General Discussions

Alright ladies and gentlemen... I need you to dump some case suggestions on me. My computer has recently been moved to a location with significantly less air movement, and my CPU and GPU are suffering for it. My rig's current housing is the Antec 300 (which last I knew @Shibby was working in the same crate). At any rate, my push-pull configuration was enough before with the slight additional draft the thing used to be exposed to. Now my temps are running the low to mid 60°C range. I have yet to even run heavy loads since the transfer... so I really cannot say whether or not those temps would create an ever great variance. I know that temp is not out of control, but it is a full 5° to 10° higher than it used to be.

Long and short of it... I want a new case... shoot me the ones you have been eyeballing, and let me in on the pros and cons you have uncovered about them.

Thanks in advance CH.

Antec 1200 has some nice 3 front fanage.

But consider using liquid cooling like an h80 or h90i for a single back case fan, or h100 for a dual fan (the antec 1200 has space for 2x120mm fans ideal to put a h100 radiator and fans there).

These will keep your temps on mid and high (aka noisy as hell fan speed) to around 20-30°C on low setting the fans are quiet and on full CPU usage it never goes above 40°C.

If you aint flush with cash, try the 1100 or even the old 100 series which is a smaller sized case.

[Edited by DABhand, 9/25/2013 7:49:19 AM]

Here is my 2 cents..

Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link

Define low air flow, is it an open space without air movement, or is it in a confined space where the air is limited (if the latter, either a fanless system or liquid cooling should work)?

What price range?


This would keep it cool: Link

Serious links: Link Link

[Edited by ghost42, 9/25/2013 8:26:11 AM]

I love my Corsair Obsidian 550D, good airflow and sound proofing. I'm also using the Corsair SP120 high performance fans. They are a bit louder than the stock fans, but it's worth it if you don't need a silent computer. (2350 RPM - 62.74 CFM Airflow)

Here is my build: (Temps stay around 55 degrees at full load)

Case: Corsair Obsidian 550D
MOBO: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP5 TH
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570k @ 4.5GHz
GPU: GeForce GTX TITAN (EVGA Superclocked)
RAM: 32 GB G-Skill Ripjaws Z DDR3 1600
CPU Cooling: Corsair Hydro H100
Case Fans: 6x Corsair SP120 High Performance Fans
SSD: 128GB Crucial SSD
RAID ARRAY: WD Blue 640GB 7200rpm x 3 = 1.2TB total.
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate

[Edited by Asylum7950, 9/27/2013 12:10:33 AM]

[Edited by Asylum7950, 9/27/2013 12:11:31 AM]

some internet pictures of a case i am using , the corsair carbide 500R, which looks a lot like the antec 300,
difference is a big sidepanel fan, and mounts for 2 fans/rad in the top, also harddisk cases have mounts for 2 extra fans, and also 1 fan can be mounted on the bottom of the case

www.google.nl/search?q=corsair+carbide+500r&client=firefox-a&hs=kiB&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=E1dFUq3WDOq30QX5xoDgBQ&ved=0CEEQsAQ&biw=1920&bih=948&dpr=1


my specs
corsair carbide 500r
asus p8p67 mobo
16 gig ram
i7 2600k
corsair 750watts power supply
asus nvidia geforce dc ii 780
antec h2o 920 in push pull, rearcase inlet
2 noctua fans topcase outlet
1 300mil fan sidepanel inlet
4 fans frontcase inlet
4 SSD, 1 samsung 840 250gig sata 3, 1 samsung 840 evo 1TB sata 3, 2 ocz sata 2


idle temps cpu 27 C load 37 C
mobo 25 C load 30 C
GPU 24 C load 55 C
SSD's 21-23 C load 27 C

room temp 20-25 C

@DABhand - Thanks for your input as always bro, I value it a lot! I have been considering just implementing a closed loop CPU cooler regardless of how I proceed. In fact, I did consider simply going that route. Unfortunately, my case has become so cramped with my components that upgrading was probably necessary on my last build version.

@ZS - Thanks for all the recommendations; I have been scoping out the Storm Trooper myself... and I am fairly certain that or one of the Corsair cases will be my ultimate purchase.

@ghost42 - I already have that $8,900 dollar CPU cooler... I mean, who doesn't... I just use it to cool my beer! As far as the airflow issue goes: I used to have my desk in our basement. It was naturally cooler due to the fact that it is subterranean, but it also had a slight persistent draft. Now I have had to move my desk to a spare bedroom on one of our upper levels. It is naturally warmer, and lacks the draft. Oh, and my desk has a door on it to conceal the PC if I desire. I never close it, and would remove it if it would not make the desk unsightly (that would not please the wife at all). Although I like to keep it open, my three year old daughter seems to think it is now fun to close this door... (this is a new additional occurrence) and as you can imagine... that limits the air flow to an even greater extent.

@Asylum7950 and @jackbig - thanks for the recommendtions... the Corsairs look great, I am also developing an interest in a their graphite line... however, someone on my local area Craigslist has a Vengeance case at $60... so that is drawing me in heavily... even though it is ugly as hell with a military theme.

At any rate, thanks for all your help guys... I have really been scoping out a lot... and just needed some recommendations to help me pare down the list a bit. I would like to top my price tag out around $150, but may end up topping that a bit if necessary.

Oops a bit late but here goes

Just this weekend I purchased a new case to replace my Antec 300 (nothing wrong with it though)

For a very good price I got the Raidmax Super Altas: Link (yes, I got the blue one )

In terms of cooling it only has the one fan at the back but this is easily matching the 2 fans I had on the Antec plus you can add 2 x 80mm or 1 x 120mm fan onto the top and fit another one in front of the hard drives.

I am also replacing my Cooler Master V8 since it's 5mm too big to fit in properly, and I am upgrading to a Corsair H55 which was very reasonably priced.

This is a pic of where I keep my PC: Link

There's a good 30cm between the back of it and the wall and at the time the side panel was off but it's on now and it's perfectly fine. It's a small room but there's a window above and behind the PC so I can get some good airflow going.

Specs:
CPU: AMD FX-8320
Motherboard: Gigabyte 970A-UD3
Graphics: Sapphire HD 7870
Cooling: Cooler Master V8 (replacing with Corsair H55)
PSU: Raidmax RX-1000AE
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws 8GB @ 1600MHz



EDIT: Forgot to add that the fan is very quiet compared to the Antec 300

Also it's easy to keep the cabling tidy, here's another pic: Link

[Edited by Shibby, 9/30/2013 6:52:23 PM]