Looking for a case to fit my GTX 1080 + front mounted AiO

[Gh0s7_]

After buying a Fractal Design Meshify C and finding out that I can't mount my Corsair H105 both on top and on front (tried everything, it's a matter of 2cm but there's nothing to do), I decided to give up and return the case and so I'm looking for a replacement.

 

What I'm looking for is a mid-tower case that allows me to front mount my Corsair H105 (38mm radiator + 25mm fans) while leaving enough space for my Zotac GTX-1080 AMP! Edition (300mm card) and staying under 100€.

 

I did some research, and I ended up with this list:

 

• Corsair Carbide 400C [CC-9011081-WW] - 100€
• Phanteks Eclipse P400S - 88€
• Fractal Design Define S [FD-CA-DEF-S-BK-W] - 93€
• NZXT S340 Elite [ca-s340 W-b3] - 90€

Not knowing much about cases, the NZXT is the one that looked better to me.

 

What do you guys suggest?

[Hip]

I have the S340 Elite and it's a great case. The only thing that's pretty bad are the missing dust filters on the top.

I'd rather recommend the Corsair Carbide 400C instead.

The build quality of the Define S is pretty bad in my opinion. Great design but cheap materials.

[SeanAngelo]

16 minutes ago, Gh0s7_ said:

After buying a Fractal Design Meshify C and finding out that I can't mount my Corsair H105 both on top and on front (tried everything, it's a matter of 2cm but there's nothing to do), I decided to give up and return the case and so I'm looking for a replacement.

 

What I'm looking for is a mid-tower case that allows me to front mount my Corsair H105 (38mm radiator + 25mm fans) while leaving enough space for my Zotac GTX-1080 AMP! Edition (300mm card) and staying under 100€.

 

I did some research, and I ended up with this list:

 

• Corsair Carbide 400C [CC-9011081-WW] - 100€
• Phanteks Eclipse P400S - 88€
• Fractal Design Define S [FD-CA-DEF-S-BK-W] - 93€
• NZXT S340 Elite [ca-s340 W-b3] - 90€

Not knowing much about cases, the NZXT is the one that looked better to me.

 

What do you guys suggest?

Define S. hands down the best one out of them, personally.

[STRMfrmXMN]

22 minutes ago, Gh0s7_ said:

After buying a Fractal Design Meshify C and finding out that I can't mount my Corsair H105 both on top and on front (tried everything, it's a matter of 2cm but there's nothing to do), I decided to give up and return the case and so I'm looking for a replacement.

 

What I'm looking for is a mid-tower case that allows me to front mount my Corsair H105 (38mm radiator + 25mm fans) while leaving enough space for my Zotac GTX-1080 AMP! Edition (300mm card) and staying under 100€.

 

I did some research, and I ended up with this list:

 

• Corsair Carbide 400C [CC-9011081-WW] - 100€
• Phanteks Eclipse P400S - 88€
• Fractal Design Define S [FD-CA-DEF-S-BK-W] - 93€
• NZXT S340 Elite [ca-s340 W-b3] - 90€

Not knowing much about cases, the NZXT is the one that looked better to me.

 

What do you guys suggest?

I have the S340. I don't like the front panel removal and how easy it is to break the plastic nubs off that hold the thing together. Outside of that it's an amazing case.

 

The Define S is built better, has sound-dampening foam, and is probably a wee bit easier to work in, so I'd go for that.

[Gh0s7_]

Thank you for your replies.

 

Let's say that I'd like to have a PSU shroud, what your suggestion would be?

[TVwazhere]

On 2/24/2018 at 5:19 AM, Gh0s7_ said:

Thank you for your replies.

 

Let's say that I'd like to have a PSU shroud, what your suggestion would be?

Enthoo Pro M TG. It's the case to get when the Meshify C isnt long enough for sticking in your GPU and a front mounted rad  

[Gh0s7_]

2 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

Enthoo Pro M TG. It's the case to get when the Meshify C isnt long enough for sticking in your GPU and a front mounted rad  

It's fun because I ordered the P400S TGE like 5 minutes ago!

I don't like the Enthoo's front panel, that's why I didn't include it in the list, but I guess that the P400S TGE is not that much different, isn't it?

[TVwazhere]

Just now, Gh0s7_ said:

It's fun because I ordered the P400S TGE like 5 minutes ago!

I don't like the Enthoo's front panel, that's why I didn't include it in the list, but I guess that the P400S TGE is not that much different, isn't it?

It's significantly different in terms of airflow. The Meshify C and Enthoo Pro M TG have mesh front panels, where as the P400 has an entirely closed off front panel and top and bottom openings for airflow. These are not very sufficient at proper cooling when you start getting into higher end hardware like 1080's and R7/i7 cpu's. 

[Gh0s7_]

11 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

It's significantly different in terms of airflow. The Meshify C and Enthoo Pro M TG have mesh front panels, where as the P400 has an entirely closed off front panel and top and bottom openings for airflow. These are not very sufficient at proper cooling when you start getting into higher end hardware like 1080's and R7/i7 cpu's. 

Ok.

Do you think that it's worth to spend 35€ more on the Enthoo then?

[TVwazhere]

5 minutes ago, Gh0s7_ said:

Ok.

Do you think that it's worth to spend 35€ more on the Enthoo then?

Definitely

[Gh0s7_]

@TVwazhere alright, modified the order.

Thanks for your help

[SeanAngelo]

On 2/24/2018 at 10:19 AM, Gh0s7_ said:

Thank you for your replies.

 

Let's say that I'd like to have a PSU shroud, what your suggestion would be?

Fractal Design Meshify C

[Gh0s7_]

28 minutes ago, SeanAngelo said:

Fractal Design Meshify C

 

From OP:

On 23/2/2018 at 11:35 PM, Gh0s7_ said:

After buying a Fractal Design Meshify C and finding out that I can't mount my Corsair H105 both on top and on front (tried everything, it's a matter of 2cm but there's nothing to do), I decided to give up and return the case and so I'm looking for a replacement.

[...]

 

No more Meshify C for me

[SeanAngelo]

17 hours ago, Gh0s7_ said:

 

From OP:

 

No more Meshify C for me

Fractal R6? or is that out of your budget?

[TVwazhere]

1 hour ago, SeanAngelo said:

Fractal R6? or is that out of your budget?

On 2/23/2018 at 5:35 PM, Gh0s7_ said:

staying under 100€.

 

 

[Gh0s7_]

@TVwazhere out of curiosity and given what you said about mesh front panels, isn't the Fractal R6 a "bad" choice too as it has a solid front panel? What makes it different from the P400s?

[TVwazhere]

1 hour ago, Gh0s7_ said:

@TVwazhere out of curiosity and given what you said about mesh front panels, isn't the Fractal R6 a "bad" choice too as it has a solid front panel? What makes it different from the P400s?

The main difference between the two (and this goes for any case that has a closed off front panel really) is the difference between vents coming from the side, versus vents coming from the top and bottom. Think about the actual sized opening for panels on the top and bottom, versus the opening on the left and right sides. There's much more open area on the sides than there is on the top and bottom, right? (I'll use the Fractal Define R6 and P400 as examples. Note The define C series has almost the exact same front panel design, so this is relative)

The vents for each on a side vented case are SIGNIFICANTLY larger than they are on the top and bottom. But just how much bigger are they? Now pretend we try to replicate exactly how much surface openings the top/bottom design has on the side vent design. Maybe the P400 has 7" wide vents on top and bottom while the Define R6 has 16"

We just lost roughly 2/3rds of the ventilation of the side vent design to make the equivalent openings for the top and bottom. Whats worse is that both these cases can support up to 3 fans in the front, but the middle fan technically has NO access to fresh air since the top fan takes the top vent air, and the bottom vent takes the bottom air.

 

Now there are plenty of instances where side ventilation is implemented poorly. The NZXT H440 only had one side vent unlike the fractal designs dual side vents. A lot of people have commented on how poorly this design was executed, so bad they changed the designed on the original H440 to make the gap bigger (in many peoples opinon, the below current design was not enough)

 

Another good example is the original Corsair 750D. In this case, they actually have two sides dedicated for vents on that front panel, but the thickness of the vent border (that really dark part of the front panel) was way too small. Corsair eventually released the Airflow Edition which cut a good sized hole in the lower part of the front Panel to alleviate the issues.

 

 

Finally, we get to my favorite case to poo-poo for it's terible airflow. The Phanteks Evolv ATX. This case not ONLY has terrible front ventilation, not providing enough side vent for the front, but also didnt provide enough ventilation for the top for air to blow the hot air out of. So not only could you not get cold air in effectively, you couldnt get hot air out effectively. 'Tis a shame, because the case is beautiful. There ARE custom Panels for these, but this case retails for $180. You shouldn't have to pay another $80 for two panels to fix a $180 case. (I really like to rant about this case, sorry)

 

 

Let me know if I explained it clear enough. I kinda wrote this all on the fly.