Good full airflow case recommendations

[Razorcat]

I currently have a Corsair 110Q ATX mid tower case and am experiencing issues with airflow and temperatures. Especially with the front intakes, in which I get pretty noticeable (-5C when idling) drop when just removing the front panel.
I also have a 3070 which just barely fits in the case and is dividing the entire case into two almost completely isolated zones.

 

Pics Below

 

I'm looking to the replace the case with something that will have much better front intake airflow, allow for an additional exhausts, allow for more length for the GPU, and more width to replace the small NH-U12S with a bigger CPU cooler. This is a TV PC that runs mainly VR at my parent's house so doesn't need flashy RGB or windows, just needs to perform really well and remove the limitations I'm experiencing currently. My budget is <$200.

Any recommendations would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[Somerandomtechyboi]

Any cheap airflow case like zalman s2 will work fine, just make sure to check gpu (length) + cooler (height) compatibility

[OfficialTechSpace]

Fractal Torrent is currently king in most regards, although there are other popular offerings. I don't much care for the Corsair oferrings, but they exist too. There's also the Phanteks P360A/P400A/P500A lineup, which I can recommend. I use the P400A personally on my stream encoding rig, and it does the job fine. I wish there was a bit more mounting space at the top of of the chassis though, I couldn't seem to reasonably fit my AIO up there without it interfering with my VRM heatsink. Had to mount the cooler at the front of the case, which now exhausts hot air into the chassis as it doubles as an intake. Not ideal with a 220W TDP FX-9590.

 

The Noctua U12S is a perfectly sufficient air cooler for most CPUs, I'd stick with that unless you'd like to try an AIO. Try just the new case at first though, then decide if you need more. The Scythe Fuma 2 is another good air cooler, but I'd still consider the Noctua NH-D15 king. At that point though, you're entering the AIO price bracket. Plus, all of those top air coolers are still within ~5°C above-ambient variance of your U12S.

[-rascal-]

That case has a very restricted front intake.

 

My sub $100 recommendations, but with good airflow (open mesh front) and easy to work / build with.

 

Phanteks P400A Digital $99 @ NewEgg -- included 3x 120mm at the front

(Phanteks P400A non-Digital is $89.99 with 2x front fans included)

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/FP3mP6/phanteks-eclipse-p400a-digital-atx-mid-tower-case-ph-ec400atg_dwt

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/3RJmP6/phanteks-eclipse-p400a-atx-mid-tower-case-ph-ec400atg_bk

 

Corsair 4000D Airflow $94.99 @ NewEgg / Amazon -- 1x front 120mm fan, 1x rear 120mm fan included; you may want to transfer your old fans over.

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/bCYQzy/corsair-4000d-airflow-atx-mid-tower-case-cc-9011200-ww

 

Lian-Li Lancooler 215 $89.99 @ B&H -- 2x 200mm front intake fans, 1x 120mm rear fan. One of the better out-of-the-box cases because of the included 200mm honkers.

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/YCH8TW/lian-li-lancool-215-atx-mid-tower-case-lancool-215-black

 

[Razorcat]

21 hours ago, -rascal- said:

That case has a very restricted front intake.

Yeah... I should've noticed when I bought it...

21 hours ago, -rascal- said:

Lian-Li Lancooler 215 $89.99 @ B&H -- 2x 200mm front intake fans, 1x 120mm rear fan. One of the better out-of-the-box cases because of the included 200mm honkers.

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/YCH8TW/lian-li-lancool-215-atx-mid-tower-case-lancool-215-black

 

This seems great because the 2 200mm included intakes mean I can just use the front intakes I'm using currently as top exhausts, without having to buy additional fans. However, I was planning on upgrading to the Noctua NH-D15. This case states it has a CPU clearance of 166mm, and the NH-D15 has a height of 165mm. Do you think it will be ok? 1mm clearance seems risky...

[Razorcat]

On 6/25/2022 at 9:10 PM, OfficialTechSpace said:

The Noctua U12S is a perfectly sufficient air cooler for most CPUs, I'd stick with that unless you'd like to try an AIO. Try just the new case at first though, then decide if you need more. The Scythe Fuma 2 is another good air cooler, but I'd still consider the Noctua NH-D15 king. At that point though, you're entering the AIO price bracket. Plus, all of those top air coolers are still within ~5°C above-ambient variance of your U12S.

Agreed on just starting with the case for now, but I was planning on upgrading to the 3800X3D eventually and wouldn't mind the extra thermal protection as temps get very high playing msfs2020 in VR. So definitely want to at least consider potential CPU cooler clearance in the recommendations.

[Razorcat]

I think I'm going to go with the Corsair 4000D mesh airflow because I'm familiar with using Corsair cases, has the airflow I want, has good GPU/CPU cooler clearance, and has the fan support that I need.

Thanks for your help everyone!

[Ralfi]

9 hours ago, Razorcat said:

Do you think it will be ok? 1mm clearance seems risky...

Was just going to say that this is risky because if you need to raise the front fan of the cooler to accommodate tall RAM sticks, you’ll have 1mm of space to shift the fan, which may not be enough.

 

Great choice on the case