Deciding on a solid air-cooling ATX PC case for gaming rig, looking for opinions

[hobnailspenguin]

Hello everyone!

I've been racking my brain trying to find a case that will keep my PC parts chilly and also look fantastic set up (I am going for a Black/Red motif).

Right now I am looking at the Silverstone Primera PM01-RGB for the 140mm mastery and pretty, shiny colors, ooooh! But I could get talked into anything, even a boring black box, if it is made of superior materials and offers a better cooling environment. I can cover around $200 for the case, but I would like to spend as little as possible without sacrificing much. I have also been looking at the Rosewill Cullinan, NXZT Hi700, and Corsair Crystal 560x to give you an idea about my taste (I like glass, but I'm flexible on anything).

My #1 priority with this case is to keep my parts so chilly-cool they'll outlive me. I am not too interested in trying liquid cooling/anything with big radiators, and I don't mind if the case is difficult to build in as long as it will look good and function well after all the blood, sweat, and tears. I would like the rig to run quiet though, so I guess my priority ranking is:

1. Cooling
2. Quiet
3. Good looks

As for parts, I have decided to go with a Ryzen 7 2700x with an MSI gaming plus mobo and I am currently planning on keeping the Wraith prism cooler. If I need more chill to accomplish my meager overclocking I'll probably get a Noctua CPU cooler, but I heard there's only around a 5 Celsius difference between the wraith and AM4 mount Noctuas. I'll probably get a 1080, or perhaps even a 1180 if they release them very soon (I'm waiting to see how Aug 20/31 shapes up). All powered by a gold 650 Seasonic (May it never die).

So any thoughts/opinions/rants about choosing cases would be appreciated, I am very open to suggestions.

 

[tejayd]

I've been looking at the same type of case (planning for a new build once new gpu's are released) All of the ones you posted were also on my radar and I don't see any major faults in any of them. I do like toms top rated cougar panzer rgb, it is pretty expensive though. This was another option I was thinking about. https://pcpartpicker.com/product/G6qhP6/cougar-panzer-evo-atx-full-tower-case-panzer-evo
I'm pretty sure it's close to the rgb case. Haven't fully checked it out yet

Edit. I just looked it over and it seems to be the exact case as https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cougar-panzer-evo-rgb-atx-case,5649.html. Just with out the RGB and 60$ cheaper.

 

[hobnailspenguin]

We are on the same journey. I've been looking at the Cougar's too, and have been similarly impressed. They do seem to prioritize durability though, and I haven't dropped a case/had something hit it in more than a decade. I also invariably return to the fact that the Silverstone gives you 4 x 140mm with three in the front, which none of the other cases can match, and this review was very convincing as both the pro's and con's matched with newegg/amazon reviews: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6qWtJDWwJU

There are definitely problems with the case, and I worry that it really isn't worth the 155ish you end up paying for the black version, but nothing seems to air cool better from what I've seen besides one of those Corsair monstrosities with 6-8 120mms in the front. My current 6 year old computer is an old Silverstone too, so I feel a little attached to the brand. Still open to what's out there though, and it seems we've both uncovered most of the top-hitters.

 

[cookiemania66]

What About the Lian Li O11 Dynamic or Air for around 130€