Need Case Suggestions - NO Airflow

[Trixie21]

My mid-tower Cooler Master case seems more and more packed lately. I'm getting basically NO airflow in there because of my 4 hard drives in front and all of the cables jammed in between. Here's a link to my current case:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811119077

Anyways, I'd like suggestions for a bigger or better case that's reasonably priced. I really like this Lian Li case.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811112122

Is it worth it to spend this much money on a case? Any other suggestions for bigger/better cases than my current case? If I found a case that was high-quality and un-crowded, I see no reason in buying another case for a long time. Any suggestions are appreciated!

 

[aigomorla]

mid/full tower -> P180 or P185

Full Tower: CM Stacker , TT Armor <--- both should be sub 150 with shipping.

 

[Zepper]

If you're still using the rear fan that came with the case, all you need to do is replace it with a real fan. Those things just don't blow any air - they are weighted far too much to the quiet side at the expense of pitiful cooling. Look around for a medium speed Yate Loon fan (http://www.petrastechshop.com was the only place that carried them for a while - might still be). Put it on a fan controller so you can adjust for just what you need.
Or I could sell you one of my Sanyo Denkis (it's just like the first 120x38 fan on Petra's 120x38mm fan page) - you'll need a controller for it too (the Zalman Fanmate 2 would be enough for either) but you'll never again be lacking for air power in case you need to blow the joint out. The SD gets over 100 CFM at max and is acceptably quiet (except for the SPCR types) from around 7.5V down (quits at a bit below 5V though at a bit above 5V it moves more air than that stock CM fan...). The 80mm front fan is a 'weak sister' too but it's probably enough to move a slight breeze over the HDDs which is all you need it to do, but you could replace that with a stronger fan too). If the grill in front of the front fan is too restrictive, cut it out so the rear fan will be able to draw more easily thru it (yes, the rear fan will draw some air thru there too if it can't get enough elsewhere). These steps are a lot cheaper than buying a new case when you already have a pretty nice one to begin with. Neatening up your rats nest of cables doesn't cost much either.

.bh.

 

[Trixie21]

My friend has the P180 - I do like it, but I don't want to have the same case as him really I ideally would like something that has different compartment things, like the Lian Li....I mean, if that Lian Li is really worth getting, I'll look into it, but I would definitely like to save some money if I can.

And I am not using the stock fan that came with the case - my fans are pretty powerful, there's just no where for the air to go

 

[Zepper]

Well if you are really going to go for a new case, something like the Silverstone Temjin 5 (SST-TJ05) is a better value than that L-L you linked. Or the iStar Nitro 10000 series, or the XClio Windtunnel and many others... Even the Aerocool Masstige/Coolview/ZeroDegree series are better values with some similar features to that L-L.

Don't get me wrong, L-L cases are very well made but often the design that was so well executed leaves a lot to be desired.

.bh.

 

[Trixie21]

That Silverstone is pretty nice looking....

Here's a pic of my current case, just to give you a better idea of how bad it really is....

http://i16.tinypic.com/2zejtko.jpg

Basically all the cables are just crammed in there. As you can see, the video card and the sata and power cables are all really close.

 

[Zepper]

That could be cleaned up with a bit of effort. Some 10" SATA cables, 10" rounded ATA cables, a few zip ties on the PSU cables etc..

.bh.

 

[RallyMaster]

Hmm....I think a Cooler Master 4-in-3 module could help in that case...will provide air to the Zalman CNPS9500 AM2 and allow you to mount two hard drives up above...

Definitely cut out the front fan guards (for the 80mm) and the rear ones and replace with wire grills (only for the rear 120mm though). Airflow++;

 

[Zepper]

The new Silverstone CFP51 HDD cage is prettier. And it looks like those HDDs could be mounted up into the cage a bit farther.

Oh, and there is a "Cable Management" sticky thread right at the top of the C&C section...

.bh.

 

[RallyMaster]

Ehh.....function over form for me...my 4-in-3 device should be here by tomorrow (if my cousin managed to get his hands on the right product in China...jeez).

 

[Trixie21]

So now this forum has created a dilemma for me - should I get an entirely new case, or just a drive bay/cage? I would be open to either, as long as my case gets less cluttered and more airflow. I could stand having a slightly larger case than the one I have I think, but maybe a drive bay would solve most of my problems.

Thoughts?

 

[RallyMaster]

Case: $249 for the Lian Li you want or $50 for a Cooler Master Centurion 534 (which would be my recommendation if you want to just get rid of the 80mm fan on the front of your C5).

or.....

Drive bay: Reorganize your cabling and see how good it gets. If it's still not giving you enough airflow, change out the front 80mm and cut the fan guard (I know those 80s don't move much...I have ~6 of them...and I'm pretty sure they're 1800-2000RPM), and also buy a drive cage with 120mm fan (~$20 for the Cooler Master 4-in-3, this will provide more air to your Zalman cooler).