Torn between NZXT 820 and Corsair 800D

Sammaye

Sammaye

Sammaye

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Joined
25 Apr 2013
Posts
7
hi all,

So I am looking at renewing my PC and the first thing I wanna do is get rid of my Zalman GS1000 Plus piece of very hot poop.

I have been looking into a case with the capacity to water cool in the future, aka after I have built my new PC.

And this is where I am stuck, so many people say the Corsair 800D has terrible air cooling abilities, but some (few) say it is just as good as any other case if you set up the fans right.

I prefer the looks of the Corsair 800D with its simple design and none of that plastic stuff around it and the glittery LEDs, unlike the NZXT, but I am worried it isn't the case for me due to my need for air cooling.

I will intend to run a Corsair pre-built WC CPU cooler: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-015-CS with most likely SLI Nvidia, maybe two titans.

I am wondering if anyone can help me out with their views on how the Corsair would fair in air cooling?

Thanks y'all!
 
Hello and welcome!

You could look into some slightly smaller (and cheaper) cases such as the 650D/600t. They're much more suited to air cooling for the time being.

Both of these will happily run Corsair coolers in the top! (And support future WC builds).
 
Thanks :)

Yea I thought about going smaller as well but my current set-up is a E-ATX and I do really want to keep it that way with getting a straight replacement of my current ASUS Rampage 3 Extreme :)

So I like my builds....big :P
 
I must admit I didn't look at the CM Storm, I originally looked at the plastic and saw that the NZXT was more feature rich but after looking at the video is does seem like a good case.

There is one thing that made me laugh though was the draw at the bottom to keep preying eyes away, not really gonna help now that everyone knows its there lol.

But yeah, that is a nice case, hmmmz, it seems a little less plastic than the NZXT too.
 
Forget the 800D, get the 900D.

If you want a good looking air-cooling case for SLI, look at the Silverstone FT02. Although some have done some very impressive W.C. in a FT02, it's a lot of work.

Uh2LxXv.jpg
 
The only problem with the 900D is that I know it will probably match, if not exceed, the Cosmos 2. Unfortunately the reason why I am not considering the Cosmos 2 is because it is just too large; the space for my computer is just too small for something that big :(

The Silverstone looks good too, that pic is pretty pornographic :)
 
Yeah, I heard other Corsairs were good with air cooling and I notice you got a Corsair 300R, do you have experience with the 800D (which people seem to less than happy about its air cooling)?
 
Go for the 900d its the last case you will have to buy for years with its support and who cares in the stuff looks small inside you will be safe in the knowledge you can upgrade at any time without thinking oh can may case do this.
 
The 800D has terrible air flow, and you shouldn't get it if you are looking for air flow. Although, if you had a full WCing loop it would be a decent choice (360mm rad at the top, 240rad at the bottom with modification.)
 
CM storm trooper is pretty poor for watercooling tbh, out the box you can only fit 2x240 and a 120/40 rad in the rear

the phantom 820 supports a lot more and has better cooling options than the storm trooper
 
Decided to go with the NZXT Phantom in the end, taking the plunge.

It is a nice case but there are some major stuff I found:

- The cutting next to the fan controller is raised above the rest, this means that you get a sharp edge there, most likely faulty cut
- The right side panel which holds all the wires would not go back fully on once taking it off, no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get it to go on, ended up scratching the bottom of the side of the case trying. I would also note that I had no put any components into the case, this was on the standard way it came.

I am going to talk to overclockers tomorrow and see if I can try a replacement, hopefully this was just a bad copy and a replacement might fix my problems; hopefully :P.

If not I am back to the beginning :(

As a further edit, the paint on the case is extremely lacking, even tapping it once with a screw driver missing the screws on the back can scratch it
 
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I definitely wouldn't get an 800D for air cooling.

Honestly I don't feel the need for anything more than my Arc Midi when it comes to air cooling. Full towers only really start to appeal when you're building a custom loop.
 
I am getting closer to eyeing up that 900D, I even tried to see if I could fit a Cosmos 2 in my room with some re-arranging, which I actually could (just).

Seems like the 900D could be good for starting with air cooling, with those 3 fans in the front and then moving onto water cooling loops with the top and bottom rad space.

Of course a 900D is actually smaller than a Cosmos 2 so if I can fit a Cosmos 2 into my room then a 900D definitely will go in :P.

I gave up on the NZXT, too bad really, I use quite a bit of their stuff and they are reputable in my opinion as making good quality items normally but there are even more flaws with this case once I looked around at replacing fans :\ basically NZXT has made it so that the case comes with only one 140mm fan, which is the only one replaceable by an after market fan. The other 200mms have to have a NZXT compatible fan...basically a NZXT fan. Saw this while browsing some forums that people couldn't fit their after market fans.

So I have decided to keep away from the NZXT now. I do not want to be locked into relying on a manufacturer to supply my exact part for years to come, especially when it is something as lowly as a fan.

So yeah, my bets have shifted to the Corsair now.

I need a full tower case really because, for one my build won't fit in a midi case. I got an ASUS Rampage Mobo etc (which I wanna keep), you should have seen what happened when I tried to put my Asus Rampage 3 Extreme into a Antec 1200, and especially when I tried to put my brand new, only 2 days out on market, HD5970 into it. Never again...lol, full tower all the way for me. Also I am intending to do water cooling, I just want a case that can do air cooling for maybe like 8 months while I put everything together.
 
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