- May 19, 2011
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I've been building PCs for over twenty years, and I'll typically go for a known branded low end case for about £30-£35 UKP. I'm currently using a Cooler Master Elite 330 from my last complete re-build, I've used the 335 for customers' builds, and since switching to mATX for most customers' builds I've been using the Antec VSK-3000B or VSK 3000 Elite (as it has a bit more depth and so allows a beefier HSF than my common choice being the Be Quiet! Pure Rock Slim 2 HSF).
From what I've seen and understand, more expensive cases typically are deeper, allowing cable management techniques that minimise room used on the business side of the board as well as rotating HDD bays to have them supplied with data and power to make use of the greater depth.
To give you an idea of my present spec:
Core i5-4690k
12GB RAM (all four slots used)
Be Quiet! Pure Rock Slim 2 HSF
AMD R9 380X (two fan graphics card that requires 2 PCIE 6-pin connectors)
2x SATA SSDs
1x 3.5" HDD
2x SATA optical drives
Seasonic Focus GX 650W
Be Quiet! Shadow Wings 12cm chassis fan
Cooler Master Elite 330 ATX case
I'm not planning a build soon, but if I were then a slightly more upmarket CPU (say the 5700X) would probably catch my eye, I'd certainly replace one of my SSDs with an M.2 as my Win10 gaming install needs a bit more SSD room, and I'd replace that graphics card with another two-fan job. Especially with GPU prices as they are, the typical cost of a 3-fan graphics card is just obscene IMO. I think I've max'd out my storage needs as well, so I highly doubt I'll be adding any more internal storage devices.
Personally my feeling is that if it's mainly a question of tidiness then I'm not overly fussed about it. I'd probably pick a case that's capable of housing a suitable chunky HSF as silence is one of my priorities, but I think that's the only argument I can think of that would sway me towards a significantly more expensive case than I typically use.
I'm also highly unlikely to go for liquid cooling.
From what I've seen and understand, more expensive cases typically are deeper, allowing cable management techniques that minimise room used on the business side of the board as well as rotating HDD bays to have them supplied with data and power to make use of the greater depth.
To give you an idea of my present spec:
Core i5-4690k
12GB RAM (all four slots used)
Be Quiet! Pure Rock Slim 2 HSF
AMD R9 380X (two fan graphics card that requires 2 PCIE 6-pin connectors)
2x SATA SSDs
1x 3.5" HDD
2x SATA optical drives
Seasonic Focus GX 650W
Be Quiet! Shadow Wings 12cm chassis fan
Cooler Master Elite 330 ATX case
I'm not planning a build soon, but if I were then a slightly more upmarket CPU (say the 5700X) would probably catch my eye, I'd certainly replace one of my SSDs with an M.2 as my Win10 gaming install needs a bit more SSD room, and I'd replace that graphics card with another two-fan job. Especially with GPU prices as they are, the typical cost of a 3-fan graphics card is just obscene IMO. I think I've max'd out my storage needs as well, so I highly doubt I'll be adding any more internal storage devices.
Personally my feeling is that if it's mainly a question of tidiness then I'm not overly fussed about it. I'd probably pick a case that's capable of housing a suitable chunky HSF as silence is one of my priorities, but I think that's the only argument I can think of that would sway me towards a significantly more expensive case than I typically use.
I'm also highly unlikely to go for liquid cooling.