Change of case, these the best for budget?

suomi · 8 May 2017 at 22:30

Ok, so family and finance has meant that I have had to pretty much park the desktop build for the last 18 months. But now there is light at the end of the tunnel, admittedly a tad dim at the moment, and if I can save enough then by Christmas I could have a new case to swap all the current stuff into. I reckon that the budget is about £150 to £200, could I reckon go another 10% to 15% higher for the right case. What I am looking for is as follow:

Something that is easy to build in.
Something that can give me the chance to do decent cable management.
Space for a number of SSDs and HDDs.
A case that will take an AIO, something like the Kraken X62 or larger size.
That has space for a 5.25 inch Blu-ray drive and for a card reader.
That is quiet without having a major effect on cooling
That is capable of taking long GPU (once I get round to getting one hopefully next year).
That has the buttons and usb sockets on the top at the front or on the front at the top of the case.

It would be easier if it was mid-size case but a full size would go in the space with a shelf removed from the desk.

Not wanting a glass case but a Perspex side-panel is ok.

The three cases that I like the look of so far are be Quiet’s dark base and Pro 900 and Corsair Graphite 780T.

Main compute use is photo editing (lightroom), watching dvds, internet and hopefully a bit of gaming.

Any thoughts or further suggestions welcome.

suomi · 12 May 2017 at 13:41

Going to throw the Phanteks Enthoo Primo into the mix also.

So far it seems to be Be Quiet Pro nicely quiet, but maybe a touch 'warmer' case due to the damping. On the expensive side, but lots of drive space for the future. Adding the P&P put it right on the limit of the budget. Not sure if the door opens from the left to the right.

Corsair, noticeably cheaper but does not seem to affect what you get, slightly less drive space. But direct access to the 5.25" space. May be tighter at the bottom of the back of the case due to the curve but do not know if is really bad. No door to consider.

Phanteks, switches not quiet in the position wanted but close enough. Expensive, and again with P&P right on the limit of the budget. With door so if does not open left to right might be an issue, paying this much want a door that can be changed. Can hide the PSU seems to be the one with the best cable management potential.

Dropping the be Quiet's non Pro version.

Anyone know which way the doors work on the Be Quiet and the Phantek?

Kurgen · 19 May 2017 at 14:41

Dinerty · 22 May 2017 at 21:10

I've got the Be quiet dark base pro 900 orange, it's absolutely brilliant. It's got all the requirements you require.

Comes with 3 included silent wings fans 3 140 pwm fans that are very silent, they can easily be controlled on the front panel (low or high speed).

The flexibility with this case is amazing, cable management is great, lots of space to work in. The greatest case I've ever owned to be honest. Even has some RGB.