Hey all,
Been researching this to death for the past week and getting no where definitive. Was really hoping to order a case ready for the weekend for a project.
Anyway. Old case is a Thermaltake VA9003BWS Kandalf Full Tower
http://thermaltakeusa.com/product/chassis/fulltower/kandalf/va9003bws.asp
Was a decent enough case, but no cable management, very heavy, some watercooling support and parts are getting really warm. Also NO idea what they mean by water cooling options. My case doesn't have those holes :S
In short, a good modern case can do a better job than it.
So, what I'm after is:
Quiet (I am quiet happy to replace the stock fans, already using some Noctua fans). One issue i've had is the hard drive causing vibrations that get really frustrating. I am happy to invest in a Fan controller at a later date.
Water cooling options. Again for the quiet target. I have never done water cooling before but would like to get involved with it in the next year. Ultimatly would like to cool Graphics and CPU with it. No idea if i'll go SLI, highly doubt my current Card will support water cooling block (MSI 560ti Frozr 2gb) so would need to wait for another time to buy a new GC, which could be a while.
Size: - Not too worried about this. As long as it's not too massive, current case has mobility issues due to it's weight but it's rarely moved anyway. It did weight 18kg according to the website and I have yet to see a case that heavy. Plus I could do with the exercise.
Cost: - No concern here. Recently got a bonus through so Possibly £200 is the limit, although recommendations from above that are welcome if they are exceptional.
Other: Not willing to sacrifice the above for looks. If it looks decent, it's a bonus. I currently have 4 HDDs and 1 SSD. I use 1 DVD drive and have never needed more than that. I am ok with a small amount of modding but nothing insane/risky.
Cases I've looked at so far:
Corsair 600t seems great but poor response on the fan controller and reports it is noisy. Good size for the options though
Corsair 550D: Heard it has very low noise due to sound proofing but not as strong in the water coling department as 600t.
NZXT Switch 810: Seems perfect but maybe the size is overkill for my needs. Also one review stated it was one of their louder cases. I have glanced at the phantom 410 Enthusiast and while it looks good, cannot see it offering much over the 600T
Any other suggestions or comments on the above cases?
Been researching this to death for the past week and getting no where definitive. Was really hoping to order a case ready for the weekend for a project.
Anyway. Old case is a Thermaltake VA9003BWS Kandalf Full Tower
http://thermaltakeusa.com/product/chassis/fulltower/kandalf/va9003bws.asp
Was a decent enough case, but no cable management, very heavy, some watercooling support and parts are getting really warm. Also NO idea what they mean by water cooling options. My case doesn't have those holes :S
In short, a good modern case can do a better job than it.
So, what I'm after is:
Quiet (I am quiet happy to replace the stock fans, already using some Noctua fans). One issue i've had is the hard drive causing vibrations that get really frustrating. I am happy to invest in a Fan controller at a later date.
Water cooling options. Again for the quiet target. I have never done water cooling before but would like to get involved with it in the next year. Ultimatly would like to cool Graphics and CPU with it. No idea if i'll go SLI, highly doubt my current Card will support water cooling block (MSI 560ti Frozr 2gb) so would need to wait for another time to buy a new GC, which could be a while.
Size: - Not too worried about this. As long as it's not too massive, current case has mobility issues due to it's weight but it's rarely moved anyway. It did weight 18kg according to the website and I have yet to see a case that heavy. Plus I could do with the exercise.
Cost: - No concern here. Recently got a bonus through so Possibly £200 is the limit, although recommendations from above that are welcome if they are exceptional.
Other: Not willing to sacrifice the above for looks. If it looks decent, it's a bonus. I currently have 4 HDDs and 1 SSD. I use 1 DVD drive and have never needed more than that. I am ok with a small amount of modding but nothing insane/risky.
Cases I've looked at so far:
Corsair 600t seems great but poor response on the fan controller and reports it is noisy. Good size for the options though
Corsair 550D: Heard it has very low noise due to sound proofing but not as strong in the water coling department as 600t.
NZXT Switch 810: Seems perfect but maybe the size is overkill for my needs. Also one review stated it was one of their louder cases. I have glanced at the phantom 410 Enthusiast and while it looks good, cannot see it offering much over the 600T
Any other suggestions or comments on the above cases?
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