Quality case with 5.25 bay

[RandomMonkeH]

I’m looking for a new ATX case.
I would like something fairly subtle, smart and well-built, and as compact as possible.

Ideally it would have a glass window and it would be nice to have a fairly premium front (i.e. aluminium, or metal mesh) rather than cheap plastic

So far so good, tons of choice. However I also want at least one external 5.25 bay for an optical drive.

I understand that I’m in the minority, but I really do find it useful to still be able to pop in a CD or DVD on occasion. I don’t want an external drive (daft to have another case for a disc drive cluttering up the desk IMO)

As far as I can see this drastically narrows my choice.

So far the stand outs are the Fractal R5 and the Phanteks Enthoo Pro M, both of which have plastic fronts and are on the larger side – no idea on the quality. I’ve looked at a couple from Cooler master and Bequiet but they are either massive or look a bit tacky.

Is there anything else worth considering?
Hard to believe I'm alone in using optical media.

 

[RandomMonkeH]

[rant ]
I don't really understand why it should even be necessary to choose one or the other.

Having spent hours trawling through case designs, it seems the majority could be easily made to accommodate a 5.25 bay (e.g. at the bottom in the PSU shroud), or a slim slot loader in the front or top panel with minimum effort and little impact on internal space. A modular design to allow it to be removed if you want to fit a radiator or extra fans would suit everybody, or even just a different sku with a different front panel.

Silverstone's FT05 is the only ATX case I've found so far that has tried a slim drive, although I have seen people mod their case to include a slot loader.

Call me cynical, but it seems to me more like a fashion fad that has driven everybody to convince themselves that they don't want/need a drive - or to put up with the inconvenience and cost of an external drive when you could have it neatly integrated into a well-designed case.


Dropping £150+ on a case that is essentially a glass box with 4 million fan positions and bugger all drive support is just madness to me, the entire point of PC building was it was supposed to be flexible.
[/rant]

Looks like the R5 is going to be difficult to get hold of, and the R6 is bigger still.

Silverstone do the PS14E which is a small case with a drive bay, but is a bit meh.
In Win do the 904 plus which is expensive and a bit silly.

 

[RandomMonkeH]

The Define R6 is top of my list from a build and feature perspective but it's just a big block. The be quiet! Silent Base 600 is a close second but I think I'm erring towards a windowed case (I like the subtle RGB effect on the x570 mobos and GPUs etc) but without the PSU shroud, things could get quite messy, so it would be a hard case. Remove the need for an ODD and the NZXT cases and the rest of the be quiet! range opens up.

Have you looked at the Pure Base 600 (Tempered Glass)?
It appears you can get a separate PSU shroud for it - horrendously expensive for a piece of bent tin, but still it may solve your issue.

Define R6 is the clear winner for me on quality, but it is just so big. If they made a Define C with a slimline drive I would be all over it.
Otherwise it looks like the Enthoo Pro M or be quiet! or perhaps the PS14E

There are some yt videos of people modding an NZXT 440 to mount a slimline in the top - neat idea but I can't see it would be easy to do on their current lineup.

We need to start a revolution, bring back the ODD.

 

[RandomMonkeH]

Considering how butt ugly most cases look with optical bays, I'm glad they are being phased out. It's not worth spoiling the aesthetics and internal compatibility for a dying format.

The annoyance is that the reason most of the ugly cases are ugly is because they are either older, cheap (or just plain ugly), rather than because they have a 5.25 bay.

I'm positive it would be possible to design an aesthetically pleasing case with provision for an optional optical drive without compromising form or function.
Christ, if they can squeeze them into a laptop and mITX chassis they can fit them in a mid tower!

Most modern cases have some form of sleek slab faced front, which I would think would be super easy to conceal a drive bay behind.
E.g. look at the the fortress FT05 - you can't even see the slot loader. Or the heavily styled InWin 904. - I still wouldn't choose those cases for other reasons, but it shows what could be done to "stealth" an ODD asnd still make a statement, if there was the will to do so.


It strikes me it is like the removal of the 3.5 jack from 'phones. Something that benefits the manufacturer more than the consumer, but marketed in such a way to make you feel you are a luddite for not getting with the times.
I know I can (and probably should) just buy an external USB, but it is still ****** infuriating to not have the option nonetheless.

The fact that Phanteks released the Pro M SE must surely prove there is sufficient numbers of cantankerous old farts buying them (presumably only because of the 5.25 bay, because why else?) that there is still a market there.

 

[RandomMonkeH]

I don't think it will help much, but in the end I just bought the R6. It doesn't look as out-of-place in my desk as I'd imagined for its size, although I'm running a mATX board temporarily which does look a bit lost inside. Quality of the case though is very good indeed.

 

[RandomMonkeH]

Now thinking of the Fractal Design R6, though it's a bit pricey in the USB C configuration. As I have the PC next to my desk a window isn't essential so I can save a bit by getting the solid side.

I'm very happy with the case, the only thing I would say is the supplied fans are a bit lacking for pulling through the front filter.
I'm going to move them to the bottom and find some better ones for the front.

Not much help, but I picked mine up on a Black Friday deal which knocked about £15 off the gunmetal.