Open air PC cases

[Ripthruster]

Getting ready for a CPU/MOBO upgrade. I am using a Haf 932 full tower which is awesome for a gaming system with its big quiet fans. It's only problem is the front facing ports are all USB 2.0 instead of 3.x like new cases, plus am looking for an updated design.
I saw two cases from In-win which are open chassis and just perfection in terms of design. They're obscenely expensive and out of my price range, but got me looking at some others.
Do you think an open air case would be more hassle or risk than upside?
I do some moderate over clocking but nothing that needs any extreme solution.
All my favorite looking conventional cases look like they don't get great airflow.

 

[Eximo]

Well you could always go for an updated HAF. Plenty of roomy cases out there, just go big really, with a Full or EATX case to increase air flow.

It would be interesting if you could just order spare parts and replace your USB 2.0 ports with 3.0 with a new front panel header or just the USB assembly.

Not sure an open chassis is worth it. Then you would probably want an in room air filter to keep the dust down. Also spillage and tripping could result in bad things as compared to a solid chassis.

Hard to say what your taste in cases is. I tend toward plain flat sides without windows myself.

 

[Ripthruster]

Well you could always go for an updated HAF. Plenty of roomy cases out there, just go big really, with a Full or EATX case to increase air flow.

It would be interesting if you could just order spare parts and replace your USB 2.0 ports with 3.0 with a new front panel header or just the USB assembly.

Not sure an open chassis is worth it. Then you would probably want an in room air filter to keep the dust down. Also spillage and tripping could result in bad things as compared to a solid chassis.

Hard to say what your taste in cases is. I tend toward plain flat sides without windows myself.

The HAF932 is great but not very nice to look at and after 5 years, if I bought a new case, I'd rather something a more attractive.

These are the 2 In-win cases:

Ultra expensive but WoW!

 

[geofelt]

Open air cases are ok, and very good from a cooling point of view.
But, not so good if you have kids or cats around.

What parts will be installed inside?

You can buy usb3.x front paned adapters that will fit in one of the front 5.25" bays. That will be considerably cheaper than a new case
And perform the function just as well.

But... buying a new case is always exciting.

Any case with at least two 120mm intake fans will generally supply sufficient fresh air intake .

 

[Ripthruster]

No kids or cats. Just two dogs who are unlikely to raise their leg to anger the PC gods. Thermal take has one, but I don't care for the design at all. One from Lian-Li looks nice but nothing as amazing as these.
The 932 has 240mm fans on top, side, and front. At full speed they're just a whisper. Previous cases I've had used only 120mm fans which were noisy, but maybe they just weren't quality fans. I guess my goal is to have a Full tower case that is quiet, super cool, and looks great. Having a full tower means is likely out in the open so appearance becomes more important.

 

[Ripthruster]

Well you could always go for an updated HAF. Plenty of roomy cases out there, just go big really, with a Full or EATX case to increase air flow.

It would be interesting if you could just order spare parts and replace your USB 2.0 ports with 3.0 with a new front panel header or just the USB assembly.

Not sure an open chassis is worth it. Then you would probably want an in room air filter to keep the dust down. Also spillage and tripping could result in bad things as compared to a solid chassis.

Hard to say what your taste in cases is. I tend toward plain flat sides without windows myself.

Cooler Master did at one point sell a kit to let you remove the block with the front ports to the upgraded one, but I was unable to find it in stock anywhere at the time. Might be worth looking into.

 

[Eximo]

140mm fans spun at a low RPM do the trick for quietness. 120mm fans can be loud, but only when spun quickly.

 

[Millz123]

Thermaltake v71. Check it out on YouTube. It's not super premium but it's big with great cooling options

It comes with 3 x 200mm fans and 1x 140
With room for fourth 200 and 2x120 more

 

[Ripthruster]

Thermaltake v71. Check it out on YouTube. It's not super premium but it's big with great cooling options

It comes with 3 x 200mm fans and 1x 140
With room for fourth 200 and 2x120 more

Thanks Millz123, that looks like a very nice case but I'm trying to steer away from the big black steel box look.

 

[Albionm00n]

Greetings!

Have you checked out the InWin 805? Box shaped yes, but still quite elegant with tempered glass. Seems to have interesting cooling however which could be an issue... Here is a link to their site for the 805: https://www.inwin-style.com/en/gaming-chassis/805, and here is a link for their various options (the infinity model is quite interesting): https://www.inwin-style.com/en/search-result?keyword=805

I have no idea if this is even in your budget for I don't know what you are looking to spend, but I could not find anything that resembled the two that you listed for anything considered an affordable price, and in fact, the first one you showed (the S-Frame) is one of my favorite designs but has never made it out of prototype stage to retail as far as I know:-(

Have you scoped out Lian Li? Here is a rather interesting option: http://www.lian-li.com/en/dt_portfolio/pc-o7s/. They offer variations of this design from a simple and small mITX (pc-o5), up to the pc-o7s which is full ATX with water cooling support. It is a semi-open-air case that can either lay flat, stand upright, or be hung on the wall. I almost went with this case until I realized that I could not fit a dual xeon system with proper water cooling for both cpus for there is only support for a single 240mm (or 360mm for the pc-o7s) radiator in the top...a totally workable cooling solution for almost any single cpu setup, but not enough for two. It is really one of my favorite cases and I may have to build another system down the road just to have a system in one of these cases...hmmm...maybe a wall mounted pc-o5s water cooled mITX HTPC may be in my entertainment future...

I can't disagree, the upper end of InWin's design is magnificent...though cost prohibitive for most...

Hope this helps!

 

[Ripthruster]

The In-win 805 infinity version is currently leading the short list. I saw the Lian LI one you mentioned online but want to see it in person. There is a microcenter near me that has the pc05s which I guess is it's buy smaller. Definately going to look at that closer. The 805 is probably going to be the one, though. The infinity version just looks too good.

 

[Albionm00n]

The In-win 805 infinity version is currently leading the short list. I saw the Lian LI one you mentioned online but want to see it in person. There is a microcenter near me that has the pc05s which I guess is it's buy smaller. Definately going to look at that closer. The 805 is probably going to be the one, though. The infinity version just looks too good.

Yeah, it is a really cool looking case. I was leaning toward it as well, but I decided to get picky about having a nice looking build while using AIOs to separately cool two xeon processors...easily done with a custom loop, but I have neither the money or the time for such an undertaking, so I eventually found this case for myself which houses two 240mm radiators in a symmetrical top and bottom fashion: http://www.ebay.com/itm/JONSBO-UMX4-Black-ATX-Middle-Tower-Tempered-Glass-Window-Computer-Case-/272084279324?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368.

I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on the pc-o5 at MicroCenter, for I as well have not seen it in person...only vicariously through the interwebs and yootoobs🙂

 

[Ripthruster]

The one thing with the Lian li in not thrilled about is using a ide ribbon style cable to the video card. Was looking at another makers case that did this and having a cable seemed to be an issue for many gpus

 

[Albionm00n]

The one thing with the Lian li in not thrilled about is using a ide ribbon style cable to the video card. Was looking at another makers case that did this and having a cable seemed to be an issue for many gpus

That is definitely worth consideration if that is the 'case'...sorry, couldn't help the pun...still a worthy consideration.

 

[Ripthruster]

The one thing with the Lian li in not thrilled about is using a ide ribbon style cable to the video card. Was looking at another makers case that did this and having a cable seemed to be an issue for many gpus

That is definitely worth consideration if that is the 'case'...sorry, couldn't help the pun...still a worthy consideration.

<groans> Don't make me take away your best solution