mATX Cases help!

[jtai117]

Hello all!

This is my first post on this forum. I've been planning out a build for a little while now and I'm not sure which mATX case to use in my build. Here is one of my planned builds:

 

Intel Core i5 4440

CM Hyper 212 Evo

AsRock Z87M Extreme 4

Gigabyte GTX 780 OC

Intel 330 120GB SSD (Salvaged From Laptop)

Seagate Barracuda 1TB

Patriot Signature 8GB 1600 MHz

Corsair GS600-V2

Samsung SATA DVD RW

 

These parts all up will cost me about $1251 (I live in Aus and my budget is $1400). The cases I've shortlisted are:

 

Areocool Dead Silence Cube - $125

Corsair Obsidian 350D - $149

Bitfenix Colossus M - $119

Fractal Design ARC Mini R2 - $125

 

Which case would be the best for my build? Also, is the 600W power supply enough for the system? I plan to overclock my GPU.

 

Thanks!

[Flyguygamer]

350D

[Advent]

 

Areocool Dead Silence Cube - $125

Corsair Obsidian 350D - $149

Bitfenix Colossus M - $119

Fractal Design ARC Mini R2 - $125

The Fractal and the Corsair have the best cooling and cable management.

[jtai117]

Is there any advantage in spending $25 more on the 350D besides just spending more? 

[Advent]

Is there any advantage in spending $25 more on the 350D besides just spending more? 

Larger side window for one.

[jtai117]

Hmm ok.. Are there any other cases I should be looking at besides? I'd kinda like to make this build as small as possible. Also, I'd quite like to have the CD/DVD drive still.

[brob]

Did you consider the Cooler Master N200 (AU$64) or the Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 Black mATX Tower (FD-CA-CORE-1000-USB3-BL) (AU$69)  - not sure on availability of the later.

 

600W should be sufficient for the system outlined.

[BallisticPeanut]

You should also consider the Silverstone Sugo SG10  : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163237

 

Not the prettiest (although I like it's sleek front and simplistic exterior), it has really great airflow, fits large coolers and large graphics cards.

[BallisticPeanut]

The Fractal and the Corsair have the best cooling and cable management.

 

The Aerocool also has very good cable management, same interior as the Xigmatech Aquila.

[DIV1D3]

What will you be using it for? LAN parties, small living area or are you frequently moving? If it's LANs than you can just get something with a handle.

Best mATX evah!?

[JohnnyGrey]

My suggestion: Silverstone TJ08. I own it, and can vouch for it. It is an excellent case, but cramped if you use the hard drive cage. Keep in mind the Hyper 212's fan must be mounted behind the heatsink in a pull, due to clearance issues with the hard drive cage. Here's a view of mine without a video card. One native SSD slot, which is under the external 3.5" bay.

 

 

EDIT: Must be dyslexic today, got the model wrong like 4 times

[I_WILL_STAB_YOU]

I would recommend the Bitfenix Phenom. It is a small, modern looking case and I LOVE it. It will fit your hyper 212 evo and looks good

[WoodenMarker]

Did you consider the Cooler Master N200 (AU$64) or the Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 Black mATX Tower (FD-CA-CORE-1000-USB3-BL) (AU$69)  - not sure on availability of the later.

600W should be sufficient for the system outlined.

The Core 1000 doesn't have enough clearance for the 212 Evo. 

[Syraz]

The mATX Bitfenix Colossus ...Donno why but that little thing looks neat to me.. and I hate case LEDS

[JohnnyGrey]

The mATX Bitfenix Colossus ...Donno why but that little thing looks neat to me.. and I hate case LEDS

Ugh, I can't stand doors on the front of the case!

[jtai117]

Whoa. Uhh... first things, first, sorry for not replying to the thread I didn't get ANY notifications at all about new posts. Also sorry if reviving a thread like this isn't allowed.

The mATX Bitfenix Colossus ...Donno why but that little thing looks neat to me.. and I hate case LEDS

I had a look at the Colossus. I'm just worried about the cooling performance and the cable management. I do like the look of the case but yeah, the door is kinda meh

 

I would recommend the Bitfenix Phenom. It is a small, modern looking case and I LOVE it. It will fit your hyper 212 evo and looks good

I did consider that case! I would kinda like a CD/DVD drive though. Cooling is also a worry for me (It can reach 42 degrees here in Melb)

 

My suggestion: Silverstone TJ08. I own it, and can vouch for it. It is an excellent case, but cramped if you use the hard drive cage. Keep in mind the Hyper 212's fan must be mounted behind the heatsink in a pull, due to clearance issues with the hard drive cage. Here's a view of mine without a video card. One native SSD slot, which is under the external 3.5" bay.

 

 

EDIT: Must be dyslexic today, got the model wrong like 4 times

The Silverstone is one of the cases I've looked at recently (The TJ08-E and the PS07 w/ window). How is the cooling performance of that front fan?

 

What will you be using it for? LAN parties, small living area or are you frequently moving? If it's LANs than you can just get something with a handle.

Best mATX evah!?

I would be using it for gaming? I would take it to the occasional LAN party but those are pretty rare these days (I'm studying engineering. Not the most amount of time) I don't really want to mod cases btw.

 

The Aerocool also has very good cable management, same interior as the Xigmatech Aquila.

I can't get Xigmatech in Aus sadly. The Aerocool is lower down on the list now as it's not that much smaller than the Arc Mini R2 as I've been reading around and the extent of the cable management seems to be stuffing some of the cables behind the GPU.

 

You should also consider the Silverstone Sugo SG10  : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163237

 

Not the prettiest (although I like it's sleek front and simplistic exterior), it has really great airflow, fits large coolers and large graphics cards.

The SG10 looks alright although the SG09 is $30 cheaper however.

 

Did you consider the Cooler Master N200 (AU$64) or the Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 Black mATX Tower (FD-CA-CORE-1000-USB3-BL) (AU$69)  - not sure on availability of the later.

 

600W should be sufficient for the system outlined.

I actually haven't looked at any Coolermaster cases. The N200 looks pretty good but I'm not quite sure where to pick one up locally. I'll have to do some more research on it. I looked at the Core 1000. I do like it, but it doesn't fit all that much in it.

[JohnnyGrey]

The Silverstone is one of the cases I've looked at recently (The TJ08-E and the PS07 w/ window). How is the cooling performance of that front fan?

I haven't measured temps in quite awhile, nor have I tried overclocking since the first time it started crashing, but because the inside of the case is so small, the 180mm fan does a pretty darn good job. I've always wanted to swap it out for the white Air Penetrator fan, which is a ball-bearing fan and goes up to a higher RPM than the stock black one, but I never have this one running full speed anyways, so it's probably a waste of money.

The case is pretty small given the fact that it's a mATX tower case, but because I have three mechanical hard drives, it's pretty heavy.

I eventually want to swap the case to a Corsair 350D, it would be bigger, but much more room to work with, and support for a dual 120m all-in-one cooler.