Best all round case for under $110

[alanburke62]

Well Folks,

I know I have been around here before asking a similar question, but I am setting up some builds or TOP 5's in what I will look for during the sales next month and just want to have all my ducks in a row I guess.

What I am looking for is a TOP 5 in cases (may it be mid or full size ones) all for under $110.

Why $110.... well, I have already ear marked this case http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008HD3EAA/?tag=pcpapi-20 (Fractal Design Define R4) but I am open to better options which I will monitor daily to see who comes up with a good deals between now and December.

I am going to build my first gaming pc, but with nothing out of the ordinary in it. No plan to overclock, until way down the line when parts seem to be failing or just not running the newer games as good as what I wish. Here is a rough idea of what I have earmarked to go it.

i5-3570k (not changing)
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Asus P8Z77-V PRO (not changing)
8GB RAM
Samsung 830 Series 256GB
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB
MSI GeForce GTX 680 2GB Video Card
Rosewill Capstone 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V PSU
Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer

So if anyone has any idea of what would be a good TOP 5 case, I would appreciate it very much. Please keep it in and around the $110 mark. I dont care where I buy it from either.

P.S If I left anything out my apologies!!

 

[Raiddinn]

First of all, I would make the RAM either Crucial or Kingston. They are the best RAM makers and still priced pretty well.

Crucial SSDs are also up there with Samsung for high quality in that space too.

The best DVD drive is the Asus DRW-24B1ST, you might want to consider that too on your list.

As far as cases go...

Some popular cases for under $100 are:

Cooler Master HAF 912
Cooler Master HAF 922
Antec 300
NZXT Phantom

Dark horse case - Lian Li Lancool First Knight cases (PC-K59, etc).

I had the same choices on Black Friday last year and I went with the Lian Li case, I don't regret it at all. They are more of an upscale brand, but they often have some really good deals.

 

[sam_p_lay]

If you're into that style of case, the Silverstone Kublai KL04 is supposed to be excellent in build quality, ease of component installation, cooling/noise etc. The Coolermaster cases mentioned (as well as the CM Storm Enforcer) are also highly recommended, but may not be to your tastes stylewise. Antec Eleven Hundred (and Nine Hundred and Twelve Hundred actually) may be your kind of design and if so, also strong choices.

As for other components, the Samsung 830 is a brilliant choice, but the Vertex 4 may be available at the same price (I know it is here in the UK, couldn't say about in the States) and is a bit faster - 4K random reads and uncompressible sequential reads significantly faster and especially 4K random writes. The Samsung 830 is far better for compressible sequential reads. Across the board, the Vertex delivers around 15% more performance. Samsung 840 Pro is the fastest overall consumer SSD out, but they're overpriced (at least they are here) since they've only just launched (plus Samsung obviously knows they have a winner).

Only other thing is the GTX680 - not really worth the cost unless you're feeling spendy and want the very best GPU you can get. The GTX670 is 95% as fast and much cheaper (£270 here vs £360).

 

[alanburke62]

Thanks very much for the responses about the cases and what could be my possible future build. I'll take all the help I can get I am forming quite a big list, but I will narrow it down to maybe 5 or 6 soon

I guess I should of mentioned or asked if anyone can recommend a good, reasonable priced case (mid or full size) that has both 2.0 and 3.0 front usb ports and maybe a card reader (sd card). Easy known I am new to this, sorry

 

[alanburke62]

Well I'm kind of answering my own question here, but here is the top 3 mid size and full size cases for what I think my work....please feel free to give me some feedback on my choices...

Mid size

COOLER MASTER Storm Enforcer SGC-1000-KWN1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119240

Fractal Design Define R4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352023

Rosewill BLACKHAWK Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147107

Full size

Antec DF-85 Black Steel / Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129087

Thermaltake Chaser MK-I (VN300M1W2N) Black SECC ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133191

NZXT SWITCH 810 Black CA-SW810-B1 Steel / Plastic ATX HYBRID Full Tower Gaming Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146089

 

[sam_p_lay]

Well the only other thing I'd add about cases is that if portability isn't an issue, the bigger the better. I use full towers exclusively now, purely for having more room to work with inside. I've had issues in the past with dodgy front panel connectors (power button, lights etc) and that stuff can be really fiddly to plug/unplug in a smaller case. And it's nice to have plenty of room all round, helps keep cables separate and generally makes life easier.

 

[bigcyco1]

o.k. nobody get pissed at me if you posted or mentioned one of these cases the truth is i didn't feel like reading the whole thread and just read what org post said. Case:Rosewill BLACKHAWK Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, come with Five Fans, window side panel, top HDD dock
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147107#top


Case:Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with Upgraded USB 3.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021#top

Case:Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139016#top


Case:COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119216#top

Case:Antec Eleven Hundred Black Super Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129178#top