Hi all, i'm having difficulty in narrowing down the "perfect case" for what I want. It may not exist, or it may and I haven't seen it yet, or.. it may be coming out soon. Your opinions please!
I will be air cooling with the following priority needs:
1. 6+ HD bays. First and foremost I have a 6TB Raid5 array that I use to watch tv shows, backed up movies, music, etc. This is a 4x2gb array and may expand to as many as 6x2. So, I need 3.5" bays. Preferably fan cooled. At least 4, preferably 6. I run my OS off an SSD which doesn't have to be cooled.
2. Crossfire graphics. I have 2x6970 2GB reference cards which can get extremely loud if they get hot. Thus.. cooling my graphics is my #2 priority. These cards spit hot air out the rear of the case, so pushing "cold" (room temp) air into the middle of the case where they "suck in" air would be ideal.
3. At least 8 PCI expansion slots. If I want to go quad crossfire someday, I want that option.
4. Must have USB 3.0. Don't care if its USB passthrough or headers. Wont matter now as I don't have a usb 3.0 mobo but I will be upgrading to ivy/2011 when it comes out in a few months.
5. Integrated fan controller. This would be nice to have instead of having to purchase another
6. Design/build quality. While this isn't extremely important, I prefer sleek over protruding and bulging fan mounts. I also prefer windowless but I won't refuse a windowed case. Also, I don't care for LEDs much, so the option to turn them offf would be good.
7. Hotswap 3.5"/2.5" bays. Would be nice to have, not going to lie.
My shortlist:
1. HAF X @ $180 from newegg. The benchmark. Only drawback I can see is its got red LEDs and no truely "hotswappable" drive bays. It also has a tiny cpu backplate opening. #1 ranked gpu cooling case at bit-tech.net
2. Xigmatek Elysium. $215 shipped from newegg with discount coupon. HUGELY futureproof, 8 3.5", non-windowed option. Huge watercooling future potential. 1 hotswap bay, no fancontroller / led control.
3. Corsair Carbide 500R. $125 shipped from newegg. This case is designed almost perfectly. Drawbacks: No hotswap, "midtower" sized, only 8 pci slots (but enough). Drawbacks are, no bit-tech cooling test rank at all, very few reviews.
So at this point, those are my top 3. Please point me in some new directions!
I will be air cooling with the following priority needs:
1. 6+ HD bays. First and foremost I have a 6TB Raid5 array that I use to watch tv shows, backed up movies, music, etc. This is a 4x2gb array and may expand to as many as 6x2. So, I need 3.5" bays. Preferably fan cooled. At least 4, preferably 6. I run my OS off an SSD which doesn't have to be cooled.
2. Crossfire graphics. I have 2x6970 2GB reference cards which can get extremely loud if they get hot. Thus.. cooling my graphics is my #2 priority. These cards spit hot air out the rear of the case, so pushing "cold" (room temp) air into the middle of the case where they "suck in" air would be ideal.
3. At least 8 PCI expansion slots. If I want to go quad crossfire someday, I want that option.
4. Must have USB 3.0. Don't care if its USB passthrough or headers. Wont matter now as I don't have a usb 3.0 mobo but I will be upgrading to ivy/2011 when it comes out in a few months.
5. Integrated fan controller. This would be nice to have instead of having to purchase another
6. Design/build quality. While this isn't extremely important, I prefer sleek over protruding and bulging fan mounts. I also prefer windowless but I won't refuse a windowed case. Also, I don't care for LEDs much, so the option to turn them offf would be good.
7. Hotswap 3.5"/2.5" bays. Would be nice to have, not going to lie.
My shortlist:
1. HAF X @ $180 from newegg. The benchmark. Only drawback I can see is its got red LEDs and no truely "hotswappable" drive bays. It also has a tiny cpu backplate opening. #1 ranked gpu cooling case at bit-tech.net
2. Xigmatek Elysium. $215 shipped from newegg with discount coupon. HUGELY futureproof, 8 3.5", non-windowed option. Huge watercooling future potential. 1 hotswap bay, no fancontroller / led control.
3. Corsair Carbide 500R. $125 shipped from newegg. This case is designed almost perfectly. Drawbacks: No hotswap, "midtower" sized, only 8 pci slots (but enough). Drawbacks are, no bit-tech cooling test rank at all, very few reviews.
So at this point, those are my top 3. Please point me in some new directions!
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