New case for ATX

[Zuse 3]

I am looking for a new case. Currently I am using a Zalman Z9 Plus case, which is a bit older. I bought it after I wanted to install a more powerful graphics card into my older mATX PC (which started as OEM  product), but the case was too small. Last year when upgrading my PC to Haswell (on an ATX board) I kept the case.

My decision for the Z9 Plus was mainly based on the low price and the included features (fan control, 4 x 120 mm fans with blue illumination), but I am now looking for a new case. I won't upgrade my CPU, board or GPU this year, but in 2016 I will probably do that. I want to switch from air-cooling to water cooling (although I probably go for closed loop coolers like the Corsair Hydro series, as my experience with water cooling is quite limited).

When I first received the case I was quite impressed with it, but after a few weeks/months I discovered more and more problematic aspects of the case design and construction.

A few of the aspects I dislike with my current case and where I see room for improvments are the following:

• The mesh structure at the top and the front panel seems to be specifically designed to collect dust. I don't know how and why, but the dust seems to attach to the inner side of the mesh - it looks dirty and is extremely stupid to clean (essentially I spend five minutes vacuuming the front panel...). There are no dust filters along most of the mesh structure.
• The side panel is not ideal. The large mesh structure allows mounting two 120 mm fans (with some talent at improvising you can mount three there, because the mesh is ideal for Philips screws), but there are no dust filters. I feel when cleaning my PC/case (which I do unregulary, but roughly every two weeks) that it looks like I didn't clean for six months.
• The case doesn't allow the usage of graphic cards with long coolers/PCBs. To use my current R9 with Sapphire Vapor-X cooler, I had to remove the hard drive cages (which were fixed into the case via bolts :angry: instead of screws) and put my HDDs into the 5.25 inch drive bays using adapters. The adapters however are a bit too large (or the space behind the front panel is too limited), which means that there is a small gap visible at the top of the front panel and the case.
• The build quality is not on the level I want. The rubber feet have different heights and there are a few bumps in the material. Removing the PCI express covers is stupid (as they are only stamped into the metal) and no other covers are included to close an not anymore needed PCI express case slot.
• The pre-installed fan controller can only control two fans. The case itself came with 4 fans and I installed two further (but one of the original fans died).
• One of the fans started making noises after the bearing wore out apparently.
• There is too much plastic on the main construction in my opinion. The system for installing HDDs and SSDs is outdated.
• In my current configuration, my graphics card has to be located in the bottom most PCIe slot, because the space at the upper slots is limited by the 5.25 inch bays.

 

So, what I do look for is a case that offers the following:

• Full size ATX mainboard support
• Enough space for long GPUs (e.g. long enough to take a R9 290(X) with Sapphire Vapor-X Tri-X cooler)
• Place for multiple radiators
• Side panel window
• Enough options to mount two or three 2.5 inch drives and two or three 3.5 inch drives as well as place for a optical disc reader (DVD or bluray)
• "Good looks"
• Cable management options

I don't mind a cube case (although they always seem to be limited to micro-ATX) or alternative designs. I don't have any brand preference at the moment, so you can suggest any case. If the case contains fans which are illuminated, they have to be blue or white.

 

I have made a list of 36 cases taken from the first 27 of 93 pages on my local Amazon website, which I think is more than enough proof that I have problems making a decision. Please help me

 

 

TL;DR: I am looking for a new case for less than 100€ ($111, but as always I might randomly decide to pay a few bucks more when the case does ) that looks great, offers all mounting/storage options one can possibly imagine, is magically dust proof (via force-field) and is perfect in any other sense as well. Please give me a few suggestions

[FLUFFYJELLO]

Fractal define series (R5 and S)

Phanteks Enthoo Pro

Corsair 450D

There's quite a few options in that price bracket with those features, but those are a few.

[Zuse 3]

Thanks for your recommendations.

 

Fractal define series (R5 and S)

 

I have considered the R4 and the R5 from Fractal Design (both seem to be quite popular), but I am not entirely sold on them.

 

Currently my GPU gets quite hot (also because the not very ideal location in the lowermost PCIe slot) and the thermometer of my case (which is located close to the top of the case) often shows temperatures of 5 to 7 centigrade above room temperature. I am really not sure if a noise dampened case with only limited vents (like the R5) can really handle the heat. Water cooling is my project for next year, not now. Maybe I should watch some reviews on the case  

 

The R4/R5 have been cloned quite a lot, as far as I recall. Are there no reasons to consider such clones like the Cooler Master Sliencio series or other offerings (Thermaltake F51, etc.)? 

 

Phanteks Enthoo Pro

 

I am not getting warm with the design of this case. I think that I won't buy the Enthoo Pro.

 

Corsair 450D

 

I also have considered Corsair cases. They make a lot of nice stuff, at least my experiences with their other products were all good (but well, that won't count as I haven't been able to try their customer service, as nothing broke yet ).

Is the 450D better than the Graphite 230T? I thought Graphite > Carbide, but it seems to be very cheap and looking at the video reviews it doesn't seem to better than the 450D.

[FLUFFYJELLO]

Thanks for your recommendations.

 

 

I have considered the R4 and the R5 from Fractal Design (both seem to be quite popular), but I am not entirely sold on them.

 

Currently my GPU gets quite hot (also because the not very ideal location in the lowermost PCIe slot) and the thermometer of my case (which is located close to the top of the case) often shows temperatures of 5 to 7 centigrade above room temperature. I am really not sure if a noise dampened case with only limited vents (like the R5) can really handle the heat. Water cooling is my project for next year, not now. Maybe I should watch some reviews on the case

 

The R4/R5 have been cloned quite a lot, as far as I recall. Are there no reasons to consider such clones like the Cooler Master Sliencio series or other offerings (Thermaltake F51, etc.)? 

 

 

I am not getting warm with the design of this case. I think that I won't buy the Enthoo Pro.

 

 

I also have considered Corsair cases. They make a lot of nice stuff, at least my experiences with their other products were all good (but well, that won't count as I haven't been able to try their customer service, as nothing broke yet ).

Is the 450D better than the Graphite 230T? I thought Graphite > Carbide, but it seems to be very cheap and looking at the video reviews it doesn't seem to better than the 450D.

Despite their closed off design the R4 and R5 do have quite good airflow, but I do see where you're coming from in that regard.

 

I'm not a huge fan of Phanteks case designs either to be honest, but it has amazing build quality and features so I threw it in there. To each their own when it comes to aesthetics, am I right?

 

Obsidian>Graphite>Carbide I believe. The Obsidian 450D is what I was recommending. I would love to recommend you the NZXT H440 but you require an optical drive bay so that rules it out.

[Zuse 3]

Okay, I just bump here to get a bit further input. Maybe the list included in this post helps to get a few views from random people who google one of the cases.

 

The Fractal Design S does not have an optical drive bay? So I would not consider this an option - just like the H440 from NZXT - it looks great, but lacks the features I need

 

From the optical aspects and the price range I currently have the following cases on my list of "contenders for my future case". As far as I know, all seem to support at least the basic requirements of optical drive + 2 SSDs + 2-3 HDDs and full size ATX board. I am not sure about the compability with my GPU (length) and CPU cooler (height), I will check that in the next days:

• Silverstone SST-KL04B Kublai
• Enermax Ostrog
• Aerocool Aero-1000
• Aerocool DS-200 (really good looking, but the version with window in the side panel is not available at all online shops I checked)
• NZXT Phantom 410
• NZXT Phantom 530
• Bitfenix Shinoby
• Cooler Master CM 690 III
• Cooler Master HAF XB Cube
• Fractal Design R4
• Fractal Design R5
• Anidees AI6
• Corsair 540D Air (a bit too expensive)
• Corsair Obsidian 450D
• Thermaltake H34
• Thermaltake Urban S31
• Silent Base 800 Window (a bit too expensive)

Any feedback from owners of these cases or other people who want to comment here is welcome.

 

PS: The Phantom 410 from NZXT is - as far as I understand - mostly plastic on the 530 mostly steel. Is that correct?

[MonkeyFace]

Define R5.

 

Once something occupies the optical drive bay, the 450D's clean aesthetic is ruined. I mean it looks hideous. With the Define R5 you can hide it behind the door. 

 

Either options will require sacrifice though. Both cases will require the re-positioning of the drive cage to accommodate a 240mm radiator in the front. This will eliminate the possibility of SLI or CFX with long graphics cards, and installing any long power supplies (1000W+) becomes out of the question. 

 

These restrictions won't apply to Carbide 540, thanks to the dual chamber design. But it seems to be out of your price range.