Should I Change My Case From Cooler Master MasterCase Pro 5 to the NZXT H500i?

[techtomato]

Title sums it up pretty well. I'm upgrading my PC soon and I really like the minimalist aesthetic of NZXT's H500i, but I am concerned that my thermals might downgrade since the front panel is blocked. I don't really mind that the case is smaller, but it would be a dealbreaker if my thermals go way up.

It would be great to hear about people's thermals with the H500i! I am planning to use the Kraken x62 with front intake, a Ryzen 7 3700x, and I have a ASUS Strix GTX 1070 GPU.

Thanks for the help!

[boey]

thermals weren't awful with the h500i,as it has an intake vent at the right side of the case. 

 

Gamers Nexus tested it in-depth, and the thermals weren't amazing but weren't awful

look at around 14:20 for CPU and 15:40 for GPU temp statistics

 

Also, the h500i is the same as the h500, just that it has extra RGB added to it(which i don't recommend you get since there are cheaper alternatives to RGB strips/fans which are cheaper)

[techtomato]

Hm yeah I saw that video as well, just not sure if the H500i would be just a bit worse or way worse than my current case. If it's the latter I might have to look into a different case or just keep it.

[LienusLateTips]

Get the H500, not the H500i.

[LienusLateTips]

If you want more airflow, try the Cooler Master NR600.

[boey]

4 minutes ago, techtomato said:

Hm yeah I saw that video as well, just not sure if the H500i would be just a bit worse or way worse than my current case. If it's the latter I might have to look into a different case or just keep it.

Considering you have a high end 1070 with good cooling, and a totally overkill AIO for your CPU, your temps will definitely be higher but they won't reach uncomfortable levels. I had a Corsair H100i on a Ryzen 5 2600 in that case with a fan curve set to reduce noise as much as possible, and it barely touched 60c

 

You should really get the H500 too. You pay a lot more for the H500i, and you get locked into NZXT's RGB ecosystem which is expensive. You'd be better off getting an H500 and spending that extra money on some cheaper RGB fans and strips

 

If you want extra airflow then the H700 from NZXT should give you extra airflow while maintaining most of the minimalistic design, as it has a lot more air intakes. Gamers Nexus has also tested and verified this

[techtomato]

Alright that's cool (haha...ok) probably going for the H500 if im going NZXT, I'm assuming the kraken will still be stuck in the ecosystem though?

[techtomato]

Also if I do go the non-i route, where can I get rgb strips for cheap? If it helps, I am going on a trip to Hong Kong next week are there any rgb strips I could get that are software controlled (not the small remote stuff).

[LienusLateTips]

1 minute ago, techtomato said:

Also if I do go the non-i route, where can I get rgb strips for cheap? If it helps, I am going on a trip to Hong Kong next week are there any rgb strips I could get that are software controlled (not the small remote stuff).

Quote people, so they receive a notification.

 

Usually you can plug cheap remote RGB strips into computers too, as long as they're 4 pin.

[techtomato]

Just now, LienusLateTips said:

Quote people, so they receive a notification.

 

Usually you can plug cheap remote RGB strips into computers too, as long as they're 4 pin.

Alright sorry about that

 

How would I control the lights? Is there a certain app?

[LienusLateTips]

Just now, techtomato said:

Alright sorry about that

 

How would I control the lights? Is there a certain app?

Usually there's a program, yes. Unless you use one of those controllers with remotes, in which you would use a remote to control all the RGB.

[techtomato]

1 minute ago, LienusLateTips said:

Usually there's a program, yes. Unless you use one of those controllers with remotes, in which you would use a remote to control all the RGB.

Alright I'll look into the strips, thanks! I think I'm gonna stick with the H500

[techtomato]

13 minutes ago, LienusLateTips said:

Usually there's a program, yes. Unless you use one of those controllers with remotes, in which you would use a remote to control all the RGB.

How are these? https://www.amazon.ca/Deepcool-Motherboard-Controlled-Strip-4Pin/dp/B07GRHSS1V/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=DeepCool+RGB350&qid=1564474419&s=electronics&sr=1-8

[LienusLateTips]

1 minute ago, techtomato said:

How are these? https://www.amazon.ca/Deepcool-Motherboard-Controlled-Strip-4Pin/dp/B07GRHSS1V/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=DeepCool+RGB350&qid=1564474419&s=electronics&sr=1-8

Hey, fellow Canadian!

 

Yes, those will work.

[techtomato]

Just now, LienusLateTips said:

Hey, fellow Canadian!

 

Yes, those will work.

Haha funnily enough I used to live in Richmond.

 

Alright thanks a lot!

[LienusLateTips]

1 minute ago, techtomato said:

Haha funnily enough I used to live in Richmond.

 

Alright thanks a lot!

If you still live in the Vancouver area for some odd reason the cheapest place in Canada to get the H500 is a little mom and pop computer store in Richmond called Sonex PC....

[techtomato]

1 minute ago, LienusLateTips said:

If you still live in the Vancouver area for some odd reason the cheapest place in Canada to get the H500 is a little mom and pop computer store in Richmond called Sonex PC....

Woah what! Just checked it out never heard of it. Yeah I just moved to Vancouver but it's still really close! Hoping they sell other parts in my list. I'm assuming they are authorized retailers?

[LienusLateTips]

Just now, techtomato said:

Woah what! Just checked it out never heard of it. Yeah I just moved to Vancouver but it's still really close! Hoping they sell other parts in my list. I'm assuming they are authorized retailers?

Yeah, I think so.

 

Only for the H500 though. Everything else is more expensive there....

[techtomato]

Just now, LienusLateTips said:

Yeah, I think so.

 

Only for the H500 though. Everything else is more expensive there....

Darn reality is often disappointing

[boey]

1 hour ago, techtomato said:

Also if I do go the non-i route, where can I get rgb strips for cheap? If it helps, I am going on a trip to Hong Kong next week are there any rgb strips I could get that are software controlled (not the small remote stuff).

Everything else is more expensive in Asia. With the exception of a few ripoff companies who sell stuff for cheaper, but they're fake ofc.

 

If you want software controlled then the Cooler Master ones are probably the cheapest, maybe Phanteks.

As for fans, I find that the Thermaltake and Corsair ones look the best. Thermaltake is cheaper and less of a hassle if I'm not wrong.

[techtomato]

9 hours ago, _d0nut said:

Everything else is more expensive in Asia. With the exception of a few ripoff companies who sell stuff for cheaper, but they're fake ofc.

 

If you want software controlled then the Cooler Master ones are probably the cheapest, maybe Phanteks.

As for fans, I find that the Thermaltake and Corsair ones look the best. Thermaltake is cheaper and less of a hassle if I'm not wrong.

I found these ones on amazon and they're only 20 bucks, and they're addressable so I think I'm going with them.

[LienusLateTips]

10 hours ago, _d0nut said:

Everything else is more expensive in Asia except Taiwan.

As a Taiwanese person, fixed

 

 

Plus, American and Canadian prices don't include VAT/sales tax.

[boey]

14 hours ago, LienusLateTips said:

As a Taiwanese person, fixed

 

 

Plus, American and Canadian prices don't include VAT/sales tax.

Huh, really? I always thought Taiwan was more expensive still. I visited a shop when I was in Taiwan and it had similar prices to Singapore(which is not a good thing), so i assumed the whole of Taiwan was like that. Maybe I just visited a bad shop.

[boey]

15 hours ago, techtomato said:

I found these ones on amazon and they're only 20 bucks, and they're addressable so I think I'm going with them.

Those are good, I've used them before and they perform well. Didn't know they sold them on amazon which is why I didn't bother recommending. You can control them with motherboard software, provided your motherboard has 5V 3pin ARGB headers.

 

If you're not sure about the headers, tell us the specific model of motherboard you have and we can help you check

[techtomato]

4 minutes ago, _d0nut said:

Those are good, I've used them before and they perform well. Didn't know they sold them on amazon which is why I didn't bother recommending. You can control them with motherboard software, provided your motherboard has 5V 3pin ARGB headers.

 

If you're not sure about the headers, tell us the specific model of motherboard you have and we can help you check

Was going to get the x570 Aorus master, but then switched to the x570-E for Aura sync support since I already have a strix gpu. Pretty sure it has 3-pin if I am not mistaken.