Case Recommendations

[hoofhearted4]

ive really been fine tuning this build ive been planning for forever, and while im happy with everything on the list, the Case is now the one thing i cant settle on. there are four cases ive been considering. each one with stuff i want in the case, but each one with something i dont. id love to hear your opinions on the four cases, but i list them mostly as a reference. and i list only these four because they are the four ive had the most interest in, dont let me fool you, i think ive looked at like 50 cases lol, now in no order:

 

CM Storm Trooper

CM HAF X (942)

CM HAF 932

Corsair 650D

 

this whole time, ive been planning on getting the HAF 932. great price, everything i like in a case, except one thing. Dust Filters. and for a hair air flow case, this is something i think i really want. its not particularly dusty where i live, but i do have two pets, and hair is abundant. which brings me to my other cases of which ill explain my pros and cons when i go over what i want in a case. some points are more important then others but for those of you who are actually reading this, lets begin:

 

first off, i need a good size case. i dont need the biggest case on the market with 10 PCI slots and can fit E-ATX boards. i just need it to be big enough to fit at least 2-3 GPUs (even 3 is a stretch, but ill never do quad, and if i do, ill gladly buy a new case at that time) basically i want it to be big enough for expansion. it needs to last me basically until a new standard for cases comes out...along with size comes cable management. space behind the motherboard. grommets (with or without rubber) etc. all the cases listed above are a decent size, except the HAF X. it really has most features im looking for, except its huge. i really dont want or need a case that big. on top of that, $200 is really my limit for a case. and if im going to pay $200 i would just rather be getting everything i want.

 

second, air flow. it doesnt need to come with 20 fans. i will probably eventually OC my CPU and possibly my GPU(s) in time, but i dont plant on pushing everything to the max and setting records. just enough to experiment and learn. meaning i dont need to have the best air flow possible. just good enough with possible expansion for fans....im not too too worries if the fans are loud or anything, because i can always replace the fans, but obviously a quite/good case to start with is deff a plus......on the note of cooling, id love to be able to do W/C eventually. again just for the experience, so im not talking 5 rads or anything. but the case does need to be able to handle at least a basic water cooling system.

 

this may sound stupid, but the other thing i really really want in my case is a side window. i dont even plan to trick out my case, other then an LED fan or two. i just really like to see the inside of my case, i just personally think its very cool. this is one reason im not fully set on the Storm Trooper, as it a no side window, and Cooler Master doesnt have one available for it....ideally, the door would have both a window and a fa n a la the two HAF cases, and this is why im somewhat hesitant on the 650D. the cooling just seems to be a little lacking without it. though maybe im wrong....Corsair does sell another side that is completely mesh for fans, but not with a window. i almost think id rather have the window then the extra cooling (which probably would be fine, cause i said, im not going to be pushing my case to produce more and more heat)

 

i think the biggest thing i need, is Dust Filters. as i said, i was considering the HAF 932 until i really put the thought into it and realized i need dust filters. and thats the one thing it doesnt have, that the other three do.

 

two small things that are real pluses for a case, though not a necessity as there are work arounds for both, is if it has front USB 3.0 headers. the mother board i want to get has a 3.0 header so even if the case doesnt have a front panel, i can just buy one, but a case that comes with one would be nice. second, i plan on getting an SSD and a hybrid drive, both 2.5", so if the case's drive bays can accommodate 2.5" drives, that would be great so i dont have to buy an adapter. but again, adapters are $5, easy work around.

 

of course aesthetics are nice. i do want the case to not look ugly lol. the HAFs in my opinion are very cool looking, however, i have no problem with the less then decorative 650D. but even on aesthetics, there are some things i like as well as previous mentioned stuff, and thats a painted inside. not only does a painted inside look better (esp with a window) but it also, imo, shows a little more quality in a case, even if thats not true. as far as the color of a case goes, i really only prefer black. it wont show dust/dirt/fingerprints nearly as much as a white case. plus i plan on red LEDs and those go better with black. and on that note, if the case is going to come with any LEDs/lights, they can only be red/orange. no blue,green,white, etc. i just dont like those colors, i think its ugly imo.

 

 

now i know thats a lot, and maybe im too picky, but ya. as i said, each case i listed has something i want, but something im not fond of. in the Storm Trooper case, its simply the fact it doesnt have a side window. great case otherwise. HAF X has everything i listed, but its huge!!! (and $200) HAF 932, again has everything, but no Dust Filters, however it is the cheapest case which is nice (and almost always with an additional $20 rebate on newegg) and the 650D, filters, 2.5" drive bays, cable management, but im not sure about the airflow. id really like to have a side fan going over my GPU, especially if/when i go SLI or Tri SLI.

 

now for any of you that made it through this, i very very much appreciate it. even if you just want to give me an opinion on those first 4 cases i listed, thats fine id love to hear it. for those of you who read everything and think they might know of a case or anything, let me mention one more thing. id really really like to keep the case under $200. the build is already barely under $1800 including case, and so im trying to to go beyond that (considering when i first planned this build, my max was $1400 lol) however, please feel free to list any case you find, even if its over $200. if i find that its the perfect case, i may reconsider my limit. or at the very least, it just gives me something else to compare to and consider.

 

 

 

 

 

 

tl;dr: anyone have any opinion on those 4 cases listed or know of any other case i should consider?

[Dasche]

I highly recommend the Corsair Obsidian 650D. A bit pricey, but it's definitely worth it.

[ginnyfizz]

I do seem to have dust filters on the Coolermaster HAF 932. Dust on outside of case easily removed with a microfibre "feather" duster, virtually none inside. I cannot recommend this case enough, it is excellent and oceans of room, which of course means the airflow and cooling are good.

[hoofhearted4]

so the 932 does have filters? just not removable ones?

 

why cant you recommend it?

 

and yea its really hard for me to decide. i really do like the 650D, but i plan some day on going SLI, and i would really like to have a fan there.... id like to get the HAF X but its just so god damn big

[Dasche]

so the 932 does have filters? just not removable ones?

 

why cant you recommend it?

 

and yea its really hard for me to decide. i really do like the 650D, but i plan some day on going SLI, and i would really like to have a fan there.... id like to get the HAF X but its just so god damn big

 

Then I can recommend the Corsair Carbide 500R. It's got the ability to mount two(?) fans on it.

[FMod]

first off, i need a good size case. i dont need the biggest case on the market with 10 PCI slots and can fit E-ATX boards. i just need it to be big enough to fit at least 2-3 GPUs

You don't just go ahead and fit 2-3 GPU.

1. SLI and CF only make sense if you use high-end or near-high-end GPU.

2. High-end GPU are insanely hot and require a lot of space to cool down.

 

Good air-cooled GTX580 cards take 3 slots, and another one for airflow. That's 8 slots already. Plus one for the audio card (you aren't going to run a $3,000 rig with onboard "sound", are you?) And most new mobos only have 6 ATX slots, the top one is taken already. So you NEED a 10-PCI case to comfortably fit 2 air-cooled GPU already.

 

For 3 GPU, there is no point doing that for 95% of the games. But if you do, you need water. That, or a very very spacious air-cooled case, and being able to take the noise.

So if you do want 2 GPU, and potentially 3, the case for you is Xigmatek Elysium. Read on it, it's amazing, objectively, just the big case out there. And it's not as expensive as you'd expect from how good it is.

 

 

i think the biggest thing i need, is Dust Filters. as i said, i was considering the HAF 932 until i really put the thought into it and realized i need dust filters. and thats the one thing it doesnt have, that the other three do.

Is noise a factor as well? If so, Antec P193 could serve you well. It's not that big, but it's quiet, and it doesn't collect dust. However there is only a side grate, not a window.

[hoofhearted4]

nope. no sound card. onboard sound will in fact do me just fine. only going to use head phones anyways. wont even have speakers...and its not even close to a $3000 rig :P

 

i say 2-3 GPUs as a "just in case" clause. in fact over recent thinking, i wouldnt go above two. no need....and eventually i would like to go W/C, if for anything just because

 

and noise isnt a huge factor, i didnt list it, so its not huge. as i had said, i could just replace the fans on the case if i thought it was too loud.

 

the Xigmatek seems like a nice case, ill have to look into it a bit, but the friggen thing is HUGE. bigger then the HAF X and $50 more expensive (atm)...at that point, id rather go with the HAF X.

 

 

i still have months to consider this, and i very very much appreciate you reading this and taking the time to give me options and opinions!!!

[FMod]

and noise isnt a huge factor, i didnt list it, so its not huge. as i had said, i could just replace the fans on the case if i thought it was too loud.

Most noise in modern cases comes from components inside. You can replace the fans, but GPU cooling systems, not so easily.

 

Really serious money-no-object high-performance case choice mostly boils down to Antec P193 vs Xigmatek Elysium.

Antec is quieter than anything else, it supports the best PSU money can buy, CP-1000, it's very heavy (50 lbs with the PSU), very solid (you can jump on it no worries), not very large, but rigid, well-ventilated and very well-dampened.

Xigmatek is larger than anything else, it requires less cost-efficient PSU, it's not as heavy and not as solid (don't even think of stepping on it), and it's not really quiet for air-cooled systems, but it has space on top to mount a water cooling radiator.

 

Both these cases cost a bit more than you intend, but both are worth it. HAF X... it's good, but it's a compromise. And a case is something that lasts, if you upgrade your PC a lot.

 

If you're thinking of water cooling, prepare to shell out $600-$1,000 for a starter kit. There are sealed systems for the CPU only, as cheap as $100, but these suck. They don't cool the CPU as well as good air coolers do, are less reliable, and do nothing to help your GPUs, which are the pieces that really need water cooling.

 

BTW, are you building a LGA2011 or LGA1155 rig? I'd suggest going with LGA1155. The few features it doesn't have don't actually affect performance, and you'll be able to upgrade it for Ivy Bridge much sooner than LGA2011 users will be able. And 1155 is so much cheaper that it's a no-brainer.

[hoofhearted4]

this is my build as of now:

 

http://www.thenexusforums.com/index.php?/topic/491372-post-your-rig/page__view__findpost__p__4015140

 

i update it all the time, whenever i feel like i wanna do something different, so i can reference it when i need to.

 

 

also please keep in mind, im not exactly an enthusiast. i dont plant on super OCing my system to break records, i dont plan on spending $5425543 to achieve the best cooling and everything money can buy....once i build this, the only things i want to add for sure is an SSD. after that, everything else may or may no happen, like i second 570 for SLI or W/C. id like to do it, but it could be a long time before i do it, if at all. i want to build a solid build now, so i wont have to worry about it for as long as possible...

 

as of right now, im leaning on the HAF X....i rly do like the 650D, but, no side fan for GPU(s)

Edited December 22, 2011 by hoofhearted4

[ginnyfizz]

so the 932 does have filters? just not removable ones?

 

why cant you recommend it?

 

and yea its really hard for me to decide. i really do like the 650D, but i plan some day on going SLI, and i would really like to have a fan there.... id like to get the HAF X but its just so god damn big

 

I said that I cannot recommend it enough, which means that I cannot find enough words to describe how really good this case is. Get it, you will not regret it.

It is, however, very big, but that means you have a lot of space in it. It's icy cold without any extra cooling added. I never have any overheating issues.

I really would not pay the extra for the Xigmatek. My system builder was really impressed with the HAF 932 and the cable management inside it.