cases Disadvantages of cheap cases

[MaxBobo]

Hi,
I'm building my first PC with the following specs :
- Ryzen 1600
- Asus PRIME B350 PLUS (ATX)
- MSI RX 580 GAMING X 8GB
- 2x8GB RIPJAWS V 2400
- 250GB SAMSUNG 850 EVO
- Corsair CX650M 650 Watt (Semi modular)

Now all thats left is to buy a case. I planning to build a case in a desk like 2 years now when I have the space at time. So I'm not really looking for a long term case. My question is can I buy a cheap case like Armaggeddon or Segotep cases? What are the downside of it?

My current options are the Armaggedon Decatron T3Z


and the Segotep K6
 

This cases are super cheap. So most people say cheap cases have bad air flow but these looks fine and I will replace the stock fans with some good quality fans. Then some say cheap cases have bad cable management but they both have plenty of holes and space at the back for cables. So what else should I be looking out for? And also can anyone recommend any good cheap case fans? 
Thank you very much!

[Axeonelite]

I own a cheap case and I will say as someone who has had a lot of builds a cheap case is no worse than a prebuilt such as Dell, Hp, and such. 

 

My build is relatively high end (last gen high end) and using a cheaper case has yet to see any downsides for me. Only thing would be cable management is hard (and the case might not offer any) so if that bothers you, especially having a exposed side panel, then you should consider it. 

 

Make sure you have adequate drive space. I thought mine would be big enough (It is a mid tower) and yet I'm finding the Hard Drives have very little cable room, which bends the SATA cables since they aren't the L ends. 

 

That's about it. My build has enough fans so I don't worry and enough I.O on the front so I never have an issue with mine. I wish there was more room inside to have everything spread out, but it doesn't effect how it runs at all. 

[Superspeed07]

cheap cases in my experiences feel and are very flimsy, so be extra careful that you don't bend one of the panels, and they generally don't have good cable management.

[TacticlTwinkie]

They get the job done. They house components. Will they have any nice features like good cable routing or lots of radiator support? No. But it sounds like you just need a hold-over case until you do your desk-pc project. Something like the cases you posted would work in the mean time. Just a simple, no frills, affordable case would be fine.

[Brennan Price]

In this situation, there is nothing at all wrong with buying a cheap case. I have a second hand case which I bought for £7 and there are no regrets. As long as you are happy to use the case as just somewhere to house your components in the mean time there is absolutely nothing wrong. Also, please change the text colour from grey as no-one using the dark theme can read it without highlighting the text (kinda annoying)

[pelark]

6 minutes ago, MaxBobo said:

And also can anyone recommend any good cheap case fans? 

Fractal Design GP12/14 X2

BeQuiet Pure Wings 2 (If you can find them)

BTW what were you thinking in terms of budget for the fan setup?

[Mira Yurizaki]

I don't really see a problem skimping out on the case. You may not get the optimum airflow, there may be rough edges, but at the end of the day, does it matter as long as you have a box around the parts?

 

As far as cable management goes, you can always find a place to stuff cables somewhere. Or just use the twist ties that are on cables to group them together or something.

[Scruffy90]

My only "bad" case was the Rosewill Redbone u3. My issues with it were terrible airflow from the front fan and non existing cable routing. 

[genexis_x]

5 hours ago, MaxBobo said:

 

They are good enough cases. Armageddon and Segotep cases are not bad, cable management not the best but not the worst either.

[MaxBobo]

On 5/4/2017 at 4:31 AM, pelark said:

Fractal Design GP12/14 X2

BeQuiet Pure Wings 2 (If you can find them)

BTW what were you thinking in terms of budget for the fan setup?

Actually I have narrowed down to the jetflo 120 and af120 not sure which to get. Jetflo clearly have a btr airflow but its very noisy and vice versa. im looking at anything around this same price range.

[pelark]

On 5/6/2017 at 6:42 PM, MaxBobo said:

Actually I have narrowed down to the jetflo 120 and af120 not sure which to get. Jetflo clearly have a btr airflow but its very noisy and vice versa. im looking at anything around this same price range.

How much are the af120s in you area?

[VIVO-US]

As a case manufacturer, I think we can give you an honest answer.

 

Cheap cases will typically have thinner metal, and as a result, will not feel as sturdy as a more expensive case.  This won't cause any problems as long as you don't kick them around.

 

A cheaper case may also have some design compromises.  For instance, our least expensive mid towers only have the most basic level of cable management.  It's enough for a fairly clean build, but it won't be quite as organized as what you can do with one of our more expensive cases.

 

Airflow and cooling performance don't go hand-in-hand with price.  The In Win 805 Infinity is a large, sturdy case made with good quality materials and looks amazing, but the cooling performance is completely outclassed by some cheap cases designed for airflow.  And then there are of course cheap cases that are like a toaster oven, and expensive cases that will keep things so cool and quiet you'll forget to clean the dust out.  It goes both ways.

 

More expensive cases tend to be better with noise isolation, but making an ultra quiet computer with a cheap case is completely possible.  Sometimes, all it takes is better fans and a cheap fan controller to turn a system from a jet engine to being whisper quiet.  A solid state drive will also cut down on noise, since traditional hard drives can vibrate and of course make seeking noise.

 

In the end, all you can really do is look at the design and features of a case and see if they'll work for what you want to build.  If you need plenty of airflow, just make sure the case has plenty of air intake as well as exhaust.

[MaxBobo]

19 hours ago, pelark said:

How much are the af120s in you area?

They are the same price as the jetflos. If converted into USD its about 12USD

[Phate.exe]

On 5/3/2017 at 4:44 PM, Scruffy90 said:

My only "bad" case was the Rosewill Redbone u3. My issues with it were terrible airflow from the front fan and non existing cable routing. 

Now imagine taking that case, but with a top-mounted PSU (aka the rosewill blackbone), cutting a hole in the bottom with a dremel, and then putting a full system water loop inside of it with a 140mm radiator and a 140mm radiator.

 

It's nightmare fuel and I'm glad I don't have a side window.

[Scruffy90]

15 hours ago, Phate.exe said:

Now imagine taking that case, but with a top-mounted PSU (aka the rosewill blackbone), cutting a hole in the bottom with a dremel, and then putting a full system water loop inside of it with a 140mm radiator and a 140mm radiator.

 

It's nightmare fuel and I'm glad I don't have a side window.

Jeez. That sounded like a mission.

[Phate.exe]

1 hour ago, Scruffy90 said:

Jeez. That sounded like a mission.

Less a mission, and more "bored engineering student with more time than money"

 

Water cooling isn't really that hard, or even especially expensive.  There are some things that it makes absolutely no difference at all if you half-ass, and other things that you can't.