Case choice concerns

[Harlander]

I'm slowly setting the wheels in motion for replacing my trusty but long-in-the-tooth rig with something that'll stand up a bit better in this technological dystopic future we live in. I'm tripped a little by the most important question:

What case should I get for it?

My old machine has an Antec P90, a fairly quiet case with decent cooling and a minimalist aluminium aesthetic. In the interest of not having a bunch of PC parts lying everywhere, I'm probably going to leave my old PC in that.

So:

I'm after a stylish-looking case, preferably without the tacky LEDs wasting light everywhere for no good reason.

Any recommendations?

[Lukasz]

There is so so many good cases i would recommend first checking them all out and picking some which suits you the best (looks, price, features) and then asking an opinion about them.

[squirrelfanatic]

I am very happy with my Lian-Li PC-A04B case (fit for micro ATX and mini ITX boards). It's aluminium, has a rather simple design (which I like), two 120mm front fans/air intakes, one 120mm top fan, and a 80mm backside fan. The PSU is mounted on the bottom of the case, with a seperate air outlet (also at the bottom side of the case).

For my purposes - gaming with a midrange setup - the space it offers is sufficient but not plenty, so your mileage may vary depending on what graphics card and other components you want to stick in (I've got a Radeon 5850 and have no trouble with it, be it regarding space or temperature, although I had to fiddle a bit with my cable management). Also, the PCI slots are a bit limited, so if you want to run a crossfire setup, you might run into problems.

There is a front USB 2.0 slot on the top of the case, which I find rather neat.

Edit: I forgot to mention that the case costs around 80EUR.

Editedit: Added link to the manufacturer's site and this image of the case:

[Sakkura]

Hmm, a non-tacky ATX midi-tower... I'm thinking Antec Three Hundred Two - £39.30.

[mashakos]

[Herzog]

Have been using Chieftec cases for my last two stations. Currently I have one from the Aegis series. Recommended!

http://www.chieftec.com/CX05.html

[Hirmetrium]

Corsair Carbides are awesome cases, with some of the best cable management, airflow and some very nice controls on the front. I definitely recommend checking them out (500R is my pick).

[Sakkura]

Five people, five different recommendations. That pretty much sums up computer cases for you.

[Harlander]

Food for thought though. Thanks guys

[Wolfenswan]

How much are you willing to spend?

I'd recommend either the Fractal Design R4 (Quality) or the Xigmatek Midgard II (great Budget case w. USB 3.0 ports, an included fan control and a SATA dock)

[Lukasz]

Five people, five different recommendations. That pretty much sums up computer cases for you.

sans my initial recommendation.



few things to consider


Doors:
some people hate them, some people love them. They look better in my opinion by hiding ugly dvd drives. they also make your computer slightly more quite by blocking the sound coming from front without impacting ventilation (at least good cases)
but if you use cds, dvds a lot then they surely going to be annoying.

size:
m-atx or regular size. I presume you are not making water cooled beast of a computer so microatx might suffice. be warned that if you want to go sli/CF or run 670 (or better) or 79xx then a small case might not be enough. even if you can fit the those big cards you might be forced to remove hdd cages therefore giving you only a room for one hdd and on ssd (getting new comp. without ssd is silly imo :) and you need hdd for big data storage anyway)
and of course expansion slots. gpu takes two. wireless card, sound card, usb expansion etc. they won't fit in m-atx.

if you want to have only two storage drives and just single gpu in your computer and you ain't gonna overclock your cpu by much then you can go micro. if you want something stronger i do recommend mid tower. more room, more ventilation, more expansion possible, possible future upgrades such as sli, more drives etc.
another bonus of mid case are usb ports on top as well as other 'gadgets' it of course depends on what you need but i would not buy a case without usb port on top so i don't need to bend over just to put memory stick (cause i won't waste desk space with a computer)

ventilation. i presume you are not overclocker but top and rear ventilation are very important so try to get case with fans at those places. front... not that necessary unless you have powerful gpu. side, bottom. not needed unless overclocking and running sli/cf (or you live in saudi arabia in a tent)

tool-less mounting options.
they are much better than screwing your stuff. if you can get a case where everything tool-less, do it.


i think thats it.


again i repeat my initial recommendation: find few cases from shop of your choices which you think are good for you and then we can help you choose which is better pointing whats good/bad with them.

otherwise... you won't get a proper answer.

[Colonel J]

How much are you willing to spend?

I'd recommend either the Fractal Design R4 (Quality) or...

I'd also highly recommend that Fractal case which from what you've said I think would fit your requirements very well. I had Antec Sonata and Solo cases previously, got a Fractal R3 (R4 is almost identical I think) for my last build and it felt like a worthwhile upgrade from the Antecs (which were good cases) and well worth the bit of extra money. Very quiet (better than the Antecs) and a big plus point for me, among other things, is proper dust filters, the dust accumulation nearly killed my last PC, I wouldn't have a case without them now.

[Jesus_Phish]

One issue I have with my antec 300 (the one previously linked) is the audio jacks on the front create a tonne of noise. I found a guide that suggested a way to fix it, but my case didn't have the wire that the guide said was the issue.

Not a major issue as I don't use the front audio. Still, for the money I paid it's worth it.

Also worth noting that the pre-installed fans are set by a switch and can't be PWM controlled without being replaced. But even at their highest setting they're very quiet.

[Sakkura]

How much are you willing to spend?

I'd recommend either the Fractal Design R4 (Quality) or the Xigmatek Midgard II (great Budget case w. USB 3.0 ports, an included fan control and a SATA dock)

The Xigmatek Midgard II has mediocre cooling and is very loud. Not recommended.

[Wolfenswan]

120mm fans are incredbly cheap and no review I've seen mentioned any noise issues (not that you could easily replace the provided fans).

It's def. no silent case though.

[Harlander]

I like the look of that Fractal R3/4. I like it a lot.

It's on my candidate list.