Case advice for major build

[Greeny]

Having a major case dilemma at the moment, so I thought I'd ask for some peoples general thoughts on the cases I'm looking at.

About to start on a water cooled X99 build (black and white) but I am torn between a few cases and am struggling to make a decision one way or the other.

PC Parts -*https://www.pccasegear.com/wish_lists/506120/2016 Build*+ SLI 980's, some SSD's,*HDD's, Xonar STX.

Water Loop -*https://www.pccasegear.com/wish_lists/596419/Cooling loop*So *pretty thick radiator.

Cases I've been looking at, unless people have other suggestions? These are going on a scale of form Vs function from one extreme to the other.

https://www.pccasegear.com/products/33773/in-win-909-aluminium-full-tower-case-black

Pros - Looks great, built really well, in stock at my local shop.

Cons - Heavy (20kg) which, after water cooling etc is in, will suck to drag it to the shed to clean it. Cooling seems like it would be an issue, especially if expanding the loop since there ate only really 2 intakes which would then be filling the case with hot air. No fans, so that is another $100 in fans, but 2 of them could be used on 240mm rad down the track. Power button being on the bottom would be somewhat annoying to turn on and off (spine injury). No PSU cover. No rubber grommets for cables so have to maybe make them, unless it looks ok without them. Reservoir mounting wont be easy, pretty sure I'd have to do a tight 90 degree mount off a front fan.

https://www.pccasegear.com/products/35803/be-quiet-dark-base-pro-900-silver

Pros - Cheaper than 909. More conventional lay out so cooling in general would be easier. 3 included decent fans, so would need to buy less extras and a nice fan controller. Quiet, would be very nice as this PC is going to end up in cinema. Looks decent, not amazing, but not bad. Lighter than the others at around 14kg. Comes with Reservoir mount and some LED strips, not sure I'd use them, but nice to have the option. Power button on top. Flippable motherboard tray is interesting, not sure I'd use it, but could make for a more interesting design.

Cons - Looks ok, but not as good. Large cut out areas which let you move the tray up and down means there are large exposed areas which cables will stick out unless I make grommets. The PSU extender thing is........ weird, also still no PSU cover (is it not 2016, are we still animals?).

https://www.pccasegear.com/products/30484/phanteks-enthoo-primo-ultimate-chassis-black-white-edition

Pros - Cheaper again. Best set up possible for water cooling really. Segmented case to hide PSU, water pump, etc. More HDD / SSD bays than you could poke a stick at. 5 included decent fans and fan controller. Fits with the black and white build idea, though maybe black internal would be a better idea to avoid too much white? Built a PC for a friend last week in a Phanteks case and I have to say I was really, really impressed. Million filters and should be pretty silent. Would have enough space internally for all the media storage on earth.

Cons - Not a fan of the look, just looks kind of old now. Heavy........... gonna be way heavy.

Extra case.

https://www.inwin-style.com/en/gaming-chassis/509*Out in August......... could maybe wait.

Pros - Looks good, take 2 x 360mm radiators. Build quality should be good. Something reasonably unique. GPU support brackets are a nice touch.

Cons - Not out yet. I haven't quite worked out the best way to best get air in / out of one. Not sure I've the patience to wait that long.........

Sorry for the long post, cheers for any input.

 

[Blaylock]

For cases, the ones you have listed are all quality cases and they can all house the 360mm radiator. I would recommend also looking at the Enthoo Luxe or Pro as well as the Corsair Obsidian 900D if you like towers. Corsair and ThermalTake have some very attractive cube type cases that are becoming more and more popular.

There is a link in my sig for additional cases that have met the Overclockers approval or other respected sites approval.

I would like to question a few things with this build if you don't mind.

I believe a 1000W PSu is a little overkill. Using Outervisions PSU calculator with a CPU overclock of 4.5Ghz @ 1.4v you're only looking at about 800W's. So an 850W PSU would be more than enough and allow a little headroom to overclock the GPU's even.

Also what will you be using this rig for? Very few systems require 32GBs of Ram. There's nothing wrong with having extra (The same applies with the PSU), but could be a waste of money if it's not utilized.

This looks like a powerhouse system and I hope this helps you out.

 

[Tír na nÓg]

Just a question: why a 980 SLi when you can grab a 1080 that will bring a tiny bit less performance but without the multi GPU's hassle?

 

[Blaylock]

Actually the 1080 is equal to or better than 980 SLI in most benches.

http://www.pcgamer.com/gtx-1080-review/

EDIT: I assumed he already had them.

 

[Greeny]

For cases, the ones you have listed are all quality cases and they can all house the 360mm radiator. I would recommend also looking at the Enthoo Luxe or Pro as well as the Corsair Obsidian 900D if you like towers. Corsair and ThermalTake have some very attractive cube type cases that are becoming more and more popular.

There is a link in my sig for additional cases that have met the Overclockers approval or other respected sites approval.

I would like to question a few things with this build if you don't mind.

I believe a 1000W PSu is a little overkill. Using Outervisions PSU calculator with a CPU overclock of 4.5Ghz @ 1.4v you're only looking at about 800W's. So an 850W PSU would be more than enough and allow a little headroom to overclock the GPU's even.

Also what will you be using this rig for? Very few systems require 32GBs of Ram. There's nothing wrong with having extra (The same applies with the PSU), but could be a waste of money if it's not utilized.

This looks like a powerhouse system and I hope this helps you out.

Cheers, I shall have a look at those cases tomorrow

As to the questions, this is embarrassing to say put the PSU choice was for 2 reasons. It has tidy black cables, vs the cheap looking ones on my current HX850 (which is staying with my 3770k rig), and 2, they had it in stock at my local store for not much more than another 850.

I know I don't need the 32, as this current rig has 32 and I'm pretty sure I've never used over 16....... though I do leave alot of things running at once.

System is powering 6k worth of screen (7680x1600) in games sometimes, but mostly just multi-tasking video stuff / games / browsing on 1 screen each.

As for the SLI question, already got 2 980's. I was thinking of going 1 1080 to save the hassle of SLI, but I wont really gain much. The plan is to look at Titan P or 1080Ti when they come out. Since I know what SLI 980 does in 6k, I can more or less assume 1080 will do roughly the same. It's not enough power to push 60 FPS in 6k, which means SLI 1080's........... and I'd prefer to avoid SLI again if I can. It isn't bad, just annoying enough that I would be happier without it.

 

[Alaric]

For cases, the ones you have listed are all quality cases and they can all house the 360mm radiator. I would recommend also looking at the Enthoo Luxe or Pro as well as the Corsair Obsidian 900D if you like towers.

This is what my finalists were for my build (along with the 750D Corsair) In the end I really wanted a white case so I went with the Enthoo Luxe and I'm very happy with it. Cable management A+, lots of room, allows for a very clean build. Swapping graphics cards is about a 45 second job, it holds a 360 radiator (and then some), and the RGB lighting is a nice touch. All the OP's listed cases are good cases. It seems to come down to preference but if you're on the fence the Phanteks cases are worth a look, IMO.

 

[Blaylock]

That's the one I chose too Alaric. I stuck with the traditional black.

 

[Tír na nÓg]

TBH, if I were you, I'd sell the 2x980's in a couple of month while they are still worth something and grab an EVGA 1080. You You would be most likely on time for an EVGA step up to 1080ti

 

[Greeny]

Amusingly, threw my back out last Wednesday building a PC for a friend in a Luxe case.



I was really impressed, and it's the reason I have the Primo on the list. One amusing thing though, that case in the photo was 'black' on the box, as he ordered a black one....... but he was too impatient to take it back. Not big enough for what I am after, but really impressed.

I did see a video last night of a custom X99 build in an In Win 909 running 3 980Ti's in SLI. Cooling wise it had a 360 in back, a 240 in front, and 2 120mm extra intakes in the bottom. Under full gaming load, cards were sitting around 45C......... which kind of has me sold on it. I cant imagine my set up would ever generate as much heat as this thing would, so in theory, should work well enough.



Biggest selling point on it is the finish, my plan on the new desk is to have it to the right of my screens, and my receiver on the left, match perfectly.



Reason for needing the new desk......... Dell screen stands overhang this one by about 2" on each side

Only concerns I really have for it now is while it lives on the ground, it is going to be a pain in the *** to turn on. Also, going to have to be anal about cables on the back since it's visible through the rear panel.

Selling my 980's and buying a 1080 - I'd like to, but I'd be able to sell my cards for about $400 each. Then $1250 for a 1080, so $450 out of pocket, and not much of a gain. My plan is to just wait it out and then try and resist Titan P long enough for 1080Ti to come out.