Been thinking long and hard about upgrading my open air chassis to an enclosed ATX capable case that gives relative performance and with sound proofing/dust protection.
I wanted :
Free flowing front to top
Fan filters bottom top and front
Caddy less or removable drive caddy setup
One or two 5.25 ODD
Spacious interior
Good cable management
Fan control
Sound dampening (optional)
Side window (optional)
I've had multiple convenience features I wanted covered and managed to narrow it down to several chassis, mainly from Phanteks, NZXT and Fractal. Below is my first hand and second hand observation of two popular Phanteks models, which I had pitted in a stand-off with one another until I broke down the costs. Read along and let me know if you agree and / or were in the same decision making situation.
Initially the Pro M from Phanteks looks a stunning deal in the market place, coming in at under sixty quid - being a Spartan version of the great Evolv ATX model. However further inspection shows that it's not actually a cost effective option if you're still air cooling and to some degree, even if liquid cooling.
Below costs are rough numbers, based around different suppliers.
Note
Pro M
Case £53(includes window)
1x SSD bracket £5 (Pro M comes with one)
1x 3.5" bracket £5 (Pro M comes with none / has only two basement drive slots)
PWM fan hub £13 (Pro M does not have one)
4x fans £30 (Pro M has one rear exhaust)
Dampening kit OCUK £30
Shipping £10
£115 / £145 with DIY dampening
Pro
Case £79/£89 with window £82/92(pre built dampening without or with window)
4x Fans £30 (Pro comes with single 200mm in front, which we'd replace, meaning it's as if it never existed to begin with).
Shipping £10
£119 / £129 with optional window
£121 / £131 with pre built dampening and optional window
Clearly, the value for money here is with the Pro case. To put it into perspective more..
The Pro comes with the fan controller already installed on the back of the case. It has hard drive mounting INCLUDED (as dual removable trays) out of the box for six 3.5 / six 2.5" drives. It also has three ODD 5.25 slots. And of course the single 2.5" mobile mount adapter.
The Pro M can support that many drives and more, however comes standard with only the basement caddy, for two 3.5 /2.5" drives. It also has no fan controller hub, less ODD 5.25 slots and a lower build quality.
In respect to the Pro M, what does the Pro M offer over the Pro?
For me, and I suspect some others, these things are not crucial and may not be enough to turn a blind eye to costs or loss of value.
What niggles do I see with the Pro(not specifically in contrast to the Pro M).
I am not aware - and forgive me if I missed any Black Friday deals - that the Phanteks Enthoo cases are on sale (to a significant degree) and therefore am of the belief that these prices are the normal full time costs.
If so, I cannot (what originally seemed a great idea) justify spending the money for the Pro M vs the Pro. The Pro gives more flexibility, options, features and convenience for roughly the same price (£115 Pro M vs £119/129 Pro).
Combined with the OCUK pre installed dampening kit, and window (if you so desire), you're still getting more for your money (£145 Pro M vs £131 Pro).
In some ways I feel I am back where I started. Here is a short list of chassis I came across and the issues I saw(I appreciate I can use a fan hub like the Phanteks one I listed above for thirteen quid, though that's partially besides the point):
Phanteks Primo - too tall and unrealistic for standard air cooling build.
Phanteks Luxe - silly price for what is a bling Phanteks Pro
Phanteks Evolv ATX - costly, when you consider that it is more or less a Pro M, but with some strong materials and different shaped front. While it does include the extra 2.5" and 3.5" adapter, that seems almost as an insult given the cost and that performance wise, that the Pro M has better cooling out of the box thanks to the top exhaust grill.
Corsair Carbide Air 540 - no fan controller hub, no cable management, no sound dampening (exacerbated by all the grated openings front and top).
Corsair 750D - no fan controller hub, no cable straps, has no front grill(requires buying separate front piece).
Cooler Master MasterCase Pro 5 - no fan controller hub, no cable tie anchor points, no sound dampening.
NZXT H440/450/Phantom 5xxx - Tight cable management due to thick sound dampening material, limited front and top air flow, no cable straps(only tie anchors).
Fractal Design S/R5/XL - no fan controller hub, not enough air flow at front and top(with moduvent installed). No top side air filters.
I wanted :
Free flowing front to top
Fan filters bottom top and front
Caddy less or removable drive caddy setup
One or two 5.25 ODD
Spacious interior
Good cable management
Fan control
Sound dampening (optional)
Side window (optional)
I've had multiple convenience features I wanted covered and managed to narrow it down to several chassis, mainly from Phanteks, NZXT and Fractal. Below is my first hand and second hand observation of two popular Phanteks models, which I had pitted in a stand-off with one another until I broke down the costs. Read along and let me know if you agree and / or were in the same decision making situation.
Initially the Pro M from Phanteks looks a stunning deal in the market place, coming in at under sixty quid - being a Spartan version of the great Evolv ATX model. However further inspection shows that it's not actually a cost effective option if you're still air cooling and to some degree, even if liquid cooling.
Below costs are rough numbers, based around different suppliers.
Note
- For any fans, we're assuming 140mm and at least four fans, two for front intake and two to match for top exhaust. I like to have one more exhaust fan than intake, so two in three out(these cases come with one rear exhaust) would be ideal. Let's say roughly £5-10 per fan.
- Shipping at £10 seems average
- I speak for myself though am not alone I imagine that we have at least two SSD in the system, and two if not three HDD
Pro M
Case £53(includes window)
1x SSD bracket £5 (Pro M comes with one)
1x 3.5" bracket £5 (Pro M comes with none / has only two basement drive slots)
PWM fan hub £13 (Pro M does not have one)
4x fans £30 (Pro M has one rear exhaust)
Dampening kit OCUK £30
Shipping £10
£115 / £145 with DIY dampening
Pro
Case £79/£89 with window £82/92(pre built dampening without or with window)
4x Fans £30 (Pro comes with single 200mm in front, which we'd replace, meaning it's as if it never existed to begin with).
Shipping £10
£119 / £129 with optional window
£121 / £131 with pre built dampening and optional window
Clearly, the value for money here is with the Pro case. To put it into perspective more..
The Pro comes with the fan controller already installed on the back of the case. It has hard drive mounting INCLUDED (as dual removable trays) out of the box for six 3.5 / six 2.5" drives. It also has three ODD 5.25 slots. And of course the single 2.5" mobile mount adapter.
The Pro M can support that many drives and more, however comes standard with only the basement caddy, for two 3.5 /2.5" drives. It also has no fan controller hub, less ODD 5.25 slots and a lower build quality.
In respect to the Pro M, what does the Pro M offer over the Pro?
- If you absolutely dig the interior design of the Evolv ATX series, then the Pro M is identical.
- It has no hard drive caddy support frame, allowing that entire space to open(how much that affects air flow vs the Pro with the HDD caddy removed, I do not know - not a lot I suspect).
- Uses a different HDD installation, where you mount drives in a single fashion as opposed to three at a time(again, may help reduce some air flow resistance, though not much).
- The cover over the PSU is grated, instead of completely solid (I am not sure if this is good or bad actually. I thought the air rising from the PSU would then end up on your GPU. However it is this way in the Evolv which is one of their newer chassis, suggesting they did it on purpose..)
- The front fan shroud is taller, potentially allowing more intake of air.
For me, and I suspect some others, these things are not crucial and may not be enough to turn a blind eye to costs or loss of value.
What niggles do I see with the Pro(not specifically in contrast to the Pro M).
- Still requires additional fans
- Will need another 2.5" mounting bracket if you do not want to shove your additional SSDs into the standard drive caddy(ies).
- The top to bottom reinforcement brace, can block some of the front intake flow.
I am not aware - and forgive me if I missed any Black Friday deals - that the Phanteks Enthoo cases are on sale (to a significant degree) and therefore am of the belief that these prices are the normal full time costs.
If so, I cannot (what originally seemed a great idea) justify spending the money for the Pro M vs the Pro. The Pro gives more flexibility, options, features and convenience for roughly the same price (£115 Pro M vs £119/129 Pro).
Combined with the OCUK pre installed dampening kit, and window (if you so desire), you're still getting more for your money (£145 Pro M vs £131 Pro).
In some ways I feel I am back where I started. Here is a short list of chassis I came across and the issues I saw(I appreciate I can use a fan hub like the Phanteks one I listed above for thirteen quid, though that's partially besides the point):
Phanteks Primo - too tall and unrealistic for standard air cooling build.
Phanteks Luxe - silly price for what is a bling Phanteks Pro
Phanteks Evolv ATX - costly, when you consider that it is more or less a Pro M, but with some strong materials and different shaped front. While it does include the extra 2.5" and 3.5" adapter, that seems almost as an insult given the cost and that performance wise, that the Pro M has better cooling out of the box thanks to the top exhaust grill.
Corsair Carbide Air 540 - no fan controller hub, no cable management, no sound dampening (exacerbated by all the grated openings front and top).
Corsair 750D - no fan controller hub, no cable straps, has no front grill(requires buying separate front piece).
Cooler Master MasterCase Pro 5 - no fan controller hub, no cable tie anchor points, no sound dampening.
NZXT H440/450/Phantom 5xxx - Tight cable management due to thick sound dampening material, limited front and top air flow, no cable straps(only tie anchors).
Fractal Design S/R5/XL - no fan controller hub, not enough air flow at front and top(with moduvent installed). No top side air filters.
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