Case Recommendation

[Lil Frier]

So my dad's in need of a new computer case. I figured it best to ask those who keep up on these things more frequently than wing it, so I appreciate any input in advance.

For the cost, I'm not sure. My dad likes to half-ass his ideas with this stuff, and he's not one to worry too much about cost. However, I imagine that anything north of $150 would give him pause.

What he's looking to hold in the case is an AMD FX-8350 with a Corsair H100i attached, along with a pair of Sapphire R9 290X cards with aftermarket water coolers attached. I know it'll be a factor, but I don't recall which ones he has (I'll have to ask next time I see him). They're likely not much larger than the stock 290X air coolers, if at all.

Beyond that, it's standard fare. 4 sticks of RAM, then one SSD and one HDD, along with a kilowatt PSU (pretty sure a Corsair). It's mostly about having room for the two cards and the CPU cooler.

 

[AntonioHG]

Did a bit of checking and here are some:

Corsair Obsidian Series 450D
Corsair Carbide Series Air 540
Corsair Graphite Series 730T (760T is more expensive, but I personally like the look lol)

Phanteks Enthoo Pro
Phanteks Enthoo Luxe


Fractal Design R4 (maybe not because of the drive cages)
Fractal Design Arc XL (drive cages again)


Those Fractal cases, mm, you can see that drive cages are in the way, if those coolers are those 120mm things I have in mind. Anything more than that and there's no way.

 

[Greenlepricon]

I just had a new build with the Fractal R4, and all of the drive bays are removable if you need the space. I definitely recommend it if that's what you end up deciding on. I think the Enthoo Luxe looks great as well, and would have probably gone for that one if the Fractal case wasn't so much cheaper. Corsair also makes great cases, and I think you would be happy with any of the ones listed.

 

[Lil Frier]

Cool, I'll check them out and pass the info on to him. I personally have a Rosewill Blackhawk, which I really like. The drive bays in it are removable, I think they said that they can be installed in 5 different configurations or something. I'll have to see what he has for card coolers though, and try to report back on that.

 

[Lil Frier]

So I spoke to my dad tonight about his needs, and it seems that his biggest issue is having the necessary places to mount his radiators. Also, he was pretty sure that he is using the Arctic Accelero II on his 290X cards, this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-095-_-Product

So, that would be room for mounting the dual-120mm radiator from the H100i and the 2 single-fan, 120mm GPU radiators.

The Carbide series might be a bit boxy for where he's keeping his PC. Personally, I'm not crazy about the looks of the Graphite series, though the Obsidian and Phanteks have nice, clean designs. The Fractal R4 doesn't seem like an option, but the Arc XL might be (not quite sure on its fan room, the specs don't explain it clearly).

Thanks again for the input, going to continue searching a bit.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I personally have a Rosewill Blackhawk, which I really like. The drive bays in it are removable

That would have been my suggestion, for air-cooling rigs. I have one and I like it. (Had two, gave one away, they are pretty huge.)