Perfect midtower case? (in search of)

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cyberkost

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I currently have a Lian-Li PC-7B w/window which was perfect for me at the time I got it. Here are some pictures (cable job -- if one can call it that -- is more representative of the lack of time than of my skill). However, the case does have its limitations/shortcomings ... one day I was not too happy about it, so I put it on sale and it got sold .. which means that even though I may regret my "sell it" decision, I will have to pack it up and ship to the buyer in the next few days ...
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What is it that I did NOT like in the case:
  1. HDD cage only holds 3 HDD (in need something that holds at least 4 in one place b/c of RAID10) --> cage from Lian-Li PC-6X holds 4 (or 5?)
  2. Almost no provisions for neat cabling --> yes, I could cut holes, but I like "non-destructive" modding better
  3. 2 x 120mm fans are audible --> quiter and or larger diameter (and lower RPM) fans
  4. No anti-vibration grommets --> not sure that they have a lot of effect, but I would not mind trying
  5. No motherboard cutout for mounting cooler backplate w/o taking the motherboard off the tray
  6. Not a two-chamber design (with PSU and motherboard sitting in different compartments) ... midplate would have provided another surface for future add-ons, such as WC, though I'm not planning on one right now.
    [*] No tool-less drives --> can live with that, I guess ...
    [*] No (removable) motherboard tray --> can live with that, I guess ...
Naturally, I'm looking for a replacement case that has as few shortcomings as possible. It needs to be quiet, while accomodating at least 5 3.5" HDDs, 1 DVDRW, cardreader and, possily,a fan/temerature controller ... somehow, it comes down to a hybrid between Antec Mini P180 and CoolerMaster ATCS 840 for me. Mini P180 has very compact size while utilizing a 200mm fan (proving that it's possible in a micro-ATX case). It also has provisions for cable management and vibration-dampening mounts for the drives. ATCS 840 adds better drive cage, 230mm intake fan, more versatile cable management and removable motherboard tray. I almost wish there were a shorter (e.g., by 2 5.25" bays) less deep (take out one of those 230mm exhausts) version of ATCS 840 that also had a midplate ...

CAN SOMEONE HELP ME FIND THE DREAM CASE? or suggest which case to take and start modding (I like reversible mods much more than irreversible ones). Is there something in Lian-Li pipeline?
 
The ATCS840 would be my case of choice, honestly. Be aware that it's actually a really big case though, and nowhere near the size of a mid-tower.
 
Yeah .. I'm aware that ATCS 840 is huge, that's why I want to cross-breed it with Mini P180 so much. It also lacks a midplate which some tout as an advantage ... I'm not sure how much of an advantage it is in terms of airflow management, but it certainly does provide another mounting surface for stuff that many modders a scrambling for.
 
For the budget minded I would go with the Antec Nine Hundred which can be had for $70 shipped.
 
I absolutely LOVE my p182, I haven't had a good look at the mini, but if size is not crucial I'd say go for the full version - I think the larger size helps with thermals as well.
 
THANK YOU to everybody who responded!!!
gwarren007, Atlas/Titan may be Ok server cases, but they don't seem to have the visual appeal of the aluminum cases by Lian-Li and Silverstone
CRLane, I do find 900/1200 visually appealing, but I'm concerned about noise level with the number of fans these cases employ and the mesh front (same goes for some Lian-Li cases). I'm also somewhat avert to blue LEDs (I love modest use of white ones though)
vsboxerboy, P182 is a nice case ... formally it almost fills the bill for me (largest fan being 120mm is somewhat of a turn off, but it's a quiet case nonetheless) ... but I do not find it as visually appealing as aluminum creatures of Lian-Li and Silverstone and I have some reservations about the full-height door.
NV-man, no, I was not aware of FT01 .. but it looks like this is the one closest to my "ideal" case. Yeah, it's pricey but still cheaper than ATCS 840 and not as big. I like 180mm fans, but I'm somewhat suspicious about both of them being intake fans. If you're using air-cooling with radiators like Thermalright 120 and Xigmatek HDT-S1283 how do you orient them and which way do you make the attached fan(s) blow (if you use fan(s), of course)? Any thoughts/opinios on a "missing" midplate -- from the pictures it seems like there's a provision to add one? Finally, can you post pics of your own system?
 
Again, thanks to everybody for suggestions! I don't mind more suggestions and discussion, but I will refrain from posting my likes/dislikes about every case brought up ... at the end of the day there are personal preferences and fit for a particular need that have a huge role in choosing the computer case to go with. I was glad to learn about Silverstone FT01, and I'd appreciate more information on it (pics, mods, etc.) . I presume there might be something of interest in the products of the smaller volume / esoteric manufacturers (e.g. MountainMods) too ...
 
I just got my ft01b-w. Let me just say it is the most amazing case I have ever used. The 180mm fans move a ton of air, and are extremely quite. The quality is top notch. Everything is thick aluminum, powder coated black (only the windowed version has black interior). It also weighs far less than my previous steel/plastic midtower, and feels sturdier.
A great review of it is: http://www.themodbrothers.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=131
If you want any more specific pictures, tell me and I'll take some.
 
Asian PingPong, NV-man and other who own Silevrstone FT01 -- what do you have to say to this not so favorable review by bit-tech.com? Two of the shortcomings seem to have been corrected (can you confirm?), but can you address the other ones the article mentions?
To me lack of effectiveness in GPU cooling is not an immediate concern (as I don't run 3D games or other video intensive applications), however with some of the computations getting "outsourced" to the GPU now and more so in the future this is of concern even to a non-gamer type like myself.
 
Asian PingPong said:
I just got my ft01b-w. Let me just say it is the most amazing case I have ever used. The 180mm fans move a ton of air, and are extremely quite. The quality is top notch. Everything is thick aluminum, powder coated black (only the windowed version has black interior). It also weighs far less than my previous steel/plastic midtower, and feels sturdier.
A great review of it is: http://www.themodbrothers.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=131
If you want any more specific pictures, tell me and I'll take some.
Click to expand...
Asian PingPong, I'd appreciate any and every picture of an actual build with FT01. THANKS!
 
PingPong, thank you for the pointer! It's interesting that one of the first mods tried in that thread was a PSU compartment cover. Having a midplate is one of the things I'm digging ... kinda nice to know I'm not alone ...
 
Nicksterr said:
Lian Li PC-K7B. Probably the best mid-tower out there.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112154
Click to expand...

Nicksterr, I can see how LL PC-K7B can be liked a lot: it has a 5 HDD rack (with correct orientation!) and cable management cutouts in the mobo tray -- both are the things I was missing in my PC-7B. Had it had 180mm fan in front instead of 2x120mm, it would probably be in the top 2 on my list. A couple of questions though, as I do want to understand this case a little bit better:
1) Does that PSU bay allow for PSUs that have 120-140mm fan facing down?
2) The inside is conventional steel, is it not? Why did they not make it at least less conventionally looking?
I would also wanted a bit more carnivorous-looking exhaust grille in the back...
 
cyberkost said:
Nicksterr, I can see how LL PC-K7B can be liked a lot: it has a 5 HDD rack (with correct orientation!) and cable management cutouts in the mobo tray -- both are the things I was missing in my PC-7B. Had it had 180mm fan in front instead of 2x120mm, it would probably be in the top 2 on my list. A couple of questions though, as I do want to understand this case a little bit better:
1) Does that PSU bay allow for PSUs that have 120-140mm fan facing down?
2) The inside is conventional steel, is it not? Why did they not make it at least less conventionally looking?
I would also wanted a bit more carnivorous-looking exhaust grille in the back...
Click to expand...

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=LIAN+LI+Lancool+PC-K7B+review

1)Can see through to the rear exhaust, so looks like bottom fan will be fine.

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2)The entire case is steel, except the front panel. This saves cost, and I remember an argument of strength being raised back in the PC-60 days. However, this should not be a concern for you if you're considering a 100% allu. Lian Li - they're very sturdy.
Less conventional? Please ellaborate.:)
 
ATLPIMP, thank you for a very telling picture.
1) I see that there are large (quarter size?) holes in the bottom of the PSU support structure, but still about 1/3rd of the bottom facing PSU vent area is going to be blocked by it :(. Why not do just a narrow lip on left and right side of the PSU like in PC-7B??
2) Well, they could have powder-coated the interior black which costs next to nothing in volume production. I don't think they make a silver version of this case, so no issue here. The regular gray interior (and the "Lancool logo" on the front, if you ask me) makes one think that this is more of value case (though it seems to cost more than PC-7B). Honestly, I got the meaning of "metal boned" just yesterday .. I guess a more appropriate name would have been "steel boned" or "iron boned." Is steel as yielding to dremel as aluminum?
3) I did not know the mobo tray was removable in this case. This is a very desirable feature. One question though -- it seems that one has to empty all of the expansion slots before the mobo+mobo tray can be folded out. Am I wrong here?
 
One other question to the owners of LL PC-K7B -- is it possible to remove the "Lancool" logo from the bottom front of the case without leaving any traces?
 
cyberkost said:
ATLPIMP, thank you for a very telling picture.
1) I see that there are large (quarter size?) holes in the bottom of the PSU support structure, but still about 1/3rd of the bottom facing PSU vent area is going to be blocked by it :(. Why not do just a narrow lip on left and right side of the PSU like in PC-7B??
2) Well, they could have powder-coated the interior black which costs next to nothing in volume production. I don't think they make a silver version of this case, so no issue here. The regular gray interior (and the "Lancool logo" on the front, if you ask me) makes one think that this is more of value case (though it seems to cost more than PC-7B). Honestly, I got the meaning of "metal boned" just yesterday .. I guess a more appropriate name would have been "steel boned" or "iron boned." Is steel as yielding to dremel as aluminum?
3) I did not know the mobo tray was removable in this case. This is a very desirable feature. One question though -- it seems that one has to empty all of the expansion slots before the mobo+mobo tray can be folded out. Am I wrong here?
Click to expand...

*Google is your friend* :)

1) As slow as a PSU fan turns, I can't see a problem in the case's design here. I would not let it sway your opinion - but since the Dremel is on your mind, take care of this first (like your solution above).
2)While powder coating is fairly cheap (~$5 in materials per case), it is a labor intensive task. Meaning man hours will likely cost more than manufacturing the case in the first place. I think it would look good gloss black inside - but I'm partial. Steel is much more time consuming, and harder to cut than alluminum.
3)You would have to remove any expansion cards to remove the motherboard tray. I, personally don't mind not having one in my V1000.
 
As promised, here are some pictures of my ft01 build.

Here it is without any components. The quality of this case is amazing, the top, front, and bottom are all one piece of ~4mm thick aluminum, finished matte black. The inside is all powder coated matte black.
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I removed all the hot swap hard drive cages. They restrict the front fan airflow, and with one harddrive I have no use for the 7 available slots. I also removed the unsightly tooless mechanisms. I'm not planning on swapping drive bay components often. All this took less than 5 minutes, almost everything is attached with screws and is easily removed. The only rivets I saw were connecting the motherboard to the unibody structure.
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As you can see I drilled a 2" hole in the motherboard tray to route my front usb and power switch/led under the mobo.
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Here is my ghetto hard drive mount, with excellent antivibration properties.
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Finished installing everything. I got lazy with storing the excess cables, so I just threw them in the front of the case and ziptied them below the fan lol. The cable management is good, especially if you keep the hard drive rack, but I didn't.
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The top fan, blowing fresh air right onto the cpu cooler.
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Side panels back on, both are high quality brushed aluminum...All the fan leds (except for the psu), are custom modded. I modded the top 180mm with leds also. First picture with flash...
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Without flash....
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Inside:
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Top fan:
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Overall:
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The back, with the same black finish as the rest of the case:
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Without flash:
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PingPong, thank you for the pictures. 4mm aluminum sounds great!!
Firefox90, Silverstone lists this case at 8.66kg, which I would not call "light" .. but it probably is light for its size (I just never owned a case of this size).
 
PingPong, why did you choose to place PSU with fan facing up? I mean, was LED-fan visibility the only reason, or do you get better air-flow beneath the video-card this way? Have you compared the GPU temps with the alternative orientation?
 
cyberkost said:
PingPong, why did you choose to place PSU with fan facing up? I mean, was LED-fan visibility the only reason, or do you get better air-flow beneath the video-card this way? Have you compared the GPU temps with the alternative orientation?
Click to expand...

Probably so the PSU fan gets more air.
 
I can't say I recommend the PC-K7B. I did a build with it's twin, the Lancool one I think it was. The only difference is the front panel is a door - a very, very heavy door. Which was actually nice for that build. But the space behind the motherboard tray was less than minimal. Especially the cable management clips. There's maybe a quarter inch of gap between them and the tray, at best. And they do slope downward, so you're out of usable clip very quickly. There's nowhere to attach zip ties or similar there, either. The gap between the back of the motherboard tray and the case itself is also painfully small.
It will hold longer cards, but it turned out to be a slightly tight fit for a 9800GTX. The cooling layout is excellent, works very well, and the hard drive mounting is also phenomenal. But there's just not enough room to manage cables properly at all. :(
 
Great thread because I am also struggling to find the perfect midtower case with the right balance between looks, airflow/cooling, and silence.

Take a look at the Lancool/Lian Li PC-K1B. It is similar to the K7, except there is one 140mm fan up front and more 5 1/2 bays. I think I like this one a bit better than the K7 because if more cooling is needed, there is plenty of room to add something like a Kama bay. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112192

I also like the Lian Li PC-A17B. It has a 140mm blowhole, and again, a lot of room to add additional cooling. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112164&Tpk=lian li pc-a17b

Ross

PS - Not to crazy aboutt he FT01. I like how the PSU is separated from the rest of the system so it will always be getting plenty of cool air to run quietly. But I do not like having a 140mm intake on top, seems counter intuitive to the whole hot air rises thing.
 
cyberkost said:
PingPong, why did you choose to place PSU with fan facing up? I mean, was LED-fan visibility the only reason, or do you get better air-flow beneath the video-card this way? Have you compared the GPU temps with the alternative orientation?
Click to expand...
The surface I keep my comp on isn't completely hard, or dust free, so the psu would get like no airflow if the fan faced down. This also helps suck hot air away from the videocard, although I haven't done any actual benchmarks.
 
AreEss said:
I can't say I recommend the PC-K7B. I did a build with it's twin, the Lancool one I think it was. The only difference is the front panel is a door - a very, very heavy door. Which was actually nice for that build. But the space behind the motherboard tray was less than minimal. Especially the cable management clips. There's maybe a quarter inch of gap between them and the tray, at best. And they do slope downward, so you're out of usable clip very quickly. There's nowhere to attach zip ties or similar there, either. The gap between the back of the motherboard tray and the case itself is also painfully small.
It will hold longer cards, but it turned out to be a slightly tight fit for a 9800GTX. The cooling layout is excellent, works very well, and the hard drive mounting is also phenomenal. But there's just not enough room to manage cables properly at all. :(
Click to expand...


AreEss, are you saying that it's impossible to route the mobo power cable bundle behind the mobo tray (without making the right side of the case to bulge out)? Can you also comment on the quietness of the 3x120mm fan setup? I'm asking b/c I had PC-7B plus with 2x120mm (only 1 in front) and it was not terribly quiet, at least not with Lian-Li stock fans.
 
I think he means between the board and the case's chassis - in that case, I have to agree. While sleeved as one, it's very cumbersome, and would be very difficult to route the cable this way.
 
Just posted this in another thread, but it may not be as alive as this one is:

What is the case to the right of LL PC-A06 in this photo??!!

It does not seem to be PC7KB (a.k.a. metal boned K7), as the frame is aluminum, and front panel has venting slots on the side (much like PC-A06). Is it something that did not make to production (this is a CEBIT photo) or is it one of the new models yet to come?

One a side note, I've come across a few more cases that have design features I'm looking for (but have some shortcomings too). I'll be bringing these up shortly.
 
Ok, I've been poring through the internet over the last several days and I've come across a couple more cases (in addition to Lian-li PC7KB and Silverstone FT01 that we seem to be discussing the most so far) that are worth considering ... or, given my particular biases, would have been worth considering had they been made by Silverstone, Lian-Li (or even Antec or CoolerMaster):

1. Thermaltake V9
Pros: 230mm top exhaust fan, front intake can be 140mm fan (option), 5 HDD rack in front (+ its perpendicular orientation), black interior
Cons: odd-looking groups of honeycomb holes on the right panel, power & other buttons are plain ugly, mesh front, 230mm on the left panel is iffy.
2. Ultra M998 (reviewed here)
Pros: Compact design, HDD cage for 5 drives, removable motherboard tray, power-bar cable management (is it great, or is it half-@ss? -- I don't know)
Cons: Plastic front panel, lack of large (>120mm) fans. Side window is uglified by the mesh and the CPU duct (making it unusable with tall CPU coolers)

I've also found Windy Soldam cases (here's an example), but these are not readily available in US (Japan only, it seems), and even if they were they'd be competing against the likes of MurderMod, at least price-wise.
 
PingPong, what's your take on the sound-dampening foam on the right panel of you FT01. I'm concerned that it might be an excellent place to hide for whatever dust gets into the case (presumably not too much, since almost all of the air is pushed in through the filters). Also, I'd worry that in a few years of exposure to dry warm air the foam may start to either crumble and/or get yellowish in color. Does it seem like this foam is something one can peel off and wash away whatever glue might be left?
 
I really don't know how hard it would be to take off, I haven't tried and am not in any hurry to mess with it.
 
cyberkost said:
What is the case to the right of LL PC-A06 in this photo??!!
Click to expand...

Thanks PingPong. In the meanwhile I've found an answer to the question above. The case is Lian-Li B25. Reviewed here. It would have been a good fit for my needs if it were not for the "futuristic" door and beveled side panels (not visible in the photo above). All of the interior seems to be the aluminum version of Lancool K7B.
 
Mesh front, hdd rack holds only 3 drives and is not oriented the way I need it to be.
 
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