Best budget air cooling case

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Fozzy786

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Jul 18, 2014
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Hi Guys,

So I recently purchased VTX3D HD 7850 GPU as an upgrade. It was amazing coming from a 6670. I also purchased a EVGA 600B PSU to power it.

I made the mistake of fitting it into my small form factor case which has almost NO air flow other than one rear exhaust. And as a result, the card was running at over 80 degrees which IO thought was insane. I checked online and some people said that this sort of temperature was fine so I thought nothing of it.

Long story short, it probably reached around 90 degrees whilst playing Darksiders 2, computer suddenly switched off mid game. Opened the PC up and restarted it... massive BANG and red flash and lots of smoke..... not good.

Let it cool down and it was working again but the GPU made a hissing noise when I started the game so I quit immediately and turned it all off.

So now that you are all done laughing at me :D here is what I need help with. I need a new case that I can use which will fit the card and provide VERY GOOD airflow.

My budget is around £50 including delivery. I've already looked at a few cases but just not sure if something else is out there which may be a better option.

I want something that preferably had fans already pre installed so I don't have to buy and install more myself.
My PC specs are:

Advent DT1411. (Small form factor, not sure exactly what it is called).
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium, 64bit.
Motherboard: Foxconn H61MXL/H61MXL-K. (Expansion: 2x PCI-E x1)
Processor: Intel i5-2320 @3.0Ghz.
Graphics Card: VTX3D HD7850 X-Edition
RAM: 8GB (4GB + 4GB), DDR3, 1333Mhz.
HDD: 1.5TB, 7200rpm SATA.
PSU: EVGA 600B

Found these so far:

NZXT Source 210 - £26. http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/cases/s210-001.html
Novatech Vortex - £42. http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/cases/el-b-661.html
Zalman Z11 Plus - £45 - http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/cases/cases/z11p.html

Can anyone recommend anything better or something that has more fans pre installed?

My main concern is airflow over looks and features. As long as it can handle my current components then I'm happy.

Thanks for your help.
 
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legend001523
I think the zalman plus is the way to go, you can't get very good cases under 50 pounds, for a good case you'd need 100 pounds roughly, and cases below 50 pounds don't come with many fans anyway :/
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sincreator

sincreator

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If I were you I would also consider the Zalman Z9 plus. It has 7 fan slots, and comes with 4 fans preinstalled.(3 are blue LED fans). 3 of the 120mm fan slots are also 140mm if you wanted to populate them. The case comes with a TON of features for a case that is cheaper. Usually you would only find some of those features on $100 cases or higher. Zalman Z9 Plus: http://www.zalman.com/global/product/Product_Read.php?Idx=423
 
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VincentP

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Oct 18, 2013
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There is a lot more to airflow than the number of fans.
The case layout as well as size, position and speed of fans are all important.
I find the Silverstone TJ08-E to be great for micro-ATX systems with high end graphics cards.
The 180mm fan moves plenty of air over all components and it does a great job of keeping dust out with a filtered intake and positive pressure.
The Silverstone PS07 is a cheaper alternative with a plastic front panel and two 120mm fans instead. I haven't used it, but the layout is the same as the TJ08-E.

If you do choose a case with lots of air holes and lots of fans, it will be noisy and dust can be a real problem.
 
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Fozzy786

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Jul 18, 2014
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Thanks for your help guys. Just to let you know, I went for the Zalman Z9 Plus and it looks AMAZING! 4 equipped fans are awesome too.

And I've sent the card off for warranty repairs.... hopefully I get a brand new one instead of a fix just in case it blows up on me again and burns the house down with it.
 
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sincreator

sincreator

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It looks like you were just as impressed as I was with that case, lol. With the features and build quality, you would expect it to be around $80-120. Best deal out there for a cheap case IMO. It gets awesome reviews as well. Customer and websites reviews.

Website review: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Zalman-Z9-Plus-Case-Review/1188/6

Customer reviews: http://www.ncix.com/detail/zalman-z9-plus-atx-mid-52-57910-1046.htm

PS: Just a heads up. The front power button comes disconnected from the factory. You will have to remove the front of the case and connect the two wires together yourself. A lot of people have gotten stumped at this part, so I figured I'd save you the trouble. :)
 
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Fozzy786

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Jul 18, 2014
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Cheers bud, I've not started to set it all up so you definitely saved me a lot of stress right there! haha. Just waiting for another post to get some feedback in regards to the motherboard I'm supposed to get and then I can finally start putting it all together.

The site seems quite around this time, hopefully people start responding tomorrow :p.
 
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