Recommendation for budget mid-tower case

[bww794]

Does anyone have any recommendations for the best, in their opinion, budget mid-tower case (sub $100). I don't have that much experience with the various case manufacturers. For a while I used TT (Level10 GT & Core V71) but a mfg defect on the V71 concerning the hi/lo chassis fan buttons kinda put a sour taste in my mouth. After that I scooped up the massive EVGA DG-87, which is ok - nothing wrong with it - but both that case and TT are a bit too much plastic. My current case is the Phanteks Evolv X which I absolutely fell in love with. It is the definition of no expense spared so it got me thinking that some of the finer touches (like gold contacts for the front of the case instead of having to unplug the front I/O) might extend to their budget options and I was looking at the P350X. I want to make sure I'm not developing a blind allegiance though, so I wanna hear what y'all think.

I am gathering up all the loose parts around my office and want to throw them into a case. The only REAL requirement is top notch airflow. It's gonna have an air-cooled FX-9590 so... yeah. Goes without saying that its gonna need to be wide enough to accommodate something like a Dark Rock Pro 4, Cryorig R1 or a Noctua NH-D15. Other than that, tempered class would be nice, but I'm open to suggestions from some of you who have more experience.

 

[Blaylock]

Phanteks is at the top of my list for value to quality. I've also seen very good quality out of Cooler Master, Antec, and surprisingly Rosewill (though might be more plastic than you prefer).

There is a list of recommended cases linked in my signature at the bottom of this post. I've been working on this for many years but it is far from complete as new cases come out seemingly monthly.

If something peaks your interest feel free to ask.

 

[Alaric]

Blay beat me to it. Had my link copied and ready to paste. LOL
I second the Phanteks vote. There are other good cases, but my experience building in a Phanteks along with their readily available accessories (lighting, etc.) and excellent customer service make me a fan. Speaking of which, their fans are nice and quiet, too.

 

[bww794]

Opinions on the NZXT H700? all black case, black Mobo, cryorig R1 ultimate, and black shroud on arctic Accelero Xtreme III would look pretty sweet. Supposedly it and it's smaller variant, the H500, breathe well... Better than my Evolv X when stock according to some sources.

 

[Blaylock]

Airflow in the H700 should be OK to good depending on the mesh at the front and top. That seems to be where a restriction would be if there was one. I haven't built in this case so I'm just going off the eye ball test. The H500 looks like it would have less airflow.

 

[Kenrou]

There is a list of recommended cases linked in my signature at the bottom of this post. I've been working on this for many years but it is far from complete as new cases come out seemingly monthly.

There's a disturbing lack of Fractal cases in that list

 

[Alaric]

The only NZXT case I've built in was a Phantom 400. Not too bad, but crap support for water cooling and not much room out back for cable management. The h700 doesn't look bad, and there is some designed in support for water. I prefer grommets to their "cover it with a color matched accent" approach but that's a preference, not a design flaw. Considering how some mobo manufacturers like to play "Where do we put the USB 3.0 header this time?", NZXT's approach could pay some nice dividends for cable management.

 

[bww794]

Yeah, unfortunately on this board, the usb3.0 header is perpendicular to the the board. I would have preferred it be parallel like the sata ports just because the usb3.0 cables are too thick to bend into a 90 like that.

 

[Alaric]

Perfect example. LOL

 

[Blaylock]

There's a disturbing lack of Fractal cases in that list

I have asked for requests. Is there a Fractal case that you have experience with that I should add?