Cool case suggestions?

[Paul Rudd]

Must haves:

• Side panel window. Ideally tempered glass and large. It's totally fine if it's not tempered glass.
• Front panel USB ports. Ideally at least one 3.0.
• Ideally within a budget of $20-$40 after tax and rebates.
• No higher than $60 for sure.

Currently going with this case... Corsair but I'd like to weigh all my options. 

[Fasauceome]

I'm pretty big on Corsair cases all around but that one doesn't seem to have much airflow. Have you checked out any comprehensive reviews of it? If so, it's probably a good purchase. Stylish and up to your standards.

[Paul Rudd]

20 minutes ago, fasauceome said:

Have you checked out any comprehensive reviews of it?

I have and that was actually one of the things talked about in it. I'm just trying to get alternatives because for some reason the only one in stock isn't brand new on Amazon. It was in stock earlier today. The good thing about this case is that you can actually install 5-6 case fans.

 

I also like this case... Aerocool but for some reason it's only available in the UK right now. 

[Quadriplegic]

ATX or mATX?

[Paul Rudd]

5 minutes ago, Quadriplegic said:

ATX or mATX?

Ideally ATX Mid Tower. If the mATX looks cool, I'm always up for considering it.

[Quadriplegic]

1 minute ago, A Random Dude said:

Ideally ATX Mid Tower. If the mATX looks cool, I'm always up for considering it.

http://www.coolermaster.com/case/mini-tower/masterbox-q300l/

Regarding ATX cases, I would get something like Focus G, but it might not quite fill the "cool" tab

[Paul Rudd]

5 hours ago, Quadriplegic said:

http://www.coolermaster.com/case/mini-tower/masterbox-q300l/

Regarding ATX cases, I would get something like Focus G, but it might not quite fill the "cool" tab

That's not a bad case, been eyeballing that case as well for it's superb airflow. It does only have 1 HDD slot though. I'm going to be putting in a 2TB HDD so that may not be an issue. Just gotta wait for it's price to drop back to $35.00. As for the Focus G, thanks for that recommendation too because I haven't looked at that case in a while. Forgot all about that thing. It's not too shabby looking to be honest. I really like the size of the side panel window, the border in particular because it enables you to just slide it on and off instead of unattaching 4 screws from the side of the cas. You only have to unscrew the two from the back and I like that. Plus it has more options when installing RGB led lighting. You can stick them inside that border if you so desire. Sometimes installing RGB led lighting to the inside of the case itself(not the window) can be a pain or difficult to achieve. Also gotta wait for the Focus G to drop back to $40.

 

I also found this one... Cooler Master and I'm very familiar with it, but I'm tired of all these mail-in rebates. Already gotta wait 2 weeks on one. Plus it's a $30 case.

[TVwazhere]

1 hour ago, A Random Dude said:

I also found this one... Cooler Master and I'm very familiar with it, but I'm tired of all these mail-in rebates. Already gotta wait 2 weeks on one. Plus it's a $30 case.

Well it's a $40 after MIR for me. Dunno where you're seeing it for $30

 

The MB500, 510L and 511 are much better versions of this case (MB600's front panel has very narrow slits akin to the WalMart PC.... and we all know how well that went over....)

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/FCs8TW/phanteks-eclipse-p300-tempered-glass-atx-mid-tower-case-ph-ec300ptgbk

At one point the P300 was $40

 

Most people will also point to the Cougar MX330... Few different versions including full acrylic and TG side panel options. Prices vary but there were times it could be found for $35

 

*ALSO NEW DISCOVERY*

 

For $60 USD (yes I know) The Coolermaster MB511 RGB comes with 4 fans, (3 of which are RGB if thats youre thing) TG, full mesh front panel.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119356&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker, LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

 

I only throw it out there because many budget cases comes win 1 or 0 fans, so when you add the price of fans, this becomes a bit more attractive. The MB511 in comparison comes with 1 non RGB fan for about $50 USD

[Paul Rudd]

36 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

Well it's a $40 after MIR for me. Dunno where you're seeing it for $30

You gotta go back to March and April...

Sure that was 9 months ago but it was in 2018. I'm also trying to avoid rebates as they take a good month to complete. Thanks for all the other options, I'm still looking through them. Can't seem to find the 510L or the 511. What do you mean about the "MB600's front panel has very narrow slits akin to the WalMart PC.... and we all know how well that went over....". Does that hurt airflow or something?

[Paul Rudd]

39 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

Most people will also point to the Cougar MX330... Few different versions including full acrylic and TG side panel options. Prices vary but there were times it could be found for $35

Interesting... I've always overlooked this case because it looks narrow for some reason. Actually clicking on it though, it doesn't seem that matters. I'll have to watch a video review on this one. I like to see what people make them look like with everything inside it. Shouldn't be too hard finding a video.

42 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

The MB511 in comparison comes with 1 non RGB fan for about $50 USD

Link... I'm only seeing $66.

[TVwazhere]

1 minute ago, A Random Dude said:

Can't seem to find the 510L or the 511.

The MB511 and MB500 are in the same newegg link as the one you posted (The MB510L used to be but they moved it)

 

*does some googling*

It appears they discontinued the MB510L, Cant seem to find it anywhere. Interesting because the case literally launched at the beginning of this year. 

[TVwazhere]

1 minute ago, A Random Dude said:

Link... I'm only seeing $66.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16811119346

[Paul Rudd]

12 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

15 minutes ago, A Random Dude said:

Link... I'm only seeing $66.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16811119346

I do like this case. If it was $10 cheaper(as it has been in the past), I might have went with it. The reason I say this is not only do I like to pay the lowest a part has ever been, I also have to pay tax on every part that I buy. And all that tax is adding up right now. Thought I was getting an RX 570 last night for $129(plus The Division 2 and DMC5/RE2 for free). Get to the total and it's $139. Thank goodness I snagged that $129 deal(which turned into $139) with the 2 free games before the deadline last night otherwise I'm paying tax on the much higher price it's at now today.

 

Thanks for all the recommendations. Got a lot to choose from now and gonna continue finding more so I can pull the trigger on one when it hits around $30-$35. Ideally anyway.

[Paul Rudd]

8 hours ago, TVwazhere said:

-Snip-

Anything wrong with this one? Thermaltake $55.00 after $30.00 rebate.

 

It appears that the fans that come with it are 5 pin. I don't have any of those on my mobo. Just one 3-pin and one 4-pin.

[TVwazhere]

4 hours ago, A Random Dude said:

Anything wrong with this one? Thermaltake $55.00 after $30.00 rebate.

 

It appears that the fans that come with it are 5 pin. I don't have any of those on my mobo. Just one 3-pin and one 4-pin.

The 5 pin is a propriety connector that can only be connected to the controller in the case. And only other thermaltake fans of that type (not sure off hand which fans those are, maybe Ring 3?) will work with the controller. So that also limits you to the types of fans you can put into it if you wanted to add more and control them all easily and have all the fans be synchronized both in lighting and RPM's. Design wise and build quality is fine, but when you consider all the cases listed so far in this thread, it has the worst potential airflow due to the Front panel design, so everything considered this case get a general "no" from me. 

[Paul Rudd]

1 hour ago, TVwazhere said:

The 5 pin is a propriety connector that can only be connected to the controller in the case. And only other thermaltake fans of that type (not sure off hand which fans those are, maybe Ring 3?) will work with the controller. So that also limits you to the types of fans you can put into it if you wanted to add more and control them all easily and have all the fans be synchronized both in lighting and RPM's. Design wise and build quality is fine, but when you consider all the cases listed so far in this thread, it has the worst potential airflow due to the Front panel design, so everything considered this case get a general "no" from me.

Yea, I watched quite a few reviews on it. The airflow is just fine, there's plenty of ventilation on the right side of the case to pull air in from. I think I found more case fans that are compatible with this case for around $15.00 so that shouldn't be much of an issue. I actually already bought it earlier because the case was the last thing I needed for the build so I just went ahead and bought it because after the rebate and tax, it's $60.00. Plus it comes with those led case fans that you just control with that little controller. I do believe it has numerous spots for extra drives. It's gonna be sad to see it go after I build it because I've never used a high dollar case with tempered glass before. Again, thanks for all the information on this topic. You introduced me to so many cases and case elements in general.

[TVwazhere]

9 hours ago, A Random Dude said:

Yea, I watched quite a few reviews on it. The airflow is just fine, there's plenty of ventilation on the right side of the case to pull air in from. I think I found more case fans that are compatible with this case for around $15.00 so that shouldn't be much of an issue. I actually already bought it earlier because the case was the last thing I needed for the build so I just went ahead and bought it because after the rebate and tax, it's $60.00. Plus it comes with those led case fans that you just control with that little controller. I do believe it has numerous spots for extra drives. It's gonna be sad to see it go after I build it because I've never used a high dollar case with tempered glass before. Again, thanks for all the information on this topic. You introduced me to so many cases and case elements in general.

In the end if you're happy with the case, that's the only opinion that matters