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Breezy Utilitarian Case

M

MidRanger

n00b
Joined
Sep 6, 2016
Messages
27
Hello,
I'm looking for some ATX case suggestions.

I'm looking for a case with good airflow, a modular drive cage system, a window panel, and an optical drive.

The two links below are to two cases I'm considering that look pretty close to what I want.

I like a lot about this case but I'm concerned about the air flow. The drive cage looks like it blocks a lot of air flow from the front fans. How modular is the drive cage?
https://www.amazon.com/Phanteks-Ent...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=D52A0T3E9A91RXFRAGEC


I've had a really negative experience with Corsair cases in the past due to design and build quality issues, but maybe this one could work:
https://www.amazon.com/CORSAIR-OBSI...atx+computer+case&qid=1597425569&sr=8-29&th=1

I'm not looking for a flashy or trendy case. I need to be able to lift and move this case with ease, so the more minimalist and utilitarian the design, the better.

I appreciate your time reading my post and offering suggestions. All best.
 
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Grab a cheap used fractal case, populate the intake with fans, pull off the door or front cover.
 
My Fractal Design R5 works well for my 6 HDDS. My ambient temp is really high right now (it's 31c outside, so my office is likely about 27c or so) and my HDDs are all sitting between 30-35c, hell my m.2s are actually saying 28c. - but they have heatsinks.

I think that 8 3.5s would be fine in this case, and still have room for an optical drive.

IMG_20200619_111415.jpg


I'm actually gonna be building a system with a Fractal Define 7 today so I'll let you know if there's any improvements.
 
I have a buddy using an R5 fully populated with 2tb drives for video editing.

You're going to have to spend some time figuring out fan layout and orientation but you can figure out how to stay on the high side of normal operating temps.
 
I appreciate your replies. The Pro M and R5 both look good, I'm reading more about them now.
 
The Fractal Define 7 definitely has some massive improvements over the R5, it's the most modular case I've ever seen in my life and with a little rearrangements you can actually fit 10+ hard drives in the thing. Make sure you read the manual on how to get it configured for storage, requires popping out a panel and moving some stuff around.
Overall one of the best cases i've ever worked with. I'm likely gonna get one myself so I have a little more space to work with.
 
Phanteks Pro M tempered glass is close to perfect. I would really like to have the tempered glass to be on hinges like the Phanteks P500A, but I don't want to give up that optical drive. I have a number of music CDs and older games on CD that I'd like to have access to. Maybe an external optical drive and the P500A is the way to go, although I've never used an external optical drive. Is there a case similar to the Pro M that have the window on hinges instead of 4 thumb screws?
 
MidRanger said:
Maybe an external optical drive and the P500A is the way to go, although I've never used an external optical drive.
Click to expand...

There's no reason to waste SATA ports on an ODD when USB3 is more than enough to handle even the highest data rates for blu ray, let alone the meager rates required for cds and dvds. I've been using my BD burner in a Vantec 5.25" enclosure for years now, and it's never let me down.
 
MidRanger said:
Phanteks Pro M tempered glass is close to perfect. I would really like to have the tempered glass to be on hinges like the Phanteks P500A, but I don't want to give up that optical drive. I have a number of music CDs and older games on CD that I'd like to have access to. Maybe an external optical drive and the P500A is the way to go, although I've never used an external optical drive. Is there a case similar to the Pro M that have the window on hinges instead of 4 thumb screws?
Click to expand...
USB 2 had more than enough bandwidth for CDs and DVDs, modern USB makes it beyond trivial to use. They're also super slimline now, and in the 30 buck range for an External DVD RW.

Get the case you like, and ignore the DVD-RW internally.
 
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