do i go midi or full tower case for best cooling performance for my hardware

beasty6

beasty6

beasty6

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hey guys,

im going to be buying a new case next month, i have choosen the fractal design arc.

but the problem is, i dont know if i should go for the midi at £75 of the full tower version at £100.

they both have the exact same cooling and fan options so its just the case of will the full tower be better at cooling my hardware than the midi tower case.

here is my spec:
[email protected]
ASUS CVFZ
2x4gb xms3 1600mhz
H80i
HD 7990
antec true power 750w (may change this soon)
OCZ vertex 2E 120gb (going to change it to a 500GB SSD)
1TB HDD
ASUS DGX5.1 sound card
corsair quiet edition fans

so what would you guys advise me to get? the size of the case is not a problem but would rather a small case and i feel a lot of the room is wasted, but if it allows better cooling then im more than happy to get another full tower.

thanks
 
More space does not increase airflow. Same fans in both means it move same amount of air.

Take the money difference and get Tealc to make make you a PWM converter to control case fan speed. ;)

My sig rig idles GPU 31c@800rpm and CPU 25c@700rpm. Full load GPU 48c@1300rpm and CPU 48c@950-1050rpm. Only 3 case fans and case air temp is never more than 4c above room.
 
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Arc midi r2 it is then, I have all fans on full speed and the af140 in the roof is the only fan I can here.

But all fans will be corsair quiet editions and connected to the cases fan controller. But my h80i's sp120's are set to full speed all the time as I can't hear them.
 
The advantage of the bigger case means down the line you could go down the watercooling route. Not that you can't do watercooling in a midi case, but you'll have more room in the bigger. But obviously if you don't want to, the midi will be fine.
 
I have the original version of the Arc Midi and like it a lot, very roomy and makes cable management a doddle which helps with airflow. My only problem with the case is that the PSU is mounted fan down which as I have the case on the floor and a fairly thick carpet means I have had to make some risers to enable a good enough airflow to the PSU and floor mounted intake. The case fan controller on the new version only supports 3 fans and doesn't allow much in the way of fine tuning (12v/7v/5v 3 way switch). So for controlling your case fans I'd suggest that you look at the Asus Fan Xpert software which I think is supported by your board, and works really well.
 
Hi,midi case BitFenix Raider Tower Case - Black £69 when fitted with the 200mm fans top and bottom front instead of 120 fans on its built in fan controller is top notch case.
 
PieEater said:
I have the original version of the Arc Midi and like it a lot, very roomy and makes cable management a doddle which helps with airflow. My only problem with the case is that the PSU is mounted fan down which as I have the case on the floor and a fairly thick carpet means I have had to make some risers to enable a good enough airflow to the PSU and floor mounted intake. The case fan controller on the new version only supports 3 fans and doesn't allow much in the way of fine tuning (12v/7v/5v 3 way switch). So for controlling your case fans I'd suggest that you look at the Asus Fan Xpert software which I think is supported by your board, and works really well.
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I'll 2nd the raising case bor airflow to bottom. Even on wood floor it helps. I use castor base under mine.. and have helped others in need too. Also make it easier to move case. :D
 
I have not had my mobo long so I'll check that out :)

I'm going for the midi tower, I'm also going to be running 4xAF140's and 2xSP120's in push/pull on my h80i.

Can anyone see any problems with this fan setup and the arc midi r2?
 
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