A £50 Case - Decisions.

rhysduck · 25 Oct 2009 at 17:52

Evening...
I'm in the middle of speccing up a new gaming rig... Now I need to sort out a case..

Priorities: SPACE & COOLING.

Space; Needs to accomodate a high end GPU and 1 of the following;
1. Corsair H50-1
2. Prolimatech Megahalems Performance CPU Cooler

Cooling; Additional fans for the best cooling possible and good air flow.

I won't be spending mega bucks on 100+ fans in the case to bring it to sub zero's temps.. Just enough to keep it healthy.

I'm fancying the CM690 but that's a little over the £50 I'd like to spend.... Possibility though.

So what can you recommend for around the £50 mark with the above criteria?
Also, is a psu at the bottom of the case going to interfere with any of the above 2 cooling solutions?

Many Thanks, Rhys

MonkeykingZX · 25 Oct 2009 at 18:23

I've got a cm-690

managed to fit the titan fenrir cooler in it (not sure how much bigger the Megahalems is)

and i've got a hd4890 with a lot of room to spare

My oc'd i7 reaches 50 c max under load, except for in gta4 where it hits 60 but I've got 2 free fan bays so i could probably improve cooling a bit.

alex24 · 25 Oct 2009 at 18:26

You'll have to spend more than £50 on a case for it to accomodate high end gaming gear, especially if you want the cooling to be half decent. I learnt this the hard way. Try adding another £30 or so onto your budget and you can get some nice lian li cases that would do the job, or antec. You could also look at the new fractal design cases put onto the ocuk recently.

C64 · 25 Oct 2009 at 18:59

Antec 300 is probably the best case you are going to get for £50 or just under.

PermaBanned · 25 Oct 2009 at 19:56

NZXT M59? Lexa S? Sunbeam Silent Storm? Trio? Asus TA-M11? Tuniq Symmetry? Something from xClio?

OpenToSuggestions · 25 Oct 2009 at 19:58

C64 said:
Antec 300 is probably the best case you are going to get for £50 or just under.

I have one and it is very good for the price.
Isn't going to set any new standards but at this price most cases are some cheap tat with fancy blue LEDs on

GJS1 · 25 Oct 2009 at 20:41

The Xclio a380?

cook001 · 25 Oct 2009 at 22:44

How about one of these

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-004-LN&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=1447

Lancool k-58 just £9 over budget but well worth it

Pictures don't do the lancool case's justice.I have a k-62 and it's a very well made case lots of cool features.

dtokez · 25 Oct 2009 at 23:42

i have a coolermaster elite 330 which came with a eXtreme power psu that i got for about £60. not a bad case and you can get it cheaper without the psu

rhysduck · 26 Oct 2009 at 02:55

Cheers guys!!
Having looked at all of the suggestions, there's a lot to choose from.

I'm swaying towards;
NZXT M59 @ just under £50.
CM690 @ just over £60
or
Sunbeam Silent Storm @ £35

I think I may be swaying towards the NZXT M59 due to it's integrated cable management and its funky looks...

Would there be any problem with the larger GPU's that anyone knows about?

Cheers guys! Rhys

rhysduck · 29 Oct 2009 at 19:54

If no-one can advise me against the NZXT M59 I can order 1

Seems to have decent expansion for more fans....

alex24 · 29 Oct 2009 at 19:58

rhysduck said:
Cheers guys!!
Having looked at all of the suggestions, there's a lot to choose from.

I'm swaying towards;
NZXT M59 @ just under £50.
CM690 @ just over £60
or
Sunbeam Silent Storm @ £35

I think I may be swaying towards the NZXT M59 due to it's integrated cable management and its funky looks...

Would there be any problem with the larger GPU's that anyone knows about?

Cheers guys! Rhys

Take out the competitor links chap before you get a holiday.

I'd go for the CM690, it's smart and fairly well built, plus the least likely to get annoying in a few years time.

rhysduck · 29 Oct 2009 at 20:01

alexhull24 said:
Take out the competitor links chap before you get a holiday.

It's already been done?

I'd go for the CM690, it's smart and fairly well built, plus the least likely to get annoying in a few years time.

Only trouble the Cm690 isnt around £50...
Anything wrong with the M59 then? :confused:

alex24 · 29 Oct 2009 at 20:02

rhysduck said:
It's already been done?

Cool, sorry!

Only trouble the Cm690 isnt around £50...
Anything wrong with the M59 then?

Well, to me, it's horrendously ugly. That's the main problem. I also don't rate NZXT build quality as highly as CM, but I'm sure there's not much difference at this price point.

rhysduck · 29 Oct 2009 at 20:07

alexhull24 said:
Well, to me, it's horrendously ugly. That's the main problem. I also don't rate NZXT build quality as highly as CM, but I'm sure there's not much difference at this price point.

Lol... Do you know if there is a window available for the CM690?
I do agree, the CM690 does look better quality, probably because of its extra £20price tag... Oh I don't know