Question Advice on a new case

Kamijou Touma

Junior Member
Sep 8, 2019
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2
81
I am planning to build a new pc soon. I am planning on getting a intel 12700k as the processor. I need cooling and a case. For the case I would like I/o to have 2 usb 3 and 1 usb-c on the top. I would like to stick as close to $100 as possible but I would be willing to do $150 if necessary. I would like a case with good airflow. I would like overclock a bit on the cpu. I have never used an aio cooler before so I am not knowledgeable about them. I would want a case that I can mount the aio on the top. Or should I just use an aircooler.

Thanks for the help. I haven't built my own pc for along time.
 

Tech Junky

Diamond Member
Jan 27, 2022
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Idle CPU is sitting around 28C / under load 50C

Also, the C header on the steel legend is 20gbps vs 10gbps on other boards. Case is easy to work in and at the right angle you can see front to back through the mesh for the airflow concerns. I run it 24/7 and 0 issues.

AIO's not needed.. save your money.
 

Kamijou Touma

Junior Member
Sep 8, 2019
13
2
81

Idle CPU is sitting around 28C / under load 50C

Also, the C header on the steel legend is 20gbps vs 10gbps on other boards. Case is easy to work in and at the right angle you can see front to back through the mesh for the airflow concerns. I run it 24/7 and 0 issues.

AIO's not needed.. save your money.
That case seems like a good option. It is a little higher than I want to spend. There is always a chance of a sale.
 

Tech Junky

Diamond Member
Jan 27, 2022
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Int this market I wouldn't count on a sale. It's a great case though with tons of room for drives if you're into hoarding data. IIRC it holds 13 3.5" drives + some spots to sneak in 2.5" drives. Tons of fan space for 140's. I love working in Fractal's compared to others at this point. They just make sense and are highly adaptable for different scenarios. I used a Node 804 prior to this one that's mATX and it's a great case too with the storage segregated off on one side to minimize the volume of air needed to push the heat out the back or keep the MOBO heat away from the drives. Tons of fan options on that as well. I would have reused it for ADL but, the mATX boards are still quite limited for choices.

Prices on decent cases though have been steady in the $100-$150 range for awhile now. I found some deals on this one but, they were a bit sketchy compared to using known sellers. When it comes to C ports on the front though the options are quite limited and pricey. The other option would be something with a 3.5 or 5.25 space on the front and putting in a bay panel with USB in it. Adds another $20-$30.
 

Kamijou Touma

Junior Member
Sep 8, 2019
13
2
81
Int this market I wouldn't count on a sale. It's a great case though with tons of room for drives if you're into hoarding data. IIRC it holds 13 3.5" drives + some spots to sneak in 2.5" drives. Tons of fan space for 140's. I love working in Fractal's compared to others at this point. They just make sense and are highly adaptable for different scenarios. I used a Node 804 prior to this one that's mATX and it's a great case too with the storage segregated off on one side to minimize the volume of air needed to push the heat out the back or keep the MOBO heat away from the drives. Tons of fan options on that as well. I would have reused it for ADL but, the mATX boards are still quite limited for choices.

Prices on decent cases though have been steady in the $100-$150 range for awhile now. I found some deals on this one but, they were a bit sketchy compared to using known sellers. When it comes to C ports on the front though the options are quite limited and pricey. The other option would be something with a 3.5 or 5.25 space on the front and putting in a bay panel with USB in it. Adds another $20-$30.


What do think about the Corsair 5000D airflow. It fits the bill pretty well too.
 

Tech Junky

Diamond Member
Jan 27, 2022
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@Kamijou Touma

It's all personal preference and how much internal space you need. I'm sure I looked at that as well when sizing up my current build but, it didn't fit my needs 100%.


Looking at the pricing it's in the same tier. For me having tons of storage this only has 2 bays which wouldn't work for me with 5 drives inside. I also didn't want to deal with the glass panel on the side again. It's just annoying to me with seeing the potential lights inside as most MOBO's have some LED on them at this point. I disabled it in the BIOS but, there's still some LED's for status indicators that would be emitting a red glow.

The meshify has one LED strip / bar on the front for power indicator that's white and minimalistic. I tend to avoid drawing attention to my systems because they're front and center in the living room for best placement of the AP for WIFI. This also leads to finding good airflow so the fans don't need to ramp up and make excessive noise. The little 80mm fans in my projector make more noise than this setup does.
 

Kamijou Touma

Junior Member
Sep 8, 2019
13
2
81
@Kamijou Touma

It's all personal preference and how much internal space you need. I'm sure I looked at that as well when sizing up my current build but, it didn't fit my needs 100%.


Looking at the pricing it's in the same tier. For me having tons of storage this only has 2 bays which wouldn't work for me with 5 drives inside. I also didn't want to deal with the glass panel on the side again. It's just annoying to me with seeing the potential lights inside as most MOBO's have some LED on them at this point. I disabled it in the BIOS but, there's still some LED's for status indicators that would be emitting a red glow.

The meshify has one LED strip / bar on the front for power indicator that's white and minimalistic. I tend to avoid drawing attention to my systems because they're front and center in the living room for best placement of the AP for WIFI. This also leads to finding good airflow so the fans don't need to ramp up and make excessive noise. The little 80mm fans in my projector make more noise than this setup does.

I only have 1 spinning hdd in my pc.
Corsair 4000D
Not a bad option but it only has 1 usb 3 port. I really need 2 and that is the minimum.
 

Tech Junky

Diamond Member
Jan 27, 2022
3,363
1,118
106
Well, then you really don't need a huge case except for the issue of heat potentially. I stand by my Meshify2 vs XL.

C ports are atypical when it comes to cases for some reason though they've been around for years now as a standard.

FD's narrowed down to 2 x 3.5" drives gives the Meshify C / Define 7 / Meshify2 compact

NZXT has some appeal too

Silverstone has some decent cases

Lian Li are popular for some people

There's 100 different options if you zap the brand from any of these links. Whether they tick all of the boxes though is a different story you'll need to fig into w/ compare. Case's can be an emotional trigger to what you like and don't like ro you go for function over aesthetics.
 

Kamijou Touma

Junior Member
Sep 8, 2019
13
2
81
Well, then you really don't need a huge case except for the issue of heat potentially. I stand by my Meshify2 vs XL.

C ports are atypical when it comes to cases for some reason though they've been around for years now as a standard.

FD's narrowed down to 2 x 3.5" drives gives the Meshify C / Define 7 / Meshify2 compact

NZXT has some appeal too

Silverstone has some decent cases

Lian Li are popular for some people

There's 100 different options if you zap the brand from any of these links. Whether they tick all of the boxes though is a different story you'll need to fig into w/ compare. Case's can be an emotional trigger to what you like and don't like ro you go for function over aesthetics.
I don't care about the looks all that much. I am not a fan of rgb on a case. I will try buy whatever is cheaper between the 2 when I buy it. Thanks for the advice.
 

Tech Junky

Diamond Member
Jan 27, 2022
3,363
1,118
106
FD is more understated w/ the steel panel vs the TG side panel. RGB is annoying these days as everyone sells rainbow farts.

I would stick with the OEMs I listed links for and there's other cheaper options outside of those though that might be fine as well.
 

Kamijou Touma

Junior Member
Sep 8, 2019
13
2
81
FD is more understated w/ the steel panel vs the TG side panel. RGB is annoying these days as everyone sells rainbow farts.

I would stick with the OEMs I listed links for and there's other cheaper options outside of those though that might be fine as well.
I agree about the lights. Having a window is not a issue since the pc is kept in place where is it not easily seen. The nzxt h7 flow looks good.