Best case under £100?

mattyjim123 · 24 Sep 2012 at 22:15

I need a case for under £100...

I want it to: look good (although down to opinion), have good airflow, have good features and not be too noisy!

Thanks a lot! I look forward to seeing your favourites

C64 · 24 Sep 2012 at 22:21

do yu plan on going watercooling do you think ? or stick with air cooling ?

mattyjim123 · 24 Sep 2012 at 22:22

Definitely stick with air cooling

doodah · 24 Sep 2012 at 23:09

Fractal Design R4 sounds right up your street, just got one myself though I haven't built the system yet. Great to look at, feature packed and ~£100.

BrianB · 24 Sep 2012 at 23:38

Or the arc midi, almost the same inside, but midi is more focused on air cooling.

olivier renault · 25 Sep 2012 at 01:09

Fractal R4, P280, Carbide 500R. Personally, Fractal R4. Also has an optional window (don't think it's out just yet). Should be around £20.

C64 · 25 Sep 2012 at 01:53

Personally I'd go with a silverstone raven RV03 probably because it's my latest case most people will recommend their current favourite but can say it's worth it the grey striped version looks good in the flesh it's simply the best design for air cooling cant see how you get much better it's exactly what you need fans close below hardware pulling in cool air and blowing hot air up and out of the case the 180mm air penetrator fans are probably the real stars of the show pretty quiet on low yet still pushing decent air.

Not that the define R4 isn't a good choice but if you want the best for air cooling for £100 ish then it's probably the RV03 or RV02.

mattyjim123 · 25 Sep 2012 at 17:54

what do you guys think of the HAF XM?

Airflow certainly look good with the 200mm fans

C64 · 25 Sep 2012 at 18:08

It's a good case but it will be noisy with that open side panel and a bit of a dust magnet and the trouble with all these cases with their 200mm + fans I have noticed is that the fans themselves are rubbish all the blades are thin and flimsy.People never listen though amazes me people overlook the RV02 and 3 for things like the fractal R4 it's never going to be as good as the silverstones for air cooling I guess people want the options of going water but for me water is just a neverending silly expense having to buy and sell gpu blocks and things like that all the time not to mention risk of leaks.

mattyjim123 · 25 Sep 2012 at 18:09

Ah ok, but aren't 120/140mm fans noisy?

NightSt@lk3r · 25 Sep 2012 at 18:21

mattyjim123 said:
Ah ok, but aren't 120/140mm fans noisy?

the bigger the fan the less RPM it needs to push the air and thus less noise.

C64 · 25 Sep 2012 at 18:22

If you want quiet go for the R4 if you want the best air cooling case go for haf x or silverstone rv02 or rv03.
Only two fans have impressed me in the last few years and those are 180mm silverstone air penetrators and thermalright ty's it just comes down to what you want really the R4 and haf x are solid choices but aren't going to match the silverstones for air cooling but there isn't much in it probably.

stulid · 25 Sep 2012 at 18:22

olivier renault said:
Fractal R4, P280, Carbide 500R. Personally, Fractal R4. Also has an optional window (don't think it's out just yet). Should be around £20.

One of these.