Time for a new case...

first off I want to say that I have had the case I currently have for probably about 14 years. that being said I could still find the product page for the open box one on new egg.

its an Enermax CS-10181-B:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811124033R

I know I bought it from newegg but my order history only goes back 10 years so I don't know an exact date (although I wish I could find out an exact, would be interesting) in all honesty there isn't any thing wrong with the case other than it spends most of the time now with its side off, the air flow is pretty crap
any way i'm looing to replace it with something of ATLEAST equal size, if not bigger, with better air flow of course so I can atleast put the side on and I would like it to be decently quiet

here were the ones I was looking at, trying to keep it around $100~$150 but theres a caveat to that aswell... get to that ina minute. also that seems like a lot of money to me, this case I have now was roughly $50.

Fractal Design Define XL:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352029
would actually prefer the original instead of an R2 but over moot points

NZXT H630:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146103
I like this one except the USB and SD slot are facing away from me in any configuration I would have it attached/on my desk. wouldn't get white.

Corsair Carbide Series Air 540
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139029
its a bit wide but at the same time the configuration seems like it would be a good fit, hot components isolated from hotter components, vented seperatly.
Currently there isn't enough space on the desk for something this wide come to find out

now heres the caveat...if I buy a case from amazon I can add $100 to what I can spend but i'm not sure if its worth it, the only one I have found that I like that's roughly $100 over what I can spend at new egg is this guy...

Nanoxia NXDS6B
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811281014
this looks like a much better bulid quality over the others but you pay for it, its roughly $230 but after looking at others that seems like a decent price for what you get any more

what do you guys think though?
main points $100~$150 price (amazon add $100 more) good air flow but decently quiet.

specs in sig are mostly current except I replaced the power supply with a Corsair CX 750 recently. although that's probably not going to be a good point because my specs are going to change soon and I don't know what way its going to go

Corsair 750d maybe?

I did a build for a customer a few days ago in a Corsair Carbide 540. It is a beautiful case at a great price ($119 at Microcenter). Too bad the customer was filling it with junk :/

Given the chance, I would have the PC-343B or MAYBE the PC-D8000. Then again, I love cube cases and I am still running a YY-0221.

I have toyed with doing some legwork locally and seeing if I can find a metal shop willing to work with me. I have two different ideas I would be interested to see if they are feasible.

peanutbudder said:

Corsair 750d maybe?

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That's a cool one. Do they make one with out a window or some sort of noise cancellation?

Not that I'm aware of but in all honesty a case can only be so quiet. My buddy has a fractal R4 and while it is a bit more quiet than my 650D it isn't enough to jump and down about. If your looking for a quiet case than you need to invest in good quality fans that will reduce the noise. Noctua makes some of the best fans on the market that move a good amount of air while being quiet and the last forever.

Nowadays I could care less about how quiet my rig is and care more about the cooling capabilities of a case. I also don't care for flashy lights or crazy designs. I love simple clean looking cases like the corsair obsidian line or lian li's.

Air 540 has my vote, but I'm kind of a fanboy...

A corsair fan boy or cube case fan boy?

The air 540 in particular. It's an awesome case. Lots of room, great air flow, and it looks sexy.

What about this one?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00EB...0ee96f4b8e738c01e25f&pi=SS115#ref=pd_aw_sbs_7

I just found it on my break at work...

The carbide I'd say myself from things I've looked at lately.

And that's from a non Corsair Fanboi, I usually have built a few things in HAFs lately but still have a few Antec cases around.

If I were to build from scratch today I'd try a Carbide (Air 540) out myself.

Mountain Mods....

Air 540. Dead silent.

And that's only my second Corsair product, the first was some used Dominator RAM lol.
I've got a project log on here with some pictures if you need any.

Contra said:

Mountain Mods....

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theyre still around? I thought they ran into some sort of money trouble and
closed up

edit:

Air 540 is out of the question for the time being, not enough real estate on top of my desk for something that wide

Have you checked out any of the Rosewill cases. Despite it being NewEggs generic brand, they still have some amazing cases for the price. I've always been a big fan of the Rosewill Blackhawk, I really wish they were sold in Australia. On the other hand I'm extremely happy with my Silverstone TJ04-EW. Easily the nicest case, most premium case I've ever owned, even if building a rig in one is a bit time intensive. Silverstone don't know the meaning of tool free

Rosewill Blackhawk - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147107

I've actually been looking for a case in that same price range myself. Below are some cases I'd been looking at.

Corsair Vengeance C70 $119.99
Corsair Carbide 500R Black $109.99
Corsair Carbide 500R White $139.99
Corsair Obsidian 750D $159.99
Cooler Master HAF 922* Okay if you're planning to do air cooling, but if you're doing water cooling it's better to skip it. Case has issues with top-mounting 240mm radiators aka 120.2 and can only mount fans either in push or pull internally, unless you modify the case or mount fans to the outside of the case. $99.99
Cooler Master HAF 932 Blue $159.99
Cooler Master HAF 932 Red $169.99
NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White $119.99
NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black $119.99

Tech Tweaker said:

I've actually been looking for a case in that same price range myself. Below are some cases I'd been looking at.

Corsair Vengeance C70 $119.99
Corsair Carbide 500R Black $109.99
Corsair Carbide 500R White $139.99
Corsair Obsidian 750D $159.99
Cooler Master HAF 922* Okay if you're planning to do air cooling, but if you're doing water cooling it's better to skip it. Case has issues with top-mounting 240mm radiators aka 120.2 and can only mount fans either in push or pull internally, unless you modify the case or mount fans to the outside of the case. $99.99
Cooler Master HAF 932 Blue $159.99
Cooler Master HAF 932 Red $169.99
NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White $119.99
NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black $119.99

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As someone with a white 500R, no. Just no. I got it on sale for $105, and even that was too much. Most of the added features (fan controller, drive trays, etc.) they really cheaped out on, the fan controller itself has almost zero effect and the drive trays slip out if you simply bump the case. The case feet stuck to the floor the first time I picked the case up after I put it together. The upper front panel has a cheaper feel to it. The the cover to the upper fan cover is supposed to be removable (I guess to add a radiator), I just find it kind of loose. The button to turn on & off the fan LEDs is too small and I need a pencil to push it in.

Overall, not good. Since I can't stand most of the features, to me, it's basically the same as the Antec 300 it replaced with a 200mm side fan and a slightly better quality paint job.

freakdiablo said:

As someone with a white 500R, no. Just no. I got it on sale for $105, and even that was too much. Most of the added features (fan controller, drive trays, etc.) they really cheaped out on, the fan controller itself has almost zero effect and the drive trays slip out if you simply bump the case. The case feet stuck to the floor the first time I picked the case up after I put it together. The upper front panel has a cheaper feel to it. The the cover to the upper fan cover is supposed to be removable (I guess to add a radiator), I just find it kind of loose. The button to turn on & off the fan LEDs is too small and I need a pencil to push it in.

Overall, not good. Since I can't stand most of the features, to me, it's basically the same as the Antec 300 it replaced with a 200mm side fan and a slightly better quality paint job.

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Really? I had no idea they were that bad.

They seemed so good from all the reviews I'd read. Guess I'm glad I didn't buy one now.

Rule of thumb, you can't go wrong with a Silverstone or a Lian Li case. Any case from either of these manufacturers will last pretty much for life.

Tech Tweaker said:

Really? I had no idea they were that bad.

They seemed so good from all the reviews I'd read. Guess I'm glad I didn't buy one now.

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Don't take it wrong, it's still a solid case and has its pluses - it has one of the better paint jobs I've seen in a case and is the first case that I've actually been able to do half a decent job at cable management. But, it just seems like they tried to go for a case with $200 worth of features but didn't want to break $150, so if you go over it with a fine tooth comb, the small flaws start to come out. And I guess you could say I'm nitpicking, I dunno