Need The best case possible

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XCLR82XTC

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 23, 2009
Messages
315
So im working on building a new home computer. I intend for this to be more than just a gaming rig or workstation. I would like for it to be my whole central home core. I would like to use it to run all my media, use it as my DVR storage and also my thin client and security system platform. that means lots of drive bays (6 full size and 2 3.5 inch bays should be good, ill probably use 1tb drives with raid 5 operationing system will be 2 128gb ssd's in raid 0) All of this will come in time, and for right now im just gonna build a bad a$$ system to game and play with. as the technology progresses and i get more of my home core/network built ill move these components over to the home server duty.

so that said, this is what im looking for in a case, in order of priority

1 build quality. i dont want something thats gonna easy break, fall apart, corode, etc..
2 complete darkness option. I guess this emlimates glass sides, but since its going to be in the media room id like to have 0 light emiting from the case. I dont mind if i can easily switch on and off lights either though..
3 silence. i prefere a completely water cooled setup (including gpu) for overclocking and fan noise. id like the radiator to be top mounted if possible.
4size. i want to be able to put everything in this case. I might get a wild hair and but 3 graphics cards or something, so bigger is better.
5 new tech - multiple quality usb 3 ports, screwless drive bays,
6 cable routing - if its no a see through side, it doesnt really matter so just a way to keep everything mostly organized.

price wise.. meh.. i dont care.. Ill have this thing a while so yearly cost will be minmal.


what do you guys suggest?
 
Hi, I just researched on the net for some cases and found out about the Phanteks Enthoo Pro. It is a smaller Full Tower ATX case but has everything you mentioned. I would definitely buy it if I needed a new case. I like that it can almost be completely disassembled and has four different locations to mount a radiator. It's cheap too for a full tower case with a retail price between $100 and $90 for the version with and without the side window respectively.
http://www.legitreviews.com/phanteks-enthoo-pro-full-tower-case-review_146103
 
For low-noise to silent gaming, I recommend the following cases:
$85 - Antec P280 ATX Case
$120 - Fractal Design Define R5 Black ATX Case
$120 - NZXT H440 White/Black ATX Case
$127 - NZXT H440 Red/Matte Black ATX Case
$140 - Corsair Obsidian Series 550D ATX Case
$240 - Silverstone FT02B-USB3.0 ATX Case
 
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what do you guys think about the corsair 900d? just curious about that behemoth
 
jstenuf said:
http://www.lian-li.com/en/dt_portfolio/pc-a79/
Click to expand...

Lian Li cases are simply beautiful, but their prices frequently scare me away.

The Fractal Design Define R5 looks solid and I can't remember dissuading anyone from purchasing an NZXT.

The Corsair Obsidian 900D should meet all of your requirements, but doesn't strike me as a great value at current prices. It is generally well-reviewed and Corsair does make a solid product. It is rather huge though.
 
ive narrowed it down to 3 or 4, but im still looking. i like the size of the 900 for the fact i can use large (quieter) fans for internal air flow. I like the nzxt but the power supply needs to be isolated. (im thinking about doing an external power supply anyways)

enthoo primo (white)
corsair 900d
nzxt h630

still adding more to this list but thats where im at now.
 
That Enthoo Primo bears a striking resemblance to NZXT's Switch 810. Or perhaps it is the other way around? Which came first?

Either way, I have a weakness for the glossy white/matte black stormtrooper look.
 
Yeah I dig the Primo. I like the black honestly, but the blue kills it for me. The only problem i have with white, is it sticks out like a sore thumb in a dark room (ie theatre) but thats ok, it will probably end up in a closet lol

I have been looking randomly all day, and so far, I havent come up with any better options than those 3.
 
MrCaffeineX said:
Lian Li cases are simply beautiful, but their prices frequently scare me away.

The Fractal Design Define R5 looks solid and I can't remember dissuading anyone from purchasing an NZXT.

The Corsair Obsidian 900D should meet all of your requirements, but doesn't strike me as a great value at current prices. It is generally well-reviewed and Corsair does make a solid product. It is rather huge though.
Click to expand...

I bought an NZXT case and was really disappointed by the quality. I sent it back to Amazon. NZXT seems like all they make is plastic.

I have a Corsair Air 540 and I really like it, excellent cooling and cable management. That being said, I really like the new Thermaltake Core X9 E-ATX that's coming out. I'd probably buy that (pending reviews) if I was buying today. OP could switch the door panels to avoid lighting (clear can go on either side).
 
I would go with the Fractal Design R5 because it is well design with great cable management. I had, well still have with my second computer, the Fractal Design R4 and I still love that case. I just built a new computer with a Fractal Design Node 804, Intel Core i7-4790K, (2x) Powercolor Radeon 7850 w/2 gb in crossfire. Fractal Design makes excellent cases. They are really well designed cases with the customer in mine with classic and simple design.
 
XCLR82XTC said:
ive narrowed it down to 3 or 4, but im still looking. i like the size of the 900 for the fact i can use large (quieter) fans for internal air flow. I like the nzxt but the power supply needs to be isolated. (im thinking about doing an external power supply anyways)
Click to expand...
Wait, what's the point of getting a large case if you're just going to make the PSU external? That defeats the whole point of a large case.

XCLR82XTC said:
enthoo primo (white)
corsair 900d
nzxt h630

still adding more to this list but thats where im at now.
Click to expand...
Between those three, I'd go with Enthoo Primo. While it is technically louder than the H630, it does have significantly better cooling. The 900D is ridiculously overpriced for what it is. For the price of the 900D, I could easily buy a Norco RPC-4220 4U case with 20 hot-swap bays.
MrCaffeineX said:
That Enthoo Primo bears a striking resemblance to NZXT's Switch 810. Or perhaps it is the other way around? Which came first?
Click to expand...
The Switch 810 came first.
 
MrCaffeineX said:
Lian Li cases are simply beautiful, but their prices frequently scare me away.

The Fractal Design Define R5 looks solid and I can't remember dissuading anyone from purchasing an NZXT.

The Corsair Obsidian 900D should meet all of your requirements, but doesn't strike me as a great value at current prices. It is generally well-reviewed and Corsair does make a solid product. It is rather huge though.
Click to expand...

The OP was asking for a case without price considerations. I am sorry the price scares you.
 
Dangman said:
Wait, what's the point of getting a large case if you're just going to make the PSU external? That defeats the whole point of a large case.


.
Click to expand...

Id put hard drives where the power supply(s) are supposed to go. with external power i dont really have to worry about heat as much, thats all. i havent really decided yet how i want to do it.

The primo and the 900d are the only 2 im really interested in.

one more question.

Does anyone know where i can get the board to make the hard drives just slide into place making all the connections. My NAS is like that and doesnt use any cables for the hard drive. If its possible, that could help determine which case as well
 
XCLR82XTC said:
Id put hard drives where the power supply(s) are supposed to go. with external power i dont really have to worry about heat as much, thats all. i havent really decided yet how i want to do it.

The primo and the 900d are the only 2 im really interested in.

one more question.



Does anyone know where i can get the board to make the hard drives just slide into place making all the connections. My NAS is like that and doesnt use any cables for the hard drive. If its possible, that could help determine which case as well
Click to expand...

I like the primo alot.
Quality design and room to spare.
I have an 800D great case. It has the slide in hdd bays you speak of....dont know about the 900.
Downside of any Corsair case...weight. They are all steel. I had to build a special little cart to move my 800D around. Fully loaded I can barely lift it.
 
again... OP at least look at the Thermaltake Core X9 E-ATX (they make smaller versions too).
 
XCLR82XTC said:
Id put hard drives where the power supply(s) are supposed to go. with external power i dont really have to worry about heat as much, thats all. i havent really decided yet how i want to do it.
Click to expand...
Huh? What heat? Power supplies exhaust heat outside the system, not into the system.

XCLR82XTC said:
Does anyone know where i can get the board to make the hard drives just slide into place making all the connections. My NAS is like that and doesnt use any cables for the hard drive. If its possible, that could help determine which case as well
Click to expand...
That's called a backplane. Generally not available by itself per se. Some Lian Li cases have backplanes. What you might want to look at are hot-swap bays:
$95 - Supermicro CSE-M35T-1B Black 5 Bay Hot-Swapable SATA Backplane
 
Does anyone know about the lian li d666.. im really liking that case .. so far its my favorite. but im concerned with how to get to the back of the processor for cooling (times) 2 ... but this one has everything i wanted
 
every case in this thread IMO is made cheaply except maybe Lian-Li but even those are meh IMO
i own a switch 810 and it has terrible build quality despite the options (the entire case flexes and twists), and is cheaply made
the 900D is also cheaply made

can't believe nobody said Caselabs

if price is no option, Caselabs M8 or SM8

Or the SMA8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQTIRxcgrA0
 
My case is the Rosewill Blackhawk Ultra. Supports 2 power supplies, external watercooling (which is all I do), has 11 expansion slots, and in general does everything I need to do. When I was shopping around I couldn't find a case at any other price point that had so much room for *stuff*. The build quality isn't "OMG it haz solid CNC aloominumz", but who gives a shit it holds everything fine. I immediately discarded any case that only had 7 expansion slots. I'm using 7 expansion slots right now and that's with only 2 graphics cards. If you want to run a fully maxed out system (hard overclocks, 4 graphics cards) you're going to need 2 psu's. I can hit 1000W+ with just my setup.

If you have the space for an external watercooling setup, I tell everyone to go with that. You're far less constrained on radiator size, loop routing, etc. Plus you can have the radiators be 20 feet away from your desktop if you so choose.
 
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I have two Enthoo Primos, white and black. Lots of room, build quality is, IMO, excellent, and many options for cooling. I have had no cooling/airflow problems, though I use only one GPU in each rig. I removed all drive cages, mounting my SSDs behind the mobo and the HDD is mounted in an unused drive bay. My only complaint with the Primo and 95% of other cases is the door in front: I hate doors, but the Primo seems sturdy enough. It's pain in the a$$ when one "hinge" breaks.
 
I would buy the Caselabs S8.
If you want a central hub, this is your choice.

Edit:

TJ11 is also a fantastic choice. One of the highest quality cases offered from a large case maker.
 
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