Best minimalist mid-tower case for £/$100 or less?

[Apepa]

I'm not really a case person, so I have no idea what brands/models are the best for acoustics and airflow.

 

Basically looking for something with that Corsair Carbide/Define R5 sort of design where it just looks like a plain black box and has some soundproofing.

 

I don't want anything bigger than a mid-tower, as I do tend to move my rig a fair bit.

 

Needs to fit:

 

Full ATX PSU

Full ATX Mobo

1x 5.25 Optical drive

At least 2 x 3.5 HDDs

At least 2 x 2.5 SSDs

a Noctua U14S cooler (165mm)

 

And it definitely must not have any RGB, or side windows. As far as "build quality" goes, I can live without diamond-crusted power switches as long as the thing looks good, stays cool and doesn't make much noise.

[MaorRX]

Fractial Define R5 is What i would go for, I have it, it look great, and is really quiet, and nice build quality.

Though Define R6  is a little nicer.

[Himommies]

1 minute ago, MaorRX said:

Fractial Define R5 is What i would go for, I have it, it look great, and is really quiet, and nice build quality.

Though Define R6  is a little nicer.

Meshify C/S340

[Damascus]

Define r6 or define c

[Energycore]

As far as good performance, minimalist cases go, you can't go wrong with a Fractal Design Define R5

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/sjX2FT/fractal-design-case-fdcadefr5bk

 

A good alternative is the Be Quiet! Pure Base 600

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/PNTrxr/be-quiet-pure-base-600-atx-mid-tower-case-bg021

 

9 minutes ago, Himommies said:

Meshify C/S340

 

3 minutes ago, Damascus said:

Define r6 or define c

OP needs housing for a 5.25" drive

[Apepa]

Hmmm....very interesting that nobody has mentioned any Carbide ones so far.

[seon123]

1 minute ago, Apepa said:

Hmmm....very interesting that nobody has mentioned any Carbide ones so far.

The 600Q? The 400Q doesn't have any 5,25" drive spots. Most of the Carbide series is quite old

[Apepa]

5 minutes ago, seon123 said:

The 600Q? The 400Q doesn't have any 5,25" drive spots. Most of the Carbide series is quite old

I honesly wouldn't care if it was 50 years old if it fulfilled my requirements. I mean interesting from the perspective that nobody can recommend them. It's a shame because I actually prefer the look of their cases. 

[Damascus]

37 minutes ago, Energycore said:

OP needs housing for a 5.25" drive

R6 has one

[Energycore]

45 minutes ago, Damascus said:

R6 has one

That was addressing your Define C recommendation

[Energycore]

1 hour ago, Apepa said:

Hmmm....very interesting that nobody has mentioned any Carbide ones so far.

I just don't think the carbide aesthetic is what I'd call minimalistic

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/2WkD4D/corsair-case-300rwindowed

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/shtWGX/corsair-case-cc9011086ww

 

Though I suppose the 400C/Q does fit the description.

 

At first I thought that you didn't want a Window but here's a case I really like that has that minimalistic aesthetic and a full Window -

 

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/2mQRsY/phanteks-enthoo-pro-m-tempered-glass-atx-mid-tower-case-ph-es515ptg_bk

 

Probably my favorite case and what I'd have if I had disposable income

[Not_Sean]

Why do you want a 5.25" Drive? Seriously? 

[Fred Flintstone]

The FD Define R6 looks amazing to me, it's quite clean and has some cool features, but I guess the most important for you is the ODD cage.

[Apepa]

10 hours ago, Not_Sean said:

Why do you want a 5.25" Drive? Seriously? 

1. Large DVD/BD collection

2. Backing up to HDD or flash is more expensive and less reliable

3. I use Data CDs in the car because they are (again) more reliable

4. I'm old.