New Case Choices (Very Specific Needs)

[GTechGeorge]

     Pre-Note: If the only answers I'm going to be getting are basic 1-line answers saying why "case x" is the best and I shouldn't care about others then please don't bother saying anything at all. I'd like to have a professional discussion about this especially considering the fact that I may be dropping hundreds of dollars on a case.

 

     Introduction: Okay, so I've been operating out of a Corsair Obsidian Series 450D for almost two years now. Don't get me wrong, I love the case and it's checked all of my boxes in terms of aesthetics, cooling performance, and ease of use for these last 2 years. I still really like the design as I'm not one to go for a completely "flashy" case with dozens of angles and whatnot. But recently I've just been feeling that the case has gotten a little... stale. Especially after seeing the recent case trends such as power supply basements and tempered glass. I've got a few other small requests but so far nothing has really caught my attention dramatically (although there have been a few). I guess I'm just asking for second (and third, and fourth, and fifth, etc.) opinions to maybe narrow down my case search.

 

Quick Note: Here's my most up to date parts list of my setup currently so you can get an idea of the components I use and maybe that'll influence cases based on airflow or something. If you prefer to not look at the link, just note the case should be close to a mid-tower in size. It can be a large case but should still just be considered a mid-tower. I don't have a need for 9 expansion slots and 24 hard drives or anything like that. It also needs to support ATX motherboards, a 280mm AIO radiator (thinking about switching to 360mm AIO if the ends justify the means), and an 11.38" graphics card. As for budget, right now I'm not going to think about that. I've explored some pretty premium options that I wouldn't typically mind spending the money on, but I'd prefer to not blow off a good $300-$400 on a case alone.

Link: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/7DRYjc

 

Needs (Mandatory):

     I should probably note right now that I've always considered the option of modding my case to fit the following criteria. Some of the trends that have really caught my attention recently have been like I mentioned before; a tempered glass side panel and a power supply basement. A tempered glass side panel is pretty obvious; it just shows off the entire interior of the case which would be a step up from my current side panel that shows most of the components but may occasionally block some things depending how I sit in my chair (the window itself is technically only 50% of the side panel based on dimensions). Personally I don't mind if the glass is tinted but not an incredible amount of tint such as the recently released Fractal Design Meshify C. There's plenty of lighting in my case so it's not like the components would be invisible, but I'd prefer to see fine details of the components. I've looked at some options with more than one glass panel (the Corsair Crystal Series 460X comes to mind) where there is one large one on the side and one or more on either the front, top, or right side. I'm not too particularly fond of cases that look like they're just entirely made out of glass such as the Corsair Crystal Series 570X, or even cases where the right side panel is glass as well such as the Enthoo Evolv TG (no custom cables + piss pour cable management = hideous mess). 

     As for a power supply basement, well that one's pretty straight forward too; It just hides the power supply and cables. I don't really have any specific details about looks or features or anything. Cases such as the Cooler Master MasterCase H500P have dual SSD mounts on top of the basement while the NZXT S340 Elite also has an optional SSD mount on the side which is neat, but not mandatory. Most cases nowadays have dedicated SSD mounts behind the motherboard tray which my current case has and I'm fairly content with. I don't really care about branding on the basement either. The Crystal 460X has a Corsair logo but it's not flashy or anything so I wouldn't care. A good amount of Phanteks cases have the area next to the power supply cut out on the side so that you can show off your power supply's branding. This isn't something I'd absolutely be against but it's not something I'm too fond of either. I just have a 750W EVGA power supply so there's really no special logos or anything on the side.

     Going back to the option of modding my Obsidian 450D shouldn't be too hard of a task. I know that power supply basements are fairly easy as all you do is bend a piece of acrylic and paint it which I'd be okay with, but a glass side panel might be more challenging. I've watched PaulsHardware's guide of making a custom tempered glass side panel for his Fractal Design Define R5 which is pretty informative and educational. I've considered an idea like his as well as maybe purchasing a glass side panel for the Crystal 460X and mounting it to my case with some custom standoffs (haven't checked exact size) and screw it on. That's more of a last-ditch effort though as at that point I'd probably be better off just purchasing a new case anyway.

 

Wants (Optional):

     So being the nitpicky person that I am, I've valued three things; one aesthetic, one functional, and one being both. For the "aesthetics", I've really become fond of vertical GPU mounting. A good portion of cases are being released recently with said vertical GPU mounting options in place such as the Cooler Master MasterCase H500P, as well as the soon to be announced Be Quiet! Pure Base 700 and Lian Li Alpha 330 and 550 cases. I'm not really looking for cases that just lay the motherboard horizontal and then have regular GPU mounting in a horizontal position as I don't have the horizontal desk space for that. A case capable of being in both horizontal and vertical positions is the Lian Li PC-O7S. By default, the GPU is able to be mounted vertically and includes a riser cable, the chassis supports ATX motherboards as well as smaller sizes especially looking at the rest of the PC-O family. The only downsides to this case are the price as the case typically sells for $300+, and I wouldn't be able to mount my current 280mm NZXT Kraken X61 AIO liquid cooler in the case as it only supports 120mm fans. However, as I stated earlier I might consider purchasing a 360mm AIO if it would fit a case like this (the ends justify the means).

     The "functional" aspect is a lot less of a concern to me but something that'd still be nice to have. A reason I like my current Obsidian 450D so much is for the aesthetically pleasing front panel. The entire front is made out of a brushed aluminum which I absolutely adore the look of and the front is open with a fair spaced mesh to reveal the front fans. The 5.25" drive bays blend in with the overall look of the case very well, but even with this in mind I'm not planning on putting an optical drive in. The GPU I purchased is the Gigabyte Xtreme Gaming GTX 1080 Premium Pack. What that means is that this card has two dedicated HDMI ports on the front of the card inside of the case which are designed to be plugged into a 5.25" HDMI adapter that came with the GPU. The entire reason this is an option is because when I purchased the GTX 1080 I planned on doing serious VR gaming in the future. Although I don't currently have a VR headset, it's something I'd definitely consider picking up, especially considering that I intend for this new case to last me a long while. However, the graphics card also came with a seperate PCIe braket designed to also reroute the dedicated HDMI ports to the back in the instance that a case chosen does not have 5.25" bays but at that point I don't see why I wouldn't just plug the VR headset into the graphics card anyway. I've taken a look at the NZXT S340 Elite which comes with a dedicated HDMI port on the top by the IO for VR, but I really don't like the overall look of the S340. As I said before, I'm not one to be too keen of flashy cases and my current chassis is far from that. But it's almost like the S340, and for that matter a good amount of NZXT's other cases, are too simple. The black and green H440 was one of my original case choices when I was building my PC, but I was generally concerned about airflow with as flat and bland the front panel was (that and they had stopped making that model right before I purchased my parts).

     With as much powerful hardware as I have packed into this system only with the intent to add more, airflow is a serious concern for me which brings us to the "best of both worlds" category. The meshing on my case is very adequate. It lets in a lot of fresh air especially with the two 140mm fans that I have in the front, and also allows me to show them off because I picked up green fans for a reason; aesthetics. If not mesh, I'd like some kind of panel that is see through as I plan on picking up some new RGB fans sometime in the future (not a main concern right now). The H500P is a great example of this as despite the front being translucent, there is still a good amount of meshing on the sides for airflow. The same goes for the top of the case having good spacing for mesh as well as being able to show off whatever 3 fans I decided to throw in there. I know some cases like the In Win 805 Infinity suffocates any components inside of it due to the extreme lack of air ventilation in the front.

 

Options:

So TL;DR, I'll start listing some cases I've looked at and considered and try to explain pros and cons to choosing each case.

Quick Note: The cases are simply listed in alphabetical order by company name, not favorite or most pros/cons.

 

be quiet!:

• Pure Base 600 TG
  • Pros
    • Good Price ($90)
    • Removable 5.25" Drive Bays
    • Well-Tinted Tempered Glass
  • Cons
    • Lack of PSU Shroud
    • Lack of Vertical GPU Mount
    • Not a fan of HDD Mounts
• Pure Base 700
  • Pros
    • PSU shroud
    • Tempered Glass
    • Vertical GPU Mount
  • Cons
    • Unreleased Product
    • Price: TBA

 

Cooler Master: 

• MasterCase H500P
  • Pros
    • Moderate Price ($150)
    • PSU Shroud
    • Tempered Glass
    • Vertical GPU Mount
  • Cons
    • Build Quality
    • Lack of Included PCIe Riser Cable

 

Corsair: 

• Crystal Series 460X RGB
  • Pros
    • Moderate Price ($140)
    • Dual Tempered Glass Panels
    • PSU Shroud
  • Cons
    • Lack of Vertical GPU Mount
    • Tempered Glass Panel Mounting

 

Fractal Design:

• Define C TG
  • Pros
    • Good Price ($80)
    • PSU Shroud
    • Tempered Glass
  • Cons
    • Lack of Vertical GPU Mount

 

In Win: 

• 805
  • Pros
    • Moderate Price ($120)
    • Tempered Glass
  • Cons
    • Too Much Tempered Glass?
    • Lack of Airflow
    • Lack of Vertical GPU Mount
    • Lack of PSU Shroud
    • Lack of PSU Ventilation

 

Lian Li:

• PC-O7S
  • Pros
    • Aesthetics
    • Slim 5.25" Mount
    • Tempered Glass
    • Vertical GPU Mount
  • Cons
    • Extreme Price ($380)
    • Lack of SLI Support for 3-slot GPUs (Potential Modding Opportunity?)
    • No 140mm Fan Support (would have to purchase 240mm/360mm AIO)
• Alpha 330
  • Pros
    • Moderate Price ($100-$110: Official Price TBA)
    • PSU Shroud
    • Tempered Glass
  • Cons
    • Too Much Tempered Glass?
    • Unreleased Product
• Alpha 550
  • Pros
    • Fan Support (140mm x 3 Top + Front)
    • PSU Shroud
    • Tempered Glass
  • Cons
    • High Price ($170-$180: Official Price TBA)
    • Color (Would prefer black, not sure if in production)
    • Unreleased Product

 

NZXT: 

• S340 Elite
  • Pros
    • Good Price ($90)
    • PSU Shroud
    • Tempered Glass
    • VR Header
  • Cons
    • Aesthetics (Too Plain)
    • Lack of Airflow (Concealed Front Fans, Single Top Fan)
    • Lack of Vertical GPU Mount

 

Phanteks: 

• Enthoo Pro M TG
  • Pros
    • Moderate Price ($110)
    • PSU Shroud
    • Removable 5.25" Mount
    • Tempered Glass
  • Cons
    • Lack of Vertical GPU Mount
• Enthoo Luxe TG
  • Pros
    • 5.25" Mounts
    • Included RGB Case Lighting
    • PSU Shroud
    • Tempered Glass
  • Cons
    • High Price ($180)
    • Lack of Vertical GPU Mount
    • Size (Full Tower)
• Eclipse P400S TG
  • Pros
    • Good Price ($89)
    • Included RGB Case Lighting
    • PSU Shroud
    • Well-Tinted Tempered Glass
  • Cons
    • Lack of Vertical GPU Mount

 

Conclusion: So long story short, I'd like a few opinions on what I should do. Due to my extremely nitpicky behavior this task has become a lot harder than necessary but I'm hoping that others can give me some kind of insight. Thanks.

[Armakar]

just saying mate, you can't seriously expect anyone to read all this.. you might want to half the size of the post if you want replies.

 

I'm not going to read this post because it's stupidly long, but here's some things to look at and consider:

The 805 is a gimmic case, i'd say it's quite mediocere.
The only cases i'd consider of your list are the S340 Elite, the Define C, anything from Be Quiet, and anything from Phanteks.

Cooler master's new case is just trash build quality and unacceptable. Lian-Li tend to overlook the general market and only make cases for a very, very specific audience.The crystal series in general has too many flaws, and the rest of corsair's cases I find lack functionality.

I've been looking at a lot of cases for my build, I'd advise you check out the Enthoo Evolv ATX Glass, it has tempered glass panels, a great PSU shroud, cable management,  RGB lighting and great, great build quality. Also check out the dark base 900, I'd say it's the best case on the market. Tempred glass, fully invertable layout, fits everything, it even has a Chi-Charger on the top. That might seem like a gimmic, but for me it's actually really useful.

 

On 11/3/2017 at 4:45 PM, wONKEyeYEs said:

I have an S340 which I am quite happy with, but wouldn't turn down the Elite.

I just keep the front cover off. Better airflow and aesthetics.

Also had to dremel larger the opening in the basement to get two 8 pin pcie power cables through.

Don't think it looks plain.

Great build dude.. but get a chair! I sat on a chair like that at my PC for years.. it messed with my back. Still have posture issues .

[Armakar]

2 minutes ago, wONKEyeYEs said:

LOL, it's a LaZBoy recliner.

I have a bad back so I'm reclined with my feet up most the time, it's great.

 

Currently typing this trying to keep a straight back as a 19 year old looking like he's a 90 year old with back problems...

[GTechGeorge]

23 hours ago, Armakar said:

I'm not going to read this post because it's stupidly long, but here's some things to look at and consider:

The 805 is a gimmic case, i'd say it's quite mediocere.
The only cases i'd consider of your list are the S340 Elite, the Define C, anything from Be Quiet, and anything from Phanteks.

Cooler master's new case is just trash build quality and unacceptable. Lian-Li tend to overlook the general market and only make cases for a very, very specific audience.The crystal series in general has too many flaws, and the rest of corsair's cases I find lack functionality.

I've been looking at a lot of cases for my build, I'd advise you check out the Enthoo Evolv ATX Glass, it has tempered glass panels, a great PSU shroud, cable management,  RGB lighting and great, great build quality. Also check out the dark base 900, I'd say it's the best case on the market. Tempred glass, fully invertable layout, fits everything, it even has a Chi-Charger on the top. That might seem like a gimmic, but for me it's actually really useful.

          I understand the length of the article is a serious issue but it honestly provides in the best detail what I'm looking for a case. Going back to your recommendations, I'll address them one by one. When I made the case list I had both the In Win 805 and 805 Infinity but the Infinity had about double the cons as compared to the regular 805. Out of all of those cases I chose it's probably lowest on the list. For the H500P I don't really have issues with the build quality. I understand that the panels can come off quite easily, but quite frankly I don't care. I'm not going to be taking the case to LAN parties every weekend or anything like that (In fact I really only move my computer about twice a year) and despite the front and top panels being acrylic I don't think you'd be able to tell based on looks. Besides it still just has an aesthetic I really like and has a lot more pros than cons. Lian Li and In Win tend to be the "Ferraris" and "Lamborghinis" of the case market tending to extremely overprice their products which I understand completely. The S340 Elite I have some doubts about, Define C's not bad, I'm waiting for the Pure Base 700 to release so I can judge that, and Phanteks is a really nice brand. I've looked at the Enthoo Evolv ATX TG but it doesn't really hit home with me in terms of aesthetics, I'd prefer a case without tempered glass where all of the cables go (I tend to have piss pour cable management behind the motherboard tray) and I understand that the closed off front results in some pretty bad temperatures (one of my concerns with the S340 Elite). The Dark Base 900 looked nice but it's a full tower case which is really pushing the limits of my desk and has a hefty price premium. 

          So out of all of the cases, I think my top 5 favorites overall would have to be as follows: 1) Cooler Master MasterCase H500P, Pure Base 700 (If it lives up to expectations), Enthoo Pro M TG, PC-O7S, Crystal 460X RGB.

[TVwazhere]

On 11/4/2017 at 8:13 PM, StrikerX1360 said:

          I understand the length of the article is a serious issue but it honestly provides in the best detail what I'm looking for a case. Going back to your recommendations, I'll address them one by one. When I made the case list I had both the In Win 805 and 805 Infinity but the Infinity had about double the cons as compared to the regular 805. Out of all of those cases I chose it's probably lowest on the list. For the H500P I don't really have issues with the build quality. I understand that the panels can come off quite easily, but quite frankly I don't care. I'm not going to be taking the case to LAN parties every weekend or anything like that (In fact I really only move my computer about twice a year) and despite the front and top panels being acrylic I don't think you'd be able to tell based on looks. Besides it still just has an aesthetic I really like and has a lot more pros than cons. Lian Li and In Win tend to be the "Ferraris" and "Lamborghinis" of the case market tending to extremely overprice their products which I understand completely. The S340 Elite I have some doubts about, Define C's not bad, I'm waiting for the Pure Base 700 to release so I can judge that, and Phanteks is a really nice brand. I've looked at the Enthoo Evolv ATX TG but it doesn't really hit home with me in terms of aesthetics, I'd prefer a case without tempered glass where all of the cables go (I tend to have piss pour cable management behind the motherboard tray) and I understand that the closed off front results in some pretty bad temperatures (one of my concerns with the S340 Elite). The Dark Base 900 looked nice but it's a full tower case which is really pushing the limits of my desk and has a hefty price premium. 

          So out of all of the cases, I think my top 5 favorites overall would have to be as follows: 1) Cooler Master MasterCase H500P, Pure Base 700 (If it lives up to expectations), Enthoo Pro M TG, PC-O7S, Crystal 460X RGB.

I actually read the entire post

 

First off, before I tell you the two recommendations from your list, let me preference that with this: native Vertical GPU mounting support, unless using Watercooling, should be disregarded. I chose my wording very carefully there, and I'll explain

https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/3081-cooler-master-master-case-h500p-review-poor-quality-and-airflow/page-2

 

Gamers nexus has done a few different reviews testing cases with Vertical GPU configurations. Their tests have found that the GPU mounts are more or less not fully thought out, as A, taller reference cards do not fit if the user is using an air cooler (which does not apply in some cases), and B, that the GPU's thermal throttle due to no air flow (which is an issue in all cases). Until Vertical GPU's have time to mature like RGB did, native implementation of it will be not recommended. But what about "non native" Vertical GPU risers? Specifically, Coolermaster's Master case series that supplements the PCI-E slots for a GPU bracket? Now this implementation actually functions without having the aforementioned issued with native designs, however the draw back is that you give up support for any more PCI-E lanes, a trade off some cannot live with, as it basically renders other pci-e lanes useless. The Master Case 5t is their top of the line case that comes with all the special features (including that bracket I believe, if not it's a $40 add on ) but doesnt have the best airflow, so not 100% recommended.

 

Here are the personally  non-recommended cases on your list. I've highted my reasoning

 

 

be quiet!:

• Pure Base 600 TG
  • Cons
    • Lack of PSU Shroud
• Pure Base 700
  • Cons
    • Unreleased Product
    • Air flow 

 

Cooler Master: 

• MasterCase H500P
  • Cons
    • Build Quality
    • Bad airflow

 

 

In Win: 

• 805
  • Cons
    • Too Much Tempered Glass?
    • Lack of Airflow
    • Lack of Vertical GPU Mount
    • Lack of PSU Shroud
    • Lack of PSU Ventilation
    • This is just a straight up bad case

 

Lian Li:

• PC-O7S
  • Cons
    • Extreme Price ($380)
• Alpha 330
  • Cons
    • Bad Airflow
    • Unreleased Product
• Alpha 550
  • Cons
    • Unreleased Product

 

NZXT: 

• S340 Elite
  • Cons
    • Insifficient Airflow

Phanteks: 

• Eclipse P400S TG
  • Cons
    • Insufficient Airflow

There are two (three) cases left on your list:

 

With the Define C, you would not be able to Front Mount the RAD and use the 289mm length GPU. And it doesnt have 280mm rad top support  So this case is sadly not an option.

 

Enthoo Pro M TG is therefore the definitive answer. (Luxe is a back up option if youre really wanting to get into something bigger, but not needed as everything will fit in the Pro M)

[GTechGeorge]

5 hours ago, TVwazhere said:

I actually read the entire post

 

First off, before I tell you the two recommendations from your list, let me preference that with this: native Vertical GPU mounting support, unless using Watercooling, should be disregarded. I chose my wording very carefully there, and I'll explain

https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/3081-cooler-master-master-case-h500p-review-poor-quality-and-airflow/page-2

 

Gamers nexus has done a few different reviews testing cases with Vertical GPU configurations. Their tests have found that the GPU mounts are more or less not fully thought out, as A, taller reference cards do not fit if the user is using an air cooler (which does not apply in some cases), and B, that the GPU's thermal throttle due to no air flow (which is an issue in all cases). Until Vertical GPU's have time to mature like RGB did, native implementation of it will be not recommended. But what about "non native" Vertical GPU risers? Specifically, Coolermaster's Master case series that supplements the PCI-E slots for a GPU bracket? Now this implementation actually functions without having the aforementioned issued with native designs, however the draw back is that you give up support for any more PCI-E lanes, a trade off some cannot live with, as it basically renders other pci-e lanes useless. The Master Case 5t is their top of the line case that comes with all the special features (including that bracket I believe, if not it's a $40 add on ) but doesnt have the best airflow, so not 100% recommended.

 

Here are the personally  non-recommended cases on your list. I've highted my reasoning

 

 

be quiet!:

• Pure Base 600 TG
  • Cons
    • Lack of PSU Shroud
• Pure Base 700
  • Cons
    • Unreleased Product
    • Air flow 

 

Cooler Master: 

• MasterCase H500P
  • Cons
    • Build Quality
    • Bad airflow

 

 

In Win: 

• 805
  • Cons
    • Too Much Tempered Glass?
    • Lack of Airflow
    • Lack of Vertical GPU Mount
    • Lack of PSU Shroud
    • Lack of PSU Ventilation
    • This is just a straight up bad case

 

Lian Li:

• PC-O7S
  • Cons
    • Extreme Price ($380)
• Alpha 330
  • Cons
    • Bad Airflow
    • Unreleased Product
• Alpha 550
  • Cons
    • Unreleased Product

 

NZXT: 

• S340 Elite
  • Cons
    • Insifficient Airflow

Phanteks: 

• Eclipse P400S TG
  • Cons
    • Insufficient Airflow

There are two (three) cases left on your list:

 

With the Define C, you would not be able to Front Mount the RAD and use the 289mm length GPU. And it doesnt have 280mm rad top support  So this case is sadly not an option.

 

Enthoo Pro M TG is therefore the definitive answer. (Luxe is a back up option if youre really wanting to get into something bigger, but not needed as everything will fit in the Pro M)

Hey thanks for the in-depth reply. I really appreciate it. I'll talk about each of my 5 top choices for a more in depth explanation.

• Cooler Master MasterCase H500P
  • The 200mm fans look nice and all and it's great that they're RGB, but in some of the review samples I've seen the fans have been malfunctioning in terms of lighting. Ideally I plan on swapping out the fans that come with the case with 140mm fans on both the top and front as I already have 4 different brands each with their own RGB control methods in my case and I'm really not looking to add another one. I have actually contacted Cooler Master way before the H500P was released asking for compatibility with my GPU if it were placed in the vertical PCIe slots and they said it would be pretty tight but would work. They also linked me to their vertical GPU mounting kit which I've looked at. As of right now, I'm not planning on using any of my other PCIe slots unless I were to purchase a 2nd GTX 1080 Xtreme edition. Even then I've considered looking at making both GPUs vertical with 1 using the kit and one using the vertical PCIe slots included in the case. Build quality isn't too much of an issue for me. The case itself is pretty sturdy aside from the flimsy front and top panels (which I am kind of upset about). I hardly move my PC to begin with and this case in addition to a few upgrades will probably be some of the last upgrades I make to my system for a long time. 
• be quiet! Pure Base 700
  • This case is a bit harder to speak for due to the limited knowledge about it. be quiet! posted a sneak peak trailer of the upcoming case but it doesn't give away much information. What I have understood about the case is that it is going to have tempered glass, a PSU basement, vertical GPU mounting, and more information coming on the 14th of November. I believe it had 7 PCIe slots aside from the vertical ones indicating that it's going to be an ATX chassis. However, as seen on cases like the Pure Base 600, the orange details are now replaced by orange LEDs which I'm hoping are RGB because my color scheme is almost the complete opposite of orange.
• Phanteks Enthoo Pro M TG
  • You've probably said it better than I can so there's not a whole lot to add on. 
• Lian-Li PC-O7S
  • This case is a lot more interesting being as slim as it is. The case is wall mountable which I've considered the functionality of. My desk is pretty small and I have a hugely oversized monitor meaning that the only space I have for anything other than the keyboard and mouse is my tiny little keyboard tray. The PC-O7S can technically support dual GPUs both of which are vertical by default but my model of GTX 1080 is too large to have two of them back to back without some serious modding. Something I've considered doing with this case is putting one GPU on top of the other. Kind of confusing to think about but if you've seen the "Project Orthrus" video on the LTT channel you might understand what I mean in terms of positioning. I'd have to mod the case a bit in the mesh located above the vertical PCIe slots and connecting the SLI cables to the GPUs are nothing more than finding long ones and routing one behind the other, but the case itself is designed to take this kind of heat and expel it efficiently. Unfortunately the case only supports 120mm fans but in my original post I believe I said that I wouldn't mind getting a 360mm AIO if the case permits it considering the upcoming Corsair 360mm AIO shown off at Computex or others from good brands like Fractal Design. One of my major points listed in the "cons" section is that the price is so enormously inflated for what it is but at my local computer hardware store I've found the case for nearly $200 which is close to half of what it normally retails for.
• Corsair Crystal 460X RGB
  • I actually haven't considered this case very much recently but it's kind of sat in the back of my mind in terms of functionality. Aesthetically I really like this case. There's a few things I'm not a fan of such as needing dedicated hardware buttons to change the color of the fans in the front (in my opinion it just clutters up the front IO with more buttons than necessary) but really that's about it. It seems more of a case that I'd purchase because it has a good amount of things I like with very few things that would annoy me. Being on the lesser end of the top 5 choices kind of just makes it a "neutral" purchase with no foreseen consequences.

[TVwazhere]

4 minutes ago, StrikerX1360 said:

• Lian-Li PC-O7S
  • This case is a lot more interesting being as slim as it is. The case is wall mountable which I've considered the functionality of. My desk is pretty small and I have a hugely oversized monitor meaning that the only space I have for anything other than the keyboard and mouse is my tiny little keyboard tray. The PC-O7S can technically support dual GPUs both of which are vertical by default but my model of GTX 1080 is too large to have two of them back to back without some serious modding. Something I've considered doing with this case is putting one GPU on top of the other. Kind of confusing to think about but if you've seen the "Project Orthrus" video on the LTT channel you might understand what I mean in terms of positioning. I'd have to mod the case a bit in the mesh located above the vertical PCIe slots and connecting the SLI cables to the GPUs are nothing more than finding long ones and routing one behind the other, but the case itself is designed to take this kind of heat and expel it efficiently. Unfortunately the case only supports 120mm fans but in my original post I believe I said that I wouldn't mind getting a 360mm AIO if the case permits it considering the upcoming Corsair 360mm AIO shown off at Computex or others from good brands like Fractal Design. One of my major points listed in the "cons" section is that the price is so enormously inflated for what it is but at my local computer hardware store I've found the case for nearly $200 which is close to half of what it normally retails for.

The PC-O7S for under $200 is actually a pretty good deal. IT's definitely the most beautiful and "show off" case out of all the ones listed since it's mounting varies from desk stand to wall mounting. The price tag always led me to not recommend it but recently Lain Li has been having sales on their older cases ( I saw the PC-0*, a $400 msrp case go for about half that)

[dizmo]

While I applaud you for including way more than the amount of needed information, in the future it might be better to keep it short. I'm surprised you never had a professor in school tell you that length is not equal to greatness, and that often a shorter, more information dense paper is better. Or, for the ease of the reader, put your list of wants in bullet form with brief descriptions. Not many people come to a forum to read a massive story, and you might lose a lot of valuable insight from people who simply don't want to invest the time to read it.

 

Let's take, for example, these two paragraphs here.

Quote

Some of the trends that have really caught my attention recently have been like I mentioned before; a tempered glass side panel and a power supply basement. A tempered glass side panel is pretty obvious; it just shows off the entire interior of the case which would be a step up from my current side panel that shows most of the components but may occasionally block some things depending how I sit in my chair (the window itself is technically only 50% of the side panel based on dimensions). Personally I don't mind if the glass is tinted but not an incredible amount of tint such as the recently released Fractal Design Meshify C. There's plenty of lighting in my case so it's not like the components would be invisible, but I'd prefer to see fine details of the components. I've looked at some options with more than one glass panel (the Corsair Crystal Series 460X comes to mind) where there is one large one on the side and one or more on either the front, top, or right side. I'm not too particularly fond of cases that look like they're just entirely made out of glass such as the Corsair Crystal Series 570X, or even cases where the right side panel is glass as well such as the Enthoo Evolv TG (no custom cables + piss pour cable management = hideous mess). 
As for a power supply basement, well that one's pretty straight forward too; It just hides the power supply and cables. I don't really have any specific details about looks or features or anything. Cases such as the Cooler Master MasterCase H500P have dual SSD mounts on top of the basement while the NZXT S340 Elite also has an optional SSD mount on the side which is neat, but not mandatory. Most cases nowadays have dedicated SSD mounts behind the motherboard tray which my current case has and I'm fairly content with. I don't really care about branding on the basement either. The Crystal 460X has a Corsair logo but it's not flashy or anything so I wouldn't care. A good amount of Phanteks cases have the area next to the power supply cut out on the side so that you can show off your power supply's branding. This isn't something I'd absolutely be against but it's not something I'm too fond of either. I just have a 750W EVGA power supply so there's really no special logos or anything on the side.

Could very easily be condensed to:

• Tempered glass side panel
  I don't mind tinted glass, but would prefer that it not be overly tinted; I like to see my lighting and hardware.
  I'm also not fond of cases that have more than one glass panel.
• Power supply basement
  It'd be great to have SSD mounts on the shroud, but it's not mandatory. I don't care if it has a logo, as long as it's not flashy.

That conveys the same information as what you said, in a more reader friendly way. You put in a lot of information the reader already knows, such as the basement covering up cables.

 

TL;DR: You've included way too much unnecessary information, and it makes your post hard to read.

 

As for cases, I'll throw a few out there that you may not have considered. Caselabs BH7 and the NZXT H700i.

[GTechGeorge]

8 minutes ago, dizmo said:

While I applaud you for including way more than the amount of needed information, in the future it might be better to keep it short. I'm surprised you never had a professor in school tell you that length is not equal to greatness, and that often a shorter, more information dense paper is better. Or, for the ease of the reader, put your list of wants in bullet form with brief descriptions. Not many people come to a forum to read a massive story, and you might lose a lot of valuable insight from people who simply don't want to invest the time to read it.

 

Let's take, for example, these two paragraphs here.

Could very easily be condensed to:

• Tempered glass side panel
  I don't mind tinted glass, but would prefer that it not be overly tinted; I like to see my lighting and hardware.
  I'm also not fond of cases that have more than one glass panel.
• Power supply basement
  It'd be great to have SSD mounts on the shroud, but it's not mandatory. I don't care if it has a logo, as long as it's not flashy.

That conveys the same information as what you said, in a more reader friendly way. You put in a lot of information the reader already knows, such as the basement covering up cables.

 

TL;DR: You've included way too much unnecessary information, and it makes your post hard to read.

 

As for cases, I'll throw a few out there that you may not have considered. Caselabs BH7 and the NZXT H700i.

Yeah, I understand the length is kind of a tough pill to swallow but I feel it gave the best amount of detail for explanation rather than a quick summary. For the Caselabs BH7, pretty much any Caselabs case is great, but stupidly expensive. Mostly just matte painted aluminum for twice the price of a similar case from other brands. I've never really been too interested in horizontal motherboard cases (as said in the original post) and I feel I might actually lose more desk space with a case like that or something like the Cooler Master HAF XB EVO or Elite 130. AS for the NZXT H700i, it mostly just looks like a refreshed H440. Not too keen of the design and being a $200 case it's definitely up there with some of the other more expensive cases I've looked at but I'd rather spend an extra $20 or so on a super on-sale Lian-Li PC-O7S than an H440/S340 Hybrid.

[dizmo]

35 minutes ago, StrikerX1360 said:

Yeah, I understand the length is kind of a tough pill to swallow but I feel it gave the best amount of detail for explanation rather than a quick summary. For the Caselabs BH7, pretty much any Caselabs case is great, but stupidly expensive. Mostly just matte painted aluminum for twice the price of a similar case from other brands. I've never really been too interested in horizontal motherboard cases (as said in the original post) and I feel I might actually lose more desk space with a case like that or something like the Cooler Master HAF XB EVO or Elite 130. AS for the NZXT H700i, it mostly just looks like a refreshed H440. Not too keen of the design and being a $200 case it's definitely up there with some of the other more expensive cases I've looked at but I'd rather spend an extra $20 or so on a super on-sale Lian-Li PC-O7S than an H440/S340 Hybrid.

It was unnecessary and made it rather unreadable. I'll be honest I skipped over most of it and just tried to grab the main points. The BH series isn't as expensive as their other cases, they're considerably less than the PC-07S. Good luck.