Please Help Me Pick a Case!

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dangfx

Gawd
Joined
May 2, 2001
Messages
707
Hi All,

What do you think of these? Going to be putting together a small build pretty soon -- an all-around decent and snappy computer. It's not for any one specific task, and no overclocking/modding. Parts inside will likely include things like an Intel i7, mid-range video card (mid-upper range?), two SSDs, 16GB memory, ASRock X99M mobo, and perhaps some liquid CPU (CLC) cooling.

I'd like this small box to have decent (as much as possible -- it IS micro-sized, so I know it won't be great) airflow/cooling -- please don't let your extended-ATX and full/oversized towers affect your opinions! :)



Rosewill Legacy V4-S
Rosewill Legacy V3 Plus-S
Legacy W1-S
Lian Li PC-Q01A
Fractal Design Node 304 White
Fractal Design Node 605
e.Mini E-D5 or E-D5s (not sure what the difference is)
Raijintex METIS


Thoughts? :)
 
why are most of these chassis for m-itx when you aren't planing to build a m-itx system? you've got an i7 6 core and a m-atx board right?
 
What do you mean "m-itx system"? The cpu and motherboard that are going in the case fit the case fine (at least, according to owner and specs).

EDIT: oops, I guess the METIS, Node 304, and Legacy W1-S don't do m-atx. that's ok... i'm not set on that particular motherboard
 
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you have a m-atx board (micro atx). most of the chassis you listed only support m-itx (mini itx). m-itx are ultra small form factor a square 6.7in board. your board is 9.7in square. there's no way you're fitting that board in many of the cases you listed.
 
(see edit above. Those 3 -- the METIS, Node 304, and Legacy W1-S -- can't. The rest can accommodate m-atx -- at least according to specs/reviews/owners).
 
the only cases you listed that will fit a m-atx board for sure is the node 605 or the emini cases. anyone who managed to fit a m-atx board in any of the other cases is full of shit or confused about the difference between m-itx and m-atx.
 
Also this, see specs:

Legacy V4-S
"Motherboard Compatibility: Micro-ATX/Mini-ITX"
(V3 Plus-S is extremely similar to the V4-S)

If settling on one of the 4 above that is m-ITX only, then I will get a m-ITX board (most probably ASRock's m-ITX version of their X99M boards). As mentioned 3 times already, I am not wedded to the board (and also as mentioned in the OP, I mentioned "something like..." in the description of components). Really, this post is about the cases, not the boards -- you are taking two related threads and compounding them.
 
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both the case and the board matter. you can't divorce the two components. the board and hence the computing platform require a certain cooling capacity. that cooling capacity is effected my the chassis. if you insist on using one of the roswell cases then state that out right and suffer whatever consequences come with that decision. there are a lot of experienced builders on this form. i'm assuming you want their advice. i have a m-itx build in a lian li q07 chassis. its very similar to the tower style cases you prefer. they look clean but they are restrictive in terms of cooling capacity. i'm cooling a 3.6ghz i5 that idles about 60'c and climbs to 90'c when i'm encoding video. your i7 6 core pumps out considerably more heat than my i5. you're very likely to run into issues when your system is at load if you stick your build in to a case that lacks active cooling. i'm switching to the xigmatek eris case because i want better cooling and the ability to use video cards with large coolers. good luck on your endeavor.
 
Look at it this way:
I'm starting with the case. Case is 1st decision. Board will follow, based on case.

"if you insist on using one of the roswell cases"
Where did I insist that here? Stop confounding threads. (and in fact, I never actually "insisted" anywhere)

"i'm assuming you want their advice."
Yes, their advice on the OP. See the OP.
 
the rosewill v3/v4 and lian li do not support active cooling which is something you will certainly need with an x99 platform. i would eliminate them out right. the rest are up to your aesthetic preference and whether or not you're going with m-atx or m-itx. as long as you're not overclocking your 6 core should operate fine at its factory clock.
 
dangfx said:
Also this, see specs:

Legacy V4-S
"Motherboard Compatibility: Micro-ATX/Mini-ITX"
(V3 Plus-S is extremely similar to the V4-S)

If settling on one of the 4 above that is m-ITX only, then I will get a m-ITX board (most probably ASRock's m-ITX version of their X99M boards). As mentioned 3 times already, I am not wedded to the board (and also as mentioned in the OP, I mentioned "something like..." in the description of components). Really, this post is about the cases, not the boards -- you are taking two related threads and compounding them.
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As rennyf77 pointed out, you can't really divorce the two. The choice of motherboard dictates the case and vice versa. You have to look at both. As I just pointed out in your other thread, the mITX route is risky because there's only ONE X99 mITX motherboard on the market and it hasn't been out long enough to have a solid track record. No motherboard manufacturer in the world gets a free pass unless you like being a bleeding-edge gambler. In other words, you're going to want a motherboard with a good solid track record. That basically only means the ASRock Fatal1ty X99M Killer as the ASRock X99M Extreme4 appears to be unreliable.

Not to mention, again noted in your other thread, more than likely whatever you're doing that takes full advantage of that CPU will require a lot of RAM. Which means 16GB of RAM is a bit on the low side. Hell I can use up to 16GB of RAM with just my daily web-browsing alone. SO the 16GB RAM limitation with any mITX mobo is too harsh from a longevity standpoint.

As such, of the cases you've listed, the only real solid choice is the Node 605 as it can fit a mATX motherboard and has decent cooling. Personally not a fan of the Node 605 because of the box layout but it's the lesser evil out of all the cases you've mentioned.
 
Not divorcing the two -- just starting with one (case) and basing the other (board) off that. And yes, reliability is a factor in all of this (this thread was really just about cases... maybe for others who hadn't ventured into the other forum). I have bought tried and true parts, and I have bought first gen stuff too. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't -- on both ends. And yes, based on these other considerations (reliability and memory limit), the 605 is probably the better contender.
 
dangfx said:
Not divorcing the two -- just starting with one (case) and basing the other (board) off that.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, since you already have a 5820K CPU and therefore must go X99, it's motherboard first, then case. If you didn't have the 5820K, then yeah choosing the case wouldn't have been a bad idea since the LGA 1150 route has lots of reliable mITX motherboards. In addition, the LGA 1150 route has Core i7 CPUs that maxes out at 4 cores and 8 threads which means you may not need more than 16GB of RAM.
 
there are both m-itx and m-atx routes for the CPU I have. I haven't written off the X99E-ITX yet :)
 
dangfx said:
there are both m-itx and m-atx routes for the CPU I have. I haven't written off the X99E-ITX yet :)
Click to expand...

Yeah one unproven mITX route or one proven mATX route with more RAM. Not exactly a hard decision to make from my point of view.

Not that I have anything against mITX setups. I just built two mITX setups and both were absolutely awesome to work and play with. However, those were with reliable mITX routes of the LGA 1150 platform.
 
They pretty much all look kinda boring and boxy. At least the last one comes in colors. Although I think a red or green or blue case says more about you than what's inside of it.
 
haha, I suppose it does. (I was actually looking at the silver aluminum models)
 
i like the look of the metis case. there's a 120mm exhaust fan so you could mount a small closed loop cooler like the cooler master seidon 120v there. it still uses inactive air intake though, and the vent looks rather restrictive. the rosewill legacy seems like the better choice if you're going with a m-itx x99 board. you have available to you a bunch of fan ports plus the capacity for large cooler video cards. if this case supported a 5.25 optical drive, i would be considering it myself for my m-itx system.
 
Thank you, rennyf, for the thoughtful response about the case :) Yes, I am actually starting to like the metis and also the E-D5 more and more. The E-D5/s seems to be less common though, and not so ubiquitous -- does anyone have any personal experience with this case? (It's also matx, which will please dangman) :)

Also, its hard to get an idea of fan sizes… they are in centimeters!!
 
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dangfx said:
Thank you, rennyf, for the thoughtful response about the case :) Yes, I am actually starting to like the metis and also the E-D5 more and more. The E-D5/s seems to be less common though, and not so ubiquitous -- does anyone have any personal experience with this case? (It's also matx, which will please dangman) :)

Also, its hard to get an idea of fan sizes… they are in centimeters!!
Click to expand...

you're kidding right? did you not pay attention during basic math? 12cm fan is 120mm fan and 6cm fan is 60mm fan. the design of the emini cases are similar to the other aluminum monoliths like the rosewill v3/v4 and the lian li. whose bullshitting who here when its clear that you have a preference for this type of case and you got upset i called you out on it. anyway...

the way these cases are designed, you will have very little space between the cpu and the power supply. that means you're limited to low profile cpu coolers. with the asrock m-itx board it comes with its own low profile heatsink. if you go with a m-atx board i recommend the id cooling is 50 cooler. its cheap and it cools better than the cooler master geminII m4 by a long shot.

the best way to cool your system with this set up is to mount your power supply so that its fan is facing the inside of the chassis, and you'll have to mount the fan on the id cooling heatsink to pull air off the cpu rather than blow air down on it. what will happen is that the heat pulled off the cpu will be taken in by the fan of the power supply and pushed out the back of the chassis. i did this with my lian li q07 and it helped drop cpu temperatures tremendously. if you're going with the emini cases then i highly recommend installing the top 120mm fan as an exhaust and the lower 60mm fan as an intake.
 
LOL, you didn't "call me out" on anything, son. I flat out stated how much I liked the rosewills long before you ever came into the mix. (Oh, and I never got "upset" either… not sure where that came from).

:) :) :) :) Thanks for all your other comments!! :) :) :) :) :)

***
Id say the biggest advantage of the emini (over the V4) is that, it seems, a CLC can be used.
 
no not really. either the radiator or the fan of the seidon 120v will bump into the power supply.
 
dangfx said:
Thank you, rennyf, for the thoughtful response about the case :) Yes, I am actually starting to like the metis and also the E-D5 more and more. The E-D5/s seems to be less common though, and not so ubiquitous -- does anyone have any personal experience with this case? (It's also matx, which will please dangman) :)
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The ED-5 has the same layout as the Rosewill Legacy V4-S and the Lian-Li PC-Q07 that rennyf77 talked about. I've already covered multiple times the issues with the Legacy V4-S in your other thread and rennyf77 talked about the heat issues he's having. That should tell you how good that ED-5 is.

HINT: It's not.

As for the Metis case, Bit-Tech.net review of it shows that it's not a suitable choice for your planned setup:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cases/2015/01/14/raijintek-metis-review/1
dangfx said:
Also, its hard to get an idea of fan sizes… they are in centimeters!!
Click to expand...
.....Seriously? Multiple by 10 to get mm.
 
If you want a Node 304 knockoff, why don't you just get the Node 304? That's all the Cube Max II is!

I know it's not as airy as your standard ATX tower, but that's not what i'm looking for)
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I already explained to you how the Node 304 is perfect if you insist on Mini ITX formfactor. It also is "not as airy as your standard ATX tower": 3 fans with excellent airflow, 6 drive bays, enough room for a large GPU, and enough space for a tall tower cooler OR you can convert the 140mm exhaust to a 140mm radiator for use with AIO Watercooler.

And yet you completely ignore my suggestion without telling me why, and then have the nerve to pick another case that looks just like it, but has none of the quality internal components.

This is an endless circle of ignorance, and we keep finding our way back to the beginning again :rolleyes: I have no fucking clue what you're actually looking for in a case, and since you won't actually tell any of us WHY you are so in love with ever-crappier cases, I must assume you are mental :D

If you want our opinion on any further cases, don't just post a link to the product. Give us at least one reason why you want it. I want to actually understand the logic, assuming there is any :)

Also, do you need us to define terms for you, like formfactors and the like? I'm beginning to suspect we have a communication problem here.

And I wouldn't bother with the Metis. It's pretty, but has to be modded if you actually want to use it. See this [H] build thread:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1841126
 
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You really should start paying attention to the layout of the cases man. If you see a similar layout/construction of a failed/poor/crap case on another case, that should already tell you something about that other case. In this situation, the Cube Max has the same layout as the Rosewill Legacy V4-S, the Lian-Li PC-Q07, and ED-5. That automatically rules it out as far as I'm concerned.

As for the Cube Max II, its layout is similar to the Antec ISK600. So its potential cooling is better than the Cube Max and cases similar to it. However, it supposedly costs $65 and doesn't come with a rear 120mm fan by default. That's a poor value considering that the $65 Antec ISK600 includes a rear 120mm fan by default. So the Antec ISK600 is the better choice of the two.

But again, your chosen CPU means that even if you were to go down the unrecommended route of mITX, the mITX case should still provide solid CPU cooling as best as possible. Especially if you have a hot-running CPU like a 5820K. As such, I can't recommend the ISK600 or any case that's based on the same design that also lacks front fans since the Fractal Design Node 304 provides far better cooling due to the inclusion of front fans. So yes we're back to the Fractal Design Node 304 if you must do mITX.
 
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