Recommend me a case.

[OmegaSupreme]

Hey everyone,

Decided to put together a new rig since I sold my 1366 i7 rig and am back to my trusty ol x3 720.

At any rate, I've been slowly but surely amassing the parts for this build, i5 2500k, Ven-X, 16GB RAM, ASRock Extreme 4 mobo, 16GB Corsair quad channel kit, and 2 reference 6950's flashed with the 6970 BIOS and a PC Power & Cooling Silencer 760w.
At any rate, the biggest problem I'm running across is room for those monstrously long video cards. I was looking at some of the Bit-Fenix cases, but I'd have to remove both HDD cages to make em fit. So no go, although I do really like them.

At any rate, here's the criteria:
Mid-ATX tower.
Good Cable management provisions,
Bottom mount PSU
Decent airflow.
Would prefer a painted interior but not necessary.
Clean looks. That means no gaudy cases like the HAF's and whatnot.

 

[aerial-]

Corsair 650d?
Only thing it may lack is no side panel fan directly over gpu, but you can get mesh panel to replace window if you ever need that. Also it is bit expensive for what it offers, but case looks really well.

 

[darknite]

I've used a few fractal's in the past few months.. seem to be pretty nice
Here is a pic of the last build with a 6970 and prolly hmm little over an inch of space between card and drive rails.
this is the case in pic http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=product&category=2&prod=71
i've got my file server in a arc midi. Good for wiring too.

 

[m3ta1head]

^^ I looked at the fractal r3 long and hard and while I love the clean design and modern features, ultimately the deal killer for me was the steel/plastic construction.

Check out some new Lian Li cases. I have the 9F and absolutely love it-so much, in fact, that I'll probably never buy another steel case. Aluminium is leaps and bounds better! (Note that while I removed the HDD cage from mine, it's not nessecary-you can still fit any single GPU card with the cage in place. You'll only run into problems with longer cards like the 6990).

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Corsair 650d?
Only thing it may lack is no side panel fan directly over gpu, but you can get mesh panel to replace window if you ever need that. Also it is bit expensive for what it offers, but case looks really well.

Thanks for the suggestion. It does look like a nice case for sure. However, with it being so similar to the Lian Li 9F in both looks and layout, I'd have to go with the Lian Li instead simple because the price difference.

I've used a few fractal's in the past few months.. seem to be pretty nice
Here is a pic of the last build with a 6970 and prolly hmm little over an inch of space between card and drive rails.
this is the case in pic http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=product&category=2&prod=71
i've got my file server in a arc midi. Good for wiring too.

Nice case for sure. I think it has the most actual features, from sound deadening to filters and so on. Definitely a nice case. Most of all, I like the looks of it. Reminds me of the Coolermaster Silencio 550 that I absolutely LOVE the looks of, but it's just too small.

I looked at some Bit-Fenix cases, and after using the Merc Alpha for my last build, it was really tight in there. The metal was kind of flimsy, but what do you expect from a $40 case?
Here's what that build turned out like:

^^ I looked at the fractal r3 long and hard and while I love the clean design and modern features, ultimately the deal killer for me was the steel/plastic construction.

Check out some new Lian Li cases. I have the 9F and absolutely love it-so much, in fact, that I'll probably never buy another steel case. Aluminium is leaps and bounds better! (Note that while I removed the HDD cage from mine, it's not nessecary-you can still fit any single GPU card with the cage in place. You'll only run into problems with longer cards like the 6990).

Looks very nice for sure. I like how you have the white LED's in there, makes everything pop.
Does the case come with front fan filters? Seems like it would get awfully dusty if it didn't. I'm kind of trying to get away from the while front mesh thing, although, I know it's almost impossible without losing tons of airflow.

Damn I wish they painted the insides of their cases, it would look so awesome if they did.


Thanks for the suggestions fellas, I really appreciate it, definitely opened up some other options for me. I initially wanted to use the Bit-Fenix Survivor case but I think it's just too small for the long video cards. That and I think cable managing that PC P&C 760w in that small of a case would definitely be a pain.

Thanks again guys!

 

[Mosher]

Yea I'd say the Arc Midi pretty much meets your needs and it a very good chassis. While yes the front is plastic it's also a very sturdy plastic. Only complaint is what they did with the giant Fractal Design logo on the top front. That's annoying. With the room inside and the cable management, not to mention cooling options (Perhaps the best potential WC loop Mid tower out there) it's a great buy.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Yea I'd say the Arc Midi pretty much meets your needs and it a very good chassis. While yes the front is plastic it's also a very sturdy plastic. Only complaint is what they did with the giant Fractal Design logo on the top front. That's annoying. With the room inside and the cable management, not to mention cooling options (Perhaps the best potential WC loop Mid tower out there) it's a great buy.

A very nice case indeed. However, I think I may go with that Lian-Li case. It looks pretty nice, and from all of the reviews, seems to be of overall great quality. And Considering it's cheaper overall to get it shipped, might as well. Shame the inside isn't painted, but I suppose I could do that myself.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, I wound up ordering that Lian-Li PC-9F. Hopefully cable managing a non modular PSU won't be too much of a pain.

 

[darknite]

Awesome, make sure you post pics in the threads when it gets up

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Awesome, make sure you post pics in the threads when it gets up

Most definitely. I probably wont put any LED's or anything in it. Supposedly the PC-9F has pretty good sound deadening; I'm sure 2 reference 6950's will put that to the test.

 

[m3ta1head]

Most definitely. I probably wont put any LED's or anything in it. Supposedly the PC-9F has pretty good sound deadening; I'm sure 2 reference 6950's will put that to the test.

The sound deadening is decent, but I'm thinking about adding some foam to the side panels to soak up even more noise. The case comes with filters for all the fan intakes (the 2 front 120mm and the bottom PSU intake).

You'll love the 9F. If you want to paint the interior, I think you might have to powder coat it-I'm not sure if paint will adhere to the aluminium. Personally I think the bare aluminum looks really classy.

 

[Copyright]

It's Puurrrrrfect...

 

[OmegaSupreme]

It's Puurrrrrfect...

That's IT! That's how I'm painting my case. Now to find some pink LED's.

Oh hey, Newegg is having a promo on Lian-Li cases, 20% off.

 

[m3ta1head]

I'm kinds sour about newegg dropping prices on the 9f-I ordered it last month for $152 and the price plummeted down to $120, and then $100 almost immediately after

 

[Mosher]

A very nice case indeed. However, I think I may go with that Lian-Li case. It looks pretty nice, and from all of the reviews, seems to be of overall great quality. And Considering it's cheaper overall to get it shipped, might as well. Shame the inside isn't painted, but I suppose I could do that myself.

I think that's a solid choice, and with the 20% sale on newegg who can blame you? I really hope you enjoy it and it works great for you! Make sure you post up some pics and share how the build went!