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Need a case with lots of fan support

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  • Peripherals
  • Cases
  • Fan
  • Support
Last response: in Computer Peripherals
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October 13, 2014 1:51:57 PM

Out of picking all my parts, this has been the most frustrating. I have a I5 4590. Plan on getting a GTX 970 ( whenever they are in stock). I am looking a for a case that looks nice (but i dont mind ugly if it can be justified) and has lots of fan support and obviously fits a 970 with no problem. I don't want a huge case. I have been looking at the Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-03 Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Gaming Case. Also the Phantom 410 and Fractal Design Define R4 ( didnt like all the padding, what's the point if it needs ventilation). Please help me. I prefer to have a case with room for fan support

More about : case lots fan support

October 13, 2014 6:17:44 PM

if you had a budget around $100 or so take a look at the corsair 750d. quite a few places to put large 140mm fans and all intakes have dust filters. if you want to see some actual build photos of it used you can click the text "build" in my signature since i've personally used one.

while i havent had a chance to see the particular case you linked in person the carbide models i have seen were just a tad thin and while not flimsy were definitely not as solid as i would prefer for the money.

the air 540 which is the box shaped case of a similar style to the one linked seemed very fragile around the thin plastic grille which is also on the one you linked which might be worth thinking about. while it may work fine if handled roughly or bumped could break. the plastic used also looked very cheap visually and looked far less impressive in person then in pictures.

i was orginally looking at the 500r carbide for my own use but decided against it after seeing it in person. while it would no doubt have worked fine i thought it was worth a bit more money to go with something with a bit more rigidity to it and to something which included fan filters.

i saw the fractal r4 in person and it wasnt a terrible case. it did have a clever design, however what impressed me more than this case was the nanoxia deep silence which goes for a similar lower noise design. it had some serious heft to it. i was debating the ds1 myself but made the tradeoff to have a viewing window over less noise.

i looked at the phantom 410 and 530 as well in person and i did like the idea of the large fans (specifically on the 530) however the fans are also unfiltered and it has a plastic door over the drives which was a turn off for me. also the case (in case of the 530 and 200mm fans) is a bit specific on which aftermarket fans work well and the design of the case was such that it tends towards negative pressure designs which would mean more dust would be sucked in through all the nooks and crannies in the case and since we have a dust problem that was not ideal.

the 750d in contrast while quite a bit less stiff and ridgid than the 800d it was replacing (but considering its a $110 case replacing a $280 case its more than adequate) was still heavier built than the carbide series cases from corsair which i liked. it also featured many 140mm fan mount locations and comes with 2x140 front and 1x140mm back in the box. it allows for up to 2x120 added to the bottom and up to 2x140 (3x120) added to the top which is decent as well. all intakes are filtered and easily removeable for cleaning. the hard drive cages are also removeable and it has convenient 2.5mm hdd/ssd holders along the motherboard side. the only negative i've found (considering the price of course) is that the front bezels are a strange and wider design so look a little strange with drives installed but not bad enough to really mention more than a note.

as far as the best cases on a really low budget... i've found products from cougar to be very stiff and solid for the low cost. i've personally used a cougar spike (i picked up for $20) you can see that build here http://postimg.org/gallery/78slmoca/ which greatly impressed me due to its rigidity. the cougar solution is a larger sized case which also is rather stiff and well built for the price. of course due to the price you lose out on some features like grommeted cable management though it does have slots for cable management unlike the spike case. it also doesnt support many larger 140mm sized fans but does support an impressive amount of 120mm sized fans which will more than do the job. considering the $30-40 pricetag its hard to beat.

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the gtx970 draws less power (hence runs cooler) even while providing better performance than the previous 7xx designs. using a single card does not require any extreme case with 10+ fans. similarly the i5-4590 non-k (non overclockable) edition shouldnt be pushing out too much heat to warrant any sort of extreme case.

a case with 2x140mm, 2x120mm or 1x200mm intake(s) with at least one 140 or 120mm exhause should be sufficient for your needs. ideally you would have at least one top 120mm or 140mm and one side/bottom 120 or 140mm slots open to install extra fans if need be. any other fans you likely will not use so can be considered "extra"

also keep in mind that the more open a case is with mesh and fan holes the louder it will be as well. while mesh designs can naturally circulate some air for increased cooling sometimes the open nature works against the fans and makes it harder for them to move their rated airflows as well. open style cases however do work better for many multiple sli or overclocking applications.

in cases which are more of a closed design (noise isolation style cases) you might want to use better rated fans however cooling performance will be more than adequate as long as you have the minimum number of fans and arent going to overclock or run sli or other extreme setups.
October 13, 2014 7:34:39 PM

I appreciate the long, detailed response. I have been wanting and looking at mid towers. Could you please post the top 5 cases that you suggest?
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