A Good Airflow Case?

Tweaker

Tweaker

Tweaker

Associate
Joined
24 Sep 2008
Posts
1,757
Looking for a good airflow case, the summer means i need something that has more cooling power. In and around £100, any suggestions?
 
I think the Antec 300 gets recommended a lot for good cooling on a budget, and I think it still holds its own against the more pricey cases. At that budget, the Coolermaster CM690 II jumps to my mind, along with the Fractal Design R2. I'm also guessing you simply want a mid-tower case?
 
I remembered we had a Fractal as our File server, i have put everything in there for now, seeing lower temps which is good. Im wondering if the coolermaster Scout is good on airflow as it looks to have some good fan options.
 
The only problem with the Fractal Design R2 is as well as purchasing the case you will need to buy a lot of additional fans to get decent cooling, at default and without any extra fans it’s one of worse cases on the market for cooling.

The best case for cooling at that sort of price point would be the Antec 1200, I know its £117 but the extra £17 is well worth it as it’s simply the best case on the market for your needs and you don’t have to worry about buying additional fans.
 
The r2 has to be overrated for airflow it has a whacking great non removable sideways hdd cage.

How can any case have good airflow with a whacking great barrier in front of front intakes is beyond me.
At least with the coolermaster you can part remove the hdd cages I'd get that over the r2 any day of the week.
The r2 I would say is more geared towards quiet with some style on a budget rather than airflow performance.

Another guy went from a stacker to an R2 and said he gained 10c.
only case I'd look at for £100 or less from a stacker would be a lancool k62, £100 isn't going to be a huge upgrade from a stacker.
 
Last edited:
I have antec 300 and I think its the best case I have ever had.


It has a whapping great top fan which makes a big difference, you can point your CPU fan upwards and push air out the top.
Also has two front 120mm fans in removable doors infront of the 3.5 bays but behind the plastic front facia.
Has 120mm rear fan
Also has PSU mount at the bottom which doesnt trap air.

Only regret that it doesnt have 2nd rea fan, but I think 3x120mm fans and a bigger fan 140mm or maybe 160 mm fan plus CPU fan is enough.
 
Tweaker said:
I remembered we had a Fractal as our File server, i have put everything in there for now, seeing lower temps which is good. Im wondering if the coolermaster Scout is good on airflow as it looks to have some good fan options.
Click to expand...

It's pretty good, but the stock fans are more towards the silent than performance area. You have to watch out for dust though, the 2 side panel vents have no dust filters and they tend to suck in air even without fans (on stock fan configuations anyway).
 
Not sure if you can get one of those inside. Its a pretty deep case though and for under £40 you can't really complain
 
He currently has a stacker guys that's miles better than a 300 to be fair.

I'd look at cases with at least 140mm fans to beat the stacker or better they are 180-230mm though cant really beat it for intakes and exhaust push a lot of air with low noise.
 
Last edited:
Here is what i have done so far, swapped everything into fractal case, getting much better GPU temps, i think i can do better though.

img00022201007011527.jpg


I might look into the HAF, not sure which one though
 
Although slightly more expensive, the HAF X is to be released soon and avaliable for pre-order now, I have ;):D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom