[SOLVED] Trying to Pick a New Case

[Xplycko]

Well picking a case is tough, a lot of good ones out there. I have narrowed it down to the Lian Li 011 air mini, the Fractal Design Meshify C Mini and the Lian Li Liancool 215. The fractal looks to be of better build quality than the 215, just looks more polished. The O11 is a show piece but idk if I am even going to go with rgb, I like less lights. What do you guys think? Which of you have ran these cases? Thanks

 

[SkyNetRising]

All of those are decent options.
Basically depends on your personal aesthetic preference.
Make sure your chosen case supports necessary amount of storage drives.

 

[Karadjgne]

Cases are a personal choice. You have to build in it, look at it, live with it. So it had better be the one that appeals to you and your needs. Even with very minor differences in build quality, with those cases that's not an issue.

A couple of well placed argb strips can easily take care of case lighting, your motherboard can handle that easily, if you so choose, so that's not really an issue either, nor is adding/swapping rgb fans.

So it really boils down to 3 things. What's going in it, will it fit and what do you prefer for looks. The 215 is taller and thinner, the 2x mini's are shorter and wider. One has a ton of glass, the other has better airflow.

I own both a Fractal (R5) and a Lian-Li (nCase) and both have their own quirks and strong points, but were chosen based on my wants and needs.

You can't go wrong with any of the 3, they are all good cases, but each will have cons to go against the pros.

 

[Krotow]

For good case matter are case is convenient enough to put all hardware you want to have inside, including drives (SATA SSD and HDD) convenient enough and case design allow to cool components inside good enough. Case USB ports should be in convenient place for your preference (some want them at top, some - in front of case). Removable dust filters over air intake openings and easy to remove panels are very nice to have too. Both cases you mentioned seems good enough for all of that.

I now have two manufacturer cases around. Fractal Design Define 7 and Define 7 Compact - both two have added one extra stock case fan for better cooling. And Be Quiet Silent Base 601 and Silent Base 802 (this one also have Corsair H150i Pro AIO installed). Both cases ticked all boxes for their particular build and are quiet enough.

 

[Xplycko]

Guys, think I'm going to go with the Torrent Compact. Thanks for the help.

 

[geofelt]

FWIW, Lian Li quality is very good.
I like the air mini for air cooling.
Two 140mm intakes are great for airflow and quiet.
You can always turn off any RGB lighting.

 

[Xplycko]

FWIW, Lian Li quality is very good.
I like the air mini for air cooling.
Two 140mm intakes are great for airflow and quiet.
You can always turn off any RGB lighting.

I really like it but I think it's too wide to sit on my desk with my monitor as well. Idk, I need to see them in person. Might see if best buy has them in stock.

 

[geofelt]

Some people want very quiet computing.
It occurs to me that a remote power switch like this will allow you to put the pc under your desk or well to the side:

https://www.amazon.com/Segotep-Button-Extension-Desktop-Computer/dp/B097QV6ZD2/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=pc+power+button+extension&qid=1645568006&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExQjIxS00wREpXNjdNJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwODIzNDQ4MzRZNTZYWVRTVkJTViZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMTM2MjYwMk85QjA4TUFEWFhBVyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

 

[Xplycko]

Some people want very quiet computing.
It occurs to me that a remote power switch like this will allow you to put the pc under your desk or well to the side:

https://www.amazon.com/Segotep-Button-Extension-Desktop-Computer/dp/B097QV6ZD2/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=pc+power+button+extension&qid=1645568006&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExQjIxS00wREpXNjdNJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwODIzNDQ4MzRZNTZYWVRTVkJTViZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMTM2MjYwMk85QjA4TUFEWFhBVyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

I have dogs so I wont put it on the floor or even close. They don't shed terribly bad but I don't want to take the chance lol.

 

[Karadjgne]

You can get the outside dimensions. Little bit of cardboard and you are in business. Not hard to make a mockup that fits the dimensions you want, then check vs the cases you are interested in. It's the only way to build mITX/SFF, get a couple of case choices then see what fits, what you can get away with, clearances of everything from cooling to desktop.

 

[Xplycko]

You can get the outside dimensions. Little bit of cardboard and you are in business. Not hard to make a mockup that fits the dimensions you want, then check vs the cases you are interested in. It's the only way to build mITX/SFF, get a couple of case choices then see what fits, what you can get away with, clearances of everything from cooling to desktop.

Think I'm leaning back towards the o11 air mini now. ITX Z590 motherboards are ridiculously high lol. I would rather have the feature set of a matx anyways. I am trying to get the smallest footprint I can while staying in budget. Are there any other cases you would recommend that are really small but accept a matx mb? And thanks for your help so far.

 

[geofelt]

For a long time, I used a silverstone TJ-08E MATX case.
https://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=303&area=en
I loved it.
I had a need for a short case.
The TJ-08E is 15.16" x 8.27" x 14.72"
By comparison,
the Lian li air mini is 15.7 d, 11.3"w. and 15.1"tall.

The cooling potential for the TJ08E is really very good.
It comes with a two speed 180mm front intake. I kept it on the low setting.
It has an easily changeable front filter.
I used a normal 120mm rear exhaust.
At the time, I used an overclocked 8600K and aGTX1080ti.
Never a heat problem with a noctua NH-D15(or s, I can't remember)
The main caveat is to use a short psu if you are going to use a front dvd drive.

 

[Karadjgne]

Just how small do you want? There's a 2070Super, 3700x and 2x 240mm rads in that box. With an X570i mobo that's got as many bells and whistles as a Asus ROG Tuf Gaming mobo.

 

[Xplycko]

Just how small do you want? There's a 2070Super, 3700x and 2x 240mm rads in that box. With an X570i mobo that's got as many bells and whistles as a Asus ROG Tuf Gaming mobo.

That's with an itx mb though right? I'm going back to a matx, the itx boards are $300 or more for a new board. Unless I know the person I'm against buying a used mb. Tried it a couple times with poor results to say the least lol.

 

[Xplycko]

For a long time, I used a silverstone TJ-08E MATX case.
https://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=303&area=en
I loved it.
I had a need for a short case.
The TJ-08E is 15.16" x 8.27" x 14.72"
By comparison,
the Lian li air mini is 15.7 d, 11.3"w. and 15.1"tall.

The cooling potential for the TJ08E is really very good.
It comes with a two speed 180mm front intake. I kept it on the low setting.
It has an easily changeable front filter.
I used a normal 120mm rear exhaust.
At the time, I used an overclocked 8600K and aGTX1080ti.
Never a heat problem with a noctua NH-D15(or s, I can't remember)
The main caveat is to use a short psu if you are going to use a front dvd drive.

I will check it out. I'm so hung up on the Torrent right now lol. To me it's beautiful, but the nano is an itx only case and the compact is a little bigger than I would like.

 

[Karadjgne]

Yeah it's mITX. I went for the Asus ROG, so was just shy of $100 more expensive than the Gigabyte, but has wifi 6 instead, most others have wifi 5, and has more fan headers.

The mATX boards are somrwhat cheaper, for the value lines, but the decent boards are barely less expensive than mITX or ATX. So pricing is kinda indeterminate, you'll pay what you need to to get what you want. B/H series or X/Z makes a difference too.