Which of these cases is best for Dual-GPU setup.

[Pavel Pokidaylo]

Hi. I have 2 Sapphire 7950s and need a new case for them. Which of these do you think is best for dual-gpu setup? I want to keep the cards cool as I intend to overclock sometimes.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352023

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139017

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139010

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139009

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139012

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352021

Those are some of the options. I see some for 80 bucks and I'd like to spend that much. But there are the more expensive ones and if they are really better I might be willing to spend more.

Which would you choose?

 

[JackNaylorPE]

I wanted to spend about 500 for all 3 items. Someone recommended that red Asus motherboard to me but it was 300 bucks. I would prefer not to spend that much on the motherboard if it isn't necessary. I will only be liquid cooling the CPU with my small Alienware Liquid cooler (not sure about the exact model or specs of it). What I would like to have is good spacing between the PCIe slots.

yes, i quoted the $300 price tag above the picture.... at $200 ya have the Asus Hero, and at $190ish ya have the GD-65 I listed above

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/msi_z87_gd65_gaming/12.htm

MSI has been using components that meet or exceed MIL-STD-810G for some time as part of its Military Class build philosophy. Parts such as Super Ferrite Chokes that run at up to 35 degree Celsius lower temperatures, have a 30% higher current handling capacity, and a 20% improvement in power efficiency; Tantalum filled Hi-C Caps that are are up to 93% efficient; and "Dark Capacitors" that feature Lower ESR and a ten-year lifespan all tied into a PCB with improved temperature and humidity protections as part of the "Military Essentials" package......In the end MSI's Z87-GD65 is a board that comes with an expansive feature set that includes all your basics and the extras that set them apart such as the V-Check points, upper end audio, Dual BIOS ROMs, KIller Network package, Military Class IV package, and a three-year warranty. Couple that with good looks that carry the dragon theme through the board, and you have a winning combination at $189.

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cpu_mainboard/msi_z87_gd65_gaming_review/15

Now and again a motherboard appears that is so obviously brilliant, and so affordable, that we wonder if anything will be able to top it. For a while that crown was held by the ASUS Sabertooth, both in X58 and then P67 variants. Then MSI stole the crown with the Z77 MPower. Looking at the Z87 GD65 Gaming we think it's going to take something extraordinary to top it, such is the perfect storm of price, performance, features and looks.

The switch to Military Class 4 has given us an extremely ready overclocker too. You're always thermally limited when overclocking and the i7-4770K is one of the most demanding around. Considering the amount of cooling we're using we think that although the GD65 is capable of bringing 5GHz from our i7-4770K you'd need a proper water loop to make the most of it.

Performance is outstanding. The stock results were a particular highlight. We know a lot of people still just like to put their CPU in and go, without overclocking it first. Despite how easy it is these days we know that the fear factor still exists. So you'll be glad to know that the MSI Z87 GD65 Gaming really rocks hard even at stock settings. Naturally the overclocking is blistering too, with some OC3D records broken.

MSI have laid the gauntlet down to all the other manufacturers. Gorgeous to look at, blistering performance and all at a very affordable price, the MSI Z87 GD65 Gaming is not only the new benchmark for Z87 motherboards, but probably for all motherboards.

And again, it's got that great installation video I linked to above

 

[Pavel Pokidaylo]

Ok thanks again. I will look into the motherboards. I've read the entire review for the Carbide. At the end there they say the NSXT phantom is similar and I think it's cheaper (around 99 bucks). It also got a tad bit higher score from the 9.40 vs carbides 9.25. I still like the carbide though. What do you think?

 

[JackNaylorPE]

For me and most of the peeps over 21 I build for, it's the carbide. I find the Phantom's case styling to aggressive.... but when Dad's come over w/ their teens for a build, the younger boyz seem to favor the Phantom...all comes down to what ya like.

Which Phantom BTW ? I think you looking at this review fir the "Phantom Phan-00" something:

http://archive.benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=571&Itemid=61&limit=1&limitstart=5

That's a $120 case .... The $99 case is the Phantom 410....different animal

 

[Pavel Pokidaylo]

Yea I don't really like the look of the phantom. I mean this whole thing started out with my favoring the R4 which is totally sleek lol. Anyway...
I just saw my computer guy again and told him the pictures of the carbide on newegg are bad so he looked at it on the official site and changed his mind. He said it actually looks very good and even better than the fractal for what we want to do. That review says the Fractal is good too but with the fracta l we'd have to mount a bracket for an extra fan. That would be annoying and would make it more difficult to get to the GPUs and work inside the case. The Carbide has a big ass fan on the panel so he agreed it's the better choice. I really like the sleek look of the R4 but I like the look of my Aurora even better and unfortunately I can't keep it so... I'll be going with the Carbide. Now I just need to decide if I want the white or black one.

Now that we've got that out of the way... would you recommend the Asus motherboard over the MSI? my computer guy told me to go with the Asus. If not for the better quality then for the warranty and support. They both look really cool. The Asus is gold and black and the MSI is Red and black.
Do you agree with my computer guy about the Asus? It's 50 bucks more which isn't huge but it's something.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Ummm....which Asus .... there are 38 Asus Z87 Motherboards.....

these are the boards I generally use....

$300 (holy crap just went up to $332) .... Asus Maximus VI Formula
$210 ... Asus Z87 Herp
$190 ... MSI Z87-GD-65
$170 ....MSI Z87-G45
$155 ....Asus Z87-A

To my mind.....and the reviewers (see quotes above) ... the GD-65 well worth the bang for the buck and is the better board even if I prefer the Asus BIOS and OC tools.

Again, show the puter guy the reviews I listed above .... if that don't work, show him the installation video and your choice will be made for ya
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvNnv7nh2Es

She assembled the puter in 4:16 .... ask if he can beat that :0

 

[Pavel Pokidaylo]

Lol what the hell 38 z87s? I thought there were just the two you mentioned and the red one omg...daunting

Thanks for all the help man. I'll consult with the computer guy again tommorow and show him the reviews and installation video.