NZXT S340 Elite or Phanteks Eclipse P400S ?

[Engr62]

I'm looking to purchase either the NZXT S340 Elite or the Phanteks Eclipse P400S very soon. My current case is a Rosewill Redbone, and my system consists of:

i7-4770K
ASRock Z87 Pro 3 Motherboard
Cooler Master Seidon 120M AIO cooler
32gb DDR3
HIS Radeon HD 7970 IceQ X
Intel 730 480gb SSD
LG 12x Blu-ray Drive
3x 3.5" HDD (1x 1TB, 1x 3TB, and 1x 4TB)

The Redbone is a pretty nice case, but I've been trying to reduce my system temperatures by adding case fans lately with only marginally better temperatures. It's really time to upgrade the case.

I know that I'll have to give up my Blu-ray drive with either one of these cases, but I have an ASUS USB 3.0 external 12x Blu-ray burner that I purchased a little over a year ago on a whim that I've never used. I hate to add to the clutter of my desk with an external Blu-ray drive, but I'm sure I can live with it. I'll have to as I still use my drive quite a bit.

I'd really like input from owners of these cases--especially those that may have had both of these cases at one time or another. Tell me what you like or don't like after "living" in this case for a while.

Here are my pros/cons:

NZXT S340 Elite:

Pro:
+ Asthetics -- This is the best looking case of the two (I like straight lines rather than curved or angular)
+ Size -- I like the size of the case (part of which is the front face is flat)
+ Extras -- magnetic puck is nice (although I don't really know that I'll use it)
+ Placement of top/front USB 3.0 ports
+ Cut outs in PSU shroud for cable routing

Con:
- No DVD/Blu-Ray Drive support (neither case has this)
- Limited 3.5" HDD Mounts (holds 2 in the bracket, with 1 mounted on the PSU shroud). I'm afraid having the drives stacked like this may cause them to run too hot. Plus, I can't add any more HDDs than I've already got.
- Cable management clips -- I'm not sure how well these will hold based on some of the reviews.
- No dust filter on top of case

Phanteks P400S:

Pro:
+ 3.5" HDD tray holds 2x -- Plus, 4 more HDD trays can be added (not sure of the cost of these)
+ Cable management -- velco straps look like they'll stay in place better
+ Room in from of case (without additional HDD trays)
+ Extras -- LED lighting built in.

Con:
- Asethetics -- I'm not a big fan of the angular/curved front, but maybe it would grow on me. I don't like that it angles out at the bottom.
- Can only handle 2x 3.5" HDD out of the box -- additional trays at an additional cost
- Cut outs in PSU shroud are not as big or located as well as the S340
- Addition of extra 3.5" HDD trays will block front fans

 

[XavierMace]

I quite like my S340 Elite. I haven't had any issues with the cable management clips and they're pretty full. I could see how you could break them if you aren't paying attention though. I use the top fan as an exhaust fan which limits the need for a filter. I love the puck. My Sennheiser headphones have an extremely long cord on them. So the puck stays on the side to hold the extra cable length for the headphones.

If you really need the extra room for more 3.5" drives, you could always move to the H440.

 

[bfun_x1]

I really like both of them but 3+ HDDs might be a bit much for that design. If you want to ditch the drive cage you might want to consolidate your drives or maybe put one in an external enclosure.

 

[Crono]

A full-tower like the Phanteks Enthoo Luxe would accommodate your Blu-ray drive and your hard drives with bays to spare. It also has good fan support (and includes 3, including a 200mm one up front for the non-tempered glass version - you can fit up to 7 x 140mm fans if not using the 200mm fan), and with that size you'll have better, unobstructed airflow.

The more large fans you can fit the better, since you can run them at lower RPMs (less noise) and still move a lot of air. Adding more fans doesn't increase the noise by much, but can help significantly with cooling. Good, quiet 140mm fans in the ~$15 or less range: NZXT FNv2, Rosewill Hyperborea (rebranded Akasa Vipers), Arctic Cooling F14, be quiet! Silent Wings or Pure Wings, Rosewill RAWP, Fractal Design Silent Series R2 or Dynamic GP-14, and Noctua NF-P14s.

 

[Engr62]

Thanks for all of the replies. Looks like mid-tower ATX and 3+ 3.5" HDDs plus DVD/Blu-ray drives is just not a good combination when trying to also keep system temperatures down.

When I started this thread, I was pretty much settled on the NZXT S340 Elite, but now I'm starting to swing towards the Phanteks P400 TG despite not liking its looks as much as the S340.

The Phanteks Enthoo Luxe looks really nice and would be a nice fit for my system, but it's $100 more than the others, and I don't think it will fit in the space I have allocated.

 

[bfun_x1]

Unless I'm missing something you still wouldn't have a space for an optical drive in the P400. How about a Fractal Design R5 with plexiglass window? It's got the strait lines and Newegg has it on sale for a few days. It doesn't have tempered glass but I don't think there are many cases with glass and 5.25 bays. Also, I found that glass can sort of amplify HDD noise. That may or may not be a concern for you.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16811352049

 

[Engr62]

Thanks for all of the input on this. I really struggled with the decision, but I ended up going with my initial gut feeling and ordered a NZXT S340 Elite (red/black). I've got my ASUS external Blu-ray writer, so I think the S340 Elite will work out for me.

It really came down to compact size and aesthetics. The S340 Elite is just so good looking.