I've got a rather specific set of requirements and am having a hard time finding anything that fits them. I've combed thru the list on newegg several times and have only found a couple of near matches. My list and the near matches are below; if anybody can suggest something I missed (or has experience w/the cases I've listed and can comment on them) I'd love to hear about it!
My requirements:
- Simple black monolith; no bling please! (a simple blue led or two is ok)
- Quiet - don't want a million fans running.
- minimal air intakes, all w/dust filters - i've got a dust problem; keeping the intakes to a minimum will help w/that.
- tool-free installation - ideally can pull optical drives out the front w/out opening the sides, side facing hd's.
- PSU on bottom.
- power/reset switches on top front of case as well as external ports
- external usb and audio ports, firewire and esata would be nice too.
- holes in mobo tray for easy mounting of HSF backplates and cable routing.
- NO front door to hide optical drives
- Less than $100, shipped.
What I've found:
Cooler Master RC-690
W/all the holes in this case I'm thinking it'll be a dust magnet, tho the cooling should be excellent. Sounds like it's not completely tool-free as the optical mounting still requires screws on the right side (and anyway have to open the case to access the mounting mechanism). Lacks holes in mobo tray for backplane access or cable routing. Other than that, a pretty good fit.
Lian Li Lancool PC-K56W
Not crazy about the hd mounting system - a lot of fussing. Optical drive mounting requires removing both side panels (tho it is tool-less). No front panel firewire or esata ports. Seems like it will be good for dust management but concerned that w/only two fans (and the front fan largely blocked by the hd's) it may get too hot. Other than I love it, really like the window and cable routing ability.
My requirements:
- Simple black monolith; no bling please! (a simple blue led or two is ok)
- Quiet - don't want a million fans running.
- minimal air intakes, all w/dust filters - i've got a dust problem; keeping the intakes to a minimum will help w/that.
- tool-free installation - ideally can pull optical drives out the front w/out opening the sides, side facing hd's.
- PSU on bottom.
- power/reset switches on top front of case as well as external ports
- external usb and audio ports, firewire and esata would be nice too.
- holes in mobo tray for easy mounting of HSF backplates and cable routing.
- NO front door to hide optical drives
- Less than $100, shipped.
What I've found:
Cooler Master RC-690
W/all the holes in this case I'm thinking it'll be a dust magnet, tho the cooling should be excellent. Sounds like it's not completely tool-free as the optical mounting still requires screws on the right side (and anyway have to open the case to access the mounting mechanism). Lacks holes in mobo tray for backplane access or cable routing. Other than that, a pretty good fit.
Lian Li Lancool PC-K56W
Not crazy about the hd mounting system - a lot of fussing. Optical drive mounting requires removing both side panels (tho it is tool-less). No front panel firewire or esata ports. Seems like it will be good for dust management but concerned that w/only two fans (and the front fan largely blocked by the hd's) it may get too hot. Other than I love it, really like the window and cable routing ability.