Case recommendations

[ps2cho]

So I recently bought the Corsair 175R, but I’m really not that happy with it. My H100i doesn’t really fit because the fans hit my RAM heatsinks, and airflow is not great.

I need something that can provide my Vega 64 reference design blower card cool air because right now it’s running too hot.
-it’s hitting 85C at 1000mv and 1550MHz..so it’s due to poor air flow not the voltage. It drops 15C if I remove case cover so I know it’s airflow.

Can someone recommend a good airflow case? Here’s my needs list:

-must support 240mm AIO up top with fans without hitting RAM slots, so needs some space.
-Good front airflow for 3x120mm or 2x140mm
-Glass side panel
-not an obnoxious design. Something clean and simple.
-$150 budget.
-Mid ATX is possible.
-Not a “square case”, traditional shape to fit on my desk.

 

[Blaylock]

Have you considered the Fractal Designs S2 series? They have several levels of obnoxious from not at all in the Blackout version all the way up to completely obnoxious in the Vision RGB.

S2 Blackout


S2 Vision RGB


There is also a link in my sig of OCF recommended cases if you want more ideas. (I know many images are broken. Thank Earthdog for me).

 

[freeagent]

I like the S2 blackout. Right now I have a Meshify C that I replaced my old R4 with. Best flowing case I have used so far. Takes big air coolers no problem, lots of room for aio. And it fits on your desk

 

[trents]

It's "square".

 

[freeagent]

More of a “rectangle”, but so is the S2.

 

[ps2cho]

It's "square".

When I mean square I mean like the Corsair Air series where it’s a cube. Should have said cube not square!

I like the look of the S2. I’ll see if I can look up some builds and check AIO cooler placement.

 

[trents]

When I mean square I mean like the Corsair Air series where it’s a cube. Should have said cube not square!

I like the look of the S2. I’ll see if I can look up some builds and check AIO cooler placement.

Oh, I thought you were looking for something like this:

 

[Bustos]

 

[ehume]

Before you go to the expense of buying a new case, consider cutting out the "grill" from the back of your case. Bind the cut edges with Gorilla Tape. I have done this with most of my cases since 2010 -- the only exceptios have been two aluminum Lian Li cases which have no rear grills. Rear "grill" are really steel walls perforated with holes. They do a remarkably good job at holding air in.

The other thing to do before you spend money on a case is to remove any slot covers you have, even perforated ones.

 

[ps2cho]

Before you go to the expense of buying a new case, consider cutting out the "grill" from the back of your case. Bind the cut edges with Gorilla Tape. I have done this with most of my cases since 2010 -- the only exceptios have been two aluminum Lian Li cases which have no rear grills. Rear "grill" are really steel walls perforated with holes. They do a remarkably good job at holding air in.

The other thing to do before you spend money on a case is to remove any slot covers you have, even perforated ones.

Was considering that as well.

Is there an existence of some sort of PCI slot cooler that will draw air from the PCI slots and push it towards the graphics cards?

Basically an intake blower at the PCI slots?

 

[ehume]

Was considering that as well.

Is there an existence of some sort of PCI slot cooler that will draw air from the PCI slots and push it towards the graphics cards?

Basically an intake blower at the PCI slots?

There were, but they were noisy. I don't know if they are still being made.

 

[Blaylock]

Any good case will provide airflow to your GPU via the lowest front intake fan or from a bottom intake fan.

 

[Zerileous]

More cases tested than you can shake a stick at: https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/3464-cooler-master-nr600-case-review-very-competitive-case and https://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/3477-case-fan-standardization-tests-noise-normalized-thermals. You can search for the specific reviews if you see one that attracts your attention on the charts.

 

[Brando]

a fractal define r5 with a side door fan and the front door removed is the closest ive gotten to perfection in a case and ive had a decent amount of cases. having 4 140mm fans as intake without obstruction (as little as possible) seems to be the sweet spot for temps for me. i run them at about 700-1200 rpm depending on load. very quiet at idle and great cooling when they spin up during games etc. i know it doesnt meet all your criteria but i dont think glass side panels and good looks are compatible with high airflow.

 

[ehume]

a fractal define r5 with a side door fan and the front door removed is the closest ive gotten to perfection in a case and ive had a decent amount of cases. having 4 140mm fans as intake without obstruction (as little as possible) seems to be the sweet spot for temps for me. i run them at about 700-1200 rpm depending on load. very quiet at idle and great cooling when they spin up during games etc. i know it doesnt meet all your criteria but i dont think glass side panels and good looks are compatible with high airflow.

I concur with you views on the R5 (reviewed here), as I have one sitting next to me. The Define R6 is quite similar, if you don't absolutely need a built-in 5.25" device. I run a 4770 at 4.3GHz, but I have only two front-mounted Noctua NF-A14 ULN fans for intake. They run about 750 RPM, so they are very quiet. I can't imagine your four intakes are much louder.

Edit: Since I actually use this case, I guess you might say I recommend it.

 

[yoadknux]

I recently bought a Cooler Master H500P Mesh and although I haven't had it for more than a few days, it seems pretty solid. It fits a 140mm rear push-pull and 240mm top push-pull pretty easily, the ram clearance seems big. Airflow wise it's also a great case, previously I had a Thermaltake Element S with front panel removed (2x120 intake) and an unfiltered side fan (200mm), and from stress testing the GPU, at max RPM temps are only 2c higher and at moderate RPM temps are actually 2c lower. Having a hybrid glass-mesh case match the temperatures of a fully meshed case with a side panel is insane

 

[freeagent]

Ive got a meshify c, probably the best case I’ve used for airflow. I’ve got it setup for four in two out.. it’s frikin awesome. Cheap too.