TheArcadian

@Gedgn I was looking around for some other cases, but then: Phanteks Pro M SE <-- This case; Wow (price is a bit less wow, but still). The fact that it has good airflow, fits a front 280mm rad and has room for future expansion, are big plusses for me, which more than make up the price, which isn't that bad either. The more simpler design is also something I like. @WoodenMarker The H500 would have been a great choice, but this trend of 'gamery/more extreme' looks is something I don't really like in pc cases. That was also the case for the H500. Still, thank you for all the alternative suggestions! I'll cut down a bit on the psu, as it was overkill, so that also makes up for the price increase for the case. Everyone, thank you for all the help, advice and recommendations! You really helped me out here!

@WoodenMarker I'm not yet set on the 280mm, so that's something that can still be changed. I'm going with a asus Z370-f rog strix and 2x G.skill tridentz rgb, so top mounting might pose some problems, as the mobo heatsinks and ram stick out quite a bit. What would you recommend for 240mm in this scenario? @Gedgn Sadly enough, the H700 is a bit out of my price range The 850W might have been a bit overkill indeed, but I'm planning on future-proofing this build. I'm going to use it as a NAS/Mediacenter + normal pc for programming/virtualization (I'm an IT student). The reason for having such a high wattage psu is because I'll have 3*2TB 7200RPM HDD's, 2 in raid 1 for the NAS and 1 for personal use, 2 monitors and an OC'd cpu + a decent gpu. This all will draw some serious power from the wall. I checked with several wattage calculators and most come out with 550-600W. I might drop to 650W, because if I decide to add another hdd later on, 550W might not cut it.

@AidenBear I did check out the meshify c a bit more, and although I like the aesthetics, the case might not be a great choice, because the internal width is around 340mm. With the h110i (rad 27mm + 25mm fans), I probably would only have around max 288mm clearance for a graphics card. I don't really know if that would be quite enough. The NZXT S340 elite offers much more internal space in that regard. (Also tnx for the heads-up with the front panel, I'll extra careful if I decide to build in the S340 elite). @WoodenMarker In the comparison it does indeed seem to be described as average or below average, because of the lack of a side grill for better air intake. The airflow doesn't come out as such a big problem though. The Meshify C does indeed come out better, but as I mentioned previously, the gpu clearance of max 288mm might be a downside. Seems like the NZXT S340 elite is a better choice over the FD meshify c (despite the better airflow). I do like to have some extra options, so is there any case anyone would recommend that has better airflow than the S340 elite, while still having enough clearance for an H110I and a gpu?

Hi everyone, I was finishing up planning a future pc build, checking all the measurements, component compatibilities, ... I eventually found out that there were a lot of mixed opinions on the airflow of the NZXT S340 elite. The general opinion seemd to be that the airflow is 'not that bad, but not that great either', which is 'super helpful'. Since I am planning to OC the cpu (I7 8086K) and use the Corsair H110i AIO cooler, temperatures will be impacted if the airflow is 'not that great'. Same problem with the AIO mounting, some people report having problems mounting the cooler. So now I'm checking out the Fractal design meshify c, which does seem to have better airflow (not sure on the clearance of the H110i in the case yet). I also like the fact that it has more room for fans on top in the case. My question really is, is if the NZXT s340 elite does indeed have bad airflow, and if the meshify C would be a better option? Extra information that might have an impact: PSU: Seasonic Focus plus gold 850W (clearance should be okay for both cases) GPU: probably a 1080ti / rtx 2080 (still looking around) Thanks in advance!