Decent E-ATX capable case

[Korben]

Hi there,

I'm searching for a decent,nice looking and modern case that can be a home for a E-ATX motherboard (specifically a ASUS ROG Zenith Extreme).

 

I looked at quiet a bunch cases, but... there's allways something I don't like about it.

So far I dismissed the following:

Lian LI PC-11WCX

EVGA DG-87

Raijintek Asterion Classic

Corsair Carbide Air 540

Corsair 750D 

Corsair Graphite 780T

Corsair 900D

In Win 509

Phantek Enthoo Evolv / Pro M / Lux

Antek S10

Anidee AI Crystal

Reasons were: aesthetics, outdated design (e.g. too many 5.25" bays...), bad reviews or concerns that an E-ATX motherboard would limit cable management, despite what the manufacturers says.

 

My current favorite is the beQuiet Dark Base 900 Pro.. but also it seems that an E-ATX motherboard would limit cable management. Sure it can house an E-ATX board, but as far as I can tell from the pictures I saw, the holes on the right side for cable management would be blocked... and that's bad. A lot of cases seem to support E-ATX but at the cost of blocking these cable management holes.

The Corsair 900D has two rows of cable management holes... but the case is just a monster and too overkill...

 

If anybody has pictures with an E-ATX board in a Dark Base 900 Pro (or another nice case), I would be thankfull if you could link them.

 

I also like the Phantek Enthoo Elite very much... but the price...not an option.

 

I'll continue searching, but maybe you have a proposal for me..

Search criterias:

- E-ATX (with proper cable managment)

- decent design, nothing too fancy

- side panel window

- no or at least removable 5.25" bays

- minimum of 4 HDD bays (3.5")

- USB-C at the front would be nice, but is optional

- front HDMI also would be nice, but optional

- watercooling must be possible (280mm radiator)

 

Thanks in advance,

Korben.

 

Edit: I forgot: the price range would be up to 250 Euro, I think that's about 300 USD.

[Gungpae]

What I use BUT IT'S A BOX:

https://www.amazon.de/Thermaltake-Cube-Case-PC-Gehäuse-geeignet-Wasserkühlung/dp/B00RWY5I9A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1502399048&sr=8-1&keywords=thermaltake+core+x9

 

Other cases:

https://www.amazon.de/Thermaltake-Core-X71-PC-Gehäuse-Fenster/dp/B019VTFXCA/ref=sr_1_20?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1502399075&sr=1-20

[EnergyEclipse]

Hello!

Whilst I cannot be certain on that off the NZXT S340 Elite's support for E-ATX, I do believe it meets most of your criteria.

https://www.nzxt.com/products/s340-elite-black

 

11 minutes ago, Korben said:

Hi there,

I'm searching for a decent,nice looking and modern case that can be a home for a E-ATX motherboard (specifically a ASUS ROG Zenith Extreme).

 

I'll continue searching, but maybe you have a proposal for me..

Search criterias:)

- decent design, nothing too fancy

- side panel window

- no or at least removable 5.25" bays

- minimum of 4 HDD bays (3.5")

- front HDMI also would be nice, but optional

- watercooling must be possible (280mm radiator)

 

I hope this helps!

-EnergyEclipse

[Joughball]

The 900D is overkill? Look up a lil something called the CaseLabs Magnum TX10.

[Korben]

11 minutes ago, Gungpae said:

What I use BUT IT'S A BOX:

https://www.amazon.de/Thermaltake-Cube-Case-PC-Gehäuse-geeignet-Wasserkühlung/dp/B00RWY5I9A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1502399048&sr=8-1&keywords=thermaltake+core+x9

 

Other cases:

https://www.amazon.de/Thermaltake-Core-X71-PC-Gehäuse-Fenster/dp/B019VTFXCA/ref=sr_1_20?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1502399075&sr=1-20

The Cube is... huge But like the 900D a little bit too big. And I don't like Thermaltake deisgn with the completly meshed front.

The other Case X71 is not E-ATX compatible.

 

Thanks for your suggestion!

[Korben]

12 minutes ago, EnergyEclipse said:

Hello!

Whilst I cannot be certain on that off the NZXT S340 Elite's support for E-ATX, I do believe it meets most of your criteria.

https://www.nzxt.com/products/s340-elite-black

 

I hope this helps!

-EnergyEclipse

Nope, it's not EATX compatible. But I like the design.

 

Thanks!

[Korben]

2 minutes ago, Joughball said:

The 900D is overkill? Look up a lil something called the CaseLabs Magnum TX10.

Yeah, well.. there's allways a bigger one

 

[TVwazhere]

Wish I could recommend the Enthoo Luxe but the board would cover half the grommets. Every other case I found was "too big" (900D+ size)

[pacifer_rx]

Thermaltake Suppressor F51

 

Solid modual case , tons of space and drive bays , it does have 2x 5.25'' bays that can be removed or either used as 3.5 or 2.5 bays .Removable dust filter everywhere , there no air intake that isn't covered by one , and plenty of space for rads up to 420 .

 

Give it a look .

[Korben]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I finally decided to go with the bequiet Dark Base 900 Pro.

Reason were:

- I have the predecessor (Silent Base 800) and was quiet satisfied with it

- The modularity

- The QI loading feature (like that very much)

 

The MB (ASUS ROG Zenith Extreme) fits, but it covers all three grommets (but I expected that; it's the case for nearly all cases around this size).

The modularity is great and could get a quiet decent cable management done without the missing grommets.

 

One thing that bugged and I'm very disappointed by this: some screws very so tight, I could not get them loose without damaging them and then use the rubber trick  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m_4nCQrLs0 (german version)).

One screw didn't even get out with this trick. Especially the screw you need to remove to move the motherboard down are tight like hell... Because of this I can not move the Motherboard to the lowest position, as I intended to do. I thought about sending it back, but I'm too lazy... Because of this I'll probably never buy a bequiet case again. Burned for me.