Question In the market for a new ATX case

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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

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Jul 27, 2011
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I'm looking for a new case for my rig, and also looking to update the look a bit. So my current case is an NZXT S340 that I acquired in 2017 and it's been through multiple builds now. And after discovering some dead USB ports on the top, it's definitely time to look at retiring it. But it has definitely served me well all of these years.

My current case contenders are the NZXT H6 Flow, the Phanteks NV5, Lian Li PC-011 Dynamic, and the Corsair 5000D. I had considered the Fractal North but I want the wraparound glass look. I am not looking to buy any new internal components at this time, but I may look at upgrading the CPU and the AIO at some point.

My budget for the case is around $150 but I can be a bit flexible. Does anyone have any opinions on any of my case choices or is there something else I should consider?

Here is my configuration:

Case: NZXT S340 Elite
PSU: Corsair HX850i
Motherboard: Gigabyte Aorus X570 Ultra Rev 1
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
Cooler: NZXT Kraken X62
RAM: 32GB Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR4-3600
Storage: 4TB NVMe (no external drives)
GPU: EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 FTW Ultra 3
 
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The 011D is possibly the best case I have ever owned. It looks great, is well designed and easy to work in. My only complaint is that everyone and their brother have one, or a copy of it.

One of my favorite cases was a Phanteks P400. I found the case to be well designed as well, and when the mesh front came out for them it solved the only issue I really ever had with it.

I have owned a couple of Corsair cases, and have built systems for sale in quite a few of them. For the most part they have all been pretty well designed as well. I have liked the look they carry across much of their line where you can dress it up as a "gaming Barbie" or you can leave it subdued for "office Barbie". (lol)

I know these comments make the choice just that much easier for you. GL
 
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Hadn't seen the NV5 before, I rather like the look of that. Long as you can manage the cables it would do well.

The others have a bigger foot print. As long as you have the room it should be fine.
 
Cases are highly subjective. Simply buy whatever appeals to you. The o11 dynamic and all of its permutations are so commonplace that someone could be labeled a "basic bi***." A dime a dozen. With cases like that, you'll need extra cash reserves for fans, which aren't cheap. For that price, the phanteks NV7 is a better-looking case that I would prefer above any lian li o11.

Fractal Meshify 2 series (I'm a bit biased here as I currently own one), Phanteks G500A, Corsair 5000D/4000D airflow, are all excellent options that don't break the bank.
 
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plusev said:
Cases are highly subjective. Simply buy whatever appeals to you. The o11 dynamic and all of its permutations are so commonplace that someone could be labeled a "basic bi***." A dime a dozen. With cases like that, you'll need extra cash reserves for fans, which aren't cheap. For that price, the phanteks NV7 is a better-looking case that I would prefer above any lian li o11.

Fractal Meshify 2 series (I'm a bit biased here as I currently own one), Phanteks G500A, Corsair 5000D/4000D airflow, are all excellent options that don't break the bank.
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I like the NV7, but the gigantic size is a bit of a turn off. I'm looking for something that's not as big but still has all of the features that I want.
 
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g-unit1111 said:
I like the NV7, but the gigantic size is a bit of a turn off. I'm looking for something that's not as big but still has all of the features that I want.
Click to expand...
Indeed! It would undoubtedly be my end-game if I wasn't constantly moving my PC around, because it would be far too cumbersome.
 
punkncat said:
The 011D is possibly the best case I have ever owned. It looks great, is well designed and easy to work in. My only complaint is that everyone and their brother have one, or a copy of it.

One of my favorite cases was a Phanteks P400. I found the case to be well designed as well, and when the mesh front came out for them it solved the only issue I really ever had with it.

I have owned a couple of Corsair cases, and have built systems for sale in quite a few of them. For the most part they have all been pretty well designed as well. I have liked the look they carry across much of their line where you can dress it up as a "gaming Barbie" or you can leave it subdued for "office Barbie". (lol)

I know these comments make the choice just that much easier for you. GL
Click to expand...

Yeah, that was my feeling initially before I bought the 011D (the XL). A little grumbly that everyone had one.

Then I realized *why* everyone had one. It's an incredibly easy case to work with.
 
DSzymborski said:
Yeah, that was my feeling initially before I bought the 011D (the XL). A little grumbly that everyone had one.

Then I realized *why* everyone had one. It's an incredibly easy case to work with.
Click to expand...
It's a case meant for custom loops. Personally, I think the whole appeal of a case that large is to run a custom loop. Running an AIO, a crap load of RGB, and a stock GPU makes me throw up a little inside. It looks so... empty, and that's the way 9/10 people have O11s set up. Put a damn distro plate on that thing!
 
plusev said:
It's a case meant for custom loops. Personally, I think the whole appeal of a case that large is to run a custom loop. Running an AIO, a crap load of RGB, and a stock GPU makes me throw up a little inside. It looks so... empty, and that's the way 9/10 people have O11s set up. Put a damn distro plate on that thing!
Click to expand...

Aesthetics are in the eyes of the beholder! If you use any 3.5" drives, they are very accessible, it's engineered well, and it's comfortable to work in.
 
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DSzymborski said:
Aesthetics are in the eyes of the beholder! If you use any 3.5" drives, they are very accessible, it's engineered well, and it's comfortable to work in.
Click to expand...
C'mon bro, lol... I generally agree, but that's just the copium talking. You can't tell me that having an empty case looks objectively better than having a hard-tubed custom loop on a massive distro plate! Just a pity that it requires a ton of maintenance, otherwise I would have gone that route a long time ago.
 
plusev said:
C'mon bro, lol... I generally agree, but that's just the copium talking. You can't tell me that having an empty case looks objectively better than having a hard-tubed custom loop on a massive distro plate! Just a pity that it requires a ton of maintenance, otherwise I would have gone that route a long time ago.
Click to expand...

I didn't say it looked better than a custom loop. I said it looked fine without a custom loop. These two things are not mutually exclusive.
 
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