what are the best cases under 150$?

[olekristianrudjord]

What are the best cases under 150$ that has good airflow? The more cases you mention, the better

thank you!

 

[Geef]

If you do pickup a nice case try to make sure it has a "5 1/4" slot for a DVD or Blu-Ray drive just in case you want to get one.

 

[gondo]

I just ordered a new case. For years the Fractal Design Define S was a favorite of mine for the lack of 5 1/4" drive cages and open interior for cooling. This lack of parts made it identical to the R5 but cheaper.

I recently just purchased a new case. I wanted to downgrade from an old Antec full tower that was mickey moused to hold my radiator. I wanted to go smaller and lighter with room designed to screw in a radiator. I also need to install some hard drives for testing so decided to upgrade my case at the same time I start screwing hard drives in. I don't want a window. I had cases with 100 neon lights 20 years ago. Now I just want silent, dark, and light and compact. I decided against the nice micro ATX cube cases because that limits your motherboard use. So I compromised with a mid tower. I decided on the Fractal Define C with no window. It's has sound proofing and is basically a modern version of the define S.

I find 5 1/4" cages rob you of interior space better used for radiators, cooling, space, etc... And DVDs are obsolete anyways. You can just get an external housing for a DVD-Rom and plug it into USB the odd time you need it. Windows even comes on a USB key now. I don't remember the last time I used my blueray burner. I'll just get an external housing for my burner.

It's hard to recommend cases if you don't give us info. Do you want a mini ITX/Micro ATX case, a larger Mid size, or do you want a massive full tower? Do you prefer a standard tower or a cube shaped box? Do you want a window? What parts do you have now? Motherboard size, fans, radiators, etc.... We need more info before recommending anything.

There are many brands now. Fractal Design, Corsair, Thermaltake, Lian Li, NZXT, Cooler Master, Enthos, EVGA, Gigabyte, Zalman, etc... But overall it's regarded that Lian Li and Fractal make the best quality no nonsense cases. I like how Fractal has several designs and with each design you choose either tempered glass or solid side panel. I choose solid side panel so I don't see the lights if watching TV. No distraction. All of the above brands are good however.

 

[hotaru251]

If you do pickup a nice case try to make sure it has a "5 1/4" slot for a DVD or Blu-Ray drive just in case you want to get one.

drive bays now-a-days are optional.

if you rarely use one it can be used as a usb external drive.


i'd say most the refine series would fit the topic of thread.


I ordered a dg-73 (was on sale for 40 which is under half normal price) and looks nice but hear its issue is the front panel restricting airflow.