Posted September 16, 2014 Hi guys, I'm planning to buy a new case for my pc and was pretty much set to buy this case: http://www.zalman.com/global/product/Product_Read.php?Idx=822 Until I came across this bad boy: http://www.corsair.com/en-us/carbide-series-spec-02-red-led-mid-tower-gaming-case I'll be buying from Europe, that's why I put links to manufacturers' websites rather than shops. Also the corsair page points to a red LED one but I'd be getting a blue LED one, which is available in my country already. Now I have no idea which one to choose. The 50€ is pretty much the top of my budget. I guess most of you will go for the Corsair option, but I would appretiate some more specific explanations such as the quality of material, expansion possibilities, air flow, practicallity, etc. One big drawback for the corsair is that it doesn't have an external 3.5'' slot, I don't know if it has a 5.25'' reduction in the box. I have a memory card reader which I use frequently. If I'd have to buy a reduction wouldn't it be more practical and safe to buy the Zalman instead? Or is the Spec 02 a better choice regardless of that? Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 16, 2014 What is your BUILD? Because he had a hard drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 16, 2014 Author motherboard Gigabyte 990XA-UD3 cpu: AMD FX-8320 cpu cooler: Arctic Freezer 13 ram: 8GB Corsair Vengeance ddr3 1600MHz CL8 gpu: Gigabyte GTX 660 psu: FSP Saga II 500 my current case doesn't have any brand so it's kind of difficult to write that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 18, 2014 Author Am I doing something wrong? Why is nobody responding to my posts here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 18, 2014 @lmaniac Hmm... Fractal Design Core 3500? It's a really nice case for the money.. Desktop: Intel Core i9-9900K | ASUS Strix Z390-F | G.Skill Trident Z Neo 2x16GB @ 3200MHz CL14 | EVGA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER XC Ultra | Corsair RM650x | Fractal Design Define R6 Laptop: 2018 Apple MacBook Pro 13" -- i5-8259U | 8GB LPDDR3 | 512GB NVMe Peripherals: Leopold FC660C w/ Topre Silent 45g | Logitech MX Master 3 & Razer Basilisk X HyperSpeed | HIFIMAN HE400se & iFi ZEN DAC | Audio-Technica AT2020USB+ Display: Gigabyte G34WQC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 18, 2014 whicheverone looks better but the nzxt s340 http://www.nzxt.com/product/detail/151-s340-mid-tower-atx-case.html Please follow your topics guys, it's very important! CoC F.A.Q Please use the corresponding PC part picker link for your country USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Spain, Italy, New Zealand and Germany also if you find anyone with this handle in games its most likely me so say hi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 18, 2014 Author Well thank you both ...the nzxt s340 unfortunately doesn't seem to be available in my country. I like the fractal core 3500. And what about the two I mentioned? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 18, 2014 Well thank you both ...the nzxt s340 unfortunately doesn't seem to be available in my country. I like the fractal core 3500. And what about the two I mentioned?Neither.The s340 isn't out yet, so that's why you can't get out yet n0ah1897, on 05 Mar 2014 - 2:08 PM, said: "Computers are like girls. It's whats in the inside that matters. I don't know about you, but I like my girls like I like my cases. Just as beautiful on the inside as the outside." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 18, 2014 whicheverone looks better but the nzxt s340 http://www.nzxt.com/product/detail/151-s340-mid-tower-atx-case.html +1 To s340 because of the simplicity But if you want something flashy like you seem to I'd go for the spec over the overused z3. My Rig : Zotac 780 3GB, i5 4670k, H105, M1211 650W, 8GB 2133mhz vengence pro, Mini R2, 144Hz AOC Gsync Monitor Accessories : K65, Naos 3200, Superlux 681, Chord CCU1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 19, 2014 Author Both the s340 and fractal core 3500 look good to me. But the s340 has no external slots, I'd like to have at least the two of them. And the fractal is another +20€, plus I'd still need to buy that reduction for my card reader into 5.25'' which is another 20€ for me. Now I don't know what the best option is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 20, 2014 Well thank you both ...the nzxt s340 unfortunately doesn't seem to be available in my country. I like the fractal core 3500. And what about the two I mentioned? Fractal Core 3xxx is... eeh. There's much better cases for the price, without the foam filters, tiny cable management room, and stupid thin sheet metal. Desktop: Intel Core i5 2380P (2400 w/o iGPU), MSI H61, 8GB RAM, 256GB SP610, 500GB WD Blue, HIS R9 280, Antec TruePower Classic 550W, Inwin MANA 134, QNIX QX2710, CM QuickFire Rapid, Logitech G402 Laptop: Toshiba Satellite L40D, AMD A6-6310, 6GB RAM, 500GB HDD, Radeon R4 Graphics, 14" 1366x768 Phone: iPhone 6 Space Gray 64GB, T-Mobile $60/mo 3GB plan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 20, 2014 Author Fractal Core 3xxx is... eeh. There's much better cases for the price, without the foam filters, tiny cable management room, and stupid thin sheet metal. In that case the best option left is the spec 02 I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 20, 2014 In that case the best option left is the spec 02 I guess.Core 3500 better than that n0ah1897, on 05 Mar 2014 - 2:08 PM, said: "Computers are like girls. It's whats in the inside that matters. I don't know about you, but I like my girls like I like my cases. Just as beautiful on the inside as the outside." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 21, 2014 Author Well ...if there are much better cases than core 3500 for the price, which are some examples? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 21, 2014 Can I just ask if you've bought any of the parts yet? I can put together a pcpartpicker list if you want me to, to give an alternative build, but I would need a budget for it. Out of those cases though, I would pick the zalman as it fits your needs and requirements better and is a decent case at that price. As much as I personally prefer the fractal case, the zalman is a better option for you ahead of everything else. PCs Spoiler Spoiler Branwen (2015 build) - CPU: i7 4790K GPU:EVGA GTX 1070 SC PSU: XFX XTR 650W RAM: 16GB Kingston HyperX fury Motherboard: MSI Z87 MPower MAX AC SSD: Crucial MX100 256GB + Crucial MX300 1TB Case: Silverstone RV05 Cooler: Corsair H80i V2 Displays: AOC AGON AG241QG & BenQ BL2420PT Build log: link Spoiler Netrunner (2020 build) - CPU: AMD R7 3700X GPU: EVGA GTX 1070 (from 2015 build) PSU: Corsair SF600 platinum RAM: 32GB Crucial Ballistix RGB 3600Mhz cl16 Motherboard: Gigabyte Aorus X570i pro wifi SSD: Sabrent Rocket 4.0 1TB Case: Lian Li TU150W black Cooler: Be Quiet! Dark Rock Slim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 21, 2014 Author Can I just ask if you've bought any of the parts yet? I can put together a pcpartpicker list if you want me to, to give an alternative build, but I would need a budget for it. Out of those cases though, I would pick the zalman as it fits your needs and requirements better and is a decent case at that price. As much as I personally prefer the fractal case, the zalman is a better option for you ahead of everything else. I already have all those parts. I am just looking for a new possible case. My first choice was the Zalman then I found the Corsair. I honestly like the looks of the spec 02 better but I don't know much about the quality differences between them. As for the Corsair or the Fractal the only problem is that I would have to buy a reduction for my card reader which would cost me about 10-20€ more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 21, 2014 I'd pick the Corsair case solely on brand rep. The Zalman Z3 reviews are fairly scarce online but it does seem to be a fairly good budget case. Both have strong features for budget cases so it really comes down to appearance. "Pass the Potatoes." - Richard Dawkins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 23, 2014 Author Thank you all. I think I'l go for the Corsair after all, or possibly take the Fractal if my budget allows after time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 26, 2014 Author What do you guys think about the Corsair Carbide 300R? It's a little over the budget but is it worth it compared to the ones already mentioned? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 26, 2014 What do you guys think about the Corsair Carbide 300R? It's a little over the budget but is it worth it compared to the ones already mentioned? Yes. It's worth it. It's worth it to not do like every other build and use a fractal case Ketchup is better than mustard. GUI is better than Command Line Interface. Dubs are better than subs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted October 11, 2014 Author I decided to push my budget a little bit higher and choose the Phanteks Enthoo Pro. Does anybody have some personal experience with this case? So far I've seen lots of very good reviews but nothing concerning personal experience from usage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted October 11, 2014 http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/227944-case-recommendations/?p=3129895. Very happy with it, never had a case with fan filters before and I have to admit that they do a great job here and I wouldn't buy a case without them ever again, although you do have to clean them quite often. Tbh I'd have preferred magnetic fan filters and a removable top cover/fan filter like there is on the Enthoo Luxe but you can't always get what you want. Also, there's going to be some dust getting into it. check out the video right under @1.50min, I didn't think that would be a problem (well, not that big of a deal, just some dust getting inside) before I actually bought the case, but I thought that's something you'd have to consider. Just something I forgot to mention in that post I linked, not a deal breaker in any way as there's plenty of ways to add aftermarket fan filters to a case, but still It's nice to have them out of the box. CPU: INTEL i7-4770K | CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-C12P w/ NF-A15 | MoBo: Asus Z87-Deluxe | RAM: Corsair Vengeance Pro 8GB (2x4GB) @2400MHz | GPU: Asus GTX 760 DirectCU II | PSU: Seasonic X-850 (KM3) CASE: Phanteks Enthoo Pro w/ white LEDs | SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB (Boot Drive) | HDD: Seagate Barracuda 2TB (Storage) | ODD(s): LG BH10 BD Rewriter + LG DVD Rewriter | 5.25": Scythe Kama Panel 3.1 | GAMEPAD: XBOX 360 | KEYBOARD: CM Storm Quick Fire Rapid-i | OS: Windows 8.1 64 bit | MONITOR: Samsung SyncMaster T220HD | SPEAKERS: Logitech LS21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted October 12, 2014 Author Thanks a lot. I'm quite excited for that case, I've already seen that Linus' review al least 50 times, just to be sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted October 13, 2014 What do u guys Think of the nzxt s340?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted October 13, 2014 You could ship in S340 from Australia or something.... Main PC: Core i5 4670 | MSI Mpower Max z87 | G.Skill Ripjaws 2x4gb | Stock intel cooler | PNY GTX 770 2gb (hoping to upgrade) | Seagate 1tb 7200rpm | Corsair RM850 | Corsair Carbide Air 540 | PCCG custom sleeved black/yellow extensions | Corsair K70 Cherry MX Blue | Corsair M45 | Phone: LG Nexus 5 | Headphones: Audio Technica ATH-PDG1, Shure SRH440 | Laptop: Asus 303la (i5 model, 1600x900 res) | Motorbikes: 2004 Sherco 290i, 2013 Husqvarna CR125 | Xbox one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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