Replacing case, any suggestions?

Mr G · 24 Sep 2018 at 14:39

I currently have the Fractal Design Meshify C and now considering to replace it with a budget of £140.

The Meshify C is a cracking case by the way, although it's abet cramped for space and difficult to work in on times. I've recently added Corsair ML120 fans but can't fit the other 2 because my CPU cooler gets in the way.

Any suggestions?

Big Frank · 24 Sep 2018 at 16:31

I got a cooler Master Mastercase pro 6 for £95 when I was building my system last month.

Loads of room to work with. Detachable top, front and rear panels which can be opened out to increase airflow. Support for 6 x 120-140mm fans.

Really good cable management.

Think it has 3 or 4 x 2.5/3.5 inch combo bays, 2 x 2.5 inch bays and 2 x 5.25 inch bays which was one of my main reasons for getting it.

Optical media isn't dead I don't know why so many great looking cases don't have support for optical drives.

Semple · 24 Sep 2018 at 16:34

Big Frank said:
Optical media isn't dead I don't know why so many great looking cases don't have support for optical drives.

It is dead.

For those still wishing to use optical media, you can buy an external optical drive (i have 2).

But for how often i ever need to connect it up, i wouldn't want an ugly optical drive visible at the front of my case anymore.

Big Frank · 24 Sep 2018 at 17:10

Semple said:
It is dead.

For those still wishing to use optical media, you can buy an external optical drive (i have 2).

But for how often i ever need to connect it up, i wouldn't want an ugly optical drive visible at the front of my case anymore.

Maybe dead to you but to old school IT enthusiasts like me who have loads of old dvds cds packed with old backups games and tools an optical drive is a must.

My optical drive is hidden behind my front panel so you don't see it.

I don't want an external cd-dvd rom drive sitting on top of my computer like a sore thumb to me that's worse than having it visible on the front your case.

Mr G · 24 Sep 2018 at 17:50

I was just looking at some of the Corsair cases, one that has caught my eye is the 570x?

Big Frank · 24 Sep 2018 at 23:07

Mr G said:
I was just looking at some of the Corsair cases, one that has caught my eye is the 570x?

It's a very nice case if you Google "corsair 570x" you will find some links to YouTube reviews I'd watch a few of them just to make sure you are happy before committing that kind of cash to it.

Mr G · 25 Sep 2018 at 07:21

Well I did watch a few YouTube videos earlier and many said it felt unfinished, most complain about the cable cut outs.

NZXT H700 or Lian-Li PC-011 options are on the table.

WantoN · 25 Sep 2018 at 19:16

Big Frank said:
Maybe dead to you but to old school IT enthusiasts like me who have loads of old dvds cds packed with old backups games and tools an optical drive is a must.

My optical drive is hidden behind my front panel so you don't see it.

I don't want an external cd-dvd rom drive sitting on top of my computer like a sore thumb to me that's worse than having it visible on the front your case.

Make ISOs, put them all on one drive, then you can mount them at your leisure without fannying about with CDs. You can even have keys stored in a spreadsheet in the same location. It really is a dead medium; that’s why there’s very little case support nowadays.

I have an external disc drive, and the only time I use it is when an old relative gets some pictures on a cd. It sits in my drawer 99.9 % of the time. As my pc is tucked away in a cupboard, plugging it into the hub on my desk is far more convenient too.

Anyways, OP, how about the older Phanteks Evolv ATX? Still a great case imo (though I’d stretch to the X personally).

Mr G said:
NZXT H700 or Lian-Li PC-011 options are on the table.

I really like the look of the PC-011; I think it’s cleverly designed and lends itself to watercooling pretty well. HardwareCanucks did a good overview and cooler test.

I’m actually looking to buy the Meshify in White. Any other positive / negatives you found?

Mr G · 25 Sep 2018 at 19:20

I was indeed looking at that very case a moment ago and have considered it in my shortlist, what it like with airflow?

Armageus · 25 Sep 2018 at 19:27

Big Frank said:
Optical media isn't dead I don't know why so many great looking cases don't have support for optical drives.

Whether it's dead or not it seems like a strange omission given that in most cases (with bottom mount psus) it could be accommodated easily just by increasing the height of a case and consequently provide more clearance for top mount radiators at the same time.

5.25" bays could also still be used for reservoirs, fan controllers etc.

Big Frank · 26 Sep 2018 at 13:45

WantoN said:
It really is a dead medium; that’s why there’s very little case support it nowadays

Obviously for data transfer I'd use USB but I still use my optical drive to make audio cds for my car and still use cds and dvds regularly on my pc so personally for me I have a use for optical drives whereas others who just say "it's dead" don't.

It's not like I'm trying to resurrect the floppy disk it's just that at the moment there are a lot of people who still have a use for optical drives.

Big Frank · 26 Sep 2018 at 13:47

Can't you delete your own posts in this forum?

WantoN · 26 Sep 2018 at 14:53

Big Frank said:
Obviously for data transfer I'd use USB but I still use my optical drive to make audio cds for my car and still use cds and dvds regularly on my pc so personally for me I have a use for optical drives whereas others who just say "it's dead" don't.

It's not like I'm trying to resurrect the floppy disk it's just that at the moment there are a lot of people who still have a use for optical drives.

Fair enough, most people just Bluetooth their phones or plug in an aux cable these days.But I appreciate that whilst CD has fallen out of favour with a number of mediums, there are still people who use them.

Armageus said:
Whether it's dead or not it seems like a strange omission given that in most cases (with bottom mount psus) it could be accommodated easily just by increasing the height of a case and consequently provide more clearance for top mount radiators at the same time.

5.25" bays could also still be used for reservoirs, fan controllers etc.

My guess is using an opportunity to reduce cost. That metals got to be formed.

Some of the top end cases seem to be using the 5.25” bays for lighting controls or IO, and it’s definitely a useful space.

Mr G said:
I was indeed looking at that very case a moment ago and have considered it in my shortlist, what it like with airflow?

Don’t own it but from what I can tell it’s very good, but geared more towards water cooling. My only concern would be good airflow over some of the board components, but I genuinely think it’s a lot better than the many form over function cases out there. DeBauer helped design it, and I’ve always had a bias for Lian-Li; I lusted after their old cases for a long time before building a rig in one years and years ago. An all black full ally tower, I loved that thing. Think I still have it in storage. The PC-011 is beautiful imo.

I’d buy it without hesitation, but it’s not suited to my use case (inside a narrow and shallow cupboard in my desk).