Your recommendations for best overall, cheapest case(s)?

[bmichaels556]

In another thread, I was discussing some headache with my Dell 8930 w/ i7 8700 and a 2070 Super (Zotac Mini with lackluster cooling). A combo of heat, but more than anything NOISE with Dell's terrible CPU cooler and top case fan, along with both being obstructed by the swing-out PSU etc.

 

Thankfully, it looks like these models use standard ATX power supplies. Shocking, I know! That means if a couple little fixes I'm going to try for the current case don't work, transplanting should be fairly easy and I do have a better PSU I'll stick in the new case as well. My question to you guys us, what would be your picks for the best all-around case - I'm talking price, looks and function (cooling/temps)?

 

In a roundup about a month ago from Gamer's Nexus, they did a really great chart with temps from like a TON of different cases.

 

I was immediately looking at the cheap NZXT's price-wise. They look clean and functional and I dig them, but I noticed they were toward the bottom of the performance charts at GN. I mean, I'm probably gonna' have to replace this CPU cooler anyway unless all the extra airflow manages to slow down the jet engine fan they have on these, so maybe it won't matter. On the other hand, there were other cheap options higher in the stack. 

 

Some other options I'm looking at...

 

#1 Choice: MUSETEX mATX (Model "Y3-N2"?) - This thing is GORGEOUS and exactly my style. Also comes with two RGB front fans, which is plenty for me. I have the fans for an extra on the back and top etc. It does look like the Dell motherboard will fix, but not 100%. THE BIG CON!? - It's tiny, and has limited length for a big boi GPU. On one hand, the shite Dell case seems to have more clearance. On the other hand, if I'm going to get something high-end and expensive, a better case could easily go along with it. I doubt I'll upgrade to anything higher than a "4060 Ti", which I suspect will fit just fine.

 

Other Considerations...

 

Bgears "b-Voguish" - It's a nice-looking case and seems to have tempered glass side panel, BUT... Comes with NO fans. I have some Arctic P12's coming in and the case looks good enough, but with no potential for RGB out of the box, I like the looks of the two-tone NZXT H500/510(?) if I'm "forced" to go with a cleaner-looking case as opposed to something like the Musetex above. Coming with fans is MUCH more expensive and doesn't pay for me. 

 

Rosewill PRISM S500 - It's cool, sort of. But maybe a bit too excessive. I suspect it will be more breezy than the NZXT's though, so there's that. I'm just not the BIGGEST fan of the way the RGB fans look. They have their charm, but I'm also not super excited about a case being totally lined with RGB, which is why I like the Musetex more. Of course, I have the Arctic fans coming, so I could always replace a couple to my liking. The RGB strip on the front is kind of cool I suppose.

 

Zalman I3, Zalman S7 - Both are lookin' HOT and still come in at nice pricepoint, but looks-wise, that Musetex still REALLY does it for me, especially coming from the Dell 8930 silver case, which I actually kind of like. For no flashy nonsense, the Zalman S2 seems fine too.

 

ASUS TUF GT310 - Looks great and has a lot more GPU clearance, but as I said with the Musetex, I'm not sure that TOTALLY matters, and $15 more for a "useless feature" is still useless. 

 

IN CLOSING...

 

I think that Musetex is my favorite so far, but I want to hear if you guys have any other unknown recommendations. For context, my old rig quite a number of years ago was an FX-8350 in a Thermaltake Chaser MK-1, which was WAY excessive for what I had in the case lmao. Didn't take even CLOSE to advantage of the drive bays etc. Shoulda' went with that Corsair 

 

 

 

 

[Radium_Angel]

17 minutes ago, bmichaels556 said:

transplanting should be fairly

Assuming the Dell mobo follows a standard size and mounting holes...

[bmichaels556]

10 minutes ago, Radium_Angel said:

Assuming the Dell mobo follows a standard size and mounting holes...

Shockingly, it appears to. Maybe one of the few good things they've done in a long time, at least on this line of PC's.

[Radium_Angel]

Well, your Number 1 choice looks to have good airflow front to back and has the standard PSU tucked away, so assuming the cables all fit, it looks fine to me

[fonzz1e]

before u go ahead with case swap, u need to make sure the card reader is connected to mobo or it'll have a boot error (see below)

https://www.dell.com/community/XPS-Desktops/XPS-8930-GPU-and-CPU-Liquid-Cooler-PSU-Case-Swap-Upgrade/m-p/7189904/highlight/true#M21680

 

also u can do gpu deshroud & ziptie on some 92mm fans, you'll need an adapter for gpu to fan pwm

https://www.reddit.com/r/sffpc/comments/kx6c9k/deshroud_help_noctuas_permanently_running_at_100/

 

i done that deshroud for my older zotac mini 1070

EDIT: u can also control deshrouded fan rpm via mobo if the gpu fan connects to mobo

 

[bmichaels556]

6 hours ago, fonzz1e said:

before u go ahead with case swap, u need to make sure the card reader is connected to mobo or it'll have a boot error (see below)

https://www.dell.com/community/XPS-Desktops/XPS-8930-GPU-and-CPU-Liquid-Cooler-PSU-Case-Swap-Upgrade/m-p/7189904/highlight/true#M21680

 

also u can do gpu deshroud & ziptie on some 92mm fans, you'll need an adapter for gpu to fan pwm

https://www.reddit.com/r/sffpc/comments/kx6c9k/deshroud_help_noctuas_permanently_running_at_100/

 

i done that deshroud for my older zotac mini 1070

EDIT: u can also control deshrouded fan rpm via mobo if the gpu fan connects to mobo

 

TRUE, good catch. Maybe I can do some kind of jumper or whatever..? I remember hearing this somewhere, so thanks for giving me the heads up on the card reader. Actually, I've heard the front panel in general might be a bit of a monkey wrench in the whole thing. Gonna' have to check more into it before I 100% go for case swap.

 

Also, thanks for letting me know about deshroud. My main hope is that it'll just run much cooler in the new case, I think it'll definitely help. But if not, that might be the best option, I'll see how it goes. Although I think just controlling fans that way in general seems like a pain.