What is the coolest-looking case for a custom built computer for a 12 year old?

[Macenstein]

Hi, I'll hopefully be building my son his second gaming computer in the next 3 months or so, and I wanted it to look cool, in addition to performing well. So any recommendations as to a "Cool" looking case?

Obviously I don't want to go nuts if the total price for internals will hopefully be around $700-$800 (re-purposing current hard drives and monitor).
The red case I see in the add on this page for Digital Storm looks very cool to me. So something with a big window, a cool color, or LEDs and such is what I am thinking a kid might think looks cool.

Thanks for any help!

 

[TechyInAZ]

There are a lot of cool cases. But finding one that's good quality is tough as well. Would the Spec-03 work? It has a nice grill with Red LED fans in the front.

 

[Gam3r01]

I think the Spec-3 above would be a good option. Large window, looks "agressive" (I guess you could say that), and an add in LED kit on the inside would make it very vibrant.

 

[ComputerSecurityGuy]

I second that, the SPEC-03 is a cool looking case and allows for an absurd amount of cooling. Not too expensive either.

 

[g-unit1111]

The SPEC-03 is decent. For a black / red build, have you considered something like the In Win 707? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811108464

Or maybe the NZXT Phantom 410: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/nzxt-case-caph410b1

 

[Macenstein]

There are a lot of cool cases. But finding one that's good quality is tough as well. Would the Spec-03 work? It has a nice grill with Red LED fans in the front.

yeah that looks quite nice,actually!

it will go in the running for sure. Thanks!

 

[Macenstein]

That SPEC-03 says it can have 6 fans!
It looks like a red LED fan in the top front is included, and a regular (non-LED I assume) fan in the top rear as well. If I want to add another LED fan in there for lighting as much as cooling,
a) which is the best location for the 3rd fan?
b) would it look cool to add a blue fan, or should I stick all red?

c) also suggestions for a LED fan would be great, his current fan is loud as heck and I think it has been since about 6 months in...

 

[jsmithepa]

Every time I go into Fry's I see this enclosure that looks like LAX control tower. Something different, not a "box."

What does he likes? what's he into? I guess modding is passé these days but personally any off-the-shelf is not cool enough for me, it gotta be custom made to my design, one of a kind.

 

[Macenstein]

The SPEC-03 is decent. For a black / red build, have you considered something like the In Win 707? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811108464

Or maybe the NZXT Phantom 410: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/nzxt-case-caph410b1

that 707 looks quite nice as well.
I think if I were building for me I might choose it over the SPEC, but I think a kid might like the SPEC more... it looks a little more like a futuristic helmet or something.

 

[Macenstein]

Every time I go into Fry's I see this enclosure that looks like LAX control tower. Something different, not a "box."

What does he likes? what's he into? I guess modding is passé these days but personally any off-the-shelf is not cool enough for me, it gotta be custom made to my design, one of a kind.

well, he started out with Minecraft, which is what I built his first PC to handle about 3 years ago, but now he plays Call Of Duty with his friends AND records them for his YouTube channel, and the computer is showing its age (I guess recording full screen while playing is too much despite a few upgrades along the way (RAM, SSD, etc.)

He's gotten much better as an on-air personality over the years, and I like that he is doing slightly more than simply playing the games, he is recording, editing, and doing some post-production even- using Photoshop and such. So as wrong as it is I am encouraging my son to play more video games.


So the games he is playing for the most part are CS Go, and various COD games. So a case that would look cool to a FPS type of player I guess it what I am going for. For christmas he asked for a pretty cheap mouse and keyboard that both light up and change colors, so he is also impressed by lighting, which is why I suggested a big window on the case.

Thanks guys.

 

[JasonL265]

I used one of the Corsair Spec cases to build a budget PC for my cousin (around 14) and they are pretty good cases for the price. They come with 2 fans, one red LED on in the front and a non LED one in the back (think the spec 3 also comes in white led). I would suggest you get 4 more LED fans for the empty slots to really make it shine (if you plan to get a AIO water cooler for the CPU, probably get 2 extra fans instead). You can get those 2 packs fans from corsair for 20 bucks, and I would stick with all RED color, or all Blue, not a fan of the multi color LED in one case.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F6S0XJO?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00

The In Win 707 case looks pretty nice, but I don't think it will fit a 12 year old's taste, its more of an adult case IMO.

The NZXT case is also pretty good.

EDIT:
Oh Corsair is also coming out with a new line of SPEC cases that they showed in CES this year, they are definitely very flashy and will fit a kids' taste. Not sure if they are available yet, think there is 3 colors right now Black/Blue, White/Red, Black/Yellow.

http://www.corsair.com/en-us/landing/specalpha

 

[Macenstein]

I used one of the Corsair Spec cases to build a budget PC for my cousin (around 14) and they are pretty good cases for the price. They come with 2 fans, one red LED on in the front and a non LED one in the back (think the spec 3 also comes in white led). I would suggest you get 4 more LED fans for the empty slots to really make it shine (if you plan to get a AIO water cooler for the CPU, probably get 2 extra fans instead). You can get those 2 packs fans from corsair for 20 bucks, and I would stick with all RED color, or all Blue, not a fan of the multi color LED in one case.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F6S0XJO?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00

The In Win 707 case looks pretty nice, but I don't think it will fit a 12 year old's taste, its more of an adult case IMO.

The NZXT case is also pretty good.

EDIT:
Oh Corsair is also coming out with a new line of SPEC cases that they showed in CES this year, they are definitely very flashy and will fit a kids' taste. Not sure if they are available yet, think there is 3 colors right now Black/Blue, White/Red, Black/Yellow.

http://www.corsair.com/en-us/landing/specalpha

That looks very cool Too Jason! and a march ship date looks to fit perfectly.