Unsolvable case?

HAF 912 gets my vote.

CPU Cooler...I would go with air cooling over the H60. There are air coolers out there that cost less than the H60, cool better than the H80, and are more quiet than either. Thermalright Archon, Thermalright HR-02 Macho, Noctua NH-D14 to name a few. Great price/performance cooler right now Coolermaster Hyper 212+ EVO...good enough for a pretty high OC on the CPU your getting.

If you do end up getting the H60, then I would be prepared to replace the fans with something a bit more quiet....the stock fans are crap. I have an H80 and couldn't stand the noise.

Yup, I'd go for the HAF 912 anyday, have the 932 and the 922 and still can't get enough of them...
I'd stick with the H60 but get Cougars with them.....
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

And they are available in Black too...

I agree with the rest . go with haf . Everyone seems to like them as long as your good with the esthetics . I also agree to pass on the closed loop units ie. h80 . for the money the hyper212 evo ( $34.00 ) + approx $ 12.00 for xtra fan for push/pull your still at half the cost of the h80 with similar performance gains .

Hi, Rugger. Thanks for your input. Is there any reason why you would go for the HAF 912 over the Dokker?

Also, while I appreciate the advice in regards to the CPU cooler, I'm afraid I already have it   (got it for 50$ through a deal a while back).

On that note, however, I found some benchmarks that show it performs at least as well, if not better, than some top of the line air coolers:
http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/cooling/29609-corsair-hyd...

And, while I realize it is not the same cooler, vs the CM Hyper 212+:
http://www.overclock.net/t/1001181/i5-2500k-4-9ghz-cm-h...

Though I admit I am biased, as I would love to justify my purchase  

Those fans look pretty sweet, I will definitely look into them. I was planning to set up push/pull fans on the radiator and these seem great!

I see that there is a lot of support for the HAF 912! Aesthetics are not a big deal to me, so we're good on that note. However, I can't really discern any clear advantages besides it being more popular.

If I went with the HAF912, would you have any advice in regards to the fan setup to ensure optimal airflow?

Corsair recommends the radiator fans to be set as intake on the back, which means I will need an additional exhaust.

Do you think this would work?:
Rear (radiator) fans: 120mm intake (push/pull)
Front: 120mm intake
Top: 200mm (will it fit?) exhaust

Thanks, everyone, for your help. This would be my first build, so sorry if I am being verbose!

$50 for the H60 makes it a better deal than $60. If you're in the US, like saving money, and like quiet fans, then consider getting Yate Loon D12SL-12 fans instead of the Cougars. You can get 4/$20 at Petra's http://www.petrastechshop.com/12yalod1cafa.html review: http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/yate_l...
They don't look as neat as the Cougars, but they are an awesome deal for the money. I don't know about you, but I don't tend to spend a lot of time looking in my case....I'm more likely to be paying attention to the game I'm playing.

As far as 912 vs Dokker...
1. I just like the aesthetics of 912 a little more and
2. I like the front panel ports to be on the upper portion of the PC instead of the middle. I place my PC on the floor and the top ports are easier to reach in that scenario.

That's exactly how I would set up the airflow if I had those parts. H60 intake, 200mm exhaust up top, and 120mm intake on front. If you got 4 of those Yate Loon fans, then you'd have an extra 120mm to add as intake for the GPU.

Edit: To clarify...the extra 120mm could be used as an intake on the side panel...blowing onto the GPU.

And yes, a 200mm fan will fit on the top of the HAF, but , I'd advise against it... use 2 x 120mm ones if you the H60 Rad pulling air into the case from the rear, use 2 fans for the top exhaust.

Thanks, everyone.

Looks like a 200mm fan will not fit as a top exhaust alongside the h60's radiator. This guy was only able to get 2 screws in http://www.overclock.net/t/1155295/my-first-case-mod-ha....

I think it might have room for a single 120mm at most, which makes me worry that I won't have enough exhaust points if I have air coming in from the front, rear and side. Although, the case looks porous enough to maybe handle the positive pressure. Do you think this might be an issue?

Maybe I should set the PSU facing up to act as another exhaust?


I am trying to find out if the Dokker can fit the whole setup, but not a single person on this earth seems to have this case   .

Yup, the 200mm will not fit onto the rad..... that is a problem.... but you'll be fine with 2 x 120mm Exhausts on top.
They will be good enough as the only exhausts there, you won't need additional exhausts.
No, the PSU should be left as it is, don't mess with that.

Thanks for all your advice.

I'm going to get the HAF 912 and I'm inclined to buy the Yate Loons. They apparently have great value.

You guys were really helpful!

Best answer selected by Rolos.

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey