# Which Case should I get?



## sapped1 (Dec 28, 2014)

Hey guys,

I'm thinking of building a new PC specifically for gaming, and am wondering which case I should get. I'm really troubled by this
since there's just so much choices available, and I don't know the first thing about cases, so hoping for your help with this.

Here are the components I'm getting:

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
Mobo: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
RAM: G.Skill Trident X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
GPU: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X Video Card

This is the store I'm using as I can get a special deal there:
https://www.umart.com.au/umart1/pro/index.phtml?bid=9

But like I said, I don't know much about cases, and kinda confused when looking at this list:
http://au.pcpartpicker.com/parts/case/#sort=d5


The only thing I've set down is getting either an ATX Full Tower or ATX Mid Tower, but I have some questions regarding this.
Does the full tower allow for better airflow, lower heat in the case, so it will be cooler compared to the mid tower?

Or are there no difference whatsoever? If so why are the full tower much more expensive compared to the mid tower?
Are there any other advantages other than bigger capacity?

If there are any performance, cooling or circulation related benefits to the full tower, then the field can be narrowed down much more.


Also here's some additional information, I don't know whether they are useful or not:
1. Yes I'm planning on overclocking in the future, but not decided on air or liquid cooler yet, are liquid cooling tied to specific cases?
2. I'm not using an optical drive.
3. Any colours are fine, and I'm perfectly fine with large sizes since I'll be putting it under the table.

And for the case, are there some brands or series which are better than the others?
What are your recommendations for the best bang for the buck?

Anyways really appreciate any help you guys can give!

Best Regards,
sapped


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## Kursah (Dec 28, 2014)

There's a lot of design elements that can affect the airflow performance of a case. Some full towers may have better airflow, some mid towers might have better.

What generally affects this is airflow points. Mesh areas that also accept fans.

Try to find a design you like and research it. See if it has features you want.

I recommend 1-2 fans at front intake, 1 rear fan exhaust and 1-2 fans top exhaust. This has always treated me well.

Another important aspect of case design is cable management. The holes in the mainboard tray and extra space behind it. This is for stashing and hiding cables. Cable Mgt accomplishes two things...looks and airflow performance. Just be careful not to zip tie too securely that you make it tough to replace a component later on...Google or YouTube search for more on cable management.

Another item is space...what do you need space for? Some cases come with removable hard drive bays. These bays normally block intake fans...and removing them generally increases cooling performance a little to the system and GPU. But if you need those drives..its nice to have the space for them and active cooling.

Another thing to consider is dust filtering...which is a required feature for me. Helps keep my system cleaner and reduces the frequency of me cleaning.

What about 5.25" bays for CD/dvd/BR? You need 1? 2? 3? More? None? You say none...but what if you use adapters for your hard drives so you can remove the hard drive bay to improve cooling slightly.

I've owned full and mid towers. I prefer mid towers when there's no big water cooling solutions. Also most modern mid tower cases are well designed and can handle water. Full tower rigs are best suited for more hardware...not necessarily more cooling. But being that there's more room for both of evens out.

I've had great luck with Cooler Master, Antec, Corair, Lian Li, and Rosewill cases...there are many brands, styles and budgets. Best I can suggest is browse Newegg, Amazon and PCPartsPicker.

Hope that helps. Good luck with your search. I know I missed a few points bit I'm sure others will touch on them.


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## Devon68 (Dec 28, 2014)

Avoid cases with windows if you are like me xD
I used to clean my case regularly but lately didn't and now the dust is getting visible and very annoying.
From the cases I was looking at I would maybe get the Fractal design R4/R5 for silence or NZXT s340, H440 or Thermaltake core V51. But only you can really know what you need and like.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Dec 28, 2014)

Phanteks Enthoo PRO price / feature its pretty damn amazing.


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## wolar (Dec 28, 2014)

If you want to get a silent case check fractal design define r5 / bequiet! . For cheap full tower the phanteks enthoo pro is pretty good but it all comes down to what you prefer and find more attractive really .


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## revin (Dec 28, 2014)

They have awesome advice to get you going....
A case with *BIG* fan's like 200mm {ie...HAF-X has 3 200mm+140mm exhaust} they are *very* quiet and move massive amounts of air, I added a 120x38mm in the 5.25 bay, keeps very cold BUT will need cleaning often.
About every 2 months I gotta lug it out to the garage and clean it TBH I would ONLY recommend it if it was inside a cabinet.

I'd Look for case's with fan's at least 140mm up, like those mentioned, then decide what style/cost would appeal to you.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Dec 28, 2014)

The Fractal R5 is good but the Nanoxia Deep Silence 1 offers better HDD placement and a interesting chimney for roof for water cooling etc.

The Phanteks however has good cable management SSD tray behind the motherboard PSU cover. And if the case needs to be made quieter you can buy sound insulation kits from Frozen CPU etc.


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## sapped1 (Dec 30, 2014)

Hey guys, thank you so much for all your replies, really appreciate all of them.

And yeah from the looks of it I will not be needing a full tower, so I'm going with ATX Mid Tower instead, this really narrows the list down!

Although I'm also wondering, what does those side panel windows do? More importantly, do they allow for better heat dissipation compared to the ones without?
(Like glass dissipate heat better than metal)

Or are they only there to look fancy? And allow the inside of the case to be viewable? (which I probably won't need)

If it indeed does absolutely nothing at lowering heat, then I'll probably buy one without side panel window, not only are these cheaper
but metal also stronger and more durable than glass as well.

Again appreciate all your comments!


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## HammerON (Dec 30, 2014)

The windows on the side panels are to "show off" your pc. There is no thermal benefit from having one.


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## 荷兰大母猪 (Dec 30, 2014)

I think if u will not add another gpu to build sli/cf system u can choose to build an itx system. Smaller, quieter, and more convenient.


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## rtwjunkie (Dec 30, 2014)

I quite like the Fractal Design Define R4 (quickly being replaced by the R5), and then the NZXT Source from your list.  That's actually a case with a ton of features and airflow that really grabs me, and would like to grab myself for a project.  The Defines have phenomenal airflow, and are very quiet; not silent, but quiet, and are built like a tank.


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## Jborg (Dec 30, 2014)

I just swapped to an H440 and I love it. Super clean, and great cable management, especially with the rear fan hub.

Can also accomodate large video cards, and has a good amount of room for other things you may want to add.


This case stays about the same temps as my old R300 Carbide did,


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## sapped1 (Dec 30, 2014)

Hey guys, was just wondering,

It looks like the Fractal Design Define R5 have recently been released:

http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/cases/define-series/define-r5-black

Are there reasons to get the R4 over the R5? Since some review say it's great improvement over it and the price are similar.

http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/cases/define-series/define-r4-black-pearl


On a side note, are computer cases similar to other components? Like those sequential ones in the same series are all improvements over the previous iteration,
and if the price are similar (which it is), the best bang for the buck would be to get the newer iteration?


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## rtwjunkie (Dec 30, 2014)

Usually, there are minor improvements with sequential number increases in a model line.  The R5 is enough of an improvement over the R4's that I have, that I would recommend it over the R4.  It's supposed to ship at the same price too, so for me, it would be a no-brainer if I was in the market to replace one of my other cases right now. 

The main changes of R5 over R4 seem to be a cover to hide the blowholes you don't use, in addition to the sound-dampening square you can put in there, as well as making the SSD's removable from the back of the motherboard tray without having to remove the motherboard, like you currently have to do in the R4.  There wasn't a heck of alot more they could do, as the design is nearly perfection already, IMO.


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## sapped1 (Dec 31, 2014)

Hey guys,

So which one of the case would you recommend to buy?

Fractal Design ARC R2 Midi for $134 AUD:
https://www.umart.com.au/umart1/pro/Products-details.phtml?id=&id2=211&bid=9&sid=128727

Or

Fractal Design Define R5 for $150 AUD:
https://www.umart.com.au/umart1/pro/Products-details.phtml?id=&id2=211&bid=9&sid=222811

Which one of the two would be a better choice?

Also from looking at the many youtube video reviews, it seems the chasis are a little on the weaker side.
Was wondering which one of them are the stronger case, since I move my PC frequently from place to place due to work.
So don't really want to accidentally damage it somehow.

Or are there another case to recommend?


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## rtwjunkie (Dec 31, 2014)

Of the two, I reccomend the R5 without hesitation. What review said the R5 chassis was on the weak side? It's my understanding that it is just as sturdy as the R4, which means solid as a tank, and heavy.


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## Devon68 (Jan 1, 2015)

Of the two the Define R5 is clearly a winner. I might also get the white define R4 with the red power led.


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## rtwjunkie (Jan 1, 2015)

Devon68 said:


> Of the two the Define R5 is clearly a winner. I might also get the white define R4 with the red power led.



The white is absolutely GORGEOUS!! I got one for my fiance last December and I still can't stop admiring it!


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## Norton (Jan 1, 2015)

sapped1 said:


> Was wondering which one of them are the stronger case, since I move my PC frequently from place to place due to work.
> *So don't really want to accidentally damage it somehow*.



   If we're talking about Fractal's Define series you worry about damaging something with the case!  Fractal Define's are VERY solid cases- most solidly built cases I've owned (you can practically stand on one)!

I have a *Define R4*, a *Define XL Rev 2*, had a *Define Mini* and an *Arc Mini*... all are/were awesome!


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## THE_EGG (Jan 1, 2015)

sapped1 said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> So which one of the case would you recommend to buy?
> 
> ...


Yeh as others have said, R5 for sure. Fractal Designs make some of the most solid PC cases out there. The added soundproofing on the Define series also makes the metal feel stronger. Phanteks is also another great brand for build quality although I had to order mine from Melbourne's PCCaseGear as I couldn't find them at any other Australian PC hardware retailer. Corsair used to be at the top for quality but I've found - both myself and others - that their quality control seems to be lacking a little recently.

If you want that bit of extra rigidity in the R5, keep the HDD/ODD cage(s) in place instead of removing them. Airflow should still be great thanks to the redesigned HDD cage in the R5 (the R4 and previous revisions had restrictive HDD cages from my experience).


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## TheDarkLord (Jan 1, 2015)

Why do you want a Silent case when the Phanteks Enthoo Pro (as suggested above) is available. It's the best case made in 2014 and that's not only my opinion


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## rtwjunkie (Jan 1, 2015)

Because they aren't just silent. They also have excellent airflow, and are feature rich. I am sure the OP looked at all the suggestions, and that's what drew his interest, I suppose. It's all good. Even if he ultimately decides on something else, I am happy for him, because he is the one who has to live with his purchase.


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## THE_EGG (Jan 1, 2015)

rtwjunkie said:


> Because they aren't just silent. They also have excellent airflow, and are feature rich. I am sure the OP looked at all the suggestions, and that's what drew his interest, I suppose. It's all good. Even if he ultimately decides on something else, I am happy for him, because he is the one who has to live with his purchase.


+1


TheDarkLord said:


> Why do you want a Silent case when the Phanteks Enthoo Pro (as suggested above) is available. It's the best case made in 2014 and that's not only my opinion


Another reason not to get it is availability in Australia. Had the Fractal Design R5 been out when I was looking at a new case I would have settled for a white R5 as Fractal Design cases are widely available. At this juncture the only retailer to stock Phanteks cases in Australia is PCCaseGear which is based in Melbourne which means not only expensive shipping due to being such a large item but also the wait time of 1-3weeks depending on the chosen service. The cheapest shipping option for an Enthoo Pro from PCCaseGear (which I chose when I got my case shipped from Melbourne to Brisbane) was $33AUD excl. GST (tax).

Enthoo Pro or Fractal Design Define R5. Both are great choices and imo, they are simply some of the best cases available at this juncture (especially considering their price).


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