New air cooled case required

ChrisD. · 16 Jul 2011 at 14:48

My Lian Li v1200 was awesome under water, but in my very warm flat and air cooled alone, it's struggling. My CPU is idling in the mid 30's and my GPU is in the 60's, which to be honest isn't acceptable. Under load my CPU hits 70 and I don't even want to know about the GPU.

I'm looking for something well built, clean looking, very cool and quiet and I don't really want to be spending more than £200.

My rig is as per my sig, but I have 5 HDDs in total, all 3.5".

I quite like the look of the Corsair 800D but it is very expensive and I think perhaps the case might be a little on the big side? I've also looked at the Coolermaster line-up and to be honest, the styling isn't winning me over.

I like the look of the Silverstone cases but unsure which is the best to go for? It looks as if the Raven 2 can only hold 3x 3.5" drives so that's out of the question, which leaves the Raven 3 and the FT02. Is the FT02 worth the extra money and how does cooling and loudness compare between the two?

KiiYzOo · 16 Jul 2011 at 14:53

the rv02 white case on ocuk has five 3.5" bays iirc
the ft02 is awesome

and I personally don't like the rv03

I'd say get the rv02, ft02, xigmatek elysium, 650d or 600t

ChrisD. · 16 Jul 2011 at 15:06

What don't you like about the Raven 3?

A white case is out of the question as it won't go with anything in the flat (AV kit, fish tank etc).

I am unsure about the FT02, it's very expensive and it looks like cable management is an issue?

The elysium is horrific, no thanks.

How do the Corsair's compare to Silverstone for cooling?

ChrisD. · 16 Jul 2011 at 15:17

I'm put off with the fan controller issue on the 650D so this brings me back to Silverstone.

KiiYzOo · 16 Jul 2011 at 15:21

I just don't like any of the interior design choices apart from the hard drives behind the motherboard on the rv03
The ft02 is the best air cooling case according to custompc iirc and you can get a non windowed silver version for £167
The silverstones are better than the corsairs for air but are still pretty good

ChrisD. · 16 Jul 2011 at 15:29

I think I'll go for the FT02 then, what are the main cons with it?

KiiYzOo · 16 Jul 2011 at 17:38

depth of it maybe? (can't really think of any tbh)

KiiYzOo · 16 Jul 2011 at 17:48

or the window is on the right side instead of the left?

ChrisD. · 16 Jul 2011 at 18:02

My Lian Li is like that, tbh I think I won't bother with a windowed version but I have made my mind up. FT02 it is.

KiiYzOo · 16 Jul 2011 at 18:13

good choice silver or black?

ChrisD. · 17 Jul 2011 at 09:07

Black, as otherwise it won't go with anything else in the flat. Shame there's an added premium though.