Question Case recommendations - high quality modern mid tower

themisfit610

Golden Member
Apr 16, 2006
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Hey friends,

I currently have a Corsair 650D. It's super well made, and a pleasure to work in, but it's an old design. No USB 3 front ports is a major issue, and overall I think this case is bigger / heavier than I need.

I have a small water cooler today (Corsair H80i v2) but see myself upgrading this with my next build. I use a 7700k and a GTX 1080, with 1x 5.25" optical, 2x 3.5" mech drives, and 2x 2.5" SSDs.

I want at least 2 USB 3.0 Type A ports on the front, and ideally a 3.1 Type C port as well. Some 2.0s would be fine too.

The most important thing to me is having something that's built extremely well, has plenty of room to work in / space behind the mobo tray for cables / overall good design and engineering. I don't care about RGB LED or windows, tho a window would be fine. I generally like an understated design, and generally prefer a matte finish in black.

I would like to run a bigger closed loop cooler, maybe with a new Ryzen or something :)

Fractal Design R6 looks like a good fit, but I'm wondering what other people like. Money isn't really an object.

Thoughts?
 
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Fallen Kell

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
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431
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Sounds like you are describing a Fractal Design Define R6 USB-C which can be had with or without a tempered glass window.

(Please note I own 2 of the previous ones in the line, a R3 and a R4... If I was building a new system right now, I would be using a R6).
 
Last edited:

AnnoyedGrunt

Senior member
Jan 31, 2004
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I have a fractal define meshify-c mini, which doesn’t meet your requirements exactly, but it is a nicely designed, high quality case with nice room for cable management. I’m sure their define series is similarly well constructed.

-AG
 

aigomorla

CPU, Cases&Cooling Mod PC Gaming Mod Elite Member
Super Moderator
Sep 28, 2005
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You will need the new type C motherboard header.
Looking at your parts in signature, u most definitely do not have that.
That being said...

This is how a type C motherboard header looks like:
attachment.php


Going on your recommendations...
The R6 is great not much bad can be said about that case.
I also like the Lian Li pc-o11
Phantek Enthoo Lux and Evolv line are also good looking.
 
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Gt403cyl

Member
Jun 12, 2018
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You will need the new type C motherboard header.
Looking at your parts in signature, u most definitely do not have that.
That being said...

This is how a type C motherboard header looks like:
attachment.php


Going on your recommendations...
The R6 is great not much bad can be said about that case.
I also like the Lian Li pc-o11
Phantek Enthoo Lux and Evolv line are also good looking.


I completely second the Lian-Li O11 Dynamic, I recently just upgraded my case to the white version and I’m in love!
 

Gt403cyl

Member
Jun 12, 2018
126
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I think I'd probably grab the O11 Dynamic over the R6 and it's actually cheaper. I do like the Fractal brand though.

The FD R6 is a good case, when I bought my O11 it was the only other consideration...

The only reason I went with the O11 over the R6 was appearance, functionally they both would have fit the bill but I liked the O11 looks better.
 

Kadarin

Lifer
Nov 23, 2001
44,303
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I have a fractal define meshify-c mini, which doesn’t meet your requirements exactly, but it is a nicely designed, high quality case with nice room for cable management. I’m sure their define series is similarly well constructed.

-AG

I run a 5 year old Fractal Design Define R5, and I've been very happy with the case in terms of looks, build quality, and so on and so forth. It's super quiet yet doesn't get hot (running a 5930K based Haswell-E x99 system with a 2080Ti, not overclocked).
 

Fallen Kell

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
6,039
431
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As long as you are using a water cooler, the Lian Li will be great. However, if you wanted/needed to use large air heatsinks, it simply doesn't have the space for them. It is something to consider and make sure you are fine with the decision.
 

kurosaki

Senior member
Feb 7, 2019
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Bought an In Win 909 this week myself! Cant find a nicer case. Works with both air and watercooling depending on needs. 4 dedicated 3,5", loads of 2,5".

The fractals can feel a bit plasticky. If the 909 is to big, there is a 904.. Though it comes with some restrictions witch made the choice easy for me. (Need short tower cooler, 90mm i would presume fits, or water blocks)
If you need a case with easy managed harddrive-slots and loads of space, then I guess you cant find a finer case right now. : )

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