Case suggestions?

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jason41987

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Jan 1, 2012
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im looking for a new case for my computer.. the one i have now doesnt have enough airflow requiring the 120mm fan to spin too fast, and it gets way too loud... also, i have some overheating issues... so.. im looking at these cases that allow you to install 6-10 120mm case fans... and this is what id like to use

so im looking for suggestions as for a new case... im looking for something with plenty of room... utilitarian in nature... possibly something like the corsair vengeance but perhaps less expensive?.. i like the fact that case is all steel, durable, etc... but thats what im looking for, something very durable with lots of space that i can shove a ton of fans into

so... suggestions?
 
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Look at the CoolerMaster HAF series. The lowest-end one is the HAF 912, which is a great case at a great price. The airflow is really good in this series even just stock, but they have tons of extra fan slots.
 
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I have the Corsair Carbide Series 400R and love it. Plenty of room and pretty good for cable management. I think I have 8 120mm fans. One bottom, 2 front, 2 side, 1 back and 2 top. My junk stays nice and cool. And it's under $100.
 
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The Rosewill Challenger is what I use and it's decent. You get what you pay for; It's cheap but has 1 fan in front space for 2 on side 1 at the back and a big one on top. Cable management is limited but still okay. It's a budget case that is durable.
 
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im thinking i might actually go with liquid cooling... i mean... for the level of cooling offered, an air cooled system would be considerably louder... though modest systems dont require nearly that much cooling unless i start to get into resource heavy applications like some of the newer PC games... which i will be, im moving back to PC gaming and giving up the xbox 360 and PS3 console gaming.... so im thinking liquid cooling might be good.. but im still open to being convinced to go for an 8-fan air cooled system instead if such a system would render liquid cooling pointless

if i did go with liquid cooling im guessing case size wouldnt even matter at that point, so long as i could fit a 120mm x 2 radiator with a couple 120mm fans in there... id probably go with a dual 5.25" bay reservoir with internal pump just to simplify things more.

if i do decide to go with liquid cooling, im not going to purchase the liquid cooling system for a few months when i purchase all components i need to build a new PC... so for the time being i would just go with the two or three case fans that come with these cases and not need to buy any controller or extra fans... so i would be looking at a more expensive case around the $120-$150 mark.... i really like the corsair graphite 600T, haf x, and similar higher end cases that offer a concealed option for the cooling system (no radiators sticking out of the case
 
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The HAF cases have enough airflow to make water cooling unneeded except for high OC. I have a 200mm fan on top, 120mm on back (both exhaust), 140 side intake, and 2x 120mm front intake, and I use a Hyper 212 Evo. My temps are steady and quite low, and the system isn't particularly loud even at load. To reduce noise even further, I'm going to replace the front fans with a 200mm soon.
 
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hmm.. tough decision between air and liquid cooling, its probably a common debate on here id bet.... im still not sure if i want to go with a full tower or mid tower but it seems the full towers would have better airflow and im starting to like some of the thermaltake cases ive been looking at.. as well as the HAF cases

i guess im going to have to debate the air vs liquid cooled thing further.. it seems the liquid cooled doesnt really need as much space for airflow and extra fans though... seems a couple low RPM 120mm fans and some very low-profile CPU, GPU, and RAM blocks are all thats needed... still though, very tough decision
 
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You're going to need more than a 2x120mm radiator to run a loop that big, I'd bet. And again, unless you're planning on OCing everything, there's really no need to water cool it at all.

You might check out the water-cooling subforum for suggestions and info about WC.
 
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what would be the point in not overclocking, if i had the cooling system that could handle it?... i mean, isnt it kind fo wasteful to not get as much performance as you can out of your system or is there a downside?
 
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The downside is the non-negligible risk of destroying your CPU if you don't know what you're doing and the fact that OCing will take it out of warranty, so that you can't RMA your ruined chip.

Nothing wrong with mild OCing, I'm not arguing against it. But you can get a mild, safe OC with air cooling for much, much cheaper than a custom loop. Water cooling (with custom loops) is usually for much more extreme OCing where your risks are much greater.
 
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hmm, it really is a tough decision... i really like the aesthetics and the cleanliness of the liquid cooled system, but i am cheap, so the fans are quite attractive too... bottom line is im tired of my computer sounding like a jet engine, it forces me to completely power down even if i want to so much as take a nap in this room...

i do prefer AMD processors over intel... much cheaper for the same stock performance, but i hear intels overclock better... if i stick with the AMD i might as well stay with air cooling... besides.. with a quad core 2.6ghz or so processor... any potential bottle-necking is likely to come from somewhere else anyway, such as RAM or GPU... so the money would probably be better spent in higher quality fans and about $300 or so for a good GPU
 
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should i be looking for a full tower or a mid tower?.. just curious

im looking at the thermaltake level 10 GTS and the thermaltake overseer... both have three 200mm fans which should be plenty of airflow and VERY quiet

also looking at the the cooler master 690 II

corsair graphite and vengeance

and the rosewill thor

could anyone give me any further information on any of these, and what you think the best long-term investment in a case would be?.. something i can reuse for multiple builds and upgrades thatll give me the most flexibility?

 
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the more i think about it.. the more im leaning on that thermaltake chaser MK-1... looks to be well made, i believe it can hold four 200mm fans along side a couple 120s, and i can conceal a radiator in the top if i decide to go with water cooling... also has fan controls on top.... only downside i see to it is no 3.5mm external for my multi-card reader, but im sure i could find a 5.25" alternative... but yeah, im really thinking about that case
 
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You can easily purchase a 5.25-3.5" adapter. Most likely Thermaltake sells them for their cases on their website.

Cases are pretty personal, since everyone has their own style. However, search "CASE NAME review" on google - many cases have professional write-ups that will show you the guts of the case and give an expert opinion. Use these in conjunction with Amazon and Newegg reviews to get a good idea if a case is good or not.
 
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im watching some video reviews on youtube... but does anyone else not particularly like top vents?... i mean, if youre going to watercool, wouldnt a concealable liquid cooler at the bottom be better?... seems holes in the top of the case would make it really easy to destroy hundreds of dollars of equipment if something were to spill, which isnt unlikely if you keep the case on the floor like many people do
 
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well, after using this case for a few days.. heres my take on it.. i like it a lot, i think its well worth what i paid for it (about $120)... i like how easy it is to install hardware, the top dock, fan controls.. and i must say the two 200mm fans move so much air that i actually get cold sitting next to it with the fans on high... if i add a couple more 200mm fans i cant imagine ever needing to liquid cool... and its very quiet too, i can hear the swoosh of the moving air and not much more....

a couple downsides though which are of absolutely no fault to the case.. but simply just me not having the proper hardware for it... first issue i have is the power supply cords are too short... WAY too short.. this case come with an extension for the 8 pin motherboard connectors, but i had to order an extension for the 24 pin motherboard connector so the motherboard would fit... the other issue i have is my motherboard doesnt have any USB 3.0 header, so i cant use the USB 3.0 ports at this moment

this case is absolutely huge.... i thought it would have just been a bit taller or longer than a mid tower case im so used to and just had no idea how massive full tower cases are, this is my first full tower case and i could literally fit my old case inside this one and close the door on it

but ill be upgrading my computer a bit at a time, starting with a new motherboard that ill be sure has the USB 3.0 header and thanks again for the information...
 
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