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Which case to choose?

Imaniac
By Imaniac
in Power Supplies
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Posted

Hi guys,

 

I'm planning to buy a new case for my pc and was pretty much set to buy this case: 

http://www.zalman.com/global/product/Product_Read.php?Idx=822

Until I came across this bad boy: 

http://www.corsair.com/en-us/carbide-series-spec-02-red-led-mid-tower-gaming-case

I'll be buying from Europe, that's why I put links to manufacturers' websites rather than shops. Also the corsair page points to a red LED one but I'd be getting a blue LED one, which is available in my country already.

 

Now I have no idea which one to choose. The 50€ is pretty much the top of my budget. I guess most of you will go for the Corsair option, but I would appretiate some more specific explanations such as the quality of material, expansion possibilities, air flow, practicallity, etc. One big drawback for the corsair is that it doesn't have an external 3.5'' slot, I don't know if it has a 5.25'' reduction in the box. I have a memory card reader which I use frequently. If I'd have to buy a reduction wouldn't it be more practical and safe to buy the Zalman instead? Or is the Spec 02 a better choice regardless of that?

Thank you

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motherboard Gigabyte 990XA-UD3

cpu: AMD FX-8320

cpu cooler: Arctic Freezer 13

ram: 8GB Corsair Vengeance ddr3 1600MHz CL8

gpu: Gigabyte GTX 660

psu: FSP Saga II 500

my current case doesn't have any brand so it's kind of difficult to write that

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Am I doing something wrong? Why is nobody responding to my posts here? :D

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@lmaniac Hmm... Fractal Design Core 3500? It's a really nice case for the money..

Desktop: Intel Core i9-9900K | ASUS Strix Z390-F | G.Skill Trident Z Neo 2x16GB @ 3200MHz CL14 | EVGA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER XC Ultra | Corsair RM650x | Fractal Design Define R6

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whicheverone looks better but the nzxt s340 

http://www.nzxt.com/product/detail/151-s340-mid-tower-atx-case.html

Please follow your topics guys, it's very important! CoC F.A.Q  Please use the corresponding PC part picker link for your country USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Spain, Italy, New Zealand and Germany

also if you find anyone with this handle in games its most likely me so say hi

 

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Well thank you both ...the nzxt s340 unfortunately doesn't seem to be available in my country. I like the fractal core 3500. And what about the two I mentioned? 

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Well thank you both ...the nzxt s340 unfortunately doesn't seem to be available in my country. I like the fractal core 3500. And what about the two I mentioned?

Neither.

The s340 isn't out yet, so that's why you can't get out yet

n0ah1897, on 05 Mar 2014 - 2:08 PM, said:  "Computers are like girls. It's whats in the inside that matters.  I don't know about you, but I like my girls like I like my cases. Just as beautiful on the inside as the outside."

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whicheverone looks better but the nzxt s340 

http://www.nzxt.com/product/detail/151-s340-mid-tower-atx-case.html

 

+1 To s340 because of the simplicity

 

But if you want something flashy like you seem to I'd go for the spec over the overused z3.

My Rig : Zotac 780 3GB, i5 4670k, H105, M1211 650W, 8GB 2133mhz vengence pro, Mini R2, 144Hz AOC Gsync Monitor

Accessories : K65, Naos 3200, Superlux 681, Chord CCU1

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Both the s340 and fractal core 3500 look good to me. But the s340 has no external slots, I'd like to have at least the two of them. And the fractal is another +20€, plus I'd still need to buy that reduction for my card reader into 5.25'' which is another 20€ for me. Now I don't know what the best option is.

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Well thank you both ...the nzxt s340 unfortunately doesn't seem to be available in my country. I like the fractal core 3500. And what about the two I mentioned? 

Fractal Core 3xxx is... eeh. There's much better cases for the price, without the foam filters, tiny cable management room, and stupid thin sheet metal.

Desktop: Intel Core i5 2380P (2400 w/o iGPU), MSI H61, 8GB RAM, 256GB SP610, 500GB WD Blue, HIS R9 280, Antec TruePower Classic 550W, Inwin MANA 134, QNIX QX2710, CM QuickFire Rapid, Logitech G402

 

Laptop: Toshiba Satellite L40D, AMD A6-6310, 6GB RAM, 500GB HDD, Radeon R4 Graphics, 14" 1366x768

 

 

Phone: iPhone 6 Space Gray 64GB, T-Mobile $60/mo 3GB plan

 

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Fractal Core 3xxx is... eeh. There's much better cases for the price, without the foam filters, tiny cable management room, and stupid thin sheet metal.

In that case the best option left is the spec 02 I guess.

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In that case the best option left is the spec 02 I guess.

Core 3500 better than that

n0ah1897, on 05 Mar 2014 - 2:08 PM, said:  "Computers are like girls. It's whats in the inside that matters.  I don't know about you, but I like my girls like I like my cases. Just as beautiful on the inside as the outside."

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Well ...if there are much better cases than core 3500 for the price, which are some examples?

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Can I just ask if you've bought any of the parts yet? I can put together a pcpartpicker list if you want me to, to give an alternative build, but I would need a budget for it.

Out of those cases though, I would pick the zalman as it fits your needs and requirements better and is a decent case at that price. As much as I personally prefer the fractal case, the zalman is a better option for you ahead of everything else.

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Can I just ask if you've bought any of the parts yet? I can put together a pcpartpicker list if you want me to, to give an alternative build, but I would need a budget for it.

Out of those cases though, I would pick the zalman as it fits your needs and requirements better and is a decent case at that price. As much as I personally prefer the fractal case, the zalman is a better option for you ahead of everything else.

I already have all those parts. I am just looking for a new possible case. My first choice was the Zalman then I found the Corsair. I honestly like the looks of the spec 02 better but I don't know much about the quality differences between them. As for the Corsair or the Fractal the only problem is that I would have to buy a reduction for my card reader which would cost me about 10-20€ more.

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I'd pick the Corsair case solely on brand rep. The Zalman Z3 reviews are fairly scarce online but it does seem to be a fairly good budget case. Both have strong features for budget cases so it really comes down to appearance.

"Pass the Potatoes." - Richard Dawkins

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Thank you all. I think I'l go for the Corsair after all, or possibly take the Fractal if my budget allows after time.

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What do you guys think about the Corsair Carbide 300R? It's a little over the budget but is it worth it compared to the ones already mentioned?

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What do you guys think about the Corsair Carbide 300R? It's a little over the budget but is it worth it compared to the ones already mentioned?

Yes. It's worth it.

 

It's worth it to not do like every other build and use a fractal case

Ketchup is better than mustard.

GUI is better than Command Line Interface.

Dubs are better than subs

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  • 2 weeks later...
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I decided to push my budget a little bit higher and choose the Phanteks Enthoo Pro. Does anybody have some personal experience with this case? So far I've seen lots of very good reviews but nothing concerning personal experience from usage.

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http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/227944-case-recommendations/?p=3129895. :)

Very happy with it, never had a case with fan filters before and I have to admit that they do a great job here and I wouldn't buy a case without them ever again, although you do have to clean them quite often.

Tbh I'd have preferred magnetic fan filters and a removable top cover/fan filter like there is on the Enthoo Luxe but you can't always get what you want. Also, there's going to be some dust getting into it. check out the video right under @1.50min, I didn't think that would be a problem (well, not that big of a deal, just some dust getting inside) before I actually bought the case, but I thought that's something you'd have to consider.

 

Just something I forgot to mention in that post I linked, not a deal breaker in any way as there's plenty of ways to add aftermarket fan filters to a case, but still It's nice to have them out of the box. :)

 

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CASE: Phanteks Enthoo Pro w/ white LEDs | SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB (Boot Drive) | HDD: Seagate Barracuda 2TB (Storage) | ODD(s): LG BH10 BD Rewriter + LG DVD Rewriter | 5.25": Scythe Kama Panel 3.1 |

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Thanks a lot. I'm quite excited for that case, I've already seen that Linus' review al least 50 times, just to be sure. :D

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You could ship in S340 from Australia or something....

Main PC: Core i5 4670 | MSI Mpower Max z87 | G.Skill Ripjaws 2x4gb | Stock intel cooler | PNY GTX 770 2gb (hoping to upgrade) | Seagate 1tb 7200rpm | Corsair RM850 | Corsair Carbide Air 540 | PCCG custom sleeved black/yellow extensions | Corsair K70 Cherry MX Blue | Corsair M45 |

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