Spec me a case for a future build.

Goose · 17 Aug 2010 at 17:11

I'm planning on building a new system towards the end of the year/early next year but i'd quite like to buy a new case now as my current Lian Li is about 8 years old with missing bits, noisy fans and isn't especially builder friendly.

I've never overclocked before but i plan on doing so when i build my new system but i also cant abide by loud/whiny noise. My original plan was to get a Corsair 600T when they come in to stock as it looks to be very user friendly and i hope quite quiet.

However, i've been looking at the Fractal Design R2 which is a lot better looking (not a huge concern) and a good £50 cheaper. The issues i have with it though are that it appears not be great at cooling unless you purchase another 3 or 4 fans which would push it close the 600T in price. After a watching a youtube vid of it it also doesn't look like it would be quite so good at cable management and the hard drive trays aren't removable (i'm unlikely to ever have more than 3 HDD so it'd be nice to remove the spare ones to aid air flow). However, it's noise insulation and super silent fans are massively tempting.

Anyhoo, if anyone has any thoughts on the quietness/cooling compromise of cases and fans i'd be glad to hear them.

Thanks

mikeo · 17 Aug 2010 at 21:00

You don't say which Lian Li case you had/have. But I recently bought the Lian Li PC-B25FB and have been more than happy with it. Cable management is fine (there are some photos on another thread I contributed to recently) and the 5 case fans even on full blast are not too intrusive and if you fit a fan controller (Lian Li do a nice one that fits under the front cover) on mid speed I can't here them over the CPU cooler (and that's turned right down with a Fanmate2). Removable HD cage can fit 6 HD's and you could mod it to remove the top section if you only wanted 3 HD's. This would give you acres of room for the longest graphics card on Earth. 290 mm room otherwise.

As to cooling. I know a lot of people bang on about having hundreds of fans in their case. But to be totally honest, I've found that the biggest factor is the ambient room temp (obvious really I suppose). And frankly, it won't matter a damn if you have 20+ case fans if your room temp is 30C. Something that seems to get over looked by a lot of folks (well it seems like that to me at times). I say ... if you are worried about temps that much, stick your PC in the fridge. Modern PC components have pretty wide thermal thresholds these days. Sorry I digress a bit here.... no insult meant.

Only downside of the Lian Li (like all painted cases really) is they can scratch / mark. Not a Lan Party case but if it's a build it and sit it on your desk. Job done. Can't really think of any other -ve's.

If you want any other info. just shout.

Nemesis379 · 17 Aug 2010 at 21:48

Read it wrong anyway....

For a future build i would recommend the 600T, even though i dont have one, corsairs other cases are built to superb quality, and shouldnt go a miss.

Burty88 · 17 Aug 2010 at 21:56

Fractal R3 comes out soon - Improved cooling (and cable management i think)

Should be the same price.

d_brennen · 17 Aug 2010 at 21:59

Burty88 said:
Fractal R3 comes out soon - Improved cooling (and cable management i think)

Should be the same price.

Indeed, the R2 is a mighty fine looking piece of kit. Hope the R3 looks the same. Shame Antec have gone potty with their design though I love my Mini P180

Goose · 19 Aug 2010 at 17:19

With the imminent arrival of the R3 and the 600T i decided to wait to see some reviews of both and then decide. At the moment the R3 sounds a better bet for me as i'm more inclined towards quietness than super duper cooling. Plus its £50 cheaper.