Case suggestions

[Misinthe]

Hello everyone, I am planning on upgrading my PC and I wanted to hear some suggestions on which case should I get. 

My current build is this:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($109.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($72.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($53.99 @ Jet) 
Storage: Seagate Savvio 300GB 2.5" 10000RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($141.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB FTW ACX 2.0 Video Card  ($499.89 @ OutletPC) 
Case: Fractal Design Node 202 HTPC Case w/450W Power Supply  ($129.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($88.58 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $1097.42
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-24 07:16 EST-0500

 

I want a case to move out of Mini ITX, first I'll do air cooling but I want to start experimenting with water cooling and eventually do a custom loop. So I want a case that will allow me to do all that and has Tempered Glass.

 

Thank you for your response.

[Phentos]

Full tower or mid?

 

Color preferences?

[Misinthe]

7 minutes ago, Phentos said:

Full tower or mid?

 

Color preferences?

Well, it depends on what features would I gain by going with each one. And I'm flexible with colors.

 

Edit: I was looking at the Phanteks Evolv ATX TG or maybe something from be quiet!

[kerradeph]

You don't have to move away from mitx to give more options. The node 304 gives you more expansion options, better options for the psu, and allows watercooling. all while still maintaining a small form factor that I imagine that you got the 202 for.

[Misinthe]

1 minute ago, kerradeph said:

You don't have to move away from mitx to give more options. The node 304 gives you more expansion options, better options for the psu, and allows watercooling. all while still maintaining a small form factor that I imagine that you got the 202 for.

I got the Node 202 because I was using it as an HTPC, so I wanted it to kind of blend in, but I'm moving it to my office, that's why I'm upgrading it. So I no longer want the small factor.

[Phentos]

7 minutes ago, Miguel552 said:

Well, it depends on what features would I gain by going with each one. And I'm flexible with colors.

Full tower gives you an immense amount of room to work with, and you won't have to worry about making sure you get parts that fit. Everything will fit, unless you go with a crazy Linus setup like quad-SLI or whatever.

 

The major con about full tower is that the cases are HUGE and heavy. I don't trust them on desks. My case is the Coolermaster HAF X, which is a beast of a case, and it weighs nearly 75 pounds. It currently lives on my hardwood floor.

 

Mid-tower is much smaller, giving a nice compromise between the bulk of full tower and the minimalist look of SFF builds. You still get a fair amount of room to work with, but avoid bulky triple fan graphics cards (Zotac AMP 1080 for example). They offer a decent amount of room for custom loop cooling too.

 

Personally I will always go with a full tower, as I love having all that space to work with. My next case will be the Corsair 750D.

[Cyndre1033]

30 minutes ago, Miguel552 said:

Hello everyone, I am planning on upgrading my PC and I wanted to hear some suggestions on which case should I get. 

My current build is this:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($109.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($72.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($53.99 @ Jet) 
Storage: Seagate Savvio 300GB 2.5" 10000RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($141.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB FTW ACX 2.0 Video Card  ($499.89 @ OutletPC) 
Case: Fractal Design Node 202 HTPC Case w/450W Power Supply  ($129.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($88.58 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $1097.42
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-24 07:16 EST-0500

 

I want a case to move out of Mini ITX, first I'll do air cooling but I want to start experimenting with water cooling and eventually do a custom loop. So I want a case that will allow me to do all that and has Tempered Glass.

 

Thank you for your response.

If you are spending that much on your GPU you can easily get a GTX 1060 or even a 1070 which are both probably better than the 970. S340 Elite was recently listed as the best "tempered glass upgrade case" by HardwareCanucks in their Best Cases of 2016 Video, and they make a LOT of case reviews and are very reliable so I'd go with the S340 Elite. You might have to get a different mobo though. IDK if S340 Elite supports ITX. 

Edit: I just did some looking around and you can get EVGA's FTW 1070 card for under the price of that 970. You can even get one of their closed look water cooling options for less, so I would definately look at 1070's. 

[Misinthe]

1 minute ago, Phentos said:

Full tower gives you an immense amount of room to work with, and you won't have to worry about making sure you get parts that fit. Everything will fit, unless you go with a crazy Linus setup like quad-SLI or whatever.

 

The major con about full tower is that the cases are HUGE and heavy. I don't trust them on desks. My case is the Coolermaster HAF X, which is a beast of a case. It sits on my hardwood floor.

 

Mid-tower is much smaller, giving a nice compromise between the bulk of full tower and the minimalist look of SFF builds. You still get a fair amount of room to work with, but avoid bulky triple fan graphics cards (Zotac AMP 1080 for example). They offer a decent amount of room for custom loop cooling too.

 

Personally I will always go with a full tower, as I love having all that space to work with. My next case will be the Corsair 750D.

Well, I might go 2-Way SLI but that's it, if anything. I just want something that will last me a few years and can handle any upgrades I want to do (like the custom loop). As for my desk, I have one of those contraptions from Ikea, I don't know if you've seen Paul or Jayz do their desks, I did the same thing with 5 legs for center support. The 750D looks nice.

[kerradeph]

6 minutes ago, Miguel552 said:

I got the Node 202 because I was using it as an HTPC, so I wanted it to kind of blend in, but I'm moving it to my office, that's why I'm upgrading it. So I no longer want the small factor.

Fair enough. The Define S is a pretty nice mid case with tons of room and fan mount points for watercooling. And no issues for mounting hard drives for storage unless you want to go nuts with it.

[Misinthe]

2 minutes ago, Cyndre1033 said:

If you are spending that much on your GPU you can easily get a GTX 1060 or even a 1070 which are both probably better than the 970. S340 Elite was recently listed as the best "tempered glass upgrade case" by HardwareCanucks in their Best Cases of 2016 Video, and they make a LOT of case reviews and are very reliable so I'd go with the S340 Elite. You might have to get a different mobo though. IDK if S340 Elite supports ITX. 

That's my current build, I own the 970 already, I didn't buy it for that price, but I've been using it for a while now, that's why I want to upgrade. Yeah, I saw Dimitri's video but I didn't see any that I would say "I must have it now!"

[Phentos]

4 minutes ago, Miguel552 said:

Well, I might go 2-Way SLI but that's it, if anything. I just want something that will last me a few years and can handle any upgrades I want to do (like the custom loop). As for my desk, I have one of those contraptions from Ikea, I don't know if you've seen Paul or Jayz do their desks, I did the same thing with 5 legs for center support. The 750D looks nice.

Yea atm I can't really afford a nice fancy Ikea desk. I make do with cheapo particle board junk I got from Craigslist.

 

All my spare cash that isn't used for living expenses is going towards my next build, can't spare any more for a desk. Though I could really use a new mouse

[Cyndre1033]

1 minute ago, Miguel552 said:

That's my current build, I own the 970 already, I didn't buy it for that price, but I've been using it for a while now, that's why I want to upgrade. Yeah, I saw Dimitri's video but I didn't see any that I would say "I must have it now!"

Oh, sorry about the misunderstanding about the pcpartpicker list. Well if you want tempered glass, mid tower, and in my opinion just a stunning case, the first thing I think of is the S340 Elite, but you might want to look at the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv TG. I dunno what you like, I'm just spitting out ideas. 

[Phentos]

1 minute ago, Cyndre1033 said:

S340 Elite

I second this.

[kerradeph]

crap, just saw that you were looking for tempered glass. There's a windowed version of the define S but if you're set on tempered glass then I can't really make a recommendation.

[Misinthe]

2 minutes ago, Cyndre1033 said:

Oh, sorry about the misunderstanding about the pcpartpicker list. Well if you want tempered glass, mid tower, and in my opinion just a stunning case, the first thing I think of is the S340 Elite, but you might want to look at the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv TG. I dunno what you like, I'm just spitting out ideas. 

I don't get totaly sold on the S340 Elite, there's something I don't like and I can't figure out what it is. 

[Misinthe]

Just now, kerradeph said:

crap, just saw that you were looking for tempered glass. There's a windowed version of the define S but if you're set on tempered glass then I can't really make a recommendation.

Haha yeah, I've already looked at all the Fractal's lineup. 

[Phentos]

3 minutes ago, Miguel552 said:

I don't get totaly sold on the S340 Elite, there's something I don't like and I can't figure out what it is. 

Look into the Corsair Crystal 570X. A magnificent looking case IMO.

[Cyndre1033]

7 minutes ago, Miguel552 said:

I don't get totaly sold on the S340 Elite, there's something I don't like and I can't figure out what it is. 

 

5 minutes ago, Phentos said:

Look into the Corsair Crystal 570X. A magnificent looking case IMO.

Or the 460X (I think that's what it's called)

[Misinthe]

Just now, Cyndre1033 said:

 

Or the 460X (I think that's what it's called)

Yeah that's the one that has full Power Supply cover

[Misinthe]

I would love it if they made the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv TG in Full Tower.

[Misinthe]

I don't know if anyone is interested but I decided to go for the S340 Elite for now because of the price and I need to buy other parts also, I'll be getting a more premium full tower like the 900D or a CaseMode when I'm done upgrading the pc parts. Thank you everyone for your reply.