it, ole saying is: think long, think wrong. over-thinking a PC case because of 3-5°

temperature difference and how will it perform in noise performance is all up to your

hardware selection.

 

ps: bumps are not allowed (SPAM/Post Farming)

[farmfowls]

What would you all say would be better, the C70 or the 750D? Performance over price at the moment. Also, with the setup I have now, will I have too much stale air with the 750D? 

[LifesCompanion]

With cases, as airdeano pointed out, it's about your taste. 

If you want a more, aggressive look, then C70; if you want a more, minimalistic/"mature" look then go for the 750D or the H440. 

 

I personally would lean to the H440 since I just adore the SSD sleds and the overall look and feel of the case. 

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Avoid Seagate hard drives, I use 2 of them in my current rig (RAID 1) and I kinda regret it. After talking to some of my friends who use Seagate drives, I found that we all have this annoying issue of the drives being on the louder side (louder than a WD Black). 

They also tend to make this really weird and annoying sound some times which is worrying. 

[farmfowls]

With cases, as airdeano pointed out, it's about your taste. 

If you want a more, aggressive look, then C70; if you want a more, minimalistic/"mature" look then go for the 750D or the H440. 

 

I personally would lean to the H440 since I just adore the SSD sleds and the overall look and feel of the case. 

---------------------------------------------

Avoid Seagate hard drives, I use 2 of them in my current rig (RAID 1) and I kinda regret it. After talking to some of my friends who use Seagate drives, I found that we all have this annoying issue of the drives being on the louder side (louder than a WD Black). 

They also tend to make this really weird and annoying sound some times which is worrying. 

With the H440, I'm worried about getting temperatures that are too hot.

[IrshaadH]

With the H440, I'm worried about getting temperatures that are too hot.

I think people are way too paranoid about thermals in the h440. While airflow is restricted compared to the 540 or C70, your components will in no way overheat.

[farmfowls]

I think people are way too paranoid about thermals in the h440. While airflow is restricted compared to the 540 or C70, your components will in no way overheat.

Do you have any solid evidence to back this up?

[Nomy]

Do you have any solid evidence to back this up?

 

Just throwing my experience with the H440 out there, owned since 2 april 2014

Room temperature: 20°C

Idle temps(specs in sig.) oc'd gpu at 29-30°C and an oc'd 4.4Ghz cpu is at an idle temperature 32°C

Load: While playing Crysis 3 on high settings my gpu reaches 72°C tops and my cpu hovers at 60°C

 

The H440 has decent airflow considering the temperatures my parts have.

When placing my hand at the back and top of the case(exits) I can clearly feel the hot air getting pushed out of the case while gaming, at the front intake fans I can clearly feel them sucking fresh air in. Ok yeah, one can't deny that the airflow is rather restricted compared to certain other cases. Between the 3 cases you've chosen, all 3 of them are decent cases.

It comes down to personal taste. But don't let temperature scare you away from the H440, for it was absolute bliss to build in this case and my eyes still sparkle when looking at the case while I'm sitting at the desk.

[IrshaadH]

Do you have any solid evidence to back this up?

I went from a haf 912 to an h440. My max GPU temp went from 71 to 75 and my max CPU temp went from 64 to 67. Hardly anything to worry about.

[farmfowls]

Just throwing my experience with the H440 out there, owned since 2 april 2014

Room temperature: 20°C

Idle temps(specs in sig.) oc'd gpu at 29-30°C and an oc'd 4.4Ghz cpu is at an idle temperature 32°C

Load: While playing Crysis 3 on high settings my gpu reaches 72°C tops and my cpu hovers at 60°C

 

The H440 has decent airflow considering the temperatures my parts have.

When placing my hand at the back and top of the case(exits) I can clearly feel the hot air getting pushed out of the case while gaming, at the front intake fans I can clearly feel them sucking fresh air in. Ok yeah, one can't deny that the airflow is rather restricted compared to certain other cases. Between the 3 cases you've chosen, all 3 of them are decent cases.

It comes down to personal taste. But don't let temperature scare you away from the H440, for it was absolute bliss to build in this case and my eyes still sparkle when looking at the case while I'm sitting at the desk.

Besides less noise, is there anything the H440 does better than the C70? ANd would the C70 have better airflow and temperature than the H440?

[Nomy]

Besides less noise, is there anything the H440 does better than the C70? ANd would the C70 have better airflow and temperature than the H440?

Just mentioning in case you haven't noticed yet, the biggest difference between the H440 and C70 is that the H440 has no 5.25-inch drive bays.

That's the one thing where I and many others find the H440 to be so awesome and sexy, to not have those useless drive bays considering we don't use them anymore.

Cable management is also fantastic in the H440 thanks to the PSU shroud with the NZXT-logo but the C70 does have better airflow than the H440, there is no denying that.

You won't see a temperature difference over 5°C though(single GPU system, I have no experience yet with SLI/crossfire in this case yet).

[Devil0359]

It depends on what u want
Silent ,Airflow or portability.
For silent go with a h440
For airflow the Air 540.
And for Portability the c70 ( has 2 handles on the top).
 

[AllstaRawR]

In terms of all around, for now and the future, I would buy the Air 540.

 

For build quality, the C70 is king.

 

My C70 still blows me away. It's so hard to justify buying a new case for anything other than size. I want a 760T or a H440, but I'll probably just casemod my C70...

[Kennkra]

I hope you guys don't mind me necroing this thread but I found myself on the same dilema.

 

I do own a nzxt h440 and I fairly happy with it but i did notice some airflow problems.

 

Specs

i5-2500k @4.5 1.25v

Corsair h105

Corsair vengance 2x4 lp

Gtx 980 (blower)

ASUS m7z68-v

 

Just as an example; If i run a game for 2hs, then run prime95 my temps go as high as 68c 69c. if i remove the top case panel (where the h105 rad is) the temps go down to 57c-60c. 

 

Taking this into account i don't mind buying a corsair air 540, main concern is how loud could it be, because I do prefer a quiet sistem(but quiet = low rpm fans = low temperature. If i get no airflow on my 105 the fans are gonna strat spinning at highers rpms thus getting lounder)

 

I had lower temps on my cm hyper 212+ than in my current corsair h105 becauese of how restricted airflow is on the top and front panel. The case has descent air flow for a cpu heatsink but i'dont think its made for a rad.

 

tl:dr Is the AIR 540 really that louder than the h440? because i did't notice a big diference between cm 690 II and the nzxt h440