first time switching pc cases need help

[DeadlyDivs_]

im planning to switch pc cases since my current one looks bad, its a thermaltake versa h23 and in my eyes it looks ugly, reason why i have it because its an old family pc and i now own it, my preference would be a small case for a microATX mobo, i like the cooler master q300L a lot but its too pricy for me, i'd like a good brand with a similar size to the q300L and hopefully cheaper, i dont really have experience in building pcs as well but i have watch quite a lot of pc building videos and i should know mostly everything on what to do, the only experience i have is switching out the cpu, gpu and adding ram and an ssd and thats it any help would be appreciated! 

[Middcore]

I don't know how to put this gently but... the Q300L is a fairly trash case, and if the $50 it goes for is too expensive for you, then nothing you buy for less is going to be any better. 

 

 

[DeadlyDivs_]

10 minutes ago, Middcore said:

I don't know how to put this gently but... the Q300L is a fairly trash case, and if the $50 it goes for is too expensive for you, then nothing you buy for less is going to be any better. 

 

 

oh i didnt know that, thats unfortunate, i really liked the small size of the case for it too, out of cuiriousity what makes it trash?

[Middcore]

6 minutes ago, DeadlyDivs_ said:

oh i didnt know that, thats unfortunate, i really liked the small size of the case for it too, out of cuiriousity what makes it trash?

Bad airflow - unless you remove the external magnetic dust filters, which you may as well do anyway because they're flimsy as shit, but even then it's not great and now you have no dust filtering for your system at all.

 

The re-positionable front/side I/O panel is super flexy when you plug stuff into it, I would be concerned about the ports failing.

 

The modular feet/handles have to be bought separately and are kind of overpriced for what they are (five bucks for one). 

 

Space behind the mobo for cable management is adequate but there's nowhere to hide cables in the part of the case you can actually see when even many cheap cases now have a PSU shroud.

 

The acrylic side window, like all of its kind, is super susceptible to to scratches and scuffs and will quickly look awful. Cooler Master announced an "improved" version of this case with tempered glass and then never actually made it. 

 

The stock feet of the case are very short so the amount of clearance under the case for the PSU to breathe is borderline inadequate, so you need to either mount the PSU fan-up (which is not ideal), mod the feet, or buy the overpriced handle-feet. 

 

 

Basically Cooler Master's tried to make a big splash with the Q500L, which has the exact same dimensions but the gimmick was you could fit a full size ATX board and PSU in a very small Micro-ATX chassis, and the Q500L is a disaster. The Q300L version which is actually designed somewhat sensibly to hold a Micro-ATX system was sort of an afterthought, and it isn't outright "unusable" like the Q500L is but it really has nothing to recommend it besides the fact it is quite compact. 

 

[DeadlyDivs_]

46 minutes ago, Middcore said:

Bad airflow - unless you remove the external magnetic dust filters, which you may as well do anyway because they're flimsy as shit, but even then it's not great and now you have no dust filtering for your system at all.

 

The re-positionable front/side I/O panel is super flexy when you plug stuff into it, I would be concerned about the ports failing.

 

The modular feet/handles have to be bought separately and are kind of overpriced for what they are (five bucks for one). 

 

Space behind the mobo for cable management is adequate but there's nowhere to hide cables in the part of the case you can actually see when even many cheap cases now have a PSU shroud.

 

The acrylic side window, like all of its kind, is super susceptible to to scratches and scuffs and will quickly look awful. Cooler Master announced an "improved" version of this case with tempered glass and then never actually made it. 

 

The stock feet of the case are very short so the amount of clearance under the case for the PSU to breathe is borderline inadequate, so you need to either mount the PSU fan-up (which is not ideal), mod the feet, or buy the overpriced handle-feet. 

 

 

Basically Cooler Master's tried to make a big splash with the Q500L, which has the exact same dimensions but the gimmick was you could fit a full size ATX board and PSU in a very small Micro-ATX chassis, and the Q500L is a disaster. The Q300L version which is actually designed somewhat sensibly to hold a Micro-ATX system was sort of an afterthought, and it isn't outright "unusable" like the Q500L is but it really has nothing to recommend it besides the fact it is quite compact. 

 

well i decided to go for the Lian Li Lancool 205M since due to the fact that it has a PSU shroud and better airflow and more hard drive space. thanks for the advice and opinions very much appreciated!

[Middcore]

The 205M is a very nice micro ATX case for what you pay.