I also ran an internal drive while i installed the os and drivers, then removed it.. saved from making a usb drive for windows.
With owning a white phantom, and a red/black h440 .. i'd lean towards the the 540, not a huge fan of the plastic/metal white matching nzxt has done in the past, and i like the balance of white/black on the 540 most of all... and every corsair case i've built in (about 4) has been amazingly easy. Not knocking it, becuase it's a great case, but the r4 just kinda seems to be 'the norm' in looks.
Have you looked at the phanteks enthoo pro / luxe?
I've also had an issue with the feet of the h440 popping off with the screw pulling through the case sheet metal when slid across a desk.