Looking for a case

[Chiyawa]

Hi,

 

I'm about to upgrade my PC case to a more modern one (which has USB 3.2 gen 2 type-C at front panel) but still has 2 old school 5.25 inch bay.

 

So far my search in PC part picker land me 3 or 4 types of case that match my criteria: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/case/#G=2,12&sort=price&D=4,8

- Fractal Design Define 7 XL

- Be Quiet Dark Base Pro 900 Rev. 2

- Cooler Master MasterBox CM694 (TG or steel) (currently out of stock)

- Cooler Master MasterCase Maker 5 (currently out of stock)

 

I wonder if there are more cases that fits my criteria out there beyond PC Part Picker has?

 

Regards,

Chiyawa

[DailyProcrastinator]

9 minutes ago, Chiyawa said:

I wonder if there are more cases that fits my criteria out there beyond PC Part Picker has?

There might be 1 or 2 options lingering out there but highly unlikely that they would be any better any ways. The combo of a modern feature like USB-C with a 5.25" drive is going to be a hard find, and only harder to find in the future as that is not a standard feature set in cases, and not what the average consumer wants. I personally would go for the FD Define 7 or the BQ Dark Base Pro 900 (1st choice if I had to pick). 

[Chiyawa]

20 minutes ago, TheDailyProcrastinator said:

There might be 1 or 2 options lingering out there but highly unlikely that they would be any better any ways. The combo of a modern feature like USB-C with a 5.25" drive is going to be a hard find, and only harder to find in the future as that is not a standard feature set in cases, and not what the average consumer wants. I personally would go for the FD Define 7 or the BQ Dark Base Pro 900 (1st choice if I had to pick). 

Hmm... I see.

 

Problem is both cases are not available in Malaysia, and I have to import one, which, adding the tax and transportation, it will cost about 1.5x of the cost listed in Amazon.

 

Now come to think of it, maybe I can get 3 5.25 inch bay drives and a 5.25 inch multi I/O panel. But still, it will look a little weird because the panel might not match the case.

[DailyProcrastinator]

18 minutes ago, Chiyawa said:

Hmm... I see.

 

Problem is both cases are not available in Malaysia, and I have to import one, which, adding the tax and transportation, it will cost about 1.5x of the cost listed in Amazon.

 

Now come to think of it, maybe I can get 3 5.25 inch bay drives and a 5.25 inch multi I/O panel. But still, it will look a little weird because the panel might not match the case.

If you can give up USB C then you will have a lot more options otherwise there really is only what you see there on PCpartpicker.

[Chiyawa]

53 minutes ago, TheDailyProcrastinator said:

If you can give up USB C then you will have a lot more options otherwise there really is only what you see there on PCpartpicker.

Huh. Well, if that's the case...

 

Case manufacturer should still continue to support 5.25 drive bay. They are a great way to expand your system capability.

[DailyProcrastinator]

11 hours ago, Chiyawa said:

Huh. Well, if that's the case...

 

Case manufacturer should still continue to support 5.25 drive bay. They are a great way to expand your system capability.

The reality is the vast majority of users do not want or need a 5.25", you are in a niche of users that still uses it. 

[Chiyawa]

7 hours ago, TheDailyProcrastinator said:

The reality is the vast majority of users do not want or need a 5.25", you are in a niche of users that still uses it. 

Well, that's because everyone just prefer aesthetic than functionality (I mean I can understand them for preferring looks). 5.25 inch bay doesn't just reserve for optical drives. There's card readers, tool less quick-swapping HDD bay, and having like a control panel to manually control the fan without the need of software. Ah, the possibilities are just endless.

 

Anyway, Guess I'll have to resort on 3 or 4 5.25 inch drive bays case, get a 5.25 inch USB-C front panel and slap it in and call it a day. Now where can I get a retro case I wonder...

[DailyProcrastinator]

1 hour ago, Chiyawa said:

Well, that's because everyone just prefer aesthetic than functionality (I mean I can understand them for preferring looks). 5.25 inch bay doesn't just reserve for optical drives. There's card readers, tool less quick-swapping HDD bay, and having like a control panel to manually control the fan without the need of software. Ah, the possibilities are just endless.

Still a niche market, I use my computers for work and my main system has every single drive slot occupied and I still have no use for a 5.25" drive. That's just the reality haha, you are on of the few who still wants that in a case.

 

Personally aesthetics are not nearly as important as functionality. My priorities in a case are airflow, compact size (for the hardware), build quality, and hardware support, in that order. I would gladly give up support for external drives if it means a decrease in case size. 

 

[Chiyawa]

26 minutes ago, TheDailyProcrastinator said:

Still a niche market, I use my computers for work and my main system has every single drive slot occupied and I still have no use for a 5.25" drive. That's just the reality haha, you are on of the few who still wants that in a case.

 

Personally aesthetics are not nearly as important as functionality. My priorities in a case are airflow, compact size (for the hardware), build quality, and hardware support, in that order. I would gladly give up support for external drives if it means a decrease in case size. 

 

Hmm, well, I guess maybe so. I still use LTO tape drive for archiving and quick swapping SAS drives.