Best Case for Air Cooling? :O

oc jason · Apr 26, 2004

Ok I want to use air cooling and decent airflow, and not much sound and still run as cool as possible

I was wondering what cases that are good aluminum ones that have great fan setup or are setup well for cooling in general, im talking Lian-Li's and good ones like that

thx for any good links or suggestions - oc jason

AFIsoldier · Apr 26, 2004

lan-li, chieftechs and clones, and thermaltakes...most cases have about the same(unless you wanna go pricey and uber leet with the mountainmods cube cases)

@md0Cer · Apr 26, 2004

I beleive the Antec Lanboy and the Sonata are both fairly light and quiet cases.

Truthfully, I dont really know much about the case so I would wait for someone who does know and go off of their opinion. But, I can direct you to some awsome fans.

It sounds like you want quietness but good airflow right? I suggest the Thermal Take Smart Fan 2. It has one of the highest CFM to noise ratio's and it adjustable. It is available in 80, 90, and 120 mm. Click the orange link in my signature for more details. The non LED ones move more air for the noise for some reason BTW

Also, I would recomend the Enermax Adjustable. These have an airflow to noise ratio just as high, but when you need some high performance, or super quiet, the Enermax's dont go as high or as low. But still good IMO.

Good Luck with it!
-0cer

CZmanz19 · Apr 26, 2004

I dont know much as well but the thermaltake xaxier 3 has been a champ for me and keeps my intel cool. The smartfan is a very good choice amdocer

CZmanz19 · Apr 26, 2004

o yeah and i believe it has space for seven fans which is good

Radical · Apr 26, 2004

I'd recommend the Lian-Li PC-61. It's light, durable, and really easy to work with. If you want quiet fans then I would get Panaflo L1As, but if you don't care too much about noise then the Smartfan would be good too.

clocker2 · Apr 27, 2004

Having tried several cases in the past year ( with essentially the same basic hardware) my conclusions are:

There is NO appreciable difference/advantage between aluminum and steel...the case design plays a more important role than the material.

Larger cases are harder to cool quietly using just air. You need bigger fans spinning faster to move the air around in the larger volumn.

To minimize noise, pick a case that doesn't have a lot of extraneous vents/airholes.
Obviously, you will need to allow your fans good clear access to the outside ( particularly difficult with most front bezel designs), but vents and holes that are purely decorative ( most are, IMO) allow sound to escape ( and dust to enter).

Valk · Apr 27, 2004

if noise is of concern, any antec with 120 mm mounts, particularly a sonata. I like my lanboy, but its kind of flimsy and vibrates a fair bit. it does however have FAIRLY unobstructed fan mounts for 120 mm fans. so, get some evercools like i have, or panaflos. a nice fan controller *my nexus is ****ing me off good*
and you can have good airflow with low noise.

the sonata is probably better imo. its much more solid being made of steel so it wont be effected as severely by fans with poor beaings. the evercools certain could use work ^^;;

the only downside to the sonata over lanboy is that the sonata doesnt have a front removable fan grill. on the lanboy, there is a plastic inlet cover that can be removed. sonata has your typical bezel.

I have heard a lot of people boast about the antec 3700 case. its apparently AWSOME for aircooling.

im bias, i love my lanboy. its becoming such a personal thing and witht he 120 mm fan mounts in it, its already pretty much ready for modding to water cooling.
its also stupid light. take out all the stuff and the case weighs less than a typical motherboard. its crazy XD

jmke · Apr 27, 2004

CoolerMaster Stacker , 3x120mm fan in front!

Vrykyl · Apr 27, 2004

xaserIII - steel or aluminium is up to you - now going cheap cos of the damier and wingo series. HUGE but well made and generally an excellent case

L337 M33P · Apr 27, 2004

My vote goes to the Chieftec BX/Dragon series, since they are pretty much the same. I have the BX01 model and it is teh winnar.

Fan slots:

2 front mounted ones ( if you use the fan holder for the second drive bay )
Side panel fans left and right
2x back panel fan slots.

They are all 80mm. The front panel features an integrated dust filter that should keep most of the munge out but I find that it gets drawn in through the side panel anyway.

I wouldn't say it is the absolute best for air cooling, it could do with some less restrictive rear grilles and wire grills on the side panels. What I do like is the almost tooless design - ingenious mounting of CD drives, removable drive cages that feature fan holders, removable fan carriers for the case fan slots and a tooless PCI bracket.

For the price, it can't be beat. Best £30 I ever spent.

Sturm · Apr 27, 2004

L337 M33P said:
For the price, it can't be beat. Best £30 I ever spent.

o0 where did you find it for that price m8?

whitehaze · Apr 27, 2004

thermaltake xaser 3.... comes with 7 fans and a controller... nice and quite as far as 7 fans go and i dont see my case temp go above 36

L337 M33P · Apr 27, 2004

Sturm said:
o0 where did you find it for that price m8?

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=55555

fac_29 · Apr 27, 2004

Lol, i just been lookin at that exact same case on Ebuyer

Been thinkin about getting it for the past week or two...
Been thinking about getting the Black version with the Silver front panels with my monitor being black.
Does it have room for fans on the side panels???
It aint windowed is it, but can you buy the windowed side panels for it? I see they have a few windowed side panels at Ebuyer for around £5 each.

Sturm · Apr 27, 2004

Grr this my new case is getting so complicated now.
Started of wanting the Antec P160 and it's still right up there but having seen the Cheiftecs o0 they look nice.

L337 M33P · Apr 27, 2004

Black with silver front = win

Only thing I _hate_ is the atomic-powered LED

And the Chieftec Dragon windows do fit, the screws won't line up though

OC.com did a review

tekOC · Apr 27, 2004

Lian-Li's or the Antec Super Lanboy (two 120mm fans, one intake one outtake).

Those two are my favorite

fac_29 · Apr 27, 2004

Cool! Thanks for the pics. I think i have definitely decided on my new case

How many fans you have with that case, for sufficient cooling?
I like that LED, looks like a PS2

Man, since getting this comp a few month ago i've done nothing but upgrade it. By the time i've finished i'm gonna end up with a new PC

Chixofnix · Apr 27, 2004

antec P160

comes equipped with 2 120mm fans... it's perhaps on the taller end of desktops, but not huge... VERY easy to get into and out of... and the top-frontside USB/firewire/speaker ports are wonderous...

4 pre-grommeted (anti-vibration) HDD trays that slide in and out of their racks. HDD cage is positioned beside frontside intake fan (Which has an easy to remove and clean filter), so all drives are already actively cooled. includes stealth covers for your drives (which look pretty good, unlike many). you can't get into this case from any angle w/o something to grind/cut a panel away if it's locked up....

I could go on and on, but just check a review or two... you can also see pics of mine at my website! (http://www.furnation.com/chixofnix)

and btw there is an significantly appreciable difference between aluminum and steel cases - weight!

Best Case for Air Cooling? :O

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