Hi,
I am currently running my components in the open-air on the desk. That's right. My motherboard sits on the desk with all the cards (with the metal brackets removed) fitted in. This is the best way I could find to keep my system as cool as possible and also decently silent. I have an i7-4771 CPU (I need the virtualization abilities) with a low profile Noctua NH-L12 cooler and a Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti Windforce OC edition. The graphics card is surrounded by a Linksys WMP600N wireless card and an ESI Maya44 XTe sound card (I need to play the guitar via the computer). All is fitted in an Intel DQ87PG motherboard (I need a parallel port and a serial port). Everything is feed by a Corsair RM 650 PSU. My system runs very smooth, with CPU under full load in Prime95 set at 72 degrees (I can change the BIOS fan speed to keep it even more cool if I want to) and the GPU under full load running at 73-74 degrees under full load in UNiGiNE benchmarks. I am satisfied with this. The coolers are high quality and pretty silent too. But I cannot keep this like that forever. I need a case.
I already tried the Silverstone SG-09 mATX case and I was disappointed because the GPU temperature was reaching 90 degrees under full load (as compared to 74 in open-air) and this with 5 fans blowing into the case. I sold that case.
I am looking for a new case. Currently I was looking at (one of the most expensive cases) the InWin D-Frame (which is about 400 EUR). This is an open-air case. But... it seems that the video card will sit in a vertical position and some speculate that the heat pipes are not effective in this position. Also this case cannot accommodate more than 2 x 2.5 inch disk drivers and I already own 3 x 2.5 inch SSDs and planning to use 6 of them in the future. It seems I cannot find a decent case.
What are the best mATX cases? I want the following from a case:
- as compact as possible without compromising the cooling capacity (likely an open-air)
- to be able to accommodate up to 6 x 2.5 inch SSDs.
- very high cooling ability and I don't care about dust (open-air is perfectly acceptable)
- preferably 5 expansions slots (1 for the sound card, 2 for the video card, 1 for the wireless card and 1 for the serial port connector as I need to connect to Cisco routers via the console cable)
I am not into overclocking or water cooling! I am just looking for the best air-cooling solution and thus decently silent solution.
Thanks,
Codrut
I am currently running my components in the open-air on the desk. That's right. My motherboard sits on the desk with all the cards (with the metal brackets removed) fitted in. This is the best way I could find to keep my system as cool as possible and also decently silent. I have an i7-4771 CPU (I need the virtualization abilities) with a low profile Noctua NH-L12 cooler and a Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti Windforce OC edition. The graphics card is surrounded by a Linksys WMP600N wireless card and an ESI Maya44 XTe sound card (I need to play the guitar via the computer). All is fitted in an Intel DQ87PG motherboard (I need a parallel port and a serial port). Everything is feed by a Corsair RM 650 PSU. My system runs very smooth, with CPU under full load in Prime95 set at 72 degrees (I can change the BIOS fan speed to keep it even more cool if I want to) and the GPU under full load running at 73-74 degrees under full load in UNiGiNE benchmarks. I am satisfied with this. The coolers are high quality and pretty silent too. But I cannot keep this like that forever. I need a case.
I already tried the Silverstone SG-09 mATX case and I was disappointed because the GPU temperature was reaching 90 degrees under full load (as compared to 74 in open-air) and this with 5 fans blowing into the case. I sold that case.
I am looking for a new case. Currently I was looking at (one of the most expensive cases) the InWin D-Frame (which is about 400 EUR). This is an open-air case. But... it seems that the video card will sit in a vertical position and some speculate that the heat pipes are not effective in this position. Also this case cannot accommodate more than 2 x 2.5 inch disk drivers and I already own 3 x 2.5 inch SSDs and planning to use 6 of them in the future. It seems I cannot find a decent case.
What are the best mATX cases? I want the following from a case:
- as compact as possible without compromising the cooling capacity (likely an open-air)
- to be able to accommodate up to 6 x 2.5 inch SSDs.
- very high cooling ability and I don't care about dust (open-air is perfectly acceptable)
- preferably 5 expansions slots (1 for the sound card, 2 for the video card, 1 for the wireless card and 1 for the serial port connector as I need to connect to Cisco routers via the console cable)
I am not into overclocking or water cooling! I am just looking for the best air-cooling solution and thus decently silent solution.
Thanks,
Codrut
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram