Heyho! I was quite happy with my current case over several updates of harware, a big tower thermaltake armor+. I bought this case 6 years ago... So now i've grown up ( a little ) and discovered a few problems: Sidepanel with glas/acryl, okay, but i don't care any more... too many ( too loud ) fans, not necessary, but loud... and the biggest problems is: I currently use 8 internal harddrives (ssd's and "normal" ones) and with all the cables (plus psu,mainboard,front) won't fit between the back of the motherboard and the sidepanel! So i search for a new case for christmas eve What it HAS to have: - PSU on the bottom - (more) space between mobo-back and sidepanel - usb 3.0 - room for at least 5x 3x5"HDD (some can be mounted in 5,25" if that's the only problem) +2-4SSDs What would be nice to have: - fan-dust-filter (removable/washable) - foam (for noise-dampening) - Big Tower (I like the looks of it and I *think* (dunno for sure) if it's bigger, than there's more air to exchange (more capacity) and it won't get as hot as in a small form factor - fan mounts for 140mm (not 120), because I have good ones already... - sub 200€ if possible? current CPU-cooler is a "Xigmatek Dark Knight SD-1283 Night Hawk Edition" which is quite high, it even touches the side-panel-200mm fan of the case, but I think without the fan on the side, if should be no problem! i wrote here, not because I cannot use google, but because almost no-one seems to have a problem with to much cables behind the mobo....^^" I hope you can help me! : ps.: please don't look at my grammer to close, as I'm not a native speaker
I think a BitFenix ShinobiXL fits the bill well. Or maybe a Ghost which has some sound dampening material on most of the panels, but the ShinobiXL doesn't have sound dampening and is a quiet case helped by its large 230mm fans. I reviewed it over a year ago here - http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=228297
That's a good hint! Never looked at BitFenix before! And it's not even as expensive as those big LianLi/Thermalright TJ11 (I kinda fell in love with the TJ11... But it's simply not made for a students purse... xD ) 3cm on the side looks indeed awesome! Thanks for the tipp! But there is a lot of time till Christmas eve... So may there be any further cases, that fit my "needs"?
Budget Lian Li? I have two (in silver) and one from them on its way, having noticed it in the hardware bargains thread and finding myself unable to resist. There's 23-24mm between the motherboard mounting and the case side panel, having just whipped one off and measured. Takes 5 HDD as a default, but has loads of 5.25" bays, I've got a matching (by Lain Li) four in three unit which peeks out at 13 drives (two units and one free bay). If memory serves, they did a three in two, which gives a slightly higher drive/bay density allowing 14 HDD (three units and one free bay). MDPC 004.
+1 for this. Can't go wrong for £35 all told. You're looking at spending ~£100+ for something as good.
Wow! That's a price! Even if I like bigger cases, with this price-tag I think I can't resist as well... Just a couple questions as I couldn't find any info despite the eBay-link: Are the fan-mounts 120 or 140? It's "just" 120mm... is it? Dust-Filters are not exchangable? Is there a way to upgrade to usb 3.0? The pre-installed fans, are they usable? Or too loud (for your personal opinion^^) Is there a fan-mount on top? I don't mind spending 100+$/€ if I get more for the price... and I'm not quite sure how lian-li this lian li case is ( if you know what i mean^^ ). I think I'll use my next case for the next...2 years before upgrading (hardware) and then another (at least) 5 years, so I would be happy not to be angry every time I start the computer because the side panel is too flimsy and starts vibrating with the fans/harddrives (or what other problem there might be^^) edit: What the?! The case once did cost around 250$?!? It seems to have been top notch back than... Was is? The question for me is just, how much did cases improve in general since then...^^ (build quality, cable management, the power-supply mounted on the side??)
120mm fans all round. No dust filters at all, in my opinion this is a plus - you can pick exactly what you want rather than being stuck with what the manufacturer decides you'll have. Upgrading to USB3 can be done by buying an appropriate port-thingimy-ma-jig undoing two screws and swapping over. The standard fans are usable, and it has an inbuilt fan controller, though it's just low, medium and high. It's a discrete little slider just inside the door on the top. Yes, 120mm at the top-rear. PC-A10 It's a proper old-school, built like a brick-out-house Lian Li, made using 1.5mm aluminium rather than 0.8mm (or less) steel, the side panels have folds on each edge (so a 180 bend) which adds to the rigidity enormously! These panels are not flimsy. The only thing it lacks is modern cable management grommet type things, there are some (small) holes on the motherboard panel, and there's no easy-to-get-at-the-back-of-the-socket hole so you have to take the motherboard off the panel to swap coolers. Having said that, the tray is removable, so with a drill, a coping saw and a bit of patience you could make appropriate holes very easily. Oh and it's surprisingly large... And there's a nearly complete SketchUp model which I'll probably never finish, but you can have if that makes modding easier.
Or Define R4. No need to go bigger than needed. http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/cases/define-series/define-r4-black-pearl Yep. Is 2cm space behind motherboard enough ? Yep 8 combined 3.5/2.5" mounts. Front, bottom. Yep. Define R4 is big enough, but it is not big tower. Yep. Yep.
Wow! That's a good tip! I was going to buy the 30$ Lian Li, but could not "check out" the purchase, as I'm living in germany and shipping is not pre-installed in the article ( even if it says they will send it to "europe"...^^ ) But the Fractal seems to have all the things I want and is even cheap! Thanks a lot (everyone) for the tips! (so far )
The only problem with Fractal is usually their fans if you are unlucky - but in your case that is irrelevant as you are going to use your own fans anyway.
That's true! Thanks for the hint anyways. The Lian Li is 55€ (incl. shipping) for me... so I think I'd rather go with the fractal, as it delivers more (everything) what I "need" (want) from a case... But if I lived in the UK it would be a no-brainer! Maybe someone else stumbles upon this thread^^ Thansk so much everyone for your detailed help! I consider myself a little tech-crazy and I'm always up2date with reading tech-news, but there SO many cases right now, I wouldn't have found those you mentioned by myself! edit: - Even if the Shinobi XL (bitfenix) with foam attached is almost exactly twice the price of the Fractal, I somehow find the Shinobi more appealing... Am I the only one who thinks a big tower is "sexy"? I can't help but think "in the fractal case my awesome hardware would look like the ordinary machine my father uses at home/work"... Is this sick? edit2: puh... twice the price is just to much for me... I think I'll go with the Fractal R4, even if I now think it's "too small" (my head says it's just perfect for my needs, but somehow my stomach tells me: " BIGGER BIGGER BIGGER!" xD edit3: what do you all think about the NZXT H630?
Sounds even better then the Define R4...! Think that is everything I ask for in a case, including the not-really-needed "big tower" and it's much cheaper than the bitfenix and even has more flexible harddisk-trays (future proof) so thanks again for listening to my crazy thoughts and giving so many great suggestions! edit.... ****... I think i fell in love with the new "Nanoxia Deep Silence 6"... It's HUGE!
