1st new pc in 20 years

[sawong]

I'm building my first pc in 20 years, and I'm trying to figure out the options.
I'm really liking the idea of the matx or small atx system

Case features I'm looking for, but not sure what the best way to search for:

• 140mm fans
  • I see lots with 120mm fans, but I'd like the larger ones for the lower sound profile
• USB-C front jack(s)
  • more is better
  • IDK if there's any physical difference between the various usb 3.x gen x options
• Removable motherboard tray
  • nice to have

Case features I don't care about

• RGB
• Glass

 

[pendragon1]

so what exactly are you asking here? case suggestions? ive been happy with the case in my sig and there is a new variant with more airflow, no removable tray though. not sure who is still doing those.

 

[sawong]

so what exactly are you asking here? case suggestions? ive been happy with the case in my sig and there is a new variant with more airflow, no removable tray though. not sure who is still doing those.

Thanks for the reply.

I'm looking for either recommendations or ways to search for those criteria. There's so many cases out there that its hard to cull them down to a list I can actually look at.

I like this silverstone case: SST-SG12B-V2-USA but it doesn't support 140mm fans. How would I find something similar?

 

[pendragon1]

Thanks for the reply.

I'm looking for either recommendations or ways to search for those criteria. There's so many cases out there that its hard to cull them down to a list I can actually look at.

I like this silverstone case: SST-SG12B-V2-USA but it doesn't support 140mm fans. How would I find something similar?

ah. newegg has a good feature selection on the left side. you could use that to try and narrow things down.

 

[Fritzz]

I did This search on Newegg. Basically any number of 140mm fans and mobo size Micro ATX and smaller.

I would probably start with mobo size and move out from there. Based on the one you linked and the style it represents you might have a tough time finding a case in that style that supports 140mm fans.

But something like the Fractal Node 804 might be a good place to start.

 

[Smoblikat]

• Removable motherboard tray
  • nice to have

Tell me you watched Rodney Reynolds..........

 

[Deimos]

I'm building my first pc in 20 years, and I'm trying to figure out the options.
I'm really liking the idea of the matx or small atx system

Case features I'm looking for, but not sure what the best way to search for:

• 140mm fans
  • I see lots with 120mm fans, but I'd like the larger ones for the lower sound profile
• USB-C front jack(s)
  • more is better
  • IDK if there's any physical difference between the various usb 3.x gen x options
• Removable motherboard tray
  • nice to have

Case features I don't care about

• RGB
• Glass

There is no meaningful difference in sound profile between 120mm and 140mm fans unless you are running them at high speed.

Removeable motherboard trays are either a gimmick, and/or completely useless because there is usually a reason you can't use it, like watercooling or the now all too common fin stack which are too big to allow the entire motherboard tray to come out. They are pointless anyway, I only have a couple of cases that have removeable MB trays (Two of the Silverstone TJ07) and apart from the mod I did recently which required me to replace it, I never use that 'feature'.

Don't get an Asus motherboard. I've been buying nothing but Asus for years but other manufacturers have better power deliver now, for example, Gigabyte has a far superior power curcuit. Asus has not improved on their multi-phase power delivery in years and their boards are starting to suffer because of it.

If you want really small, you can get some pretty amazing ITX boards now, as well as some pretty special cases like the Phantecs Evolve. I built a system for my wife a little while ago with an i7 8086 and it was a pretty straight forward build. It can also handle a full size discreet GPU if that matters to you. Most of all, its a nice case.

If you want something a little more pedestrian, the Fractal Design Core 500 is a nice simple case. It can take a full sized PSU, and I think it can take a decent sized GPU as well.

Something a little bigger, I can recommend the InWin 301C for mATX, it easy to build in, has a PSU shroud as well, and you can make a tidy build with it without much hassle.

My favourite mATX case is the Silverstone FT03, I have two, but it is a pain in the arse to build in and there has been no USB-C update. It looks really nice though and has no window. This one can also accomodate a full size discreet GPU (I have a Geforce 1080 in one) although some of the larger cards will have a hard time squeezing in.

Get a decent sized, and fast NVME drive and don't bother with SATA for a much cleaner and easier build.

Don't bother with an AIO watercooler. Stick with air unless you are going with a full custom loop. No one will tell you that the best air coolers are within a hare's breath of the absolute best AIO and are quieter. Air is generally the better option. Its also a bit of a mixed bag with AIO noise as some AIO's have noisy pumps. Just get the best air cooler and call it a day.

 

[Nimisys]

Love me a removable motherboard tray, and with QDCs it's a non issue for water-cooling.