Looking for a recommendation. Also, why are the options in the market so dated?

[Delicieuxz]

I've had a difficult time finding a suitable case, despite that my requirements aren't anything special. But what's out there is a mish-mash of everything except what I need. And multiple cases that I otherwise might have considered are not eligible because they lack a single feature, or don't offer a modern USB standard.

 

The number of cases that come with USB 2 ports on the front is pretty gross. And... why? If companies are still selling them, they should be updated to have newer USB 3 standards.

 

And most of the rest of available cases feature older USB 3 standards on the front. Again, why? USB 3.2 has been here a long time and USB 4 is right around the corner. The situation with cases and USB ports seems to me analogous to that of Windows and its mashup of new and various legacy-era menus, which Windows owners have long-called to be harmonized and made consistent.

 

 

Here's what I'm looking for:

 

- an optical drive slot

- good airflow with a cleanable filter

- USB 3.2 ports on the front (preferably a USB-C port, too, but it isn't a requirement)

 

Bonus: doesn't look bad - though, if the previous 3 requirements were fulfilled, I might be able to overlook this last one

 

That's it. Where is a case like that?

 

 

Here are some cases I've looked-at, but which fail to meet all of those simple requirements:

 

Fractal Design Focus G - wastes a front USB port on USB 2, and the other USB port is 3.0.

Phanteks Eclipse P400A - no optical drive slot, front USB ports are only USB 3.0, no filter and the front mesh holes will let-in a ton of dust

Phanteks Eclipse P500A - no optical drive slot, front USB ports are only USB 3.0, don't think it has a cleanable filter and the mesh holes on the front are large enough they'll let tons of dust in
be quiet! Pure Base 500DX - no optical drive slot, and its USB-A port is only 3.0. But it has a front filter and a USB-C connector. So, this one's more suitable than others listed here. Though, it could use another USB-A port without sacrificing the USB-C port

Fractal Design Meshify C - no optical drive slot, only USB 3.0 

Cooler Master MasterCase H500 - no optical drive slot, USB 2 and USB 3.0, doesn't look good

 

I've looked at many other cases, too, including those in this video:

 

 

 

I completely don't get the craze of no-filter front-mesh panels. Maybe a lot of people must enjoy cleaning-out the inside of their PC towers. My Corsair 600T case has a front filter behind a mesh panel, and the filter catches a ton of dust which I clean-out maybe every couple of months. It's easy to clean: Pop-out the filter, take it outside, blow through it to see wads of dust float away. If all of that dust were going into the case, the components would be covered in dust and need meticulous cleaning pretty often, and the case would suffer from extra heat. I really don't know why all the airflow-centric cases are currently coming without filters, but I don't want to be cleaning my tower's internal hardware every month, or at all, and so I don't want one without a filter.

 

And I find it laughable that cases are still being sold with a USB 2 or even USB 3.0 ports on the front. Those standards aren't modern. A case with a USB 2 port should only be extremely-old excess stock from 5+ years ago and shouldn't still be made.

 

 

In my opinion, the available selection right now is terrible and a bad joke: Cases tend to either not be convenient in terms of dust-protection / cleaning, or they don't match where things are technologically with the ports they offer on the front - and most don't offer an optical drive slot, which is impractical for people who have decades of CD, DVDs, Blu-Rays, game discs, archives, etc that are stored on discs and will need accessing for likely over a decade to come. In light of how many movie and music libraries there are on discs, and the fact that media continues to be sold in stores and online on discs, and that optical discs, unlike VHS and cassettes, provide lossless storage and top-tier media fidelity, I don't think that optical drives are going anywhere. They certainly are still available in a multitude of models for sale from computer retailers.

 

[Grabhanem]

The Fractal Define series might be of interest to you-- they don't have great airflow but they're fine, and the ATX ones have 5.25" bays behind doors.

 

I'm guessing the lack of faster USB support is down to motherboard connectors-- the internal USB-C header is rare enough already, and most boards only have 5gbit on their front panel headers. I don't really blame them, since you need an external NVMe drive to even take advantage of more than USB3.

(Side note, I find it amusing that you complain about USB3 being dated when you regularly use an optical drive)

[Delicieuxz]

6 hours ago, Grabhanem said:

(Side note, I find it amusing that you complain about USB3 being dated when you regularly use an optical drive)

I expected that to be said by someone. But the fact is that people have decades worth of movie and music libraries on discs, and media is still sold on discs. And discs offer lossless storage and high-definition playback, and so they are still a modern format. And even when they aren't a modern format, due to the archives that exist on them, they will still be needed long after they cease being a modern format. And so an optical drive slot will continue to be a modern feature for cases long after optical drives are no longer modern media / storage methods.

 

With USB 3.0, it's not just different in that the standard has moved-on to higher performance models. Newer USB formats fully support the older ones, and so the older ones are obsolete. A USB thumb-drive doesn't read optical discs, and so having a USB port doesn't obsolete the need for an optical drive when someone owns lots of disc-based media and has disc-based media, archives, and software.

 

Optical drives are still needed because there is a ton of material (in lossless, high-definition formats) stored on optical drives. And, for now, media continues to be sold on optical drives. And those things can't be accessed apart from having an optical drive. USB 3.0 isn't still needed because USB 3.1 and 3.2, Gen 2, Gen 2x2 all fully support all previous versions of USB.

[Zusafek]

@DelicieuxzPersonally, I don't understand the need for USB 3.2. That's me personally.  But as for the 5.25 drive bay it's not needed anymore. A simple external drive does the same as the internal.  

 

As for filters on the P400 series.  You can do what I did.  I put a magnetic filter behind the mesh panel.  Done.  

[Delicieuxz]

2 hours ago, Zusafek said:

@DelicieuxzPersonally, I don't understand the need for USB 3.2. That's me personally.

With the USB 3 generational name-mangling, it's challenging to remember what I'm specifying with what designation. USB 3.0, 3.1 Gen 1, and USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 are 5 Gb/s, or around 625 MB/s. USB 3.2 Gen 2x1 and Gen 1x2 are twice that speed, at 10 Gb/s or around 1.2 GB/s. And then USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 is twice that, at 20 Gb/2 or 2.5 GB/s. And the people who made this naming scheme are morons no matter how many degrees they might have.

 

Regardless, given that a high-end PC built today should be able to last 4+ years, the case the hardware is in should be able to do the same. I would like to have something that will still be bearable towards the end of that time-period.

 

At USB 3.0, 3.1 Gen 1, and USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 speed, transferring 1 TB of data would take 26.7 minutes. That's not particularly bearable. When many of today's PCs are already equipped with multiple TBs of internal storage (I have over 4TB, and my next system will start with 6TB), and when a single game today can be as large as 200 GB, having at-least double a 625 MB/s transfer-rate could be very, very appreciable in another 2+ years. It could even be very appreciable today.

 

That said, in such a case, a mobo's rear USB ports could be used. However, it would be a lot nicer to have access to that speed at the front of the case - and I wonder if a case can be easily modified to replace older USB standards with more modern ones.

 

2 hours ago, Zusafek said:

But as for the 5.25 drive bay it's not needed anymore. A simple external drive does the same as the internal.

Internal storage drives aren't needed, either. But they're definitely a better solution for most people than external storage drives. And manufacturers could make external everything, but I'd much rather have my PC components together within the tower. And there are a lot of reason for why:

 

With an internal optical drive, there's not a chance of it being knocked over. There's probably less noise when it's used, less risk of vibrations being an issue. It keeps things compact and it looks a lot nicer. It doesn't use up a USB port. And it doesn't have to be turned on and off or plugged-in and unplugged.

 

Also, where will an external optical drive sit? Most likely, on-top of the PC case. I don't have room for it on my desk, and the USB cable for them is likely too short, anyway. So, with an external optical drive, I'll have to make sure a case that I get has a flat and sturdy top (narrowing the choices more). And then the optical drive will block airflow from the top.

 

In short, an external optical drive instead of an internal one is a big multi-faceted inconvenience, an eyesore, and potentially a liability.

 

Quote

As for filters on the P400 series.  You can do what I did.  I put a magnetic filter behind the mesh panel.  Done.  

That's an idea. Where do you buy one?

[thrasher_565]

7 hours ago, Delicieuxz said:

With the USB 3 generational name-mangling, it's challenging to remember what I'm specifying with what designation. USB 3.0, 3.1 Gen 1, and USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 are 5 Gb/s, or around 625 MB/s. USB 3.2 Gen 2x1 and Gen 1x2 are twice that speed, at 10 Gb/s or around 1.2 GB/s. And then USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 is twice that, at 20 Gb/2 or 2.5 GB/s. And the people who made this naming scheme are morons no matter how many degrees they might have.

 

Regardless, given that a high-end PC built today should be able to last 4+ years, the case the hardware is in should be able to do the same. I would like to have something that will still be bearable towards the end of that time-period.

 

At USB 3.0, 3.1 Gen 1, and USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 speed, transferring 1 TB of data would take 26.7 minutes. That's not particularly bearable. When many of today's PCs are already equipped with multiple TBs of internal storage (I have over 4TB, and my next system will start with 6TB), and when a single game today can be as large as 200 GB, having at-least double a 625 MB/s transfer-rate could be very, very appreciable in another 2+ years. It could even be very appreciable today.

 

That said, in such a case, a mobo's rear USB ports could be used. However, it would be a lot nicer to have access to that speed at the front of the case - and I wonder if a case can be easily modified to replace older USB standards with more modern ones.

 

Internal storage drives aren't needed, either. But they're definitely a better solution for most people than external storage drives. And manufacturers could make external everything, but I'd much rather have my PC components together within the tower. And there are a lot of reason for why:

 

With an internal optical drive, there's not a chance of it being knocked over. There's probably less noise when it's used, less risk of vibrations being an issue. It keeps things compact and it looks a lot nicer. It doesn't use up a USB port. And it doesn't have to be turned on and off or plugged-in and unplugged.

 

Also, where will an external optical drive sit? Most likely, on-top of the PC case. I don't have room for it on my desk, and the USB cable for them is likely too short, anyway. So, with an external optical drive, I'll have to make sure a case that I get has a flat and sturdy top (narrowing the choices more). And then the optical drive will block airflow from the top.

 

In short, an external optical drive instead of an internal one is a big multi-faceted inconvenience, an eyesore, and potentially a liability.

 

That's an idea. Where do you buy one?

i dont get it you use cd but i bet you never use that 5b a sec or even 10 gba second transfer speeds anyway. do you own a cd scratch remover too? its hard for any one to take you seriously.

 

long time i used a dvd to install my os and it took for ever to install had to dust out the usb dvd drive plug it in and all that so one day i said fuck it ill try and usb stick instead well i can install and os under 10 mints now. some times you just got to let go.

 

dont get me wrong i do like collecting fiscal media too. for my game consoles i have to buy cd still. but i will amit the digital is more convent.

Edited November 28, 2020 by thrasher_565

[Delicieuxz]

1 hour ago, thrasher_565 said:

i dont get it you use cd but i bet you never use that 5b a sec or even 10 gba second transfer speeds anyway. do you own a cd scratch remover too? its hard for any one to take you seriously.

 

long time i used a dvd to install my os and it took for ever to install had to dust out the usb dvd drive plug it in and all that so one day i said fuck it ill try and usb stick instead well i can install and os under 10 mints now. some times you just got to let go.

 

dont get me wrong i do like collecting fiscal media too. for my game consoles i have to buy cd still. but i will amit the digital is more convent.

I don't use discs for their transfer speed. I explained in my above comments that the relevance of discs is due to the media that is available on them. It has nothing to do with transfer speeds. I thought that was made pretty clear in my comments.

 

USB sticks being faster at transferring data doesn't make your CD music collection and DVD and Blu-ray movie collections magically transform into USB sticks. Nor does it make any disc-based archives you have becomes USB sticks. And USB being faster to transfer data than discs also doesn't make disc-based media that's available for purchasing become USB-based media.

[thrasher_565]

5 minutes ago, Delicieuxz said:

I don't use discs for their transfer speed. I explained in my above comments that the relevance of discs is due to the media that is available on them. It has nothing to do with transfer speeds. I thought that was made pretty clear in my comments.

 

USB sticks being faster at transferring data doesn't make your CD music collection and DVD and Blu-ray movie collections magically transform into USB sticks. Nor does it make any disc-based archives you have becomes USB sticks.

you rip form the dvd/cd to your hhd...

if i was to play music cds i would use a music player

if i want to watch dvd i use my ps3 (side note i got one of the starwares dvd from walmart and i dint want to spend $30 for the blueray and i didnt want the cheapes so i got the midel one and well you cant even go full screen.. i was mad never buy a dvd again. it did come with a downlaod code and now its on my youtube account and guess what FULL SCREEN!

Edited November 28, 2020 by thrasher_565

[Delicieuxz]

6 minutes ago, thrasher_565 said:

you rip form the dvd/cd to your hhd...

if i was to play music cds i would use a music player

if i want to watch dvd i use my ps3

To rip to HDD, you need an optical drive. To play music CDs, you need an optical drive. If you want to watch DVDs, you need an optical drive. The common theme in all of those activities is that an optical drive is needed to do any of them.

 

You might exclusively play music on a dedicated CD player and watch DVDs on a PS3, but that's just you, not everyone. I don't even own a console to watch movies with or a CD player to play music in.

 

And it isn't practical to rip all of one's disc media to a storage drive - unless someone has a small media collection. I already have 4 TB of data. To back-up my disc media, I'd have to buy some more storage drives. And that's just not convenient or practical, in all of cost, time, and methodology, when the discs exist ready to be played as they are.

[thrasher_565]

16 minutes ago, Delicieuxz said:

To rip to HDD, you need an optical drive. To play music CDs, you need an optical drive. If you want to watch DVDs, you need an optical drive. The common theme in all of those activities is that an optical drive is needed to do any of them.

 

You might exclusively play music on a dedicated CD player and watch DVDs on a PS3, but that's just you, not everyone.

 

And it isn't practical to rip all of one's disc media to a storage drive - unless someone has a small media collection. I already have 4 TB of data. To back-up my disc media, I'd have to buy some more storage drives. And that's just not convenient or practical, in all of cost, time, and methodology, when the discs exist ready to be played as they are.

sounds like your an audio file there no resigning with them. my friend had like 300 cds but he also likes listing to the full cd i dont(his dad fixes amps) i only like serten songs so for me my pc is way more convenet.

 

the point is most people dont use the dvd drive any more thayts why most case dont have em. if you look hard you can find some thow. finding a case that ticks all your boxes could be hard.

Edited November 28, 2020 by thrasher_565