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What case to get?

E

ex0du5

Gawd
Joined
Jun 26, 2007
Messages
873
I'm thinking of picking up a case shortly...maybe around Christmas, or at the very latest, when Sandy Bridge releases.

Here are my wants/requirements:

- black interior
- quiet
- good airflow
- perpendicular HDD bays
- CPU socket cutout (for heatsink installation)
- space for cable management
- lots of component space...I don't want to have to remove HDD bays to fit a video card
- dust filters

The Corsair 800D is currently near the top of my list, except I hear it has airflow issues. The HAF X is also an attractive option, but I don't believe it has dust filters over all of the fans. It also doesn't look nearly as nice as the 800D. The Fractal Design XL looked nice as well for the sound insulation, but I'm hearing reports about it feeling very cheap. The Corsair 600T is nice as well, but I'm wondering if I might prefer something with a little more room. Of course, a mid-tower also means easier transportation to LANs, so maybe I want to avoid a full tower...I'm not sure. The Antec P183 is attractive for the sound insulation and build quality, but I despise the poor layout inside Antec cases, so I don't think I'll be considering it.

So, any recommendations?
 
I'll add: I haven't yet considered Lian-Li cases, but I might. All black interior isn't a necessarily strict requirement. Maybe I would warm up to the Lian-Li cases if I got to witness their build quality in person.
 
The 800D is a really nice case, but it does suffer from some airflow problems. IMO, the airflow is not bad enough to consider not getting it. My temps with my OC is idle 35C/load 65C at 25C ambient. This case will offer you everything that you mentioned.
 
The only place I know of that has Lian-Li cases on site is Fry's (Maingear uses the cases) and Bestbuy (under the name Rocketfish).
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
I just bought a Lian-Li for the first time. It is a PC-K56. I was really happy with it's quality and features for something in that price range.
 
My main issue with Lian-Li so far is that they appear to have poor cable management. Not enough room behind the HDD tray, and no rubber grommets for hiding cables. Also, I've only found the V2120 with a black interior, but it's incredibly pricey, coming in at $500.

I think I may try out Lian-Li at a later date...maybe if I want to build a lanbox at some point. It seems like Lian-Li's strength is that they make strong, yet lightweight cases.

Boyo said:
The 800D is a really nice case, but it does suffer from some airflow problems. IMO, the airflow is not bad enough to consider not getting it. My temps with my OC is idle 35C/load 65C at 25C ambient. This case will offer you everything that you mentioned.
Click to expand...

Honestly, that sounds completely reasonable to me. You're getting 65C load at 4.0GHz? Are you just running stock fans on the case, or did you mount 3 additional top fans and an additional bottom fan? How fast are your fans spinning?

My ideal would be running something equivalent to a i7 930 @ 4.0GHz, a GTX 580, and with none of my fans spinning any faster than 1000rpm (except for the GPU fan). I don't know if it's reasonable for me to expect that or not with the 800D.
 
ex0du5, I don't know how the different cases stack up for cable management but the one I bought is adequate. Lian-Li has mid-towers with black interior. I think for a full tower in this price range I would go with the 800D as well.
 
To get some really decent airflow with the 800D you can turn all the top fans into intakes and leave the rear fan as the only exhaust. The only issue with this is there's no top filter, but blowing the dust out once a month with some canned air's worked well for my home system. Heh.
 
Well, I think I may try a Lian-Li this time around.

The Corsair 800D, of course, is still at the top of the list...but I think I may build a future PC with it. LAN is still a big possibility for me this year, so I think I better go with a smaller case for the time being.

So, I have my eye on:

PC-B25FWV
PC-B25FWB-b.jpg


PC-B25S
PC-B25S-b.jpg


PC-V1020 (would buy in black)
PC-V1020-b.jpg



I'm really liking the sounds of the B25S. Of course, I don't get the sexy window to show off my internals, but it does promise a lot of sound proofing. I wonder how it compared to the P180 series from Antec.

Any comments on these cases? Any other cases I should look at?
 
Alright, I'm reading that none of these Lian-Li mid-towers are fitting the larger GPUs (5970). That's disappointing...
 
ex0du5 said:
Alright, I'm reading that none of these Lian-Li mid-towers are fitting the larger GPUs (5970). That's disappointing...
Click to expand...

Do you have a 5970? Or plan on getting one? For most people, it fits most enthusiast video cards. It should fit a GTX580, which is 266.7 mm, comfortably.
 
I don't have a 5970...don't necessarily ever plan on getting a dual-GPU setup, tbh. So yeah, maybe it's not really an issue. I just like having the 'option'.

So I'm still considering the Lian-Lis. I also haven't looked at Silverstone yet...they seem to have some fairly unique designs, though sadly no black interiors.
 
I dunno how firm you are on the HDD bays, but the FT02 would fit just about all of your requirements.
 
Petey1013 said:
I dunno how firm you are on the HDD bays, but the FT02 would fit just about all of your requirements.
Click to expand...

I've looked at it...not a fan of the 90 degree rotation. I'm looking for something maybe a little cleaner. The FT01 seems interesting, as do some of the TJ models.
 
Looking at more reviews...why are people so against steel? The Corsair 800D weighs 15.3KG, and the Lian-Li PC-V2120 weighs 14.4KG. Doesn't seem like such a substantial difference to me.
 
Yeah I decided I would go for the 800D. I do go to LANs 3-4 times a year...but I figure that shouldn't be so bad.

I did a bit of work to clean up my Coolermaster CM 690 tonight, and got really pissed off at it. Damn thing is a cable management nightmare (thanks mostly to the super tiny hole they give to route all your PSU/SATA cables. So I figured I'd enjoy a nice big roomy case to work in. :)
 
I like the Antec P180 or P180B or P182B, those cases are the beasts. I have two Antec P180 and they are awesome
 
Well, Lian-Li's out of the equation. Went to check them out at a local store (CanadaComputers), and boy was I surprised. They feel incredibly flimsy. The aluminum is unbelievably thin, and the case squeaks if you apply enough pressure to it. The Silverstones were built far better, from what I saw.
 
Lol, coming from steel to aluminum, that should be expected. Ppl buy lian li for polish and light weight. Get the 800D or the FT02, both are built like tanks.
 
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