Thinking about a new case...

I've come to the conclusion that my current case (Noctis 450) does not provide great air flow (although it does look cool!)

When I had my GTX 1080 FTW installed in this case, the best temperatures I could get (while running folding@home) was around 75 C...with the fan at 95%. (still quiet.)

When I got my Titan X P, I moved the 1080 FTW into my "Little Folder" rig. This rig runs my TV server, folding@home, and a few other things. I chose a cheap Corsair Carbide SPEC-02 case for this build, and put in some cheap Corsair AF140 fans (with a blue theme) just to get some air moving. Now, with the 1080 FTW installed, the card stays at around 65 C with the fan running at 70%.

Quite a different in temperatures.

So...I think I need a new case for my main "The Sith" rig. I'm currently looking at the following:

1. Corsair Carbide Air 540
--- Shorter, but wider than my current case
--- Not the best / coolest looking case, but I think the look could grow on me
--- I like the fact that you put the drives and power supply in a separate compartment
--- Full / nice airflow (like the SPEC-02)
--- Don't know about noise factor




2. Cooler Master Mastercase Pro 5
--- Unique and nice look for a case
--- I like the "power supply" compartment on the bottom of the case (one of the good things about the Noctis 450)
--- Hard drives can be mounted on the bottom (within the "power supply compartment" for unobstructed airflow through the case
--- Not as flexible radiator mounting options as (1) above
--- Don't know about noise factor




3. Phanteks Enthoo Evolve Glass
--- Unique and nice look for a case
--- I love the tempered glass idea...should absorb a lot of sound...and better than the easy to scratch stuff on current "window" cases
--- Not sure about airflow into the case...if it will be restricted by the front of the case
--- I like the power supply compartment
--- Hard drives can be mounted within the power supply compartment
--- Lots of flexibility for radiator mounting
--- The tempered glass side panel for the "back" of the case scares me...hehe...have to have pristine cable routing!




4. Corsair Crystal Series 460X
--- Brand new Corsair case...can't even buy it anyplace yet
--- Tempered glass on the side and front (love it)
--- Not sure if "side" intakes for the front of the case will limit airflow (similar to Fractal cases...do these have good airflow?)
--- Power supply compartment - love it
--- Hard drive mounting in the power supply compartment
--- Less flexibility for radiator mounting




I'm trying to stay in the "mid" tower type of case. What are your guys thoughts?

For a future state, I plan on doing the following to the build:

- Add EVGA AIO cooler to the Titan X P (when it comes out)
- Changing the 280 mm AIO CPU cooler to the Corsair "thick" radiator 120 MM cooler (the reviews say this is only slightly worse performance than the 280 mm)
- Mount these to radiators, and the 980 Ti Hybrid radiator on either the top (if case supports) or in front as 100% intake into case

I'm partial to the 540, fantastic case for airflow and custom water.

Thanks for the feedback ATM...I'm leaning towards the 540...but I like the looks of the Crystal 460X.

Do you know if the 540 is a noisy case or not? There's usually a tradeoff between airflow and noise...just wondering how much of a trade...

Thanks!

I have the Phanteks Enthoo Primo case, and all though it was a bit pricey, IT is just an outstanding case! Its huge and open and there are really endless possibilities with it.
I have also heard wonderful things about the 540

Ditto on the Phanteks Enthoo line. That 460x is a nice looking case, though. Very sharp. No experience with the 540, but I've read/heard nothing but "outstanding" about it. I'm lucky enough to live in a town with a Fry's Electronics and get to see a lot of cases when I want to window shop. The Corsairs have always been good as far as I can tell. The 540 looks nice to build in, too.

I have the air 540, great case, my water system fits well, lots of fan ports so the noise is all in fan choice.
wide and deep footprint, the utility closet in the side can get quite congested.

Thanks for feedback!

(Psst...Caddi...they have these new devices called tie-wraps...)

caddi daddi said:

View attachment 183305View attachment 183306

I have the air 540, great case, my water system fits well, lots of fan ports so the noise is all in fan choice.
wide and deep footprint, the utility closet in the side can get quite congested.

Click to expand...

Hey, look, my old case!

yes it is, and a sweetie pie it is.
I've quit being too tidy in the thing, I reconfigure it often and the pump/res combo in the lower, left of the left pic plays old scratch with my leg trying to route cables but it will cool 980ti's in sli.

I'm currently eyeballing the Corsair Carbide Air 740:




It looks like their is stock at Corsair...but with tax and 2 day shipping it's $210.

Newegg has a link, but no stock...and Amazon doesn't show the product yet.


I like this better than the 540 as it takes the drive bays out of the front, and opens up for more cooling options on the bottom. I'll either go with this for the 540...stay tuned!

Not a fan of the front styling on the 740, but they definitely made good functionality changes.

ATMINSIDE said:

Not a fan of the front styling on the 740, but they definitely made good functionality changes.

Click to expand...

Yeah - the more I look at it, the more it grows on me.

I just got off the phone with Corsair, and they don't have any stock (is a website error).

All I can do is drool now.

They have them on ebay for an extra $100 or so shipped. That would be a deal breaker fro me but who knows what anyone else thinks

Haturee said:

I have the Phanteks Enthoo Primo case, and all though it was a bit pricey, IT is just an outstanding case! Its huge and open and there are really endless possibilities with it.
I have also heard wonderful things about the 540

Click to expand...

Alaric said:

Ditto on the Phanteks Enthoo line. That 460x is a nice looking case, though. Very sharp. No experience with the 540, but I've read/heard nothing but "outstanding" about it. I'm lucky enough to live in a town with a Fry's Electronics and get to see a lot of cases when I want to window shop. The Corsairs have always been good as far as I can tell. The 540 looks nice to build in, too.

Click to expand...

Thanks!

Your suggestions got me looking at the Enthoo Pro after I ran into some space issues (didnt even get started and ran out of space) and it was on sale till tomorrow @ Newegg!

I'm a little nervous about the front 240 area, it looks only accessible without the HDD racks and the my huge alphacool 250(oops, my bad, I went for the big one lol) and my 1070 may still have a confrontation?