Computer Cases - Your Opinions Please

[EvilRoy]

So, I need a new computer case because I'm cheap, made a shitty decision, and now I'm suffering the consequences. Basically I bought a 50 dollar case with a bunch of pre-installed fans, and now five years later the fans are all failing. No big deal right? Well unfortunately an aspect of this case being so cheap is the fact that they hard-wired all the fans in to a hub that then hooks into the mobo for power. So, I actually can't replace the fans without fixing the wiring myself, or removing the old fans (which are secured in a perplexing and frustrating way which makes me think nobody was ever expected to remove them) and installing new fans that I will have to get cord extenders for and its a whole thing and I'm not gonna do it. I could fix this, but fuck it. I spent something like 50 bucks on this case and I got 50 bucks of value out of it and now I want to throw it in the recycling bin. Its bulky and impossible to clean anyway.

All that said, I was interested in peoples opinions of what kind of case to look at. I kind of fell down the rabbithole of youtube reviews, watched a dozen or more videos on cases and I have only confused myself more in the process. There are a lot of cases now. My ultimate determination is that a lot of the time I'm really not gonna go wrong by spending 100 to 150 bucks CAD on a case for a life expectancy of 5 years plus 5 more with maintenance. It would be nice if I'm getting something that will survive multiple builds, because my current case certainly cannot.

From here, I wanted to know if people think that any given case is better or worse value around that price point. A lot of stuff has changed since I last looked, so I don't really know what to say about tempered glass vs acrylic, or what power supply shrouds really mean for me. I don't really care about RGB, with or without I'll survive, and I am aiming for a standard mid size ATX case. It would be nice to have a case a bit on the smaller side, but I'm not really set up to do a compact build with what I have so those mini cases are out.

So far I'm kind of swinging between the Coolermaster 4000D Airflow, the Lian Li 215, the Lian Li Meshify 2, and the Fractal Design Pop Air. Thoughts, fears, eggs?

 

[Chimpzy]

I think you got your names mixed up a bit. Pretty sure it's the Corsair 4000D Airflow and Fractal Design Meshify 2, or maybe Lian Li II Mesh.

No matter tho. Without going into a deep dive, looking at their respective specs, your choices feel largely interchangeable.

I kind of like the Lian Li 215 best. Seems like it could have the best cooling potential, adequate options for storage, and if it comes with that bracket for vertical gpu mounting, that's kinda neat. And afaik, Lian Li gear has a solid reputation. Got a buddy who swears by them, for whatever that is worth. But looking at prices on Amazon, both the Lian Li cases are out of your budget tho.

As for the other two, I have experience with Corsair cases, my current one's been serving me for 8 years, no issues. Not fond that the 4000D only has two 2,5" bays tho, but that's because I have a bunch of storage drives. Don't know anything about Fractal Design, can't help you there.

 

[EvilRoy]

Ah, you're right - It was the Liancool Mesh 2, and the Fractal Meshify. More evidence that I'm drowning in options.

Thanks for the opinion, the Lian 215 is pretty available here so that does help the choice a bit as well. Honestly if the options are pretty interchangeable then it works in my favour - at least I know I narrowed it down to a region where nothing popped out to you as trash.

The pricing thing is actually kind of weird and I'm not sure what's up there - Amazon is usually cheaper compared to local so I figured it wouldn't change much when I stated my price, but that case is literally over 100 CAD more expensive on amazon than any local retailer. Maybe its supply issues or something.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

Fractal Design makes quality cases, but they kinda cost a liiiiittle more than they should and tend to be a little more revisionist with some of their popular lines rather than innovative. It has been a few years since I've looked into them though so that could be an outdated opinion. Lian Li is also a good choice, they're a good brand of case makers overall.

For some reason I've found that case prices on Amazon are absolutely screwy. They're being gouged to hell and back by some people. I saw $150 cases going for $700 for no defined reason. I'm not sure if you've heard of it, but PCPartPicker is a very valuable resource for finding the best deals on PC parts since it pulls from a bunch of sites and tracks their price fluctuations. Definitely give it a look in its Case section to find something that fits the parameters you're looking for.

As for something I'd recommend... The last case I had before I sold my custom PC and got out of the whole scene was the BeQuiet! Pure Base 500. I'm very much a silent operation person, so I went for a case that could block out the most noise while being easy to work with and was relatively compact. Of course, being a silent case it doesn't have top mark thermals compared to an open mesh case, but it does a respectable job despite that. You do need a few fans up front with higher static pressure to pull enough air through the vents though. I recommend the Noctua NF-A12x25 PWN and using the included fans for exhaust near the back.

Hope that helps you in some way!

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

And afaik, Lian Li gear has a solid reputation.

Yeah, Lian Li is like Silverstone... Kinda pricey but a good rep and a lot of people say they're worth the extra cost.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Thoughts, fears, eggs?

Remember to pony up for some dust filters.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

Remember to pony up for some dust filters.

Provided the case doesn't already come with some

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Give this a look:

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[Gordon_4]

Give this a look:

​

Scruffy looking and sanctimonious fuck that he is, we’d be infinitely poorer for his absence. If GamersNexus recommends it, the chances of it being bad for you are astronomically small. You won’t go wrong with their recommendations.

 

[gorfias]

Fractal Design makes quality cases, but they kinda cost a liiiiittle more than they should and tend to be a little more revisionist with some of their popular lines rather than innovative. It has been a few years since I've looked into them though so that could be an outdated opinion. Lian Li is also a good choice, they're a good brand of case makers overall.

For some reason I've found that case prices on Amazon are absolutely screwy. They're being gouged to hell and back by some people. I saw $150 cases going for $700 for no defined reason. I'm not sure if you've heard of it, but PCPartPicker is a very valuable resource for finding the best deals on PC parts since it pulls from a bunch of sites and tracks their price fluctuations. Definitely give it a look in its Case section to find something that fits the parameters you're looking for.

As for something I'd recommend... The last case I had before I sold my custom PC and got out of the whole scene was the BeQuiet! Pure Base 500. I'm very much a silent operation person, so I went for a case that could block out the most noise while being easy to work with and was relatively compact. Of course, being a silent case it doesn't have top mark thermals compared to an open mesh case, but it does a respectable job despite that. You do need a few fans up front with higher static pressure to pull enough air through the vents though. I recommend the Noctua NF-A12x25 PWN and using the included fans for exhaust near the back.

Hope that helps you in some way!

Never been to pcpartpicker! Book Marked, thanks!

Give this a look:

This may be in my future. I build my next in Q1 2024.

https://www.newegg.com/black-montech-x3-atx-micro-atx-mid-tower/p/2AM-00CN-00036?Item=9SIAK91EEV3935&nm_mc=AFC-RAN-COM&cm_mmc=afc-ran-com-_-PCPartPicker&AFFID=2558510&AFFNAME=PCPartPicker&ACRID=1&ASID=https%3a%2f%2fpcpartpicker.com%2f&ranMID=44583&ranEAID=2558510&ranSiteID=8BacdVP0GFs-BmBR1.lFEh.wbkfaIv2bSA

ITMT: This is holding up so far but if these built in fans die, it will be a thing to R&R them. Looks neato but tiny slots for air flow at top and bottom of the front. No trays for a ROM but, ROMs are kinda a thing of the past.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Scruffy looking and sanctimonious fuck that he is, we’d be infinitely poorer for his absence. If GamersNexus recommends it, the chances of it being bad for you are astronomically small. You won’t go wrong with their recommendations.

I have trouble watching his videos because his voice simultaneously puts me to sleep and gives me a headache, but I do it anyway because he puts in the work to get things right.

 

[EvilRoy]

As for something I'd recommend... The last case I had before I sold my custom PC and got out of the whole scene was the BeQuiet! Pure Base 500. I'm very much a silent operation person, so I went for a case that could block out the most noise while being easy to work with and was relatively compact. Of course, being a silent case it doesn't have top mark thermals compared to an open mesh case, but it does a respectable job despite that. You do need a few fans up front with higher static pressure to pull enough air through the vents though. I recommend the Noctua NF-A12x25 PWN and using the included fans for exhaust near the back.

I'll definitely take a look at it, hearing proven success is always valuable. A lot of reviews are super thorough but they involve a person using a case for like a day which doesn't tell me much about what its like to use the thing long term.

Remember to pony up for some dust filters.

Yep, just gotta confirm if the case comes with any before I pick them up. Seems like Fractal does and Lian Li doesnt, but that might be an oversimplification.

Give this a look:

​

That's actually where I started, and ultimately returned to before figuring I should you guys for your opinions. I started my search looking for a case that was durable and wouldn't make my performance worse by being bad for air. Then I compared my thermals against the ones GN was reporting and figured out that short of modifying a camping cooler to hold computer parts I really can't do worse than I'm currently doing. That opened up a rabbithole of "well literally anything is better than what I'm doing, so that means literally anything within my price range is an option", and that's where it spiraled into too many choices territory.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

Never been to pcpartpicker! Book Marked, thanks!

No worries! The one I linked was the Canadian version, but there is an american version if that applies to you. That site was a god send in my PC building days.

I'll definitely take a look at it, hearing proven success is always valuable. A lot of reviews are super thorough but they involve a person using a case for like a day which doesn't tell me much about what its like to use the thing long term.

There's a mesh version called the 500DX if that interest you as well! Apparently it's still decently silent while having much improved airflow thanks to the front not being blocked off. If I had any complaints, it's that the top plate you can swap out for airflow or silent operation didn't come with a mesh filter, so if you used the top of the case for an exhaust like I did then it can let dust back in. It was otherwise pretty solid!

If you don't have some Noctua fans, I also 100% recommend them, they are masters of their craft. Noctua has a ton of different models on offer, but the NF-A12x25 is the 120mm catch-all, it excels at most things, and only is outpaced by the very specific uses of some of their other particular fans (and even then it's only by a smaller percentage of effectiveness).

...and figured out that short of modifying a camping cooler to hold computer parts I really can't do worse than I'm currently doing. That opened up a rabbithole of "well literally anything is better than what I'm doing, so that means literally anything within my price range is an option", and that's where it spiraled into too many choices territory.

I've had that happen before, and hoo boy is it daunting. At that point it's a good idea to look at the features each budget allows, and then set a budget you want to work with and go from there. At that point your budget can either go smaller or larger as needed depending if the thing you want has all the features you want

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I am quite partial to cases that support 200mm fans, and I personally use a Cooler Master H500. At the time I bought it I believe it was $119.



The reason that I'm partial to big 200mm fans is because big fans move more air at a slower speed, and fans moving at a slower speed are quiet. Since most people use SSDs for their computers these days you can almost completely remove any mechanical noise and create a silent PC with 200mm fans (it won't actually be silent, but it will be quieter than the ambient noise of your house).

Generally speaking there are a lot of really great cases right now around the $100 price point. Just focus on the cases that are specifically airflow optimized. Gamers Nexus has a bunch of review videos on the subject, and graphs comparing a lot of cases if you're curious.

edit: posted the Gamers Nexus video that was already posted in the thread. That's what I get for posting without reading.

 

[Chimpzy]

Never been to pcpartpicker! Book Marked, thanks!

Aye, essential resource for the savvy builder. Also checks your chosen parts for compatability. Quite handy. Mind you, that's technical compatability, not necessarily physical (for example, large cpu cooler of gpu may technically work, but not actually fit in the case).

 

[Gordon_4]

I just got my new case in the mail yesterday in fact. I got the Corsair 5000D Airflow and a bunch of fans to go in it cos my old case nearly cooked my 3080.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

not actually fit in the case

When you've got a dremel with a carbide cutting disc you can make anything fit.

 

[Gordon_4]

When you've got a dremel with a carbide cutting disc you can make anything fit.

Motto of case modders everywhere

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Motto of case modders everywhere

If you don't own a decent rotary tool you're not a even trying.

 

[gorfias]

I just got my new case in the mail yesterday in fact. I got the Corsair 5000D Airflow and a bunch of fans to go in it cos my old case nearly cooked my 3080.

Dang, you aren't messing around. I think the most I ever spent for a case was $80 for a 2012 build. Typically I've spent more like $40. This thing looks to be very good for air cooling.

2x 120 fans included.