Case recommendations

[H0R53]

It's late and I really don't feel like spending a ton of time on Amazon.

 

Needless to say I'm on my third case this year.

 

Right now I have the Thermaltake Dragonscale N25. Link in my signature.

 

In the past, I've had the Vivo Athena, a very similarly styled case.

 

I don't like minimalist cases by the likes of Phanteks, NZXT, or Enthoo. Cases like the S340 and Pro M make me want to puke. the Corsair Carbide SPEC-0X are kind of distasteful to me as well.

 

I'm also not a fan of the overly gamer-y styled cases like the Versa N24. There's too much going on in the front for me to just look at it and enjoy it. The Apevia Sniper2 is a disgustinc case and should not exist.

 

Budget now is $175. At the end of the week it may be about $600, but by then I'm looking for more than just a case.

 

Things that I do like but have issues with:

 

Zalmann T4 - no window, but otherwise pretty easy on the eyes

Deepcool Tesseract - Too much blue, side panel is dyed?

Zalmann Z1 Neo - Okay, but too small, looks like it's trying too hard to be something it's not

Apevia X-Harmony (Red) - I like red, it's my favorite color, and it looks nice but Apevia has QC problems

CM Storm Stryker - LOUD NOISES +price is a bit steep, but not impossible for me

MasterBox 5T - The handle ruined it for me

SilverStone RL05BR-W - I really like this, it has just the right amount of face going on, but size is an issue

Antec 900 - I like the case, a lot, but that side panel makes my nuts shrink

Cosmos II - PRICE PRICE PRICE WHY TF IS IT $200+

FSP CMT210 - Want, but interior organisation may be a problem (drives)

Zalman Z11 Plus HF1 - Like this, but the front vent thing is a bit too much

Corsair Graphite 760T - the handle on the side panel...why...?

SilverStone PM01W - Doesn't come in RGB black, and the top of it is a bit...meh

NZXT Guardian - what in the fresh fuck

InWin GR1 - the top is a bit distracting
AeroCool DS230 - interior won't hold all my shit

InWin 805 - Price may present a problem if I run out of groceries before buying (I eat 4200 cal/day, yet I weigh 140)

 

I'm currently enjoying my Thermaltake Dragonscale very much. There are only a few things that I don't like about it. I don't want to mod this case because I eventually plan to sell a build in it.

 

Things that are important:

 

Drive cages - I have 5 hard disks and 1 SSD. Right now hard disk management is a bit of a problem because of where the ATX 24-pin is - right by one of my RAID arrays, and cable management in that area is a nightmare.

 

Bottom space - I'd like to have a bottom mounted fan

 

Shrouds - I think they are ugly

 

RGB strip placement - I have a good LED strip in an okay place (in sig, like everything else), and if there's no good place for it in the new case...well...

 

Radiator placement - I have a 240mm AiO that needs to be on the top of the case. Eventually I'll need room for a 360mm in the front of the case.

 

Graphics card space - I'm gonna have 2 1070s at some point, dunno when, but if it's while I have this case, then it'll need room. My 1050Ti FTW is about 10.2 inches long

 

Clear panels are a must - I want to see my stuff

 

Cable management - hide them cables

 

Any and all suggestions will be considered, hope I provided enough for people to make some suggestions. I've looked up and down.

 

One last thing - Dell OEM cases are sexy, especially the new black Optiplex towers

[Klovnious]

I'd like to say Corsair 750D but that won't fit a 360 rad in the front, but the 900D Will. Might be to big for you tho, you'll just have to see the measurements on the case.

Also the 750D has drive cages in the bottom, but I think you can move them to under the optical bay. Also you can use 3,5 to 5,25 HDD adapter to fit some harddrives in the optical bay.

 

[Megah3rtz]

With so many drives you really limit your options. Why not consider a NAS? 

[MVPernula]

Man I want to help you, but your taste is like the oposite of mine

[SpaceGhostC2C]

45 minutes ago, H0R53 said:

AeroCool DS230 - interior won't hold all my shit

You could consider the Aero-1000 or the DS-200 instead (I know other brands have models based on the same inner chassis). It will hold your drives and top radiator (depending on how many fans and motherboard layout to some extent). Not sure about front 360 in the future (it has more clearance for thickness than length, I think). They may only come with tinted windows, though, which may be a problem for you.

You could also check the less flashy CM HAF models, like the Stacker 925. You lose on the intake filter side there, as usual with HAFs, Carbides, etc.

 

15 minutes ago, Megah3rtz said:

With so many drives you really limit your options. Why not consider a NAS? 

Only for modern glorified mATx cases in disguise  

[H0R53]

8 hours ago, Klovnious said:

I'd like to say Corsair 750D but that won't fit a 360 rad in the front, but the 900D Will. Might be to big for you tho, you'll just have to see the measurements on the case.

Also the 750D has drive cages in the bottom, but I think you can move them to under the optical bay. Also you can use 3,5 to 5,25 HDD adapter to fit some harddrives in the optical bay.

 

I'm using an adapter for one of my RAID arrays, the one near the 24-pin...

8 hours ago, Megah3rtz said:

With so many drives you really limit your options. Why not consider a NAS? 

Because I already have one that's 15TB.

 

One RAID array is for optimizing FRAPS' write speed, and the other is for storing everything off of my SSD.

7 hours ago, MVPernula said:

Man I want to help you, but your taste is like the oposite of mine

So either you like minimalist cases or you like gamery garbage.

[H0R53]

7 hours ago, SpaceGhostC2C said:

DS-200

Too minimalist.

 

7 hours ago, SpaceGhostC2C said:

Aero-1000

Too flat.

 

 

Have you seen the Dragonscale?

[Corsair Blake]

Crystal Series 460X and 570X can fit a 360mm radiator up front.

[H0R53]

1 minute ago, Corsair Blake said:

Crystal Series 460X and 570X can fit a 360mm radiator up front.

I like the case and it's got a good price.

 

Can it fit 5 3.5 inch drives?

[Corsair Blake]

Just now, H0R53 said:

I like the case and it's got a good price.

 

Can it fit 5 3.5 inch drives?

Boop.

 

Unfortunately, no. Each case can only fit a maximum of 2x 3.5" without any major modification. 

 

However, the CORSAIR GRAPHITE SERIES 780T case can fit 360mm radiator up front and up to 6x 3.5" drives. You will have to shift the HDD cage towards the PSU a bit to achieve this. All can be done without any modification / cutting to the case.

[Corsair Blake]

I've personally moved all my platter drives over to a NAS that I store in my closet, where my networking enclosure and router is. I strictly use SSDs (2.5" and M.2) for all of my rigs now.

[H0R53]

2 minutes ago, Corsair Blake said:

However, the CORSAIR GRAPHITE SERIES 780T case can fit 360mm radiator up front and up to 6x 3.5" drives. You will have to shift the HDD cage towards the PSU a bit to achieve this. All can be done without any modification / cutting to the case.

It's too big for my desk

 

I like the tempered glass RGB though. If I can find some decent prices on 2TB drives (the 5x3TB in my NAS were only $35 each) I might get the Crystal case. I can think of another Krystal everyone likes...

3 minutes ago, Corsair Blake said:

Unfortunately, no. Each case can only fit a maximum of 2x 3.5" without any major modification. 

 

If I were to have to modify it though, what is the least destructive way to add drive space? I mean the case can fit a 360mm rad...you'd think all the space behind the front array was just one big drive cage.

[VIVO-US]

We don't make any cases that can support quite that many hard drives.  How about an NZXT Phantom full tower?  A friend of mine used one of these, and it seems like a great case. Supports x7 3.5" hard drives, looks cool, includes fan control and a 200mm exhaust fan, and it comes in an assortment of different colors. https://www.amazon.com/NZXT-Phantom-Full-Tower-Computer/dp/B003WE9WR8/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1501605777&sr=8-11&keywords=full+tower+pc+case

[H0R53]

1 minute ago, VIVO-US said:

We don't make any cases that can support quite that many hard drives.

I know. I had to modify my Athena to fit all of them, as a matter of fact I sold a build in it yesterday for $400. Which is why I'm buying a new case

 

2 minutes ago, VIVO-US said:

How about an NZXT Phantom full tower? 

Because I don't like the style. I already have one, but it's for my NAS because it supports E-ATX motherboards.

 

I just haven't had time to move everything because the NAS is always being accessed. 

[VIVO-US]

How about Thermaltake's Tower 900?  It's probably too expensive, but it's certainly big enough! https://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-Tempered-Vertical-Computer-CA-1H1-00F1WN-00/dp/B01N1GP2GZ/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1501607442&sr=8-16&keywords=full+tower+pc+case

 

Or maybe something like this: 

[H0R53]

5 minutes ago, VIVO-US said:

How about Thermaltake's Tower 900?  It's probably too expensive, but it's certainly big enough! https://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-Tempered-Vertical-Computer-CA-1H1-00F1WN-00/dp/B01N1GP2GZ/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1501607442&sr=8-16&keywords=full+tower+pc+case

By the end of the week I could get it, and I was looking at it earlier, but i have a few problems with it:

-It's MASSIVE, won't fit on my desk (link in sig, first one)

-Price is a bit steep

-It doesn't fit on my desk

-It would be fairly empty as it's made for custom loops

 

Any other full towers that support a 360mm rad?

 

The Vivo Athena can be easily modified to support it. Just ziptie 3 fans together and then mount them on the front of the case

[The Elder Smurf]

I am going to be honest here, you should probably invest in a better storage solution before a new case, or buy a case like the mastercase, load up all your drives, upgrade them to less, bigger drives later, then use the spare space for radiators. The phanteks evolv and p400 lineup (they are the same case with different outsides) and the fractal define r5 are also great contenders in this area. all the cases. Also noticed your mainboard was a micro atx board, so the node 804 may be of interest (yes I know it has no 360 radiator support, but its still an interesting case for you none the less)

 

Also why dual 1070's, when a 1080ti is the same price and is only one gpu, also you would want to upgrade your cpu before getting that kind of gpu horsepower.

[H0R53]

23 minutes ago, The Elder Smurf said:

I am going to be honest here, you should probably invest in a better storage solution before a new case, or buy a case like the mastercase, load up all your drives, upgrade them to less, bigger drives later, then use the spare space for radiators. The phanteks evolv and p400 lineup (they are the same case with different outsides) and the fractal define r5 are also great contenders in this area. all the cases. Also noticed your mainboard was a micro atx board, so the node 804 may be of interest (yes I know it has no 360 radiator support, but its still an interesting case for you none the less)

 

Also why dual 1070's, when a 1080ti is the same price and is only one gpu, also you would want to upgrade your cpu before getting that kind of gpu horsepower.

My CPU can handle a 1080Ti just fine, I had the liberty of testing it at one point before it went in a client's system.

 

Why dual 1070s? Why not dual 1070s?

 

Assuming you've seen the pics of my main build, I have a 3.5 inch drive in the accessory bay (usually card readers here), and one in a 5 inch bay adapter. Cable management in that area is extremely obnoxious due to the fact that my PSU cable is also in the area, as are RAM sticks.

 

At this point, there are no cases that I can find that I actually like, the dragonscale I have now was the only one I could even find with more than 2 drive bays that would even fit on my desk.

 

I'm gonna shelf this idea of getting a new case for a while and save for a 1080Ti.

[The Elder Smurf]

On 8/2/2017 at 1:51 AM, H0R53 said:

My CPU can handle a 1080Ti just fine, I had the liberty of testing it at one point before it went in a client's system.

 

Why dual 1070s? Why not dual 1070s?

 

Assuming you've seen the pics of my main build, I have a 3.5 inch drive in the accessory bay (usually card readers here), and one in a 5 inch bay adapter. Cable management in that area is extremely obnoxious due to the fact that my PSU cable is also in the area, as are RAM sticks.

 

At this point, there are no cases that I can find that I actually like, the dragonscale I have now was the only one I could even find with more than 2 drive bays that would even fit on my desk.

 

I'm gonna shelf this idea of getting a new case for a while and save for a 1080Ti.

That cpu is not up to snuff lol, watch this

 

 

Why not dual 1070's, idk ever had sli before?