Recommend me a Great Airflow Case for Full size ATX motherboard

ShiWarrior · 4 Mar 2020 at 19:57

In the market for a new case this year

what do i go for ?

Full tower I normally buy

looking in another thread, i got my eye on a midi tower case "fractal Meshify C"

Dont care about RGB lighting etc
i just want it to perform in air cooling and low noise

Happy to spend more money if its worth it if there is something better

the only concerns i have is the length of my new GPU, Red Devil 5700 XT and my Heat sink over my CPU are both very long !

RussD · 4 Mar 2020 at 23:25

I got a Zalman Z9 and very happy with it.

Disco_P · 6 Mar 2020 at 15:38

Phanteks P600S or Lian Li PC O11 Dynamic if your CPU cooler fits (you'll need fans for it too)

ShiWarrior · 6 Mar 2020 at 16:47

Disco_P said:
Phanteks P600S or Lian Li PC O11 Dynamic if your CPU cooler fits (you'll need fans for it too)

im liking both of these
looks like the Lian Li Case is more oriented to water cooling setup, which i dont need at this time, it is odd not seeing any fans at the front

Disco_P · 7 Mar 2020 at 15:03

ShiWarrior said:
im liking both of these
looks like the Lian Li Case is more oriented to water cooling setup, which i dont need at this time, it is odd not seeing any fans at the front

It's great for both water and air. Not sure why they pushed the water side so much as it can be off putting.

EsaT · 7 Mar 2020 at 17:14

ShiWarrior said:
i just want it to perform in air cooling and low noise

Of course absolutely best airflow is in cases with lots of open holes.
But to keep noise low those need nothing creating noise in the first place, because those holes leak all noise out unmuffled.

Indirect noise escape paths add some airflow impedance, but with solid case construction/mass damped panels also muffle noises of components.
Fractal Design Define serie is such.

Disco_P said:
It's great for both water and air. Not sure why they pushed the water side so much as it can be off putting.

Hard to call case design good for air cooling when it has such limited room for CPU coolers despite of immense width.
Though at least it's just big enough for Scythe Mugen 5.

ShiWarrior · 7 Mar 2020 at 17:16

EsaT said:
Of course absolutely best airflow is in cases with lots of open holes.
But to keep noise low those need nothing creating noise in the first place, because those holes leak all noise out unmuffled.

Indirect noise escape paths add some airflow impedance, but with solid case construction/mass damped panels also muffle noises of components.
Fractal Design Define serie is such.

Hard to call case design good for air cooling when it has such limited room for CPU coolers despite of immense width.
Though at least it's just big enough for Scythe Mugen 5.

ok thanks
what would you recommend to me ?

EsaT · 7 Mar 2020 at 17:56

Lots of open holes "cheese grater/magpie's nest" case are easy for maximizing airflow.
But problem is that if any fan has some inherent noise besides smooth broadband noise you'll hear it.
Same if CPU or GPU cooler has such noise characteristics.
Also you need to keep RPMs tightly controlled to keep general noise level from rising.
Assuming your signature is up to date that noise leaking should be familiar.

Case without direct noise escape paths towards user has some inherent airflow impedances, but muffles and smooths all noises.
Which also allows higher fan speeds than in leaky case for same perceived noise level.
Of course for maximizing cooling per noise good fans are needed similarly, but it's not as critical.

Define R6 is one of the rare cases with proper mass damping in sides for preventing vibrations and increasing acoustic opacity.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/fractal-design-define-r6-midi-tower-case-black-ca-07h-fd.html

Arctic P14 would be one of the best fans if wanting to improve cooling per noise from Fractal's stock fans.

Disco_P · 7 Mar 2020 at 20:45

EsaT said:
Hard to call case design good for air cooling when it has such limited room for CPU coolers despite of immense width.
Though at least it's just big enough for Scythe Mugen 5.

Fair point, I overlooked that part.

ShiWarrior · 7 Mar 2020 at 21:14

EsaT said:
Lots of open holes "cheese grater/magpie's nest" case are easy for maximizing airflow.
But problem is that if any fan has some inherent noise besides smooth broadband noise you'll hear it.
Same if CPU or GPU cooler has such noise characteristics.
Also you need to keep RPMs tightly controlled to keep general noise level from rising.
Assuming your signature is up to date that noise leaking should be familiar.

Case without direct noise escape paths towards user has some inherent airflow impedances, but muffles and smooths all noises.
Which also allows higher fan speeds than in leaky case for same perceived noise level.
Of course for maximizing cooling per noise good fans are needed similarly, but it's not as critical.

Define R6 is one of the rare cases with proper mass damping in sides for preventing vibrations and increasing acoustic opacity.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/fractal-design-define-r6-midi-tower-case-black-ca-07h-fd.html

Arctic P14 would be one of the best fans if wanting to improve cooling per noise from Fractal's stock fans.

great post, thank you

I have Arctic P12's and Arctic F12s and some Noctua S12a's to go in

would that be better for airflow (cooling) than the Meshy C do you think ?

EsaT · 7 Mar 2020 at 21:43

While Arctic P12 has extremely smooth noise profile, Arctic F12 has some roughness and should loose in cooling per noise.
(have samples of both)
Quiet but very pressure weak NF-S12 would work as rear exhaust with Arctic P12 as intakes.
(assuming its motor isn't similar vibrating roller like in NF-P12 and NF-F12)
By itself that Noctua can't move air through much any impedance.

Because of its more open front Meshify is better for maximizing airflow, but has zero ability to muffle any noise.
Hence fan speeds would have to be minimized in it to control noise.
And minimizing those can eat CPU and GPU cooler performance notably.

ShiWarrior · 7 Mar 2020 at 21:51

hmm

sounds like the Meshify C might be a better bet for me

i use the Noctua S12a for exhaust, Arctic P12 as intakes

currently got an Arctic F12 on my CPU, but i might switch that to to another Noctua

EDIT/

Sig updated

Joxeon · 8 Mar 2020 at 16:42

I went with the silverstone RL06 and been very impressed with noise and thermals.

ShiWarrior · 9 Mar 2020 at 16:31

hmm

just had another look at the D6

im going to dig up some video reviews etc and look at this in more detail

ShiWarrior · 9 Mar 2020 at 18:17

interesting Video Review of the R6 :

im still not sure if R6 is the best for me

ShiWarrior · 10 Mar 2020 at 15:06

Right, ive decided
thanks to @EsaT
Define R6 with USB-C is the way to go
I just found out, you can remove the 5.25" bay and have 3x120mm fans on the front, which would suite me well as ive just bought a load of 120mm fans...

looked at the Define 7, but its not recommended for CPU temperature, but better build quality and acoustics than the R6

i'll order one when this CV-19 threat is over

Thanks all

opethdisciple · 10 Mar 2020 at 17:24

I'm looking for a similar thing myself. I was drawn to the H500M but it is pricey.

What about the much cheaper: Corsair 275R Airflow?

ShiWarrior · 10 Mar 2020 at 17:45

H500M Vs Define R6
going by gamers Nexus Review of the R6, seems like the R6 is better

https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/3312-cooler-master-h500m-case-review-vs-h500p-mesh

again looking at gamers Nexus review of the Corsair 275R seems to be operating at Very high temps !
https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/3254-corsair-275r-case-review-thermals-quality-noise

b00merang69 · 10 Mar 2020 at 17:53

Bring back 200mm (standardise if FGS).

opethdisciple · 10 Mar 2020 at 19:02

ShiWarrior said:
H500M Vs Define R6
going by gamers Nexus Review of the R6, seems like the R6 is better

https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/3312-cooler-master-h500m-case-review-vs-h500p-mesh

again looking at gamers Nexus review of the Corsair 275R seems to be operating at Very high temps !
https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/3254-corsair-275r-case-review-thermals-quality-noise

That's not the Airflow version though. That's the older model with a sold front. Yea, I wouldn't buy that one.

The Define R6 is a new one o me, it doesn't look bling, but I like the sound of what it is. Great airflow and silent sounds like a win win to me.

The Define R6 is a couple of years old now tho. not that it really makes much of a difference I suppose.

I'm just watching Nexus review of the Fractal and he says the airflow is average. Your see in his review the H500M is one of the best for thermals.

So yea if your buying the Define for airflow its the wrong case for you. It's main feature is noise suppression.

See here that the H500M has one of the best thermals. Your also see the Fractal runs quite toasty in comparison:

(Actually that is a little misleading because that's just one set of benchmarks. But still I would choose the H500M over the Fractal Define all day long if airflow is what your looking for.