Watercooling Case

[DaveKerk]

Hey guys,

Looking for a new case and I'm hoping I can find more options with the help of all of you.

It will be an ATX motherboard, and I'm hoping I can get one with water cooling support to spare (i.e. at least a 360 and a 240). And pricing around $100 USD. This is asking for a lot I know. I've had my eye on the Cooler Master MasterCase Pro 5 for a while and just hoping to find some more options before I commit.

Thanks all,

Dave

[LooneyJuice]

Full disclosure: Very biased due to personal (very pleasant) experience, but I'd strongly suggest looking at similarly-priced offerings from Phanteks.

 

But, when you say water cooling, do you mean building a custom loop or just relying on AIOs? I'm asking before I suggest a particular model which may suit AIOs better than a custom loop.

[DaveKerk]

9 minutes ago, LooneyJuice said:

Full disclosure: Very biased due to personal (very pleasant) experience, but I'd strongly suggest looking at similarly-priced offerings from Phanteks.

 

But, when you say water cooling, do you mean building a custom loop or just relying on AIOs? I'm asking before I suggest a particular model which may suit AIOs better than a custom loop.

It will be custom eventually, if I do AIO it will be limited to the CPU and not a permanent cooler.

[LooneyJuice]

Hmm, in that case, probably best to stay away from some of the Phanteks offerings in that range. They look great, but the P400S f.ex doesn't really have any room on top of the motherboard for anything other than fans, due to clearance. The only thing I could probably vouch for in that price bracket would be an Enthoo Pro M or a Pro depending on regional pricing.

 

The case I have had some good experience with building when it comes to that price bracket is the Fractal Define C. You can also offset the top rad for clearance AFAIK, which isn't as common as I would like it to be in smaller cases. The Phanteks P400s and NZXT S340 mounting brackets on top are all smack bang in the middle. And Fractal's Define S should do it as well, again, depending on regional pricing.

 

Now, I don't know what you're trying to pursue for aesthetics if at all, but this is what I'd generally look at for what you want to do. Again, the top mounting bracket offset on the Fractal stuff is a major plus I think.

[astrosheen]

38 minutes ago, DaveKerk said:

Hey guys,

Looking for a new case and I'm hoping I can find more options with the help of all of you.

It will be an ATX motherboard, and I'm hoping I can get one with water cooling support to spare (i.e. at least a 360 and a 240). And pricing around $100 USD. This is asking for a lot I know. I've had my eye on the Cooler Master MasterCase Pro 5 for a while and just hoping to find some more options before I commit.

Thanks all,

Dave

What did you like about the MasterCase 5 so I can get an idea of what you look for in a case?

[DaveKerk]

Just now, astrosheen said:

What did you like about the MasterCase 5 so I can get an idea of what you look for in a case?

I like the PSU shroud, the angled look, the "modular-ness", the airflow, and the simplistic full black look. 
 

 

16 minutes ago, LooneyJuice said:

Hmm, in that case, probably best to stay away from some of the Phanteks offerings in that range. They look great, but the P400S f.ex doesn't really have any room on top of the motherboard for anything other than fans, due to clearance. The only thing I could probably vouch for in that price bracket would be an Enthoo Pro M or a Pro depending on regional pricing.

 

The case I have had some good experience with building when it comes to that price bracket is the Fractal Define C. You can also offset the top rad for clearance AFAIK, which isn't as common as I would like it to be in smaller cases. The Phanteks P400s and NZXT S340 mounting brackets on top are all smack bang in the middle. And Fractal's Define S should do it as well, again, depending on regional pricing.

 

Now, I don't know what you're trying to pursue for aesthetics if at all, but this is what I'd generally look at for what you want to do. Again, the top mounting bracket offset on the Fractal stuff is a major plus I think.

I have been looking at the Fractal Define C and it's a pretty small case... does it have decent airflow? I do like the look of it though, just concerned about airflow and the physical size of it.

[astrosheen]

8 minutes ago, DaveKerk said:

I like the PSU shroud, the angled look, the "modular-ness", the airflow, and the simplistic full black look. 
 

 

I have been looking at the Fractal Define C and it's a pretty small case... does it have decent airflow? I do like the look of it though, just concerned about airflow and the physical size of it.

Cases I would look at:

Fractal Define s

Be quite silent base 600

Corsair 750D

Corsair Carbider 400c

As mentioned above phantex p400

 

They all have some downfall to them though. 

The master case can only get 2 280mm rads with very small end tanks so that might be an issue if you really want the 360mm rad.

 

 

[LooneyJuice]

21 minutes ago, DaveKerk said:

 

 

I have been looking at the Fractal Define C and it's a pretty small case... does it have decent airflow? I do like the look of it though, just concerned about airflow and the physical size of it.

The airflow isn't bad, AFAIK better than the Enthoo Pro Evolv. The entirety of the front panel frame has louvres. The top is well-ventilated. Sadly, lots of cases nowadays go for the monolith look, and it's not helping things. That's why I also suggested looking at the Enthoo Pro M maybe. The Enthoo Pro series has extremely good airflow compared to lots of newer stuff. The Enthoo Pro M will do up to 280 rad front, 360 or 280 top. Has a sliding offset radiator bracket, PSU shroud and also has a tempered glass version which may be more than your budget in this case, but worth a look.

 

Had it been available to buy when I was in the market for one, I may have pulled the trigger on it instead of the Pro ATX. Can't complain with the extra room though.

[DaveKerk]

Thank you so much everyone for the suggestions. I am having trouble deciding between the Pro M and the Define S. Both awesome cases with the water cooling support I was looking for and the very simplistic black look that can be modified down the road.

[Hiitchy]

I actually use the Cooler Master MasterCase Pro 5 and really enjoy it. Though I don't do a custom loop, but do an AIO for my 7700k, I only chose the case because of it's overmodularity, PSU Shroud, and the fact that 3 fans can fit in the front of the case to allow air through.

 

I strongly recommend you go with a case that has vents in the front, top and back. Cases that vent from the side make it much more harder for your case to circulate air, and it causes dust to build up very easily. My old case which was a corsair one, actually had about 8 fans throughout the case that circulated so much air, it sounded like the PC was ready to take off.

[For Science!]

Please find below my Define C on semo-air and full custom water. the case airflow is actually very good, plenty of space in the front for intake and top exhaust, but the problem is that it is very compact and can heat up quite quickly if the intake air is hot  (as is the case in my custom loop).

 

watch out for RAM clearance though. 30mm rad and low profile memory is necessary.

 

 

[TVwazhere]

8 hours ago, DaveKerk said:

Thank you so much everyone for the suggestions. I am having trouble deciding between the Pro M and the Define S. Both awesome cases with the water cooling support I was looking for and the very simplistic black look that can be modified down the road.

I guess it depends at this point if you care more about Aesthetics or Acoustics. 

 

Pro M has tempered glass, SSD window, side facing I/O 

 

Define S has sound dampening foam, which could actually be something to consider for a case with lots of fans and a pump

 

Either way I think you'll be happy building in either of those cases