New Case - Ideas?

[Flobberknock]

Looking at buying a new mid-tower case as mine is getting a bit old and dusty, along with running out of space for hard drives.

 

Spotted this showing up on HOTUKD, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121931601092?clk_rvr_id=1009904234150&rmvSB=true 

 

Thoughts? I know LMG go on about Fractal Design a lot and thought this price is pretty good for what the case seems to offer. Are there better options out there? I think £100 would be my top end budget for a case

[Aytex]

R5

R4

Define S

[Moonzy]

noctis 450

h440

s340

 

im a nzxt fanboy

jk

 

corsair 760T

define r5

define S

[Flobberknock]

Cheers guys, 

 

I'll take a look at all of these

[ELSknutson]

What kind of hardware are you putting in the system 

Personally I am not a fan of Fractal cases due to the lack of fetuses like PSU covers.

 

The cases I prefer are  NZXT S340, H440, Notcis 450

Phanteks Enthoo Pro, Enthoo Lux, Evolv, Eclipse

Corsair  400C, Air 450 

 

these are the cases I prefer to work with becouse there easy to cable manage, you can hide all the ugly and make your system look clean and nice which is harder to do in the fractal cases. 

 

 

[Flobberknock]

Thanks ELS, 

 

In terms of the stuff that's going in, everything is air cooled, ATX motherboard, 1 5.1/4" drive, 2 3.1/2" drives, 1 SSD, modular PSU. that's about it really. 

 

Interesting to know about Fractal's cable management, I must admit I'm really liking the look of the NZXT cases, I'll take a look at all the ones you've all recommended and report back with what I like the look of

[Trav_X]

230T - budget

Define R5 - noise

H440 - noise

Noctis 450 - aesthetics

Define Mini R2 - mATX 

Air 540 - Cube shape

[Flobberknock]

I really like the look of the NZXT H440, however the lack of 5.25" drive bay is a deal breaker for me (I use my PC to watch my Blu-Ray collection). The rest of the recommendations either I don't like the look of (That Noctis 450, some people must love it but I thought it looked awful!) or they don't meet my needs (again a few not having a 5.25" drive bay).

 

The Define-S looks especially geared for water cooling in mind (pump mounts etc) which I don't envisage myself doing, and if I do I'll do closed loop as I don't trust myself enough!

 

So it leaves me with the R4 and the R5... hard choice to be honest. 

 

I can find the R4 for £60, or the R5 for £80. Is it worth the extra £20? My brain is initially saying yes, because in the grand scheme of things, this case will last me for years, and for the sake of £20, that's like an extra £3-5 per year I'm paying for a better case. 

 

Might go for the R5...

 

[Curufinwe_wins]

2 hours ago, Flobberknock said:

Thanks ELS, 

 

In terms of the stuff that's going in, everything is air cooled, ATX motherboard, 1 5.1/4" drive, 2 3.1/2" drives, 1 SSD, modular PSU. that's about it really. 

 

Interesting to know about Fractal's cable management, I must admit I'm really liking the look of the NZXT cases, I'll take a look at all the ones you've all recommended and report back with what I like the look of

Just fyi, outside of not having a psu cover (which I personally think is a good thing). The Define Series has nigh unbeatable cable management capabilities. Far superior to NZXT which for some ungodly idiotic reason thinks a bar in the middle of the case is an excuse not to include grommets.

 

But if you don't have a modular psu, then it probably is a negative for you.

2 hours ago, Flobberknock said:

-

The Define-S looks especially geared for water cooling in mind (pump mounts etc) which I don't envisage myself doing, and if I do I'll do closed loop as I don't trust myself enough!

-

Again, I'd like to point out that while it would require more fans being bought, the insane-mode levels of watercooling support means BY DEFINITION, the case is baller-as-fuck for air cooling. Not that you need much airflow in MOST use-cases, but it is something to take into account.

 

Also a cool use feature of the "reservoir mounting wall" is that you can mount 2.5 inch drives on the front of it. That way you can use that space instead to show off your storage (if you want to that is. I have it showing off a HUE+ system.)

 

NOTE: I am biased. I know this. I own a Define S with a fully decked system, but even before I went full watercooling, it was a true pleasure, and with my particular psu and its stock cables, I have had no regrets about a lack of psu cover.

 

Also if you intend to use more than 3 3.5 inch drive naturally the Define S shouldn't be chosen. ALTHOUGH, you could always buy and mount additional drive cages for in the front of the case.

[Flobberknock]

19 hours ago, Curufinwe_wins said:

Just fyi, outside of not having a psu cover (which I personally think is a good thing). The Define Series has nigh unbeatable cable management capabilities. Far superior to NZXT which for some ungodly idiotic reason thinks a bar in the middle of the case is an excuse not to include grommets.

 

But if you don't have a modular psu, then it probably is a negative for you.

Again, I'd like to point out that while it would require more fans being bought, the insane-mode levels of watercooling support means BY DEFINITION, the case is baller-as-fuck for air cooling. Not that you need much airflow in MOST use-cases, but it is something to take into account.

 

Also a cool use feature of the "reservoir mounting wall" is that you can mount 2.5 inch drives on the front of it. That way you can use that space instead to show off your storage (if you want to that is. I have it showing off a HUE+ system.)

 

NOTE: I am biased. I know this. I own a Define S with a fully decked system, but even before I went full watercooling, it was a true pleasure, and with my particular psu and its stock cables, I have had no regrets about a lack of psu cover.

 

Also if you intend to use more than 3 3.5 inch drive naturally the Define S shouldn't be chosen. ALTHOUGH, you could always buy and mount additional drive cages for in the front of the case.

Thanks very much