Best E-ATX case, but not for silly money.

[h4rm0ny]

New build with an E-ATX motherboard (MSI X399 Meg Creation). I have a Full Tower Fractal Designs case which is serviceable but I'd like to try watercooling and there's no way to mount a radiator in it (perhaps a small one at the back) and I'm also shifting away from HDs to SSDs so the giant stack of HD cages it has are a bit redundant. So I might spend a bit to get my new build a nice new case to live in.

I was looking at this:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/be-q...-full-tower-gaming-case-silver-ca-12f-bq.html

The downsides are it's pricey and that I think an E-ATX motherboard will overspill the cutouts and that makes the whole thing a lot less nice than it was. I do like that it's quiet and has space for a triple length radiator in the top.

I also liked this one:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/phanteks-enthoo-primo-full-tower-black-orange-ca-015-pt.html

Which is cheaper (good) but still looks like it wouldn't fit E-ATX very well.

Finally I looked at this Lian Li one:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/lian-li-pc-o11-dynamic-midi-tower-white-window-ca-76t-ll.html

Price is much better and it looks excellent. And it has USB-C header which is a big plus. But 2xHDD is a little limiting for me. They don't seem to do a full-tower version.

Any suggestions?

 

[h4rm0ny]

How many drives are you intending to fit in the case?

If you're intending to shift to ssd based storage then it has space for 4x 2.5 inch drives

The o11 isn't a full tower per se because it's a dual chamber design. Plenty big enough though

Well the motherboard has 3 M.2 slots and I'll fill two of those. That lessens my need for traditional SSDs, though I still have two of them and will be adding a third. The problem is I have 3xHD right now and don't want to have to get rid of them. Other than that, it's quite an impressive case. I just wish they did a full tower version.

 

[h4rm0ny]

the enthoo primo is HUGE.. i have an orange one spare.. its great for water cooling, but i feel its rather dated now with its acrylic window. mine has a few hairline scratches. Its actually hard to build in because its just too big to lift and move. i had a EATX board in there with no issues.

isnt this one any good

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Phanteks Enthoo Evolv X Digital Midi Tower Glass Gaming Case - Galaxy Silver= £189.95

Total: £201.65 (includes shipping: £11.70)
​

The problem is (I think) here:

I think an ATX motherboard stops just shy of those cut outs to the right of it in the upper part. But an E-ATX will overlap them. And getting the cables out of the way and behind the main compartment is something I really want. I think the same with the Evolv X. If I'm wrong though, I'd love to hear it.

 

[h4rm0ny]

eATX will stop where those holes are far right, atx is the next set in, I had this board in it

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-X99-SOC-Champion-rev-10#sp

It will stop before them or it will cover them? I found a different photo of the interior here:

I think the motherboard mount points along the top (1<------larger space------>2<--smaller space-->3) are ATX mounts, aren't they? As per this:

So an E-ATX board which is wider will cover the cable cut outs, no?

 

[h4rm0ny]

ive never seen EAtX with 4 mouting points, whats tho mobo u hVE.. sorry drunk

WIsh I was!

most ATX boards are only 2 holes wide.. EATX 3 holes.. ive never seen the one that has 4 mounting holes wide and that wouldn't fit in any case ive seen, and I don't know where that diagram came from but nobody sells FlexATX or Mini-ATX boards

there is confusion between ATX and EATX I have a ATX socket 1366 board which is 3 holes wide and an socket 2011 board which is 3 holes wide and is EATX

I've never owned an E-ATX board. My understanding is that it still has three columns of holes just like ATX but that the right most are further right because of the extra width. Here's a motherboard I owned which is ATX:

You can clearly see three mounting holes along the top - one on the Far Left and two more either side of the memory sockets. I'm assuming these correspond to the three rows I can see in the case for mounting the motherboard. Am I being stupid here?

The E-ATX board I am getting is the MSI MEG x399 Creation which is this one:

It still only has three holes but I presume the right most is further right in absolute terms because the board is wider.

 

[h4rm0ny]

Never mind! I've figured it out. By careful scaling of motherboard images I've found that only the outermost holes on the ATX motherboard are matched in the case. Here's an E-ATX and ATX motherboard scaled to the same size:

You can clearly see that the rightmost screw holes are in line with the same ones on the ATX.

I've been stupid this whole time! :O

So now any of these cases will work and I have to choose between the Phantek and the Be Quiet, I guess!