Question Cases with great stock dust filters

Jun 22, 2019
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1
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Hello, I need to buy a case for a mid-to-high performance Ryzen 3000 build. My priorities are resistance to dust infiltration, GPU temps, CPU temps. Ideally, I want the entire front panel to be a dust filter, with robust dust filters on the other intakes as well.
 
Budget?

I really like Fractal Design Meshify C.https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Y6Crxr/fractal-design-meshify-c-atx-mid-tower-case-fd-ca-mesh-c-bko-tg
Costs about $90

The Meshify C manages great looks as this case can come with a darkened or lighter side panel. This cases mesh front also allows for amazing airflow as intake fans are not choked for air, unlike many other cases. This case also can support an insane amount of fans for intake and exhaust. This case also has many dust filters.

The case comes with tons of cable management points and rubber grommets for cables to run through, cleaning up the whole look of the inside of the case.


This may prove usefull: https://forums.tomshardware.com/thr...ng-ryzen-7-3700x-setup.3492005/#post-21108433
 
Jun 22, 2019
5
1
15
Budget?

I really like Fractal Design Meshify C.https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Y6Crxr/fractal-design-meshify-c-atx-mid-tower-case-fd-ca-mesh-c-bko-tg
Costs about $90

The Meshify C manages great looks as this case can come with a darkened or lighter side panel. This cases mesh front also allows for amazing airflow as intake fans are not choked for air, unlike many other cases. This case also can support an insane amount of fans for intake and exhaust. This case also has many dust filters.

The case comes with tons of cable management points and rubber grommets for cables to run through, cleaning up the whole look of the inside of the case.


This may prove usefull: https://forums.tomshardware.com/thr...ng-ryzen-7-3700x-setup.3492005/#post-21108433
I'm really looking for a budget case for a single build, but I guess I could splurge on an "heirloom" case if it's truly amazing. That said, my needs are fairly simple: good dust filters and good airflow, so justifying an expensive case is going to be difficult. I'd rather spend my budget on almost any other component if I can get those needs met.

I've noted a few cases like the Meshify C (pushing it budget-wise), Zalman S2 (very cheap and the airflow looks on point), Thermaltake Versa J24 and Cougar Turret Mesh, but I just don't know how to compare their performance when it comes to dust infiltration resistance and thermal performance.
 
My advice is to bust your budget if you need to buy a case you really love.
It will be with you for a very long time.

Filters are a love/hate thing.
The more efficient the filter in keeping out dust, the less cooling you will get.
If you compensate by using higher rpm fans, your penalty is more noise.
The Fractal Design Meshify C looks good to me but I have not used one before.

To keep parts clean, Make it a positive pressure system where ALL of the intake air comes in from one source and is filtered.
Inly minimal rear exhaust is needed to direct the airflow.
 

QwerkyPengwen

Splendid
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Unfortunately, you won't find a cheap budget case that had good airflow and dust filters. These kinds of design choices are pretty much reserved for more expensive cases.

I personally have the Meshify C TG and love it.

Airflow and dust filtration are excellent.
Also, while it may be a splurge, if you think about it this way, there's usually one constant in your build over many years, and that is the case. While other parts may come and go as you upgrade things, the case will remain, especially if it's of a higher quality.

They also have a mini version for mATX builds that costs about $7 less.

Here's all the cases for Meshify in the US.

https://pcpartpicker.com/products/case/#sort=price&page=1
 
Jun 22, 2019
5
1
15
Unfortunately, you won't find a cheap budget case that had good airflow and dust filters. These kinds of design choices are pretty much reserved for more expensive cases.

I personally have the Meshify C TG and love it.

Airflow and dust filtration are excellent.
Also, while it may be a splurge, if you think about it this way, there's usually one constant in your build over many years, and that is the case. While other parts may come and go as you upgrade things, the case will remain, especially if it's of a higher quality.

They also have a mini version for mATX builds that costs about $7 less.

Here's all the cases for Meshify in the US.

https://pcpartpicker.com/products/case/#sort=price&page=1
My knowledge of airflow and filters is fairly limited, but I'm having trouble understanding what makes Zalman S2 inferior in terms of filtration and airflow to the Meshify C, apart from the vertical ribs on the front panel limiting the filtered intake area a bit. I guess it's possible the Meshify C uses some sort of superior filter material, but I think they would have advertised that fact if that were the case. Both cases feature no airflow obstructions above the PSU shroud and give you a straight shot from a 120mm intake fan to the CPU cooler, which should be amazing. If there is something I'm missing, I would love to be educated out about it before I make my purchasing decision. Versa J24/COUGAR Turret Mesh also appear to be identical to Zalman S2/Meshify C as far as internal airflow is concerned and have mesh front panels.

My advice is to bust your budget if you need to buy a case you really love.
It will be with you for a very long time.

Filters are a love/hate thing.
The more efficient the filter in keeping out dust, the less cooling you will get.
If you compensate by using higher rpm fans, your penalty is more noise.
The Fractal Design Meshify C looks good to me but I have not used one before.

To keep parts clean, Make it a positive pressure system where ALL of the intake air comes in from one source and is filtered.
Inly minimal rear exhaust is needed to direct the airflow.
Yeah, I hope to get 3 120mm intake fans and 1 120mm exhaust fan to get positive pressure going despite the filters restricting airflow.

At the moment, I don't know what, if anything, the Zalman S2/Versa J24/COUGAR Turret Mesh are missing that a more expensive case will provide in terms of dust infiltration resistance and cooling performance, unless there is a case with stock DEMCiflex filters.

Edit: having done a little more research, I've found that 2x140mm intake is going to be better than 3x120mm intake, but in the Meshify C/Zalman S2/Versa J24/COUGAR Turret Mesh pattern cases the HDD cage sits inside the PSU shroud and will not receive any air with 2x140mm intakes. Should I be worried about 2 HDDs sitting under the PSU shroud without any active cooling?
 
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The zalman S2 has a major defects in my mind.

The killer for me would be only 150mm height for a cooler.
Good 120mm coolers will be 160mm. There are some that are ok at 145mm but that is as good as it gets.
Otherwise, you are looking at 240mm radiators for cooling and that will have it's own issues.
$40 bucks difference on a $1500 build?? not a good tradeoff to my mind.
 
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Jun 22, 2019
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At the moment I'm looking at the Scythe Fuma for the CPU cooler, which is 149mm high, loses by a mere 2.25C to the Noctua NH-D15 (which is 50% more expensive) and is very quiet.

I'm seeing reports of HDDs running at 60C in the Meshify C, which is way too high. Am I going to need to stick with 120mm front intakes to fit the bottom fan and provide some airflow to the HDD cage? I plan to mount 2 HDDs there.

Edit: I've found Silverstone RL06 to be very interesting, it has truly epic cooling performance (and noise levels to match with stock 3x120mm intake LED fans) and an attractive price.

 
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Jun 22, 2019
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I ended up going with the SilverStone RL06. Overall, I'm satisfied. The front panel and dust filter collect a decent amount of dust and are easy to clean, but only time will tell how much dust manages to penetrate into the case. Cable management space is a little slim, but workable. The fan LEDs are very bright, so keep that in mind if you choose to buy the version with them. Acrylic is not great, if in doubt get the tempered glass version.
 
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