Need Some Advice On A New Case

[Graveboot]

So i think my MOBO is dying and I'm gonna get this.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008YDJHWM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I have an AMD FX 8350 and a Nvidia Geforce 970 gpu.

Dont really have a budget I just want to do it the right way. Which case would u recommend for me that has good airflow and looks clean. I think I want a full tower just so i have extra room if i need it. I dont know much about building pcs so any help would be appreciated.

 

[Karadjgne]

Number 1 rule of cases. They are the single most personal items of a pc, right ahead of keyboards and mice. Doesn't matter how great a case is, if you hate the way it looks. And nobody but you has to look at it on a daily basis.
That said, there are many pros and cons about cases. Full towers like the Corsair 780t are fantastic. All kinds of room, plenty of optical drive space, like 9 hdd bays, can take every size of mobo etc. But at the same time they suck. Very expensive, have so much room that without maxing fans airflow is diminished, many cables and wiring just isn't close to long enough requiring multiple extensions and the real estate they take up on a desktop is huge. Plan on front loaded USB, cuz reaching up almost 3' for a top load USB is a pain unless the case is on the floor. If you think mini mATX towers, figure on the exact opposite pros and cons. So the best compromise is often the larger mATX towers or a plain Jane ATX. The medium size puts airflow at a maximum, 5 hdd bays is more than enough, 1-2 optical bays, plenty of room for sli/CF builds, fits mATX or ATX mobo's, has the widest array of choices and designs, respectable pricing etc.

Then it comes to looks. Some prefer the gamer style Apevia lines, some the classic, some the box look of the fractal design. You can get big windows, little windows, no windows, built in fan controllers, led lighting or none etc.

My suggestion is go to pcpartpicker.com, click on cases, list view instead of details and this'll give you a whole bunch of pictures to look at.

 

[Graveboot]

Thank you sir!

 

[Karadjgne]

Oh, about the mobo. That's rough call. The 8350 is about the best amd fx there is, overclocks like a champ, cheap and pretty reliable. That's the pros. The cons are bad. It's old. It's getting to the point where it's performance in games is literally getting worse as more and more games are stretching the limits of IPC. It's one of those calls where you'd need to be very, very attached to your current build to drop $180 on a new board when even the lowly i3-6100 can beat the crap out of it, never mind a 6500 or better cpu. Ryzen is about to drop, as is kaby-lake, Skylake is still top dog for a few more days. It's a great board, it'll handle anything you could throw at it, and looks sharp. 3 yrs ago, it wouldn't even be a question, he'll yes would have been a resounding answer, but it's not 3 yrs ago. It's now. And in 3 yrs, that cpu will be thought of as no better than an Athlon II is now. So while I have no issues with recommendation as far as the board goes, I do have to question its actual worth overall. Would your money be better spent investing in something that's going to still be viable 5yrs from now, or better spent as a band-aid until rdy for that upgrade in the future. There are boards that are comparable in ability and performance at little over half the price.

 

[Graveboot]

What MOBO would you suggest for me then exactly? You're saying I'm dropping big $$$ for a MOBO that's about to be outdated? Or the cpu is going to be outdated? I'm really new to building PCs so any advice is appreciated. Here are my exact thoughts atm. First here's my current build.

MOBO - MSI 970a-G43
CPU - AMD FX 8350
GPU - Nvidia Geforce GTX970
Power supply - Corsair CX 600
Heat Sink - CM Evo 212
Memory - HyperX 8GB DDR3

What I'm thinking is I get the MOBO I linked (the saberooth) and this case I found thanks to you http://tinyurl.com/hhoqgap

There's not a reason to get a new cpu is there? Should I get a different MOBO?

 

[Karadjgne]

Well that's kinda hard. You've stated that you 'think' the mobo is dying. Mobo's generally are never in that gray area of dying, they are either viable and 'alive' or are dead. There is more info actually needed there, like exactly what is happening with the mobo. It might be perfectly fine, in which case the error is someplace else and you wasted money, or it might be just a driver/bios error which could be a simple fix. This would leave you with cash unspent that could be put to better use in the future when it really is time for upgrade. From your posted components, the only issue I have is with the psu, and that one can cause all kinds of issues with other components, the CX line not being noted for any longevity.

So a rundown of what's wrong is definitely in order, before spending on parts you might not need

 

[Graveboot]

So here is why I think my mobo is dying. It all started with my stock evo 212 fan. I actually made whole other post about it.

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-3297233/advice-mobo.html

Basically my fan is super inconsistent. I thought about replacing just the fan then I came over posts about how my MOBO is awful with my AMD 8350 so it got me worried. (I'm a worry wart). You think my MOBO could be messing with my fan? Sometimes it stops for a second then resumes. It's kind of loud as well. If I could get away with just replacing the fan then I will. I have also noticed some high temps on HWmonitor I just dont know exactly if they are correct. I dont know how to post a screenshot or else I would. It's the TMPIN0, TMPIN1 and TMPIN2 readings that I'm not sure about. TMPIN1 has gotten as high as 90C. I just don't know if thats the MOBO or the northbridge, which I've read can get pretty hot.

 

[Karadjgne]

Yeah. Hwmonitor is funky about that, it's hard to say exactly what is what because addresses change with every board, so what's the Northbridge on 1 board can be the socket temp on another.

Officially, according to MSI, the board only supports upto the 8320, a 125w cpu that's basically identical to the 8350 except for the clock and some voltages. Unless there's additional info I'm missing, like maybe a bios update (though that should be then added to the list you'd think) it seems likely that this is the entire issue, slight incompatibility. With internal voltages slightly different to a 8320, it could be messing with everything, including temp readings..

There's no fix for this without a custom bios. So you have 2x choices. Spend out on a compatible board, or swap. Honestly, if budget isn't much of an issue I'd swap. I have 2x Ivy Bridge cpus that might be nice to upgrade, but there's no reason to other than vanity or bragging rights. There's nothing I play that even comes close to challenging my i7-3770K and gtx970. But thats me, and that's Intel. So, do you wait out the band-aid and save up for Ryzen/Kaby or jump now on skylake/Kaby. Not a decision I'd like to make. It's going to cost either way, overall it'll be cheaper to jump now, but now it'd be cheaper to get another mobo and limp the system along for another year or 2.

This would be my choice for a lower budget board, half the price of the Saber tooth. Just as able,without all the tuf gimmicks etc.
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/m2qdnQ/msi-motherboard-970gaming

 

[Graveboot]

When you say "So you have 2x choices. Spend out on a compatible board, or swap." what do you mean exactly by swap? I guess I was lying when I said budget wasnt an issue. I just meant that about the case. I like that MOBO price though for the MSI you linked. Also just to be clear (Youre speaking another language to me) you do think it could be my MOBO messing with my fan? Again thanks for talking to me. I'm enjoying your advice.

 

[Graveboot]

I read over what you said again and I understand now. I'll probably just switch my MOBO. Thanks again.

 

[Karadjgne]

You are welcome

 

[Graveboot]

Just curious but how long do you think I could get away with not switching my MOBO? My fan seems to be working fine for the past couple sit downs I've had at my computer. My pcs performance has always been good and its coming up on 2 years in May.

 

[Karadjgne]

No telling. It could last another 2 years or die tomorrow. If you can live with the performance and the board stays decent, I'd not waste money on a replacement. I'd replace it only after it quits totally. Who knows, it may last until you are ready to upgrade the whole pc.