Case Recommendations & a Few Other Questions

Crag_Hack · Nov 9, 2018

Hi I am gathering information to build a new PC to my replace my aging current 6 year old one.

My main question is can anybody recommend a good case for me? I am looking for a mid tower with a good balance of quiet and cooling capacity. I am a little bored by cases that simply have plain old flat panels on the sides and front and like more angles and honeycomb. I am open to suggestions though. Cost isn't terribly important.

As for the other components, if anybody can present a reason to choose other parts please let me know. I plan on getting a Seasonic PSU with 12 year warranty and LAMBDA A++ noise rating. For mobo I am leaning toward Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro since it's top rated by TechRadar and also the Aorus Gaming 5 & 7 are rated well here at Tom's Hardware. For CPU I am getting a i7-9700k if I can find one and a Zalman CNPS 9900 Max CPU cooler to go with it. Memory I will find G Skill or Corsair probably a well reviewed model. I already have an EVGA 970 video card. SSD I'll get Samsung 970.

Should the CNPS 9900 Max be enough to effectively cool an i7-9700k? It has a Qmax of 300 W which I think is the max TDP it can cool. I don't want to drive the CPU much higher than 50-60 C under stress.

Thanks for the help!

TechyInAZ · Nov 9, 2018

It's impossible to drive a 9700K at 60C under full load, won't happen, no matter what CPU cooler.

As for cases, If you want full airflow look at the Meshify C.

And no, that Zalman isn't anywhere near enough to cool that CPU. Your going to want a 240mm AIO or better, I recommend the Corsair H100i V2, H150i Pro, Kraken X62/X72 and also thermaltake's 240mm AIOs.

carltonje · Nov 9, 2018

Look at the cooler master master box lite and for a cooler

Crag_Hack · Nov 9, 2018

Thanks TechyInAz. How about if I got the i5-9600k?

TechyInAZ · Nov 9, 2018

Crag_Hack :

Most likely, just curious why do you want this cooler? there are better coolers out there for similar prices. Cryorig comes to mind.

bignastyid · Nov 9, 2018

TechyInAZ :

Actually it would be possible with phase change cooling, however that is extremely expensive.

TechyInAZ · Nov 9, 2018

bignastyid :

Yeah I'm talking about normal "real world" cooling solutions. There definitely are ways to get it to 60C like what your talking about, or those liquid cooling boxes Tom's Hardware Editors use when testing CPUs, then of course there is LN2 and Helium cooling.

Crag_Hack · Nov 10, 2018

@TechyInAz I like to invest in quiet solutions which is why I wanted to go Zalman. Is there any assembly required for the AIOs you recommended? Are they foolproof to install with minimal chance of giving your brand new baby computer a nice short circuit bath in the hot tub? Do you need to replace the liquid occasionally? I'd love to have a 9700k since they're so powerful. Anything else to know and are there quiet AIOs out there? Thanks.

carltonje · Nov 10, 2018

The cooler master master liquid pro 240 is rated at 6-30db and has an impressive life expectancy. The master air ma620p is 3d vapor chamber technology and so is the master air maker 8. the ma620p is also part of the asus led gaming alliance TUF which are cases cooling ram cases etc...

TechyInAZ · Nov 10, 2018

Crag_Hack :

My personally H100i V2 has been amazing. Pump is dead quiet, can't hear it. And it's even on the performance mode and it's dead quiet, putting it on quiet mode should make the sound even less noticeable.

AIOs hardly ever ever at all break. I've built systems with AIOs for almost a decade and none have died or leaked.

If you do want to go air cooling, I highly suggest you check out the Noctua NH D15 and the CRYORIG H1 Ultimate & Universal. Excellent coolers.

Crag_Hack · Nov 10, 2018

You guys got me sold on the AIOs

Do they come preassembled and you just hook them up to the CPU and the case, no need to mess with hoses/liquid and everything? Do you have to replace the liquid ever?

SgtScream · Nov 12, 2018

Crag_Hack, I know you've been browsing around looking at computer cases. Give me an example of one that caught your eye so I have an idea of what you're looking for. Do you want RGB?

Crag_Hack · Nov 15, 2018

Thanks for the help SgtScream. I've been pretty busy lately haven't had time to reply until now; definitely not abandoning this thread though. I looked at NZXT, Corsair, Cooler Master, Zalman, and Lian Li. I like the Cooler Master HAF series, the Cooler Master Master Case Series H500's, and the Zalman Z11's the best. NZXT's look really boring to me. I want a mid-tower with a good balance between airflow (no overclocking here) and quietness as well as good build quality and at least 1 5.25" drive bay. RGB I don't really care about but I don't want it to interfere with my movie watching/game playing at night if it's present My current MSI Nighthawk case had the usb ports on the front die after several years which was really disappointing. Also the power button is quite finicky and can get stuck in the down position and two of the three fans included had no mobo header connection.
Thanks!

SgtScream · Nov 22, 2018

Gamers Nexus rated the Cooler Master H500 (with front mesh) to be the best case for air flow. That that is going to be the case I choose for my next build. I'm just waiting for Intel to get their S*** together. If you don't want RGB, you could replace the fans on the H500 or I can look into something else. Any colors pop to you?

Crag_Hack · Dec 8, 2018

Thanks SgtScream. I thought this thread had been abandoned until I checked today sorry about the delay!

Only thing about the H500 is it doesn't have 5.25" drive bays. I use my blu-ray player 5.25" drive all the time so I'd prefer to have a bay for that. I could switch to an external although that's less than ideal. No colors really pop to me... I'm not terribly picky on the color front. The Cooler Master HAF supposedly are Cooler Masters' greatest in terms of cooling performance according to their website and also have the 5.25"s.

Speaking of Gamer's Nexus check out this article if you haven't already. Proves high quality silent fans can almost make normal cases as quiet as silent cases.

SgtScream · Jan 13, 2019

Check out the define R6

Crag_Hack · Jan 14, 2019

Not my kinda case thx tho... is the Cooler Master HAF series of sound build quality? I'd love to go with the H500 except for the lack of 5.25". I'm likin' angles and such not boring flat surfaces, also a 5.25" bay...

SgtScream · Jan 14, 2019

Ok so you want RGB, air flow and low noise correct?

theycallmechris · Jan 14, 2019

Hi Crag, I can suggest the case I use: Corsair Carbide 500R

https://www.corsair.com/ca/en/Categories/Products/Cases/Carbide-Series™-500R-Mid-Tower-Case/p/CC-9011012-WW

I use the White version of this case in my build and it's really nice. The airflow is good that with my current fan set-up, the CPU will almost never see temps above 41 or 42c (usually just a quick spike then falls to around 38c) and the GPU will hover around 50c at most in the games I play. The bottom is filtered so you're PSU won't be sucking in dust, which is a nice touch.

I wasn't to concerned about noise as I usually have my satellite radio playing, the TV on and the game sounds going, so any noise that the system does make are entirely drowned out by the background noise. It's only noticeable late at night when the radio goes off and the TV has it's volume turned down that I notice the fan hum.

This was the first case I bought for gaming system, and at the time I was looking for a large air flow case to keep the parts cool, and it's worked well for me.

Crag_Hack · Jan 14, 2019

@SgtScream I don't care about RGB or not unless it interferes with my watching movies/playing games at night. I'm looking for something that looks nice with angles/edges not boring flat surfaces, at least 1 5.25", and good airflow, I'm gonna google the Cooler Master HAF and see what the consensus is unless you have a complaint re that guy

@theycallmechris That case does look pretty good I'll have to consider it.

Thanks guys!

SgtScream · Jan 23, 2019

This thread has gone on long enough. Crag_Hack, look at a BUNCH of cases and pick one out that you like. We'll tell you if it's junk. Trust me.

Crag_Hack · Jan 23, 2019

Thanks SgtScream will do so. For some odd reason your post from 1/14/19 never showed up on my end and I sent you a PM about that. Did you get it?

Crag_Hack · Feb 2, 2019

I've been browsing around and found some goodies. Does it matter significantly whether a case has a side fan or not for those GPU temps?

theycallmechris · Feb 2, 2019

A side fan can help with temps on the GPU, but it's not exactly a must have on the case.

It's mostly just helping to provide additional fresh air for the system to use for cooling.

SgtScream · Feb 3, 2019

New case designs don't really use the side fan. In my opinion, the side fan was necessary due to the drive cage blocking the front intake in older cases. If you have unobstructed front intake, then the side fan isn't necessary.

Case Recommendations & a Few Other Questions

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