Looking for new case... HELP!

[zim2323]

I've been using a Lian-Li PC-D600 for a while now.  I originally got it because I was running a lot of HDD and I was tired of the drive cage interfering with GPU or just making a mess of the cabling.  Fast forward to today and I've replaced the 8 HDD with 15 SSD inside of 2 IcyDock 8bay ToughPower 5 1/4" enclosures.  I no longer have a requirement for a "drive side", but really like all the room that it affords for cable management by running cables into that side.

 

I'm having trouble finding a case that fits all my criteria.  I'm running an ASUS WS X299 SAGE CEB-size motherboard and a Corsair H170i Elite Capellix 420mm(3 x 140mm) AIO cooler.  Basically I need a case that has room for the 420mm cooler (front, top, or side), is sized for a CEB-sized motherboard, and has enough width that the backside of the case has enough room for cable management.

 

In my current Lian-Li case I have the following fan layout:

Motherboard side (left), windowed RGB 4-pin Corsair maglev fans, H170i Capellix controller:

front:  pull in config, 420mm radiator (extra 1" top and bottom for radiator beyond the 3 140mm fans.

top:  2 120mm exhaust

rear:  1 120mm exhaust

 

Drive side (right), no window non-RGB 4-pin Noctua redux-gray fans, Corsair Commander Pro:

front:  2 120mm intake

rear bottom:  1 140mm intake

rear middle/top:  2 140mm exhaust

 

Custom fan control to push intakes 10-15% higher than exhaust on both sides, taking into account size and cfm.  Testing shows positive pressure on both sides.

 

New case requirements:

2 x 5 1/4" bays (internal or external), cases I've found are either intake fans or bays up front but not both, which presents problems with airflow.

420mm rad

additional 140mm intake and exhaust

sufficient cable management space (not sure why most case mfg's don't just add the additional 1-2" in width so that we can do this appropriately in the first place.

 

I like the Corsair 7000X RGB, as an example, but no 5 1/4" bays.

 

Thanks!

[RONOTHAN##]

The Phanteks Enthoo Pro 2 or Enthoo 719 (they're basically the same case with a different front panel) meet most of your needs. Can support CEB motherboards, has a ton of room for cable management, and has a ton of room for cable management. The biggest problem for you comes from its lack of 5.25" bays, though I don't necessarily see that as an issue. This case has support for dual PSUs and a decent amount of aftermarket support. 2 5.25" bays take up the same room within a couple mm as a second PSU, so what you could do is mount the 2 bays there with a 3D printed bracket. Or, alternatively, it has dedicated mounts for 15 SSDs, so you can just mount them individually throughout the case.

[zim2323]

3 hours ago, RONOTHAN## said:

The Phanteks Enthoo Pro 2 or Enthoo 719 (they're basically the same case with a different front panel) meet most of your needs. Can support CEB motherboards, has a ton of room for cable management, and has a ton of room for cable management. The biggest problem for you comes from its lack of 5.25" bays, though I don't necessarily see that as an issue. This case has support for dual PSUs and a decent amount of aftermarket support. 2 5.25" bays take up the same room within a couple mm as a second PSU, so what you could do is mount the 2 bays there with a 3D printed bracket. Or, alternatively, it has dedicated mounts for 15 SSDs, so you can just mount them individually throughout the case.

I've debated cases that will allow mounting SSD's in the required quantity, but then power and sata cabling becomes an absolute nightmare.  I currently run the 2 IcyDock's off of a SAS2 card with 4 ports (4 sata per port).  Sleeved cables are run from card to the enclosures which only require 2 sata power each.  It's a really clean setup.  The alternate is running separate sata and power cables all over the friggin place.  Just not something I want to "move backwards" on.

 

I've also looked at the Lian-Li PC-D888 case (only 1 left in Texas at $1200, no thanks!).

 

I like the Enthoo Pro 2 case you pointed out, but I don't have a 3d printer.  Where would/could I find a mount that would support the weight of 2 IcyDock's fully loaded?

 

 

Ideally, I would find a case like the Enthoo Pro 2, but about 2-3" wider with the 5 1/4" bays lined horizontally on the right side that I could feed cables to on the backside.  I guess I'm going to need to trade/sell/buy to get 4 x 4TB SSD's to replace the 13 that make up the 12TB I have now.  That would greatly simplify this issue.

[RONOTHAN##]

7 minutes ago, zim2323 said:

I like the Enthoo Pro 2 case you pointed out, but I don't have a 3d printer.  Where would/could I find a mount that would support the weight of 2 IcyDock's fully loaded?

 

You could design something and have someplace like shapeways print it. 

 

If you're cheap like I am, you can hardmount them to the bottom of the case. They're SSDs so they don't need to be mounted that stably, and just drilling two holes per IcyDock with a couple washers to get it up to the right height.

15 minutes ago, zim2323 said:

I guess I'm going to need to trade/sell/buy to get 4 x 4TB SSD's to replace the 13 that make up the 12TB I have now.  That would greatly simplify this issue.

If that's an option, I'd go with that.

[thrasher_565]

1 hour ago, zim2323 said:

I've debated cases that will allow mounting SSD's in the required quantity, but then power and sata cabling becomes an absolute nightmare.  I currently run the 2 IcyDock's off of a SAS2 card with 4 ports (4 sata per port).  Sleeved cables are run from card to the enclosures which only require 2 sata power each.  It's a really clean setup.  The alternate is running separate sata and power cables all over the friggin place.  Just not something I want to "move backwards" on.

 

I've also looked at the Lian-Li PC-D888 case (only 1 left in Texas at $1200, no thanks!).

 

I like the Enthoo Pro 2 case you pointed out, but I don't have a 3d printer.  Where would/could I find a mount that would support the weight of 2 IcyDock's fully loaded?

 

 

Ideally, I would find a case like the Enthoo Pro 2, but about 2-3" wider with the 5 1/4" bays lined horizontally on the right side that I could feed cables to on the backside.  I guess I'm going to need to trade/sell/buy to get 4 x 4TB SSD's to replace the 13 that make up the 12TB I have now.  That would greatly simplify this issue.

there not much of a market for hdd case and 5.25 bays. ya i agree you can put fans in a 5.25 bay or not like my antec 1200. when there are cases that do have hdd they cost alot. the best is diy for cheaper. will it look the best probly not but you will save a ton of money. just like water cooling its a nesh thing so it cost alot.