Need a nice looking, cool running case with good SSD support

[pulp]

I'm looking to upgrade my case because it doesn't have much room for cooling and I wouldn't mind a window and some better looks. The front panel USB ports also cause a USB over-current notice when I boot my PC.

So my requirements are:
Preferably mid, but full is okay
Width requirement: If down-mounted PSU ONLY the base width must be 8.5" or less, if PSU can be upward-mounted then other widths are okay too.
Space on the side(s) for 200-230 mm fan(s) while still using the Hyper 212 EVO
Adequate overall cooling
Support for atleast two SSDs and one HDD
Support for 11.5" GPU
Decent cable management
side window if possible

Specs:
i5-3570k
Hyper 212 EVO
ASUS P8Z77-V LE Plus
OCT ZT 650W
Crucial VLP 1600mhz 8GB
EVGA GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB (Want to get a certain GPU which is 11.5")
Samsung 840 Pro 256GB
Kingston SSDNow V300 120GB
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB
LITE-ON iHAS124-04

If the case requires add-on parts to accommodate multiple SSDs, please include those. The problem with my Rosewill Challenger is that there isn't much room between the board and the case, where the sata ports face outward from the edge of the board. There's also no way to use right-angle sata connectors on the SSD because they are so close together on the hard drive rack that the two cables physically cannot be plugged in. It's almost impossible to plug the cables into the motherboard because of the very limited room and the way ASUS placed the sata ports on the board.

Also wouldn't mind a fan controller, because my board doesn't support as many fans as I'd like to use. A touch screen would look nice, and I'd be interested as long as it functions well. One with knobs or sliders would be fine, functionality is more important than looks.

 

[pulp]

oh great, sounds good and looks like it's less than the max I was wanting to spend. The 500R white seems alot nicer but the front panel burnout is really disappointing as well as the proprietary fan connectors :/

I'll do some looking around a little more and probably at a psu too but I'm looking at atleast $265 more for a GTX 760

 

[tiny voices]

You can get a gtx760 for around $245 http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/video-card/#c=142&sort=a5

For the PSU, I would recommend a 650w unit from XFX. Amazing quality (actually made by Seasonic and re-branded), and great price.

 

[pulp]

yeah with a rebate.. I was wanting to go for the gigabyte one, which is why I had GPU length concerns.. Unsure if I should go for the 4GB one, bf4 supposedly would make use of 3GB of RAM.

 

[tiny voices]

The Gigabyte is a very good card.

for a single monitor 2gb Vram is plenty. The only way to take advantage of more than 2gb would be with 3 monitors.

 

[pulp]

I was specifically talking about BF4 on one monitor, but I probably won't play it anyway..

 

[tiny voices]

It will be perfectly fine with 2gb for BF4. If you have only 1 monitor, definitely go with a 2gb card.

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=GA-N760OC2&c=CJ if you buy it before the 30th, you get it for $245 with code: IRENA3315

 

[pulp]

cool.. as for any part I like to look around a little before making a decision..

checking these out for psu, some are available for even less at certain vendors but newegg has nice details on them

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438005&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151118&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207016&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

haven't read any reviews yet or anything

 

[tiny voices]

All except the EVGA are great and will work amazingly.

 

[pulp]

what do you have against EVGA? not mainstream enough for you ?

 

[tiny voices]

That PSU doesn't have the best OEM and the protection circuit was pointed out as its weak spot. A Seasonic is definitely the way to go. Or XFX

 

[pulp]

this one looks like a better deal with the promo code http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

 

[tiny voices]

That is an amazing unit. Get it for sure.

 

[mc962]

Fractal Design Define R4 (with window option if you want it). I believe it covers the majority of what you are looking for, + some sound-dampening foam to take away some of the noise.

As far as ssd support, there are supposed to be 2 ssd slots behind the motherboard I think, and the hdd caddies I believe have screw holes that can be used for an ssd as well.

 

[pulp]

so now I'm trying to figure out the fan situation but I'm a bit confused. I don't see where there are 10 fan mount locations like it says.

"Keep your system cool with up to 10 fan mount locations (four 120mm, six 120mm/140mm)"

two top 120/140mm fan locations
two side 120/140mm
one back 120/140mm
2 front 120mm
1 bottom 120/140mm

This is, to my knowledge the possible fan mounting choices. I want to figure this out so I can order necessary fans, and other things I may need to use all those fans like splitters or a fan controller. I want to setup better cooling than what I currently have (140mm, 120mm, 120mm).

The case comes with the two front 120mms and the one rear 120mm, so I'd have a total of 5 120mm and 1 140mm in my possession to use with the new case.

 

[tiny voices]

You DO NOT want that many fans. It will hurt airflow and not cool as well.

You should have 2 front intake, 2 top exhaust, 1 rear exhaust. That's all.

A side intake will mess up air flow. MY GPUs and cPU run about 3 degrees hotter with a side fan.

 

[pulp]

Okay, my mobo supports 3 case fans and 1 cpu fan, I want to run a 2nd cpu fan on my heatsink for push/pull and 5 case fans.. what do you think is the best way to do so?

 

[tiny voices]

Buy a fan controller or plug them into the PSU via molex connectors.

For the CPU heatsink second fan, MAKE SURE it is a PWM fan. This is important. You will also need a PWM fan splitter.

 

[pulp]

Haven't been able to find very good controllers.. they all have real negative reviews.. this is the best one I've found: http://www.amazon.com/AeroCool-EN55529-X-Vision-Temperatures-Controller/dp/B00562QETS/ref=sr_1_7?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1380255421&sr=1-7&keywords=Fan+Controller

but doesn't necessarily mean it's good because not many reviews.

May be best to just use the psu

 

[tiny voices]

Most LED fan controllers sucks and fail. Here is a GReAT one which will not break: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811992012

It does not have any fancy lights, but it will do the job, and do it well.

 

[pulp]

has fan number lights http://www.amazon.com/NZXT-Technologies-Sentry-Controller-SEN-MIX2-M1/dp/B00DN3IT7M

don't care about that much anyway.. just want it to work

 

[tiny voices]

That is one of the best ones for anywhere close to the price. I would jump on it I have the lower end model of it: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811992007 and it has worked excellently for me.

 

[pulp]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812162026

and this would be good for the fans on the hyper 212 evo right

 

[tiny voices]

Yes, that is exactly what you will need. Don't forget to get PWM fans for the CPU cooler. You should get 2, not just one so they operate at the same speeds and move the same amount of air. How much are you planning to overclock?

 

[pulp]

yea ofcourse. I'm running 4.2Ghz right now.. don't care a bunch about making it even higher.. just want to run it cooler and add some better looks inside.. so I was going to go for LED PWM fans for the heatsink like two of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103190

 

[tiny voices]

They should be good for the CPU cooler.