Full tower gaming cases

[MLG Doge]

What are the best full tower gaming cases and what is their respective pros and cons? I'm new to case selection and I have no clue what to get.

Note: For what I want out of my computer is to be able to destroy any game I decide to run while not getting too hot. The first test will be Crysis 3 on max settings for graphics.

 

[AdviserKulikov]

What are the best full tower gaming cases and what is their respective pros and cons? I'm new to case selection and I have no clue what to get.

I encourage using this site to help filter parts, link to the case section provided

http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/case/#t=4

Make sure you have enough drive bays, a dvd/cd bay, HDD bay, SSD bay is usually my minimum size requirement. Removable bays are a good feature, as it makes installing parts way smoother.

Front panel USB 3.0 is nice, side view window is nice.

Everything else is visual preference.


Here's my preferred search criteria
http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/case/#t=4&G=1,12&J=1,20&K=1,12&u=1&s=1&R=5,4&sort=a8&page=1

 

[13thmonkey]

What are the best full tower gaming cases and what is their respective pros and cons? I'm new to case selection and I have no clue what to get.

I encourage using this site to help filter parts, link to the case section provided

http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/case/#t=4

Make sure you have enough drive bays, a dvd/cd bay, HDD bay, SSD bay is usually my minimum size requirement. Removable bays are a good feature, as it makes installing parts way smoother.

Front panel USB 3.0 is nice, side view window is nice.

Everything else is visual preference.


Here's my preferred search criteria
http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/case/#t=4&G=1,12&J=1,20&K=1,12&u=1&s=1&R=5,4&sort=a8&page=1

Do you have any thoughts on thermal or acoustic performance? Which are probably more important than some of the points that part picker can help with.

OP. look some cases on newegg or similar that are in your price range, then look for reviews of them (preferably all from one site) and see what performs best, see what you like the look of, see if the performance hit for the looks is acceptable.

Personally I'm a big fan of any of the fractal series.

 

[AlexanderDomin]

Depends on what it is you're trying to accomplish. There are way too many potential candidates to give you a "best of" without knowing your goals. Full-towers are desirable because they give you a large degree of flexibility and room to upgrade, but for most desktops a mid-tower will be plenty.

For instance, my desktop has a Corsair Obsidian 450D mid-tower. I am able to fit an ATX motherboard, a liquid-cooled CPU heatsink, the power supply, two optical drives, two SSDs, two GTX 770s, a NIC, and a sound card- and I still have three unused 5" bays left for mass storage. I honestly do not know how somebody would fully utilize a full-tower as a gaming rig, unless it is doubling as a server.

I can recommend Corsair cases, however. Both the mid-towers and full-towers have a grommeted panel behind the motherboard where you can store cables and SSDs out of sight, which increases airflow efficiency as well as making your internals look nice. Most of them have USB 3.0 passthroughs on the front panel. Some of them are also rigged with soundproofing foam in the paneling, which makes the case silent. You can find similar features in other namebrand cases like your Coolermasters and Zalmans, but most of their mid-tower and full-tower options look pretty flamboyant whereas the Corsair cases are simple and understated.

All in all, a decently-featured case should run you about $100. My Corsair Obsidian 450D cost me $120. Granted it is a mid-tower, not a full-tower, but I have it packed with goodies and there is still room leftover for expansion. Unless you have a build in mind that will require the additional space of a full-tower, I would not spend the extra money.

 

[MLG Doge]

What are the best full tower gaming cases and what is their respective pros and cons? I'm new to case selection and I have no clue what to get.

I encourage using this site to help filter parts, link to the case section provided

http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/case/#t=4

Make sure you have enough drive bays, a dvd/cd bay, HDD bay, SSD bay is usually my minimum size requirement. Removable bays are a good feature, as it makes installing parts way smoother.

Front panel USB 3.0 is nice, side view window is nice.

Everything else is visual preference.


Here's my preferred search criteria
http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/case/#t=4&G=1,12&J=1,20&K=1,12&u=1&s=1&R=5,4&sort=a8&page=1

Do you have any thoughts on thermal or acoustic performance? Which are probably more important than some of the points that part picker can help with.

OP. look some cases on newegg or similar that are in your price range, then look for reviews of them (preferably all from one site) and see what performs best, see what you like the look of, see if the performance hit for the looks is acceptable.

Personally I'm a big fan of any of the fractal series.

My lists so far:
Made by best friend
Made by me with help (the g. skill was a combo with the case)
Made by me w/o the case that came with the g. skill
Are they good or bad?

 

[13thmonkey]

nothing leaps out as being too wrong, overpowered perhaps.

 

[AdviserKulikov]

My lists so far:
Made by best friend
Made by me with help (the g. skill was a combo with the case)
Made by me w/o the case that came with the g. skill
Are they good or bad?

The first case I like the least, it looks like they make it harder to get to the drive bays. The other 2 both look fine to me.

 

[MLG Doge]

My lists so far:
Made by best friend
Made by me with help (the g. skill was a combo with the case)
Made by me w/o the case that came with the g. skill
Are they good or bad?

The first case I like the least, it looks like they make it harder to get to the drive bays. The other 2 both look fine to me.

Any of them have good cable management and cooling? Its getting to the point where I may hold off on getting a specialized case and just get a run of the mill case. All I have for a computer right now is a 2013 imac that is on loan from my father and a 2005 macbook pro, also on loan from my father.

 

[13thmonkey]

Getting a case is more important than getting 2 x 980's, get 1 980 for now and a really good case, the case will last you for the next 2-3 builds potentially.

 

[AlexanderDomin]

Any of them have good cable management and cooling? Its getting to the point where I may hold off on getting a specialized case and just get a run of the mill case.

Honestly, take a look at the Corsair Obsidian 450D. The case is a similar size and appearance to what you have linked, but it is purpose-built for superior cable management and airflow. You will love the hidden SSD bays. It's a little tricky to get all the cabling to fit behind the panel, but ultimately worth it. Your Corsair H100 radiator will also fit with no problem. The stock fans have excellent airflow and are very quiet. My rig looks very clean and is barely audible under full load.

 

[MLG Doge]

Any of them have good cable management and cooling? Its getting to the point where I may hold off on getting a specialized case and just get a run of the mill case.

Honestly, take a look at the Corsair Obsidian 450D. The case is a similar size and appearance to what you have linked, but it is purpose-built for superior cable management and airflow. You will love the hidden SSD bays. It's a little tricky to get all the cabling to fit behind the panel, but ultimately worth it. Your Corsair H100 radiator will also fit with no problem. The stock fans have excellent airflow and are very quiet. My rig looks very clean and is barely audible under full load.

It looks nice, but i'm looking to only buy a full tower, just for the expansion opportunity's if i were to add more.

 

[AlexanderDomin]

It looks nice, but i'm looking to only buy a full tower, just for the expansion opportunity's if i were to add more.

My bad, I saw the midtower NZXT case in your first two lists so I thought it could be an option. I didn't realize until now that you only had that one on there because it was a bundle.

That being said, I love my Corsair case. Between the build quality, the cable-management grommets, and the lateral bays for the SSDs, it's a builder's dream. I like the sleeker look (and cheaper price tag) of the Obsidian series vs. the Graphite case in your third list, but if that's what you're into I'd say go for it. You will not be disappointed.

 

[13thmonkey]

fractal R5, I've got an R4, it's great, cool, quiet, good management, huge.

 

[Symbiote_IV]

Nanoxia Deep Silence 6
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DSF8JHU/ref=psdc_572238_t2_B008O2HOI2
Azza Genesis 9000
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811517020

These things are both massive, awesome cases. The nanoxia comes with a bunch of fans already, and foam to make it quieter.

 

[Arronleeds]

the corsair 900d is a monster of a case but as its a monster the price is well... "monstrous". that case would last you years though.

 

[fsufan0025]

Everybody is gonna laugh, but I have a Inwin GRone that's alot better than most people think. Holds 10 120mm fans, 240 rad at bottom, 360 rad up top, 2 removable hd cages, (1x5,1x3) huge side window, 4 top usb ports, (2x. 2.0, 2x 3.0) built in fan controller, and a hot swap bay up top. Just saying !