Looking for todays standard on cases (please comment)

BADxCARMA · July 2, 2013

Looking to discuss cases and what the new "standard" is today when it comes to what people look for in a computer case.

1.) aesthetics: do you think a cleaner design compliments a build more with a window or do you think a windowless case with huge designs is what people are after

2.) Front IO: what is expected nowadays on the front of your case and what is people are looking for. Is it USB 3.0? Fan controller, etc.

3.) Airflow: all cases today have "great airflow" tacked onto the packaging and descriptions. But what cases truly stand out from one another when it comes to airflow?

4.) PSU mounting position: What should it be? Top or bottom and why.

5.) and finally CABLE MANAGEMENT: one of the most important things I hear when looking for a case is cable management. What cases provide excellent cable management and why?

6.) what is your favorite case and why? you do not have to have any experience with this case, just explain why you think it is the best.

P.S.: i'm not looking to start a war between opinions, just looking for what the general taste is. I am aware that everybody has their preferences but there must be a balance between looks and performance. And THAT'S what i'm asking you guys to help me find. Thankyou

nightlitezzz · July 2, 2013

1. Clean

2. 2 or more USB 3.0, Power, Reset, Fan Controller

3. Rosewill Thor V2 or Antec 1100

4. Doesn't really matter IMHO, I prefer bottom since gravity won't pull it down and plus heat rises and the bottom mounted fan will push the air in and exhaust out the back

5. Define R4, Arc Midi R2, Antec 1100, they just have massive amounts of space behind the motherboard tray which.... is good. And I like it.

6. Fractal Design Define R4 because of the clean looks, silence, ease of use, and the cooling is still good considering ti's a silent case.

This is what I personally think.

joelthezombie15 · July 2, 2013

Looking to discuss cases and what the new "standard" is today when it comes to what people look for in a computer case.

1.) aesthetics: Your choice

2.) Front IO: Audio,USB 3, esata is nice.

3.) Airflow: Lots of fans. in the , front and top are the most important.

4.) PSU mounting position: Bottom, top is hard to manage

5.) and finally CABLE MANAGEMENT: Anything with a lot of bromets and make sure they are in good places, like where the cables are going.

6.) what is your favorite case and why? white 600t is sexy but to small. caselabs M8 is amazing but expensive, tj07 is nice but expensive

Hope that helped

felixbearpig · July 2, 2013

windowed, brushed alu, black inside and out

usb3, nice color power button and hd audio

i dont care to much for airflow as much as rad clerance

bottom mounted becuase i perfer lower center of gravity

decent amount of room, not to much because i dont want the case to be superwide

and 650D and because it hase most of the things i want in a case and i love the look

MdX MaxX · July 2, 2013

1) Window. I think everyone wants to see their PC's guts these days. :P And for good reason; so much good work is put into component design these days. Motherboards and video cards and fans and coolers didn't look nearly this good five years ago.

2) 2 USB 3.0, 2 USB 2.0, headphone, and microphone. It's the standard, it's what people expect. Fan controllers are meh; I personally don't want to flip a switch every time I fire up a game or something.

3) Basically any modern case is set up for good airflow, even the $40 cheapos. I mean, with the ATX standard there aren't many different ways to do airflow. Things get a bit freaky with Mini-ITX, but that's a much less common formfactor anyway (though small formfactor builds are becoming very popular very quickly). Ironically, though, really really high-end cases aren't necessarily the best for airflow as they're designed exclusively for water cooling. But those really high-end cases are so big anyway that airflow doesn't even matter at that point. :lol:

4) Bottom. Top mounted PSUs are UGLY. :lol: And bottom-mounted allows the coolest air to be drawn into the PSU, since heat rises (though it probably doesn't make all that much of a difference).

5) Cable management is all about having enough room behind the motherboard tray. Older cases have either very little room behind the mobo tray to fit cables (gotta have room for that fat 24-pin), or, in really old cheapo/ancient cases (and pre-builts, ugh), have literally zero space behind the motherboard tray, so your cables just end up everywhere and blocking everything. Pretty much any case you'd buy today though has great cable management.

6) Design-wise, my favorite is probably my own case, the CM Storm Enforcer. :P I also like the NZXT Phantom 630 and the Corsair 600T. I like a design that's somewhat aggressive, but still smooth and elegant. In terms of functionality, my favorite is the Corsair 350D, a MicroATX case that holds more hardware than a lot of ATX mid-towers. Beastly little case.

IdeaStormer · July 2, 2013

Here's my $200 worth :P

Looking to discuss cases and what the new "standard" is today when it comes to what people look for in a computer case.

1.) aesthetics:Depends on the buyer for this one. But for the record I hate front doors!

2.) Front IO: USB 3, Power, Reset, Audio, on the top or front top definitely not the bottom or below mid level! I would love an optional section to add other buttons/controls, and I don't call a 5 1/4" slot part of the option.

3.) Airflow: Having the option of adding additional fans to increase the air flow, any pre-drilled fan spot should be an appropriate spot not a just add it for the heck of it and should allow for it to be covered if not used.

4.) PSU mounting position: Depends on the case type, mobo's at 90 degree's allow for different locations, in the end it doesn't really matter as long at it moves hot air out.

5.) CABLE MANAGEMENT: Needs to have plenty of clips for attaching wires, and holes to guide cables through to keep things clean, I could care less for those rubber grommets but some do so add those and I will remove mine.

6.) what is your favorite case and why? SilverStone FT02 or the TJ11, 90 degree mobo and all my wires come out the top so I can back my case up against a wall with no problem, I can also access all my ports by reaching to the top of the case, I don't have to move the case to add a video cable or audio cable on the mobo, allows for shorter cables to your devices or does for me. Also, all hot air goes out the top and all cool air come from the bottom, just like in nature.

P.S.: i'm not looking to start a war between opinions, just looking for what the general taste is. I am aware that everybody has their preferences but there must be a balance between looks and performance. And THAT'S what i'm asking you guys to help me find. Thankyou

Vitalius · July 2, 2013

Looking to discuss cases and what the new "standard" is today when it comes to what people look for in a computer case.

1.) aesthetics: do you think a cleaner design compliments a build more with a window or do you think a windowless case with huge designs is what people are after

2.) Front IO: what is expected nowadays on the front of your case and what is people are looking for. Is it USB 3.0? Fan controller, etc.

3.) Airflow: all cases today have "great airflow" tacked onto the packaging and descriptions. But what cases truly stand out from one another when it comes to airflow?

4.) PSU mounting position: What should it be? Top or bottom and why.

5.) and finally CABLE MANAGEMENT: one of the most important things I hear when looking for a case is cable management. What cases provide excellent cable management and why?

6.) what is your favorite case and why? you do not have to have any experience with this case, just explain why you think it is the best.

P.S.: i'm not looking to start a war between opinions, just looking for what the general taste is. I am aware that everybody has their preferences but there must be a balance between looks and performance. And THAT'S what i'm asking you guys to help me find. Thankyou

1. I prefer things that look slick and clean, but at the same time are curvy rather than in the shape of a box. NZXT Phantom (the original) is a good example. It's the case I own now.

2. 2 USB 3.0 2 USB 2.0 Fan Controller is nice and a bonus but not necessary.

3. The NZXT Phantom is not a good example of this. It has crossflow (where air goes through one side panel out the other) and that's horrible for the design. Any case with a fan mount in the center that's adjustable is good for this.

4. Always bottom. Top makes the case top heavy, and is ugly. The only good thing about it is that the 4-pin and 24-pin reach easily.

5. Any case with plenty of grommeted holes and zip tie points. Having a special section in between the HDD cage and the motherboard for routing is a bonus.

6. NZXT Original Phantom. It's the aesthetics that won me over. Anything on the inside can be modded to be functional, but imo it's much harder to make something aesthetically pleasing than it is to simply make it "functional". Both is easier though.