Spec me a watercooling case

WantoN · 7 Oct 2018 at 21:06

Would really appreciate any help on this lads, I’m in a bit of a quandary. I need a case for my new loop, but I’m restricted on space and I don’t want anything with very restricted air flow, which seems quite common at the minute. Budget is about £150.

Case will spend a lot of time running in a cupboard, but not always. The cupboard is fitted with a 420mm intake, and sufficient exhaust. The issue is the length restriction, case needs to be less than 470mm long!
Requirements below:

Max Length (Front to Back) : 470mm
Max Width : 260mm
Max Height : 580mm
Colour : White, black accents preferred
ATX Mobo support
Radiator support : 360mm + 240mm
Drives : 3x 2.5” min. One of these is 15mm!
TG Sidepanel
Front intake, that’s not too restrictive
Decent cable management
Fit Corsair Commander in cable area

So far the only cases I’ve found are the Meshify C (which I like) and the Corsair 400c. They’re not that ‘premium’ though, and I’d like something a little longer than the Meshify so I’m not squeezing in the GPU and res.

As I said any help is really appreciated lads, I keep coming across cases that I think are ‘the one’ but then it seems to always fail on at least one of my requirements.

LuckyBenski · 8 Oct 2018 at 01:22

Out of interest how set are you on white, and how willing are you to bust out the spray paint?

WantoN · 8 Oct 2018 at 01:31

LuckyBenski said:
Out of interest how set are you on white, and how willing are you to bust out the spray paint?

Hey mate, thanks for getting involved. My whole setup is rather white, so that’s what I’d prefer, but I’m always open to suggestions.

Normally I’d definitely be up for a bit of painting, but there’s a lot of modification I have to do already, so I’d rather not add any more to the list if I can avoid it.

What did you have in mind?

LuckyBenski · 8 Oct 2018 at 09:26

WantoN said:
Hey mate, thanks for getting involved. My whole setup is rather white, so that’s what I’d prefer, but I’m always open to suggestions.

Normally I’d definitely be up for a bit of painting, but there’s a lot of modification I have to do already, so I’d rather not add any more to the list if I can avoid it.

What did you have in mind?

I picked up a Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX last week which is sitting on my desk empty. I've been really impressed with its feature set so figured I could help get measurements for you.

My background is fine carpentry (guitars) where you *never* drill a hole til you've got all the hardware in hand and measured

orbitalwalsh · 8 Oct 2018 at 09:35

60mm 360 up top

bottom-top airflow

WantoN · 8 Oct 2018 at 11:09

LuckyBenski said:
I picked up a Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX last week which is sitting on my desk empty. I've been really impressed with its feature set so figured I could help get measurements for you.

My background is fine carpentry (guitars) where you *never* drill a hole til you've got all the hardware in hand and measured

That’s very kind mate. Funnily enough the Evolv Flow is my dream case, I adore the aesthetic. But it’s too big according to the website.

Last night I considered just getting a new desk and redoing the intake and exhaust, but it defeats the point of the project (specific budget).

WantoN · 8 Oct 2018 at 11:10

orbitalwalsh said:
60mm 360 up top bottom-top airflow

I love the pc011, it’s a beautiful case and I’ve had a soft spot for Lian Li for over a decade.

Unfortunately one of my requirements is front intake

orbitalwalsh · 8 Oct 2018 at 11:14

WantoN said:
I love the pc011, it’s a beautiful case and I’ve had a soft spot for Lian Li for over a decade.

Unfortunately one of my requirements is front intake

Air version

though dynamic has 3 intakes at the bottom and side, the air would have front, side and bottom with exhaust at top haha

LuckyBenski · 8 Oct 2018 at 11:22

WantoN said:
That’s very kind mate. Funnily enough the Evolv Flow is my dream case, I adore the aesthetic. But it’s too big according to the website.

Last night I considered just getting a new desk and redoing the intake and exhaust, but it defeats the point of the project (specific budget).

I'm literally going round measuring cases now. bequiet PB600 with the front panel left off?

WantoN · 8 Oct 2018 at 11:42

orbitalwalsh said:
Air version

though dynamic has 3 intakes at the bottom and side, the air would have front, side and bottom with exhaust at top haha

Just looked. Whilst not in white, it’s beautiful and I might be able to make it fit. Thanks for the suggestion mate, looks excellent.

WantoN · 8 Oct 2018 at 11:44

LuckyBenski said:
I'm literally going round measuring cases now. bequiet PB600 with the front panel left off?

Hahaha. Would prefer all panels on matey, really appreciate the effort though!

WantoN · 10 Oct 2018 at 03:07

I’ve decided I’ll just go with the Meshify C. Thanks to those who chimed in!

LuckyBenski · 10 Oct 2018 at 08:03

WantoN said:
I’ve decided I’ll just go with the Meshify C. Thanks to those who chimed in!

Hope it goes well, that's a gorgeous case! I am a little concerned about radiator support. I always feel like compact cases with front and top radiator support don't actually have room for both at the same time, with fittings etc

WantoN · 10 Oct 2018 at 11:30

LuckyBenski said:
Hope it goes well, that's a gorgeous case! I am a little concerned about radiator support. I always feel like compact cases with front and top radiator support don't actually have room for both at the same time, with fittings etc

Thanks man, I really like the look, especially in white. Just a shame it isn’t 40mm longer; I’m concerned about fitting two rads as well. We’ll soon find out I suppose! I’m getting thin rads and I’ve seen (tight!) builds done. If I get time I’ll put something in the project logs.