TG case ideas similar to Corsair 460X RGB?

[porina]

I'm looking to order a case shortly to rehouse a system, and want to go for a nice tempered glass tower. I've had a good look around already, and basically I think the Corsair 460X is most interesting so far, but thought I should ask around in case there's anything I overlooked.

 

It will have to fit an ATX mobo and ideally a custom loop with 360mm radiator. I could make do with only a 240mm, possible bonus if it will take both at the same time but this is not a requirement.

 

Ones I have considered:

NZXT S340 Elite tempered glass - looks ok but only room for a 240mm rad

Corsair 570X - too much TG if that's possible?

Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX Glass - don't like the front styling

Fractal Define C TG - looks ok but unremarkable

Fractal Meshify - not available yet, not sold on styling

In Win 303 - I got one already and want something different

In Win 805 infinity - rather expensive and not readily available

Gamemax Polaris - I like the looks of it apart from their logo, but that can be covered. Only 240mm rad support. I might even get one for a different use...

No doubt Lian Li do something I don't want to pay for...

[JokerProduction]

I was in the same place couple months ago and came to the same conclusions and was almost ready to buy the 460x while not 100% what i wanted it was the best match for my needs.  I then came across a video for the anadeez ai crystal case and ended up going with that and after using it now for months I'm extremely satisfied and recommend it with my only criticism being that the tempered glass is a bit too tinted but adding a short white LED strip quickly remedied that problem and gives it the ultimate stealth look with the lights are off. Its also sold under a few different brands rosewill cullinan(slightly less quality but same tooling) and the meanit 5pm(wasnt out when i bought mine and has a branded from panel otherwise the same)  Case will fit 360(or 280) rads in the top and front at the same time and has very good airflow with room for a big res.   magnetic dust filters on the front,top,and powersupply.  Built in 3pin fan controller, reset button,front audio, and 4usb ports on the front IO is nice.  Completly enclosed shroud with a logical placed cutout for the gpu cables w/ grommet.

 

Another one that I was considering that you don't have on your list but was on my short list was the thermaltake view 31 but it got cut when i found out its front panel is plexi and only the 2 sides were TG.

 

My thoughts on some of the cases mentioned.

570X -very open design with big gaps around the glass panels(dust magnet and noisy).  Not sure what they were thinking with the power supply shroud either it seems unfinished.

 

Enthoo Evolve- This case makes me cringe when i see super expensive water loops in these cases as the design always starves the system for airflow and most people end up having to take the front panel off in order to get temps in check.  I'm not willing to sacrifice performance for looks.

 

inwin infinty- also a case that is starved for air.

 

 

 

[Maize]

Depending on how long you're willing to wait, you can go for the Cooler Master H500p which is supposed to come out in September.

[porina]

5 hours ago, JokerProduction said:

anadeez ai crystal case

Looks kinda familiar... but can't quite put my finger on it.

5 hours ago, JokerProduction said:

Another one that I was considering that you don't have on your list but was on my short list was the thermaltake view 31 but it got cut when i found out its front panel is plexi and only the 2 sides were TG.

The front curve is probably a bit much to do in glass at any sane cost. 

2 hours ago, Maize said:

Depending on how long you're willing to wait, you can go for the Cooler Master H500p which is supposed to come out in September.

Thanks for suggestion but I don't like the styling of that one.

 

 

Don't think anything has won me over the 460X, although I wonder if the front glass arrangement isn't great for airflow either.

[Crossbred]

Tt g21 tg

[Shiv78]

P400(S) TG? 360 up front and squeeze a 240 up top maybe?

or an Enthoo Pro series case

 

*community continues to wait for Noctis 450 Elite/H440 Elite*

[TVwazhere]

16 hours ago, Crossbred said:

Tt g21 tg

I'd lean more towards Thermaltake's View 31

[Crossbred]

55 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

I'd lean more towards Thermaltake's View 31

The acrylic front panel is a big turnoff for me...

[porina]

1 hour ago, TVwazhere said:

I'd lean more towards Thermaltake's View 31

It was mentioned already in this thread. However, on a 2nd look I now realise it is a big case, that wasn't obvious on my last look. It looks like you can fit a 360 on the top, and is quite affordable. This just got a lot more interesting for me.

27 minutes ago, Crossbred said:

The acrylic front panel is a big turnoff for me...

For some reason the usual bunch of tech reviewers I follow haven't done this case, so I'm looking at others to get a better idea of looks before I decide. It isn't a deal breaker for me, yet.

[porina]

I've been looking at so many cases for so long, I'm reaching burnout... the problem is, my original choice of Corsair 460X doesn't look good any more! Do I cheap out... or do I go stupid expensive... anyway, after going through everything and then some, I have now ordered... the Anidees AI Crystal Black as suggested by @JokerProduction

 

The main thing that swung it was the space inside it, and there seems to be good room for a 360 on the top which is my preferred arrangement. The exterior looks are ok too, fairly clean apart from the front intake bit, but the 460X has the same design too. It's on an ETA of Thursday and if all goes to plan I'll move my Skylake-X setup into it next weekend.

[porina]

The Anidees AI Crystal has arrived and I've unboxed it for now. It is smaller than I thought given its cooling potential, but that is not a problem, even a plus. I'm itching to fill it now, but first I have to take apart the old system...

[JokerProduction]

Glad to see you took my suggestion.  Little late now but heres some pics of mine to give you a idea of what to expect.

 

Before the White strip was added to the top.

After the strip

 

 

 

The whole setup

 

[ApolloX75]

Damn I think I just found the perfect replacement for my 303.

[porina]

33 minutes ago, ApolloX75 said:

Damn I think I just found the perfect replacement for my 303.

I have a 303 already, but recently I'm finding the airflow... could be better. More looks than cooling.

[ApolloX75]

20 minutes ago, porina said:

I have a 303 already, but recently I'm finding the airflow... could be better. More looks than cooling.

Yeah I discovered that too. My custom loop runs about 15C hotter than it did in my Anidees AI6, and that's even after I upgraded to a 360 rad thinking that was the problem. Terrible airflow. 

 

Oddly enough none of the reviews I read even mentioned poor airflow.

[porina]

7 minutes ago, ApolloX75 said:

Yeah I discovered that too. My custom loop runs about 15C hotter than it did in my Anidees AI6, and that's even after I upgraded to a 360 rad thinking that was the problem. Terrible airflow. 

 

Oddly enough none of the reviews I read even mentioned poor airflow.

I think the weakness is the top fan mount, which is a major part of the looks of the case. There is a lot of air leakage back to the front, plus the hexagonal pattern vent at the back isn't exactly great. I suspect most of the actual airflow is the single fan at the rear. I only had problem when doing simultaneous CPU + GPU loads, when I realised the heat dumped by the GPU wasn't getting removed quickly enough and CPU temps were around 10C higher than if GPU was idle.

 

Back to the build: I've extracted the parts from the old system now so I can start planning what goes where...

[porina]

I started the build... and I do wish the case was bigger now. I can't fit my 360mm rad in this case. It wont fit in the front as it collides with the PSU shroud area. It wont fit in the top unless I pull out either the front or rear fan, neither of which I really want to do. Even the 240 where you can just see the fans on it at top of pic, are just low enough to interfere with the CPU power connectors on mobo. Just a little more either way would have helped a lot. Alternatively if the 360 mount positions were biased towards the front instead of the middle that might just be enough too.

 

The pump/res doesn't have a good location other than the spot I've placed it in pic. I'm undecided if I'll double-side tape it down, or do a more permanent drill into the PSU shroud area but I don't want to do that...

[porina]

 

Maybe I should have had a build log thread... this is taking longer than expected to fit everything in, but the end is in sight. Everything got in the way of everything else, so there was quite some backtracking. Just need to connect the rest of the water tubing and tidy up cable management now. I had to change the front fans to have somewhere to mount the res/pump, recycling some Corsair RGB from another build.

[porina]

Right, I'm done. No pic with side panel on as it's 99% reflections. Will have to wait until dark. The Windforce logo is RGB, and I tried to set it by eye to match the GERFORCE GTX under. They look closer IRL than in photo.

 

 

Here's the Corsair fans up front. They look better IRL than in the photo.