Question New Modern Case with Also a 5 1/4" Bay

braxus

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Jan 1, 2018
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Im wondering what new cases are out there that would allow for a RTX 4090 video card, but also has a 5 1/4" bay, plus some slots for 3 1/2" hard drives? Im finding many cases that have these bays arent big enough for a 4090 GPU. I also need a USB 3.0 port too on the case. Anyone comment? Im currently using a Mid Tower with two 5" bays, but I could do without one of them. It only allows for a 330mm GPU at its longest.
 
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Fractal Pop series;
 

Does this case allow 5" bays plus 3 1/2" bays, AND a long GPU? Some cases like this are one or the other.
 
Im wondering what new cases are out there that would allow for a RTX 4090 video card, but also has a 5 1/4" bay, plus some slots for 3 1/2" hard drives? Im finding many cases that have these bays arent big enough for a 4090 GPU. I also need a USB 3.0 port too on the case. Anyone comment? Im currently using a Mid Tower with two 5" bays, but I could do without one of them. It only allows for a 330mm GPU at its longest.
I use the Fractal Design Define 7 which has room for everything you need, and is insulated as well.

 
I saw on Amazon.ca they had the case on sale for $154, and this was the Pop XL Air, so I decided to purchase that one. It seems the 3 1/2 drives go on the side of the case, and the two 5 1/4" drives on the bottom of the case in the front. So this would do me well. Its larger than the case I have now, and allows future compatibility with large GPUs. I'll just sell off my current case, as its not even a year old yet.
 
I have a question. When I go to swap parts from the old case to the new, is it easy to still bend the pins on motherboard with the 7950X CPU and cooler still attached? I see the cpu rests on supports, which would make me wonder if bending pins on the board is all that easy now?
 
What pins are trying to bend (or keep straight) on the motherboard? Front panel wiring header pins, USB2 port header pins, cooling fan CPU socket pins?

I had to assemble my 7950X and NH-D15 out of the case, because there wasn't enough room with the ATX motherboard in the Lian Li tower. With a little care everything went fine. I lowered the motherboard and heatsink carefully into the case, then used a long magnetic screwdriver to fit the M3 screws.
 
I was thinking of the CPU pins. When ever I touch the CPU cooler when moving the motherboard, it often sways enough to bend the CPU pins underneath. I dont know if that happens on the AM5 systems though. The cooler seems pretty firm against its hold downs.
 
i have a fractal focus g which should fit a 4090, has hdd cage low enough to clear the long card and 2 external drive bays for your use.

not bad for a budget case.worth checking out but do look close at the gpu length and what the case can handle.
 
I was thinking of the CPU pins. When ever I touch the CPU cooler when moving the motherboard, it often sways enough to bend the CPU pins underneath. I dont know if that happens on the AM5 systems though. The cooler seems pretty firm against its hold downs.
Cpu coolers should not move at all. You should be able to pick the motherboard straight up BY the cpu cooler and place it in the new case, without any damage to pins, mounts, paste. If your cpu cooler is that loose that a simple touch moves it, it's not secured correctly.
 
Well I got the Fractal case yesterday. It really is a large case, being the XL version. But this case is perfect for my current needs. I used both 5 1/4" bays, plus was able to mount my 2 hard drives on the side of the case. The only thing I didnt like, was the fact when mounting the 5 1/4" drives, that you could only put the screws in one side. The other side flops around, being you dont have access to that side, because of the metal in the way. I did have an issue with the setup once it was all put together. It kept shutting down after 10 minutes, but I put electrical tape on the loose connectors, so they dont ground out. It seems that solved the problem, as its running fine now. I still need to hook up the upper 2 fans in the front, as they aren't working at the moment. Should be able to trace the connectors somewhere. This is a really good case guys! Thank you for the suggestion. Its quite heavy too, as it weighed 22 pounds empty. When everything is in there, the case is close to 40 pounds. Good buy at the price I got, which was $154 Canadian, plus shipping. They sold out of them not long after I got mine. I noticed on Amazon, the used ones go for $190. Yep I got lucky.
 
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