Stuck deciding on a case

[KT1578]

Hi all, 

 

I am planning a build around the new RTX 3080 and have a couple of questions about the case I have chosen.

 

I picked the NZXT H510 Elite for a few reasons. Firstly, it is apparently a good PC case for beginners in building PCs (me), partly due to the easy cable management. Secondly, it looks really good in my opinion and the matte white colour suits my desk and room perfectly. Finally it comes included with 2 RGB fans and a lighting strip so it means I would not have to purchase any additional lighting for aesthetics.

 

However, I have heard that NZXT cases do not always have the best airflow, which is partly why I am willing to spend the premium on the H510 Elite over the H510i in the hope that airflow and temperatures will be better. I was also looking at the H710i which is slightly bigger. I prefer the H510 Elite over it, but if the temperatures and airflow in the H710i are noticeable better than I am willing to sacrifice aesthetics for it. 

Also, I do not plan on upgrading my build or water cooling it in the future so I do not actually need extra room solely for future upgrades.

[spartaman64]

meshify C reeee and im not convinced the h510 elite has better airflow than the h510 i

[gloop]

2 minutes ago, KT1578 said:

H510 Elite over the H510i in the hope that airflow and temperatures will be better.

IIRC it’s the exact opposite, with the elite having higher temps. 
 

I wouldn’t be putting a 350w card in either of them though. 

[Moonzy]

26 minutes ago, KT1578 said:

I am willing to spend the premium on the H510 Elite over the H510i in the hope that airflow and temperatures will be better

arent they essentially the same case? just tempered glass? or im mistaken?

 

get a better airflow case. I love NZXT but their current cases are garbage in term of airflow

[KT1578]

1 hour ago, gloop said:

IIRC it’s the exact opposite, with the elite having higher temps. 
 

I wouldn’t be putting a 350w card in either of them though. 

What cases would you recommend for the 3080 then? I'd prefer to stick with the ATX Mid-Tower size due to limited space. I also like cases which show off the interior and look good with RGB lighting.

[KT1578]

1 hour ago, Moonzy said:

arent they essentially the same case? just tempered glass? or im mistaken?

 

get a better airflow case. I love NZXT but their current cases are garbage in term of airflow

That's a pity, also I'm not too sure what the differences are but I thought the more expensive one would have better airflow/temps. What else would you recommend that would nicely show off the case interior and works well with RGB? I prefer white cases to match my desk and setup but it isn't an absolute necessity. 

[KT1578]

1 hour ago, spartaman64 said:

meshify C reeee and im not convinced the h510 elite has better airflow than the h510 i

is the Meshify C much better? I also heard it gets much noisier due to low sound insulation but I'm not too sure

[Moonzy]

3 minutes ago, KT1578 said:

What else would you recommend that would nicely show off the case interior and works well with RGB?

https://www.fractal-design.com/products/cases/meshify/meshify-c-tempered-glass/white/

 

one of the best cases in the market

 

2 minutes ago, KT1578 said:

is the Meshify C much better? I also heard it gets much noisier due to low sound insulation but I'm not too sure

a ton better

it's more open, but that also means your fan dont have to spin harder and faster to cool your things, so they can spin slower, making it actually more quiet in some cases. _{pun intended}

[KT1578]

8 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

https://www.fractal-design.com/products/cases/meshify/meshify-c-tempered-glass/white/

 

one of the best cases in the market

 

a ton better

it's more open, but that also means your fan dont have to spin harder and faster to cool your things, so they can spin slower, making it actually more quiet in some cases. _{pun intended}

Thanks, I think I'm sold on the Meshify C now after watching a couple of reviews

[KT1578]

27 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

https://www.fractal-design.com/products/cases/meshify/meshify-c-tempered-glass/white/

 

one of the best cases in the market

 

a ton better

it's more open, but that also means your fan dont have to spin harder and faster to cool your things, so they can spin slower, making it actually more quiet in some cases. _{pun intended}

One more question, since I want to have some RGB in the PC I am lost with what fans to buy. I am looking at the NZXT AER RGB 2 fans, as I am getting the Kraken X63 cooler so I want the lighting to sync together. However I am not sure where in the case is the best spot to mount the X63, nor do I know which direction the fans should face, which way the X63 should face, and how many RGB fans I should buy for the Meshify C. I have looked at some completed builds on PC part picker, and most that I have seen have 1 RGB fan at the back (120mm), sometimes 2 RGB 140mm on the top, and then some people put another 2 RGB fans on the AIO at the front and the fans are on the inside, or they do the reverse and put the fans on the outside to be seen through the mesh. How should I go about this? And is it a good/bad/doesn't matter if I swap the fans on the X63 with RGB fans?

[Moonzy]

2 minutes ago, KT1578 said:

One more question, since I want to have some RGB in the PC I am lost with what fans to buy.

im not familiar with RGB, sorry

 

but whatever you buy, make sure you have the right controller/header for it, too many different kind of RGB implementation and softwares (that's why im not into it)

3 minutes ago, KT1578 said:

How should I go about this?

depends on yourself, i guess

i would mount the radiator at top with fan on the inside blowing up.

top down lighting from rad and one rear fan to light up the main compartment.

front intake can be RGB to light up the area under the GPU as well, though you may need some RGB strips mounted somewhere out of sight but can light up the GPU compartment.

 

though what i say may be wrong and irrelevant, i never played with RGB before due to cost and messy implementations.

 

6 minutes ago, KT1578 said:

And is it a good/bad/doesn't matter if I swap the fans on the X63 with RGB fans?

doesnt matter as long as they're not bad fans

[KT1578]

2 hours ago, Moonzy said:

im not familiar with RGB, sorry

 

but whatever you buy, make sure you have the right controller/header for it, too many different kind of RGB implementation and softwares (that's why im not into it)

depends on yourself, i guess

i would mount the radiator at top with fan on the inside blowing up.

top down lighting from rad and one rear fan to light up the main compartment.

front intake can be RGB to light up the area under the GPU as well, though you may need some RGB strips mounted somewhere out of sight but can light up the GPU compartment.

 

though what i say may be wrong and irrelevant, i never played with RGB before due to cost and messy implementations.

 

doesnt matter as long as they're not bad fans

Could I instead mount the radiator on the top with the 2 140mm  fans underneath, a 120mm at the rear, and then have another 2 140mm RGB fans facing the outside of the case to show through the mesh? Or would this be too much/a bad configuration

 

I think the NZXT AER RGB 2 Fans are good but I will have to look more into them if I replace them with the ones included on the X63 cooler.

[Moonzy]

1 minute ago, KT1578 said:

Could I instead mount the radiator on the top with the 2 140mm  fans underneath,

yea that's what i meant

though im not sure if it'll interfere with motherboard VRM/RAM heatsinks, so try look around to see if that's an issue

 

2 minutes ago, KT1578 said:

a 120mm at the rear

yea this is good

3 minutes ago, KT1578 said:

then have another 2 140mm RGB fans facing the outside of the case to show through the mesh?

would prefer the fans to blow inward (most fans have their RGB ring on the intake side of the fan, so your config should be good)

 

3 minutes ago, KT1578 said:

I think the NZXT AER RGB 2 Fans are good but I will have to look more into them if I replace them with the ones included on the X63 cooler.

i think popular RGB fans are the corsair ones, though they cost a butt ton

[KT1578]

11 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

i think popular RGB fans are the corsair ones, though they cost a butt ton

I think I will actually go with the Corsair ones, I disregarded them at first because I wanted the fans to sync with the X63 but I guess that doesn't matter. Also, they are very similar in price and look much better. With the Corsair ones you can see the RGB from both sides, correct? 

[KT1578]

14 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

yea that's what i meant

though im not sure if it'll interfere with motherboard VRM/RAM heatsinks, so try look around to see if that's an issue

 

yea this is good

would prefer the fans to blow inward (most fans have their RGB ring on the intake side of the fan, so your config should be good)

 

i think popular RGB fans are the corsair ones, though they cost a butt ton

Oh and one more thing, would it be a better idea to have 3 120mm fans at the front or 2 140mm fans in terms of both noise and performance

[Moonzy]

1 minute ago, KT1578 said:

With the Corsair ones you can see the RGB from both sides, correct? 

wrong person to ask hahahahaha

maybe you can make a new thread, maybe someone who is really into RGB can help (albeit very rare because of how messy it is)

[Moonzy]

Just now, KT1578 said:

would it be a better idea to have 3 120mm fans at the front or 2 140mm fans in terms of both noise and performance

would depend on the quality of the fans, but i would go with 120mm fans personally (i just think they're neat, not that they're better or anything)

 

140mm is larger so you can run it slower so it's quieter. but you can only fit 2

performance wise they're not much diff

 

so it depends if you like 2 or 3 glowing fans at the front

[KT1578]

14 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

would depend on the quality of the fans, but i would go with 120mm fans personally (i just think they're neat, not that they're better or anything)

 

140mm is larger so you can run it slower so it's quieter. but you can only fit 2

performance wise they're not much diff

 

so it depends if you like 2 or 3 glowing fans at the front

If there's no noticeable benefits in temps or performance I think I'll stick with 2 x 140mm for intake as apparently it is quieter than the 3 x 120mm

[Moonzy]

1 minute ago, KT1578 said:

If there's no noticeable benefits in temps or performance I think I'll stick with 2 x 140mm for intake as apparently it is quieter than the 3 x 120mm

2x 140 is definitely quieter than 3x120

 

though not sure about airflow, but it's not much diff really

especially with a good case like the meshify c

[KT1578]

23 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

2x 140 is definitely quieter than 3x120

 

though not sure about airflow, but it's not much diff really

especially with a good case like the meshify c

Alright cool, and thanks heaps for all the help