Looking for a new case for my gaming PC

drinkturps

Prominent Member
Joined
May 20, 2006
Messages
3,275
Reaction score
1,549
Points
769
Location
Bed
Hi there, I thought I'd get a better response here as you are already PC Gamers and most probably have a gaming case. :)

I'm after a new PC case to house my ATX motherboard. Looking for a fan in the top of the case in addition to the usual front and back.

My current case is about 8 years old and my components are cooking due to poor airflow as it has the PSU at the top of the case that is heating up my all-in-one watercooling unit.

What would you recommend? I've had a look at the Coolermaster CM690II and the Zalman Z9 but struggling to make my mind up.

Budgetwise I've got about £80-90 to spend. It does not have to be superflash just reasonably quiet and able to fit in 4 HDDs with a Nvidia GTX460 GPU.

Many thanks
 
The Coolermaster cases are very well built, I've been considering the white one but funds haven't allowed a change yet. I've also considered moving to microATX and getting one of those really smart white bitfenix cases they just released.
 
Cases are a very personal thing, do you like sleek cases with no/not many lights, do you like white cases or do you like lots of leds and mesh and stuff and something that looks like it's been designed by a 12 year old... (each to their own :laugh:)

Once we know what your taste is you'll get some decent recommendations, no good suggesting a fractal define when you want something like a coolermaster HAF :D
 
Cases are a very personal thing, do you like sleek cases with no/not many lights, do you like white cases or do you like lots of leds and mesh and stuff and something that looks like it's been designed by a 12 year old... (each to their own :laugh:)

Once we know what your taste is you'll get some decent recommendations, no good suggesting a fractal define when you want something like a coolermaster HAF :D

Hmmm, interesting point. I could not care less about LEDs, flashy lights and go faster stripes. It's going to sit on the floor next to me so it does not need to be a looker. Would prefer a black a case over a white one if only to make it less likely to need a clean!

I'm looking for improved airflow, reasonably quiet with adequate cable management that is able to keep my water cooled CPU happy in the £80-90 bracket.
 
Ok, bitfenix shinobi, fractal arc midi, corsair carbide 500r (500r is a very nice case).

if you want something with sound deadening panels etc then look at the fractal R4 (or R3 if you're impatient) :smashin:
 
Tall_Paul said:
Ok, bitfenix shinobi, fractal arc midi, corsair carbide 500r (500r is a very nice case).

if you want something with sound deadening panels etc then look at the fractal R4 (or R3 if you're impatient) :smashin:

Agree the Carbide 500r is great!! I have one and love it!!
 
Oooohhh! Thanks peeps so far!! :clap:

I'm narrowing it down. :smashin:

At the moment the Carbide 500r is looking pretty damn good and I also like the look of the Antec and Coolermaster 690II. I know it sounds silly but the little depression on the top of the Carbide case would fit my little smartphone when I'm charging it too!

My water cooler is also a Corsair so I'm guessing it will be breeze to fit it to the top fan outlet.

Hmmmmmmmm
 
drinkturps said:
Oooohhh! Thanks peeps so far!! :clap:

I'm narrowing it down. :smashin:

At the moment the Carbide 500r is looking pretty damn good and I also like the look of the Antec and Coolermaster 690II. I know it sounds silly but the little depression on the top of the Carbide case would fit my little smartphone when I'm charging it too!

My water cooler is also a Corsair so I'm guessing it will be breeze to fit it to the top fan outlet.

Hmmmmmmmm

It is I have a H100 in the top of case it was designed for it!
 
Got a silverstone raven rv01 I'm looking to shift, it's a great case but too big for my needs. Awesome case, look it up and look at the details because it's a revolutionary case in every sense of the word! I was after about £90 plus shipping but if you're interested I can open a thread and we can discuss it properly :)
 
I use an Antec 300 with an ATX form factor mobo, 4 hdds, 2 optical drives and 2 GTX 460's (one by gigabyte OC edition and one by palit sonic edition)

It's a mini tower case and about half your budget-ish.

It can be a bit of a squeeze, but once everything's in there it's nice and cool and I'd never look back to the sheap crap I used to buy.

3.jpg

2.jpg


It's the coolest case I have ever had and does me well. So I'll put a very biased thumbs up for antec stuff :)

tris

edit:
room for another 2 hdd's and one optical drive btw, and room for 3 more 120mm fans, two in front one on the side. Cheaper than when I got bought mine too :)
http://www.ebuyer.com/143854-antec-...ium=products&gclid=CNm20e21g7ICFYYNfAodDg0Apg
 
Last edited:
Everyone, thanks for your assistance. I opted for the Corsair Carbide 500R mainly because it is more Corsair water cooler friendly than the others. (and err, *cough cough* nothing to do with the built in mobile phone holder I'm not that shallow honest!)

Really appreciate the input and offers, that's what I love about these forums. If I was on a tighter budget the Antec could well have been a winner. I've not had a decent case before so I've splashed out a little bit extra for the cable tidying gravy.

Once I've got it all fitted up (could be a week or two) I'll post an update.

Again thanks to you all.
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is Home Theater DEAD in 2024?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom