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Pc cases

Bo_Hazem

Banned
I dislike “gamer” designs and built one the size of a shoebox to sit next to my consoles.

5.0Ghz i7 8700K
32gb Ram (don’t remember)
1TB m.2 Samsung 970 Pro
2080Ti
Blah blah blah

it’s beautifully minimalistic and performs wonderfully.

0bgcuravu7h31.jpg

IMG-8224.jpg

Now that looks fucking sexy! Of course, bigger cases are good but the bigger the looser it gets. Tight designs could benefit from faster air flow when done right, although that looks air-tight. How is your system temperatures? Would love something as small myself, although not that bothered by current one, but this could be versatile if I need to take it out and work on something.
 
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smbu2000

Member
My main case that I've had since 2012 or so is a Lian Li PC-X900 (red). Black and Silver were also available at the time, but I liked the red one and it also came with a window (plexiglass!). Still looks and works great. It says mATX and ATX compatible, but I've also fit EATX boards in it like the Asus Rampage IV Extreme (X79) and the MSI Godlike Gaming (X99). Right now I just have an ATX board in it though , Gigabyte Aorus X570 Master with my 3900X and 5700XT Nitro+. (I'll upgrade the GPU when new cards release.)
The case is slightly taller and not as deep as standard mid-size ATX cases.

yYFOXQ7.jpg


My retro pc case is also a Lian Li, but an older one PC-V1000. Still works great and looks more age appropriate with my 1.26GHz Pentium 3-S, Asus TUSL2 mobo, Nvidia Quadro2 Pro (like a Geforce2 Ultra) and 3dfx Voodoo2 SLI setup.

HufoYYvm.jpg
 

iHaunter

Member
I love my Lian Li Cool 2. The RGB in the front does not require RGB lights. So I used 140mm x 120mm x 140mm BeQuiet! Fans. Great airflow.

6UswTXK.png
 
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MiguelItUp

Member
I've been a big fan of NZXT for awhile as their cost efficient and generally very solid. But I'll admit the Lian Li ones are looking reallllllly nice. Whenever I build a new PC and upgrade my components I'll most likely roll with a tower from them.
 
Coolermaster HAF 932. Have it a good ten years. Big, ugly, functional but by Jebus it does the job.

HAF-932-Black-Edition.jpg


Keeps all my shit cool as a frozen turd, cpu/gpu idle temps in winter drop to low teens, summer, rarely goes above 60 even under pressure.

Absolutely no reason to upgrade.

The HAF were setting a standard with the function that thing had.

Now days guys are just mounting their stuff to the walls :p
 
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TheContact

Member
I'm pretty basic in terms of design (I like the way the XSX looks more the PS5 for example), but lately I've been appreciating cases with a glass side panel. Having a lot of room is important too. The worst thing about building a PC is trying to work in a cramped space. I like good airflow and the ability to hide the cables as much as possible. I don't go too hard, $ wise, on a case, but I do take out the built in fans and replace them with Noctuas. The great thing about cases too is that, when you retire your old PC and build a new one, it's one less thing you need to buy.
 
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teezzy

Banned
Now that looks fucking sexy! Of course, bigger cases are good but the bigger the looser it gets. Tight designs could benefit from faster air flow when done right, although that's looks air-tight. How is your system temperatures? Would love something as small myself, although not that bothered by current one, but this could be versatile if I need to take it out and work on something.

Shit looks cramped af cuz
 

baphomet

Member
Got everything bar the CPU and GPU yeah. I was gonna go with the 3090, we'll see what the prices come in at. CPU, I'm waiting for Zen3

The wait is awful is it not?

I have a super sweet build just chilling in the corner waiting for the 3090 and 4900x to release.

I may end up throwing a 3900x in there for the short term if it looks like Zen 3 is going to be closer to 2021.
 

Oublieux

Member
I like SFF cases... I've personally been using an Ncase M1 for several years now:

g6ksvh96rty3gk6lbu9x


Although, SFF cases tend to be pretty niche and expensive, Coolermaster has recently come out with a very, very solid $80-$90 SFF case that looks and has been getting solid reviews:

maxresdefault.jpg
 
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Zato

Banned
My next case will be the Lianli Lancool Mesh 2 , it looks very slick in real person

article-1280x720.31b84498.jpg


Currently am using Nzxt H440 , it looks great and I'm a sucker of white case but the airflow isn't as good being a silent case .

Bought the same case in black, its build quality and functionality far exceed the price. Great temps but get good quality fans, the ones included are ok but with the mesh front noisy fans will be much easier to hear .... trust me.
 

Zato

Banned
I like SFF cases... I've personally been using an Ncase M1 for several years now:

g6ksvh96rty3gk6lbu9x


Although, SFF cases tend to be pretty niche and expensive, but Coolermaster has recently come out with a very, very solid $80-$90 SFF case that looks and has been getting solid reviews:

maxresdefault.jpg


Going to transfer my 3600xt processor to an itx board and move it into a SFF case for a media centre type PC.

Love me a SFF build too.
 

Oublieux

Member
Going to transfer my 3600xt processor to an itx board and move it into a SFF case for a media centre type PC.

Love me a SFF build too.

Yeah, I personally can't go back. It's just a massive space saver and, as long as the SFF case is built well, airflow and heat are not really a major issue and it can be as powerful as any single GPU setup in larger cases.
 

Garibaldi

Member
The wait is awful is it not?

I have a super sweet build just chilling in the corner waiting for the 3090 and 4900x to release.

I may end up throwing a 3900x in there for the short term if it looks like Zen 3 is going to be closer to 2021.

It is indeed haha. I'm ok waiting till November for AMD's new chips, but yeah if they for some reason push the release to 2021 I'll throw a 3800x in there just to get her warm for Christmas. It's the first water cooled PC I've built, and the first PC I've built in years (I built load back in my 20s), so it's been fun getting back into it. The level of quality the parts manufacturers put into even the packaging and tooling is so much better than I'm used to. The cases are utterly gorgeous now too.
 

Rickyiez

Member
Bought the same case in black, its build quality and functionality far exceed the price. Great temps but get good quality fans, the ones included are ok but with the mesh front noisy fans will be much easier to hear .... trust me.

Sure thing , I already have a few quality BeQuiet fans from my current case to transfer over
 

Dr.D00p

Member
Fractal Meshify C with dark tint glass window.

Quite bored of it really but it does keep my 9900K rig nice and cool and I really can't be bothered to rip everything out and install it in to a new case, its just asking for trouble...if it ain't broke don't fix it.
 
I bough one with glass and some memory with led, mobo also have led.

but as im super tidy Mari kondo style, My desktop is well hided under the desk.
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
I run a Thermaltake X71. It's really ugly, but don't care. I can pretty much do anything and will never run out of space regardless of how much shit I toss in it. I doubt I'll ever need a new case unless standards for mobo mounts change. Airflow through the case is great. 4 200mm, 5 140mm, a 280mm AIO rad and a 120mm AIO rad for the GPU mounted externally on the rear of the case. GPU temp, regardless of what I play or ambient temp, never pass 65C. I've also never had the 2080ti's blower fan kick in since installing it. CPU temps sit betwen 35C-40C and max out around 50C where the fans ramp up.

In the Fractal case it replaced everything ran 15-20C hotter and the GPU fan would need to run to keep GPU temps under 85C.

J2xIvoa.jpg


eeu339y.jpg


XT9kVqA.jpg


Since I took these shots I've added caster wheels to the bottom so it rolls now, cleaned up the wiring, added more ram and added 3 more 140mm fans to the bottom front side panel which has pressurized the case so I haven't had to blow out the dust in a year. Also built a new mount for the external AIO so it sits flat against the rear of the case working as an exhaust for the area below the GPU which dropped the GPU temps another few degrees.

I've been happy with the performance from the AIO coolers I'm running but when the 30 series vendor cards drop, unless I go with another AIO card like the Sea Hawk X I'm currently running, I might opt to build a custom loop. I've wanted to get into that aspect of building.
Your AIO might be mounted unoptimally. GN just did a video about the proper relationship between the pump and radiator in AIOs.

 

sendit

Member
Current case. Phantek Shift (Mini-ITX)
l5tJEq1.jpg


Will be dropping a pretty penny on this in the next couple of months (I need official dimensions for the 3090 RTX). Sliger SM560:

udSgLo2.jpg
 
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raduque

Member
I have the Phanteks Eclipse P400A. Well, it's actually a P400, but I put the mesh front on it and turned it into an "A" model. It's a great case with the mesh front.
PH-EC400ATG_DBK-_7_1024x1024@2x.jpg


Built my gf's new PC into this case (she picked it) the Sama Z3. It actually has decent airflow with ro.
11-197-006-V13.jpg
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
Can anyone recommend me a truly silent case? I have a large Noctua cooler so it can not be too tight.
Be Quiet has a lot of options for silence. Gamers Nexus' case reviews are also noise normalized so it's easy to analyze performance at a certain noise level.
 

AGRacing

Member
Radiator should be mounted upside down :messenger_angry:

I actually recently looked into that.

First : Doesnt really properly fit that way without stressing the shit out of the lines.

Second : the tank at the top of the radiator is well above the pump so its fine.

Thank you for your concern.
 

GHG

Gold Member
Radiator should be mounted upside down :messenger_angry:

Yeh I saw that video from gamers nexus earlier and it's the first time I've watch something of his and thought "yeh... No fuck that".

I've not had any temperature or noise issues with mounting mine "incorrectly" so whatever.

Also this:

First : Doesnt really properly fit that way without stressing the shit out of the lines.



Thank you for your concern.
 
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Tomeru

Member
I actually recently looked into that.

First : Doesnt really properly fit that way without stressing the shit out of the lines.

Second : the tank at the top of the radiator is well above the pump so its fine.

Thank you for your concern.

Thats fine, the issue is that the hoses are also up there, enjoying the same air.

I cant say for sure what it'll do (if any), but Id rather leave air as far away from inside the loop as I can.
 
Your AIO might be mounted unoptimally. GN just did a video about the proper relationship between the pump and radiator in AIOs.



I've had my CPU and mobo this way for almost 5 years through two cases with no issues. Everything has been performing consistently since I built it. I spent a lot of time trying different layouts, following guides from PC sites and advice from people I knew that had been building PCs since the 90s before I settled on this layout.

Cooling was much better with the radiator on the front as an intake vs on the top as an exhaust, sometimes more than 10C difference, and temps went even lower when I moved into the X71 case with much better airflow. The top mount position all the heat coming from the GPU was being pulled through the radiator and quickly heat soaking it. Moving it to the front stopped that immediately. In the X71 the airflow is so high with the 4 200mm fans that the ambient air in the case is just above room temperature. At idle both my CPU and GPU run at around 30C.

I've been watching Steve for a long time and have no issue with his logic, but in this case I disagree with his thoughts on the matter. He mostly talks about abuse case scenarios, with water temps in the 70s and systems that are never shut down, neither of which apply to me. My CPU temps never go over 50C, which would mean the water temps aren't going anywhere close to 50C, let alone 70C, so the plastics in my AIO aren't being thermally broken down and I'm not losing coolant due to that issue at anywhere near the rate most people might see in a smaller case with higher temps. He also talks about gurgling sounds indicating air getting pulled into the pump, but I haven't experienced that issue either. Maybe I got lucky and Corsair actually filled my AIO properly. My PC is also shut down daily, I have all driver/game/system updates set for shutdown or startup, so I made it routine to shut down every day before I crash for the night.

In any case, I'll take much lower component temps over several years at the cost of possibly shortening the life of a $100 pump.
 
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Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
He also talks about gurgling sounds indicating air getting pulled into the pump, but I haven't experienced that issue either. Maybe I got lucky and Corsair actually filled my AIO properly.
If that's the case, and you don't have air going into your pump, then you're probably fine.
 
If that's the case, and you don't have air going into your pump, then you're probably fine.

Yeah, like I said, I have no issue with Steve's reasoning, he obviously has more knowledge on this subject as a professional in the PC field than I do as a hobbyist/gamer and he deals with PCs that see a much, much higher workload than my gaming PC. 4K Flight Simulator 2020 at max settings is about the most I throw at it, he builds setups to render and compile. This setup works well for me though so there's no sense in changing it now. If I were to build another AIO setup in the future I may not be so lucky, but I think my next setup when the 30 series cards are available will be a custom loop anyways as I've always been interested in it. That will more closely mimic the radiator arrangement in a car (bottom outlet = cold, Top intake = hot), where I have more freedom on radiator orientation, and there's really no better place for the pump than in the lower section of the case in the X71. I'd like to take better advantage of the space this case provides.

I should note too, I do appreciate you taking the time to bring it up in the first place. Nice to see people looking out for each other (y)
 

GMAK2442

Member
Something like this is pretty cool:
pc_cases_01.jpg


I like to see the high-tech pieces of hardware. The hardware is so neat. And I like the blue color but I could try the green too.
 

Black_Stride

do not tempt fate do not contrain Wonder Woman's thighs do not do not
Needed something super super cheap and inoffensive.
So got an Antec 300.
50 dollars.
61yRlsd2TyL._AC_SL1000_.jpg



Secondary PC Coolermaster Masterbox 694
Again needed it to be inoffensive and mesh front for pocket change.
MasterBox_CM694_akb_1024x768a-620x466.jpg
 
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