Mid to Full-size PC Case Suggestion
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Akhilcool
March 6, 2012 11:39:16 PM
Hi guys, I was planning on building my first higher-end rig and I wanted to know about what case to buy for my PC. I wanted one that is quiet yet excellent for cooling (preferably prioritized for cooling, not noise,) and I needed some opinions from all of you. The case should be around the $100 to $200 range. I prefer a full-tower case but I wouldn't mind settling with a large mid-tower either. I don't have any limits to the size as it can be as big as possible, however I want it to be high quality of course. I'm not going to do water-cooling so I want it specialized for air cooling instead. Also, I'd like it to look good visually as well. Look-wise I was looking at the Corsair Graphite 600T but I know it isn't a great case, especially for the price so I want to know what the best case within my range is. Thanks a lot guys!
More about : mid full size case suggestion
Quote:
Look-wise I was looking at the Corsair Graphite 600T but I know it isn't a great case, especially for the price so I want to know what the best case within my range is. Where did you hear that from? I have the same case (white version) and it's been great - one of the best cases I've ever owned. The only downside is that it's huge and heavy and not easy to transport. If you don't move your computer around you're fine. If you do I'd suggest taking a look at the Carbide 500R, or one of the cases below:
Here's a few of my favorites:
Full Tower:
- Rosewill Thor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
- NZXT Phantom: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
- Corsair Obsidian 650D: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
- Fractal Design Define XL: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
- Antec DF-85: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
- Cooler Master HAF 932: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
- Cooler Master Cosmos II: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
- Azza Hurrican 2000: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Large Mid Tower:
- Corsair Carbide 500R: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
- Fractal Design Define R3: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
- Antec 1100: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
- Corsair Graphite 600T: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
- Lian Li K6-82: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
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VistaVendetta
March 7, 2012 5:56:48 AM
Akhilcool said:
Hi guys, I was planning on building my first higher-end rig and I wanted to know about what case to buy for my PC. I wanted one that is quiet yet excellent for cooling (preferably prioritized for cooling, not noise,) and I needed some opinions from all of you. The case should be around the $100 to $200 range. I prefer a full-tower case but I wouldn't mind settling with a large mid-tower either. I don't have any limits to the size as it can be as big as possible, however I want it to be high quality of course. I'm not going to do water-cooling so I want it specialized for air cooling instead. Also, I'd like it to look good visually as well. Look-wise I was looking at the Corsair Graphite 600T but I know it isn't a great case, especially for the price so I want to know what the best case within my range is. Thanks a lot guys!
Corsair Obsidian 550D is the best as far as quiet and cooling: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
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i own the monstrous corsair obsidian. i seem to remember it being a 600d... not sure if they have another model out now. it is big, heavy, and expensive...but great.
for your price range even the traditional offerings such as the HAF or antec900 arent bad. look for a case with multiple 120mm fan holes.
for your price range even the traditional offerings such as the HAF or antec900 arent bad. look for a case with multiple 120mm fan holes.
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ssddx said:
i own the monstrous corsair obsidian. i seem to remember it being a 600d... not sure if they have another model out now. it is big, heavy, and expensive...but great.for your price range even the traditional offerings such as the HAF or antec900 arent bad. look for a case with multiple 120mm fan holes.
You might have the 800D - it's quite a bit bigger than the 650D is.
I'm not a fan of the Antec 900 - the cable management got ridiculously frustrating and there's no CPU retention which means you have to take out the motherboard every time you install a cooler - and even 1 x 120mm heat sinks have a hard time fitting in it, I wouldn't recommend that one at all.
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if the 800d is the big boy, thats what i have. i can never keep up with all the models.
you aren't going to be changing out a cpu cooler on a regular basis so the point on access is moot. chalk it up to personal preferences here.
cable management can be made to work on any case. you might just have to buy a few cables that fit better or find a nice area to tuck slack. modular psus help also.
i do agree that you want cpu cooler clearance. that said, the stock cooler is more than enough for most people. as long as you have clearances for one of those you should be fine. there is no need for a block of metal on the cpu which weighs more than your case.
you aren't going to be changing out a cpu cooler on a regular basis so the point on access is moot. chalk it up to personal preferences here.
cable management can be made to work on any case. you might just have to buy a few cables that fit better or find a nice area to tuck slack. modular psus help also.
i do agree that you want cpu cooler clearance. that said, the stock cooler is more than enough for most people. as long as you have clearances for one of those you should be fine. there is no need for a block of metal on the cpu which weighs more than your case.
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Akhilcool
March 7, 2012 7:46:22 PM
Akhilcool
March 7, 2012 7:48:19 PM
ssddx said:
i own the monstrous corsair obsidian. i seem to remember it being a 600d... not sure if they have another model out now. it is big, heavy, and expensive...but great.for your price range even the traditional offerings such as the HAF or antec900 arent bad. look for a case with multiple 120mm fan holes.
I don't personally like Antec for its cable management but the HAF series is great for keeping low temps because of the many fans you can put on it, however I have the HAF 912 and it is very loud. Don't know about the more expensive ones though. What do you guys think?
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depends on which corsair obsidian you are speaking about. i'm running a stock corsair (800d from what the others here have said) and i havent even had to replace the fans. i even bought some to put in but never had to.
the thing is just so massive that the slow speed 120mm fans do perfectly fine.
cable management in it is a joy, but you might need cable extenders.
coming from a lian li v2001b (if i remember right) its a huge jump in size and convenience. so far definitely the best case i have owned.
any case with lots of fans will be loud. 80mm fans will be louder than 120mm fans. in general that is why we recommend 120mm because you can have them on low to save your ears. fans make noise, nothing you can do about that. i have a 120mm delta fan sitting on the shelf (120cfm airflow). you should hear that thing run! you dont hear the fan, just the tornado of airflow from the thing. it will literally blow itself across the table (i've tested this).
for the least noise get a full sized case with a good airflow pattern, 120mm fans, and a fan controller. the large case will definitely help with a case being a hotbox and the 120mm fans can be ran on low most of the time to save on noise.
the thing is just so massive that the slow speed 120mm fans do perfectly fine.
cable management in it is a joy, but you might need cable extenders.
coming from a lian li v2001b (if i remember right) its a huge jump in size and convenience. so far definitely the best case i have owned.
any case with lots of fans will be loud. 80mm fans will be louder than 120mm fans. in general that is why we recommend 120mm because you can have them on low to save your ears. fans make noise, nothing you can do about that. i have a 120mm delta fan sitting on the shelf (120cfm airflow). you should hear that thing run! you dont hear the fan, just the tornado of airflow from the thing. it will literally blow itself across the table (i've tested this).
for the least noise get a full sized case with a good airflow pattern, 120mm fans, and a fan controller. the large case will definitely help with a case being a hotbox and the 120mm fans can be ran on low most of the time to save on noise.
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ssddx said:
if the 800d is the big boy, thats what i have. i can never keep up with all the models.you aren't going to be changing out a cpu cooler on a regular basis so the point on access is moot. chalk it up to personal preferences here.
cable management can be made to work on any case. you might just have to buy a few cables that fit better or find a nice area to tuck slack. modular psus help also.
i do agree that you want cpu cooler clearance. that said, the stock cooler is more than enough for most people. as long as you have clearances for one of those you should be fine. there is no need for a block of metal on the cpu which weighs more than your case.
To me the retention bracket is just as important of a feature on the case as the cooler clearance requirement is - there's nothing more annoying than having to remove your entire motherboard and basically rebuilding your whole computer just to add a cooler, when I got the HAF 912 that was a huge requirement for me, I will always look for that feature on a case now and if it doesn't have it - don't buy it.
Akhilcool said:
I don't personally like Antec for its cable management but the HAF series is great for keeping low temps because of the many fans you can put on it, however I have the HAF 912 and it is very loud. Don't know about the more expensive ones though. What do you guys think?I have the 912 and it's great - I set up my air flow correctly and I have some of the lowest system temps on the whole network - my system averages 40'C and CPU temps on idle range about 24'C. I definitely agree about Antec and cable management issues but some of their newer cases are starting to have the same level of system that Corsair does.
Quote:
I did hear that the Obsidian is better for water cooling as it ends up like a "hotbox" when using it for air-cooling.As great as Corsair cases are - they include some incredibly cheap and extremely loud fans, I'm using a spare one in my HAF 912 and I'm thinking of chucking it for a Cougar 200mm fan.
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aqe040466
March 9, 2012 8:52:46 PM
Akhilcool said:
Hi guys, I was planning on building my first higher-end rig and I wanted to know about what case to buy for my PC. I wanted one that is quiet yet excellent for cooling (preferably prioritized for cooling, not noise,) and I needed some opinions from all of you. The case should be around the $100 to $200 range. I prefer a full-tower case but I wouldn't mind settling with a large mid-tower either. I don't have any limits to the size as it can be as big as possible, however I want it to be high quality of course. I'm not going to do water-cooling so I want it specialized for air cooling instead. Also, I'd like it to look good visually as well. Look-wise I was looking at the Corsair Graphite 600T but I know it isn't a great case, especially for the price so I want to know what the best case within my range is. Thanks a lot guys!
This is the best!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
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Akhilcool
March 12, 2012 3:15:11 AM
Lol if you carefully read my post to which you just replied to...you would know that I'm looking for a case within $100-$200. That case is $350... Well out of my budget. Not only that but a case that big would be overkill for the hardware I am going to be putting into it. It is a very nice case but I'd need your help in paying for it.
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e56imfg
March 12, 2012 3:21:05 AM
Akhilcool said:
Lol if you carefully read my post to which you just replied to...you would know that I'm looking for a case within $100-$200. That case is $350... Well out of my budget. Not only that but a case that big would be overkill for the hardware I am going to be putting into it. It is a very nice case but I'd need your help in paying for it.
The Corsair 550D hands down for silence, quality, and cooling performance.
Oh and this is the correct section for asking for cases.
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Akhilcool
March 12, 2012 3:23:54 AM
e56imfg said:
The Corsair 550D hands down for silence, quality, and cooling performance.Yeah it seems great on the inside and definitely great performance-wise/quality-wise, however it looks kinda ugly IMHO. Does anyone know of a good looking, amazing performance and high quality case?
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e56imfg
March 12, 2012 3:31:53 AM
Akhilcool said:
Yeah it seems great on the inside and definitely great performance-wise/quality-wise, however it looks kinda ugly IMHO. Does anyone know of a good looking, amazing performance and high quality case?The CM Storm Trooper
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Akhilcool
March 12, 2012 3:33:25 AM
e56imfg said:
The CM Storm TrooperLMAO I was just watching a review video for that case when you mentioned it! It looks amazing and seems to be great for cooling as well...At least I think.
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e56imfg
March 12, 2012 3:38:34 AM
Akhilcool said:
LMAO I was just watching a review video for that case when you mentioned it! It looks amazing and seems to be great for cooling as well...At least I think.It got numerous amounts of "Case of the Year" awards from many reviewers. I don't know why anybody (including myself) didn't think of this case first.
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Akhilcool
March 12, 2012 5:25:08 PM
e56imfg said:
It got numerous amounts of "Case of the Year" awards from many reviewers. I don't know why anybody (including myself) didn't think of this case first.Thanks! Good thing I came on this forum before I bought anything. This case has looks, quality and seemingly good performance. I guess I'll buy this case.
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