Thinking of upgrading my case - need help with suggestions.

[TheSwede]

Hi all,

Been thinking about getting a new case although I do like my Silverstone TJ-09 it is bad when it comes to cable management compared new ones.

Here is a picture of the inside. Was the best I could do without cutting holes in the other side panel for the cables.

I do like the HD cages, that it has loads of room so it's not fiddly when working inside. I am guessing the Corsair Obsidian 750D is rather similar from what I can see but thought I ask since there is "millions" of cases around and don't want to end up with a "bad" one.

What would you experts suggest for case with great airflow and can take what I have without it being to cramped ? The GPU is a Sapphire Radeon R9 290 Vapor-X and the cooler is the new Noctua NH-D15. What not showing in that picture is 2 DVD players (I know, barely needs one), a extra USB bay where the floppy used to be and a bay for my 2 SSD's.

Any and all help here would be greatly appreciated !!

 

[TheSwede]

Thank you all for your inputs, greatly appreciated !!

Hi,

It does look a bit messy indeed.

The 750D will be perfect for you.

It is in NO WAY a 'bad case'. It is actually one of the best (if not the best in its price rangE) on the market.

That would be a sublime choice sir.

EDIT: Loving the D15 by the way, though you need to improve your photography skills.

Yeah, was a quick photo using my Mobile so you guys could get a fell of the inside. I took pictures when I upgraded the PC but can't move them from my old camera to my PC without the camera software, which I seem to have misplaced.

If you would pick the best case for air cooling, would it be the 750D or something else, if price wasn't a factor ??

Yep looks like a nice case.

One of these would look nice in there too. Tidy things up a bit

YOUR BASKET
1 x Corsair Hydro H100i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060009-WW) £88.00
Total : £96.70

That's not a bad idea really, although the D15 have great reviews I wasn't expecting it to be that HUGE!

Actually gimme the D15 and buy yourself the H100i

Well, if I do decide to buy the H100i would be nice to give the D15 a new home so I keep you in mind, maybe we can work something out about it.

You all seem to agree that the 750D would do the work for me in regards to good airflow and HD space, was looking at another Corsair, the 540, but got a bit disappointed when I saw it only have room for 2 x 3,5'' drives.

If I would opt for the H100i, then maybe can do a bit of a theme inside the case, since my mobo would be exposed and it's a bit yellow/gold colored so maybe get braided cables to go with that ?? Thoughts ??

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Z97X-UD5H Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £139.99
Total : £149.59 (includes shipping : £8.00).

 

[TheSwede]

Thanks again for all opinions, much appreciated !! =)

The best case for air cooling is without doubt the Silverstone FT02, or if you're a cheapskate the Raven RV02.

Both the FT02 and RV02 says the same - Motherboard: SSI-CEB, ATX (maximum 12” x 11”), Micro-ATX

And the form factor on my mobo is 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm so that would be a rather tight fit in the FT02 (I think) and I prefer bit more space inside my case. (Guess been spoiled with space due to my TJ-09. ). Also, just looking at some pictures of it not sure my GFX would fit in the FT02, or it would also be a very tight fit. I do appreciate the suggestion though, seems like a neat little case. =)

Well you could get same cables like you say, and if you want to go Yellow get some viper fans. Otherwise you can get some SP120's/AF120's/AF140's and spray paint the rings gold/yellow.. That will look epic.

Have had a look around and can't seem to find any yellow cables though, so would mean brading them, which looks a bit tricky from what I glanced in the thread in this forum. Did find the suggested fans though. =)

Other suggestions still welcome, nothing is decided yet. Including possible theme if I would opt for the H100i. =)

 

[TheSwede]

Love my Silverstone FT02...

*snip

Nice case but a bit to small for me, not the build itself since coupe69 did point out I can get it in but personally I think it is to tight with space.

i have an air 540 which im very happy with

I did look at the 540 as well and liked what I saw part from it only could take 2 HD's which is not enough for me.

So I ordered the 750D last evening, hoping it be here in a couple days and that the driver this time wont be to lazy to read out my phone number from the label when coming to deliver it like last time.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions, greatly appreciated !

 

[TheSwede]

Just saw something in RJC's build log, TIM cleaning solution. Would I need that or something similar after removing the D15 so I can attach the H100i instead or would it be enough just to carefully clean the CPU with some tissue ? Has honestly no clue and didn't think of asking until now when I saw that bottle next to his back breaker case.

 

[TheSwede]

Thanks Doomedspeed, but ended up getting some TIM from a local PC shop here. I had to go and buy 2 more 120 fans since I never thought of the fans in the H100i would have to be changed as well, which I realized after reading some build logs in the Project Log section.

Got the Case and assorted items today as well so now have everything needed to start moving it over to the new case, here is a little picture of the new stuff.

Question though: The SP120 Fans are the ones I bought today and never realized it's 2 different ones. On the package it says they perform best attached to CPU heatsinks and low-clearance radiators, would it be best to mount those two on the H100i then and use the other AF120 elsewhere ?

 

[TheSwede]

Two different ones? How do you mean? Put the SP120's onto your H100i, and the AF120/140's in the case as intake/exhaust. The H100i would be good exhausting out of the roof, one AF120/AF140 in the bottom/front as intake and one as exhaust.

AF120 and SP120, slightly different ones in such way as I take it AF = Air Flow and SP = Static Pressure so the 2 fans works slightly different ??

Let me see if I got this correct:
Radiator and fan compatibility:
- Top: 3 x 120mm or 2 x 140mm <= That's where the H100i goes and the fans as Exhaust [SP120 fans]
- Front: 2 x 140mm or 2 x 120mm <= 2 x AF140 as Intake
- Bottom: 2 x 120mm <= Which will be the two AF120 as Intake
- Rear: 1 x 140mm or 120mm (140mm included) <= 1 x AF140 as Exhaust

That's how you suggest them to be for best airflow ?? And to make sure I get them in the right direction, where the color ring is, would that be the intake or exhaust ? (Guess I can just plopp them in and switch it on and find out but if I can get it right from the start by asking would fell a bit better.. lol )

Sorry if I am asking n00bish questions but when I upgraded the mobo/cpu/gfx the other month I just didn't fell to content with the end result due to the "restrictions" (in my view or just me being very bad at cable management! lol) of the Silverstone TJ-09 hence why I bought the 750D and this time I want it all right, including Air flow and Color theme if I can manage that in the end.

I am grateful for all suggestions and advice that you guys and gals have giving me so far !!

 

[TheSwede]

Yes, exactly like that. SP fans are not so good for airflow, but are designed to be good in restricted areas such as radiators, so the SP fans for the H100i are perfect.

You will have to take the HDD cages out to put the two AF120's in the bottom however - one HDD cage can be mounted under the optical drive cages The other you will have to put away somewhere

whopsi do .. and here for some reason I had got the impression the HDD cages could go on top of the fans but having browsed through the 750 thread again and had a proper look inside the case, I realize it's not fans under them just a raiser for the cages.

Guess I have to rethink it a bit, since was going to have 2 SSD (which can be put at the back I noticed) and 4 normal HDD's. Seen someone stacking them at the corner though, might do that and hope it wont restrict the air flow into the case to much and have just 1 at the bottom which will be unrestricted then.

 

[TheSwede]

ahh good idea, yeah can go down and see if I can get a 5.25 to 3.5 adapter tomorrow. My idea was to have 2 in each cage so they got a bit more air flow around them but that would probably restrict the front intake bit to much anyway so will do a HD in the top bays.. =)