Looking for a new Case

[MajSpork]

So I just bought a Asus GeForce GTX 1070 8GB STRIX thinking my current case, the Zalman Z11 Plus had a removable drive. I measured the case with a ruler but stupidly didn't account for the fact that the graphics card would be mounted fan side down. Because of the drive bay it doesn't quite fit. Super bad planning I know, I should have checked my case specs before buying the card.

Anyway, I am now shopping for a new case that can fit all my currently hardware as well as my new graphics card.

 

Here are my current Specs

 

^{CPU: Intel Core i5-4690k Quad Core 3.5GHz
Motherboard: MSI Gaming Z97
RAM: 8GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 RAM
Graphics Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1070 8GB STRIX (11.73" (298mm)
PSU: Rosewill CAPSTONE-750-M 750W 
Storage: 1TB Seagate drive and 1TB WD Black drive
Case: Zalman Z11Plus High Performance 
OS: Windows 7
Coolermaster CPU cooler. The most popular one, I can't remember the exact name.}

Generic CD/DVD reader

I've been shopping around a bit and have found a few cases that look nice but I'd like a second opinion.

My current color scheme is Black and Red but that's just the Case and the Mobo so I'm open to change there.

I'd like to have a side window though it isn't required.

I need at least 2 3.5 Drive bays, I'd like to have more but they aren't required

I'd really like to have a 5.25 bay for my CD/DVD Reader but I could stand to loose that.

Cable management isn't super important to me since I'm the only person seeing my computer but it would be nice to have options.

I obviously need at least 300mm of clearance for my graphics card.

My Budget is $100 but I'd like to spend as little as possible considering I just dropped $400 on the graphics card.

I want to buy from Newegg as I live very close to their possessing center and will receive my purchase faster. Amazon would also be acceptable.

 

The cases I've found that look promising are:

Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-03 which is $47.99 after $10.00 rebate, downsides to this case seem to be the clearance of the Mobo on the top which makes it hard to cable manage the CPU Power header and makes it difficult to screw in the mobo.

NZXT S340 Which is $49.99 after $10.00 rebate. The only issue with this one is the lack of a 5.25 Bay. Some reviews also mention that it's a massive pain in the ass to get the front panel off.

Coolermaster MasterBox 5 which is $44.99 after $10.00 rebate +7.99 shipping. Cons of this is no 5.25 bay included, would have to buy separately, only 2 3.5 slots which means if I ever buy another HDD I'm S.O.L and some reviews complain that the removable drive bays are loose.

 

Please let me know if I've left anything out and thanks in advance for the help.

 

 

[STRMfrmXMN]

5 minutes ago, MajSpork said:

So I just bought a Asus GeForce GTX 1070 8GB STRIX thinking my current case, the Zalman Z11 Plus had a removable drive. I measured the case with a ruler but stupidly didn't account for the fact that the graphics card would be mounted fan side down. Because of the drive bay it doesn't quite fit. Super bad planning I know, I should have checked my case specs before buying the card.

Anyway, I am now shopping for a new case that can fit all my currently hardware as well as my new graphics card.

 

Here are my current Specs

 

^{CPU: Intel Core i5-4690k Quad Core 3.5GHz
Motherboard: MSI Gaming Z97
RAM: 8GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 RAM
Graphics Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1070 8GB STRIX (11.73" (298mm)
PSU: Rosewill CAPSTONE-750-M 750W 
Storage: 1TB Seagate drive and 1TB WD Black drive
Case: Zalman Z11Plus High Performance 
OS: Windows 7
Coolermaster CPU cooler. The most popular one, I can't remember the exact name.}

Generic CD/DVD reader

I've been shopping around a bit and have found a few cases that look nice but I'd like a second opinion.

My current color scheme is Black and Red but that's just the Case and the Mobo so I'm open to change there.

I'd like to have a side window though it isn't required.

I need at least 2 3.5 Drive bays, I'd like to have more but they aren't required

I'd really like to have a 5.25 bay for my CD/DVD Reader but I could stand to loose that.

Cable management isn't super important to me since I'm the only person seeing my computer but it would be nice to have options.

I obviously need at least 300mm of clearance for my graphics card.

My Budget is $100 but I'd like to spend as little as possible considering I just dropped $400 on the graphics card.

I want to buy from Newegg as I live very close to their possessing center and will receive my purchase faster. Amazon would also be acceptable.

 

The cases I've found that look promising are:

Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-03 which is $47.99 after $10.00 rebate, downsides to this case seem to be the clearance of the Mobo on the top which makes it hard to cable manage the CPU Power header and makes it difficult to screw in the mobo.

NZXT S340 Which is $49.99 after $10.00 rebate. The only issue with this one is the lack of a 5.25 Bay. Some reviews also mention that it's a massive pain in the ass to get the front panel off.

Coolermaster MasterBox 5 which is $44.99 after $10.00 rebate +7.99 shipping. Cons of this is no 5.25 bay included, would have to buy separately, only 2 3.5 slots which means if I ever buy another HDD I'm S.O.L and some reviews complain that the removable drive bays are loose.

 

Please let me know if I've left anything out and thanks in advance for the help.

 

 

NZXT S340 owner here. It's not a PITA to get the front panel off. Just pull with about half the effort you can give to the bottom of the front panel and it comes off just fine. You'll only ever need to do it once too since you can get the fan filter out without removing the front panel.

[Zusafek]

30 minutes ago, MajSpork said:

-snip-

 

Check out the Phanteks P400 lineup. Has 2 3.5 slots, 2 ssd slots, expandable for the 2.5/3.5 I'd slots, good cable management, lots of dust filters, and lots of fan slots available. If you did need another 3.5 drive location you can simply purchase or 3d print the cage to mount it on its expansion section. Here are pics of my P400 Tempered glass and P400s acrylic glass. 

 

[MajSpork]

8 minutes ago, Zusafek said:

Check out the Phanteks P400 lineup

The cases are very nice looking but I'm not sure if I want to pay that much for only 2 3.5s and no 5.25. I have added them to my list of potentials though. Whats the difference between the silent and normal versions?

Edited April 20, 2017 by MajSpork
Added question.

[ArcticSalad]

3 minutes ago, MajSpork said:

The cases are very nice looking but I'm not sure if I want to pay that much for only 2 3.5s and no 5.25. I have added them to my list of potentials though. Whats the difference between the silent and normal versions?

The silenced version comes with sound-dampening material here and there in the case. I've got the P400s Tempered Glass edition myself. It is an absolutely stunning case, and the build quality is outstanding. It's got everything you need and then some. It's only got 2 3.5in. and 2 2.5in. hard drive bays, but that is typically plenty for the average person. Unfortunately no 5.25 bay, but in this day and age I'd hardly call is a necessity. I highly recommend the case. If you've got any questions, I'd be happy to answer.

[MajSpork]

17 minutes ago, Shadow6767 said:

The silenced version comes with sound-dampening material here and there in the case.

How important/effective is the sound dampening stuff? It would amp the price of the window one by $25 after the Main in rebate. Is it worth $25?

[MajSpork]

Going to buy the Phanteks ECLIPSE P400 ATX Mid Tower Case. Based on reviews the silent foam has a tendency to fall of and I don't wanna risk that for the extra $25.

 

Thanks for your help everyone.