Yet another "which should I buy" thread I've spent DAYS researching, but there are just so many, and its been so long since I've purchased a case.
Probably 8 years ago I bought my last case - and it has been more than sufficient through 4 or 5 builds... until my systems were stolen a couple of months ago. Insurance has been sorted out, so its time for me to go shopping.
My last case was an Antec Sonata (original) and I (mostly) loved it! So my list of criteria below are heavily influenced by what I liked and what I didn't.
Budget: All else being equal, cheaper is better. However, I'm looking to spend anywhere from $150 to $350. Over that is possible, but it would have to be realistically justified. I would like my case to be a constant through the next 8+ years and 5+ builds, so I'm not averse to investing appropriately.
External Size: I have no exterior physical size requirements - I can make anything work.
Interior Size: The Sonata was a good size but I probably wouldn't want to go much smaller. ATX is obviously a must. E-ATX is a plus, but not a requirement. One of the mobo's I'm considering is an E-ATX technically, although I've read it will fit in, for example, the Corsair 650D (which is ATX only) so I'm not that concerned about it. Plus, its unlikely that will be the mobo I get anyway. I want to have no concerns about video cards or CPU coolers not fitting.
Cooling: Must have very good air cooling performance. I'm more about cooling by good design than cooling by adding more fans. I'm not an extreme overclocker and I don't run my systems hard or 24/7.
Quiet: The reason I went with the Sonata is it was, at the time, the "king of quiet". I hate hearing my PC and I spend a lot of time and attention working out offending sounds. So bigger/slower fans vs a ton of little ones. Good flow design. Quality construction. Etc.
Cable Management: One thing I did NOT like about the Sonata was that there was no where for cables to go. I see a lot of new designs have grommets for sending cables out the side and I think that's a great idea.
Drive Bay Design: I really liked the removable drive bays, but the design was lacking as they were very difficult to get in without having problems with the cables. I don't know of a better design really, but I don't want to fight with the drive bays. Not that I'm constantly in and out... but it was a pain whenever I had to add or change a drive.
Tool-less Design: NOT a requirement... but I do value it somewhat. The fewer times I have to go find a screwdriver, the better. However, that's only if it doesn't compromise the quality. In other words, I'd rather deal with screws than deal with a drive suddenly vibrating itself loose and falling to the case floor.
Front Panel: None of these are requirements... but I'd appreciate front-panel USB (3.0 in particular), audio, and eSata (or a SATA dock). These are just things I think are nice.
Availability: It needs to be available at either Newegg's or NCIX's Canadian sites. Preferably the latter because I get free shipping and (usually) additional discounts.
Looks: At the very bottom of my list is looks. And its the bottom for a reason - I couldn't care less what it looks like. Hot pink with fuzzy feet for all I care. So the only reason I'm putting it here at all is to enforce that I do NOT want to PAY for looks. If it looks good, that's a bonus - but I assign no value to it.
Cases I am currently gravitating toward (but this is by no means a restrictive list):
Corsair 650D (it seems to have what I want but gets mixed reviews)
Corsair 800D (although its expensive and I don't need hot-swappable bays)
Antec P183 V3 (Puget Systems' silent system uses it)
Raven RV03 (I know I said looks don't matter - but what were they thinking with those gold stripes???)
NZXT Phantom (only because it ranked #1 on this huge test freaks list - does that mean anything?)
Simple recap... in order of most to least important:
Functional/space --> Quiet --> Design/quality --> Cool --> Features --> Cost --> Looks.
I'd also appreciate recommendations on good quiet fans.
Thanks so much for any help!
- Steven
Probably 8 years ago I bought my last case - and it has been more than sufficient through 4 or 5 builds... until my systems were stolen a couple of months ago. Insurance has been sorted out, so its time for me to go shopping.
My last case was an Antec Sonata (original) and I (mostly) loved it! So my list of criteria below are heavily influenced by what I liked and what I didn't.
Budget: All else being equal, cheaper is better. However, I'm looking to spend anywhere from $150 to $350. Over that is possible, but it would have to be realistically justified. I would like my case to be a constant through the next 8+ years and 5+ builds, so I'm not averse to investing appropriately.
External Size: I have no exterior physical size requirements - I can make anything work.
Interior Size: The Sonata was a good size but I probably wouldn't want to go much smaller. ATX is obviously a must. E-ATX is a plus, but not a requirement. One of the mobo's I'm considering is an E-ATX technically, although I've read it will fit in, for example, the Corsair 650D (which is ATX only) so I'm not that concerned about it. Plus, its unlikely that will be the mobo I get anyway. I want to have no concerns about video cards or CPU coolers not fitting.
Cooling: Must have very good air cooling performance. I'm more about cooling by good design than cooling by adding more fans. I'm not an extreme overclocker and I don't run my systems hard or 24/7.
Quiet: The reason I went with the Sonata is it was, at the time, the "king of quiet". I hate hearing my PC and I spend a lot of time and attention working out offending sounds. So bigger/slower fans vs a ton of little ones. Good flow design. Quality construction. Etc.
Cable Management: One thing I did NOT like about the Sonata was that there was no where for cables to go. I see a lot of new designs have grommets for sending cables out the side and I think that's a great idea.
Drive Bay Design: I really liked the removable drive bays, but the design was lacking as they were very difficult to get in without having problems with the cables. I don't know of a better design really, but I don't want to fight with the drive bays. Not that I'm constantly in and out... but it was a pain whenever I had to add or change a drive.
Tool-less Design: NOT a requirement... but I do value it somewhat. The fewer times I have to go find a screwdriver, the better. However, that's only if it doesn't compromise the quality. In other words, I'd rather deal with screws than deal with a drive suddenly vibrating itself loose and falling to the case floor.
Front Panel: None of these are requirements... but I'd appreciate front-panel USB (3.0 in particular), audio, and eSata (or a SATA dock). These are just things I think are nice.
Availability: It needs to be available at either Newegg's or NCIX's Canadian sites. Preferably the latter because I get free shipping and (usually) additional discounts.
Looks: At the very bottom of my list is looks. And its the bottom for a reason - I couldn't care less what it looks like. Hot pink with fuzzy feet for all I care. So the only reason I'm putting it here at all is to enforce that I do NOT want to PAY for looks. If it looks good, that's a bonus - but I assign no value to it.
Cases I am currently gravitating toward (but this is by no means a restrictive list):
Corsair 650D (it seems to have what I want but gets mixed reviews)
Corsair 800D (although its expensive and I don't need hot-swappable bays)
Antec P183 V3 (Puget Systems' silent system uses it)
Raven RV03 (I know I said looks don't matter - but what were they thinking with those gold stripes???)
NZXT Phantom (only because it ranked #1 on this huge test freaks list - does that mean anything?)
Simple recap... in order of most to least important:
Functional/space --> Quiet --> Design/quality --> Cool --> Features --> Cost --> Looks.
I'd also appreciate recommendations on good quiet fans.
Thanks so much for any help!
- Steven