Building a new PC. Recommend me some cases.
 

So the mobo is a F2A85-V PRO and the processor is a A10 6800k 4.1 quad core. Planning on sticking with maybe 16 gigs of ram even though the mobo supports 64 gigs.

AMD A10 6800K Black Edition 4.1GHz Quad-Core Socket FM2 Boxed Processor 613745 - Micro Center

ASUS F2A85-V Pro FM2 ATX AMD Motherboard 994640 - Micro Center

My current computer is running quite hot. Primary video card runs at 40 at idle and like 60-65 at full blast. 2nd video card runs at 50-60c on average since it runs 2 monitors at the same time. cpu idles at 30 and goes up to 55ish C.

I'm looking for a new case for the new setup that is focused on good air flow to drop down my temps as i'll be using the same video cards for now.

Currently looking at the corsair 540 air.
(random pic of the case)
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1385930350

CM HAF 932 is what my main rig stays in. Very spacious, and more cooling options than you can shake a stick at.

Mine has the now discontinued side panel that is mostly just a window but the one you can buy now has a smaller window and mesh with a fan. I just built a new PC for someone using the new one and the side fan was not even needed. I think it looks a lot better without it anyways.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1385932225

You can still custom order this side door like what came with mine.
http://www.techreaction.net/wp-conte...2010/07/21.jpg

Yeah i was looking at that but hate the way the front upper is blocked off by the cdroms. Are they solid covers or can u mount a fan there?

Corsair Carbide Series 500R White Steel structure with molded ABS plastic accent pieces ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Newegg.com



Love the look of the case and with the current price it is a smoking deal. I currently use a HAF 932 and it works great, full tower can be a pain sometimes through.

Been looking at more and more cases. Frys screwed me on the 540 case. They had it for sale for 82 bucks, i was on back order, then they got it in stock and bumped the price to 140 and told me that i'll have to pay the difference, i told them to fuck them selves.

I'm thinking i might add a separator where my top graphics card is so the cpu gets its own air supply that always goes, and then the graphics cards get an inlet through the side, exhaust through the front and rear.

Get a Silverstone Temjin, and you'll never buy a plastic and/or steel peasant case again. I recommend the TJ-07 if your available space and wallet are big enough.

Baller internals + welfare case = winning rig. I've got the most simple, rectangular, mid tower I could find on newegg. It's all black, has plenty of fan provisions and space, and sits in the corner of the room very inconspicuously.

I don't have anything to recommend; This is why.

I have only ever bought once case. It was the best case at the time i could buy. I paid a lot. I got my money's worth. You really do get what you pay for IMO.

I've got friends that buy them fancy looking plastic "clip on" style cases and they're all junk.

My experience largely mirrors Erat's. I've never spent a huge amount of money on a case, but I do tend to shop in the midrange, and eschew fancy plastic doo-dads in favor of competent engineering.

In particular, I've had good luck with CoolerMaster cases. Some of them are ho-hum, but many have front panels which are 100% mesh, and provisions on the back for quite a good amount of airflow as well. For instance:


https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1386697375 https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1386697375


Newegg.com - Cooler Master Elite 330U - Mid Tower Computer Case with 350W Power Supply

(Obviously the power supply is not adequate for your needs, I'd consider that a throwaway.)


Protip #1: Remove all the metal from the areas which I circled- a Dremel with the little cutoff wheel works well for this. This will reduce noise.

Protip #2: Pop out the metal covers over all the drive bays. More airflow.

Protip #3: Unless you are absolutely, 100% certain that you need to put an exhaust fan in one of them to draw hot air away from a video card, block off any side / top / bottom vents. If you let air be drawn into them, this will generally not be as beneficial to the CPU and GPUs as air drawn in through the front of the case. (Consider how a rear-thermostat coolant reroute works on the Miata. Same concept applies here.)

Protip #4: When you install that big, fancy heatpipe cooler on your CPU, orient it such that air flows from front to rear, with the exhaust aimed right at that 120mm rear case fan.

Protip #5: Make absolutely certain that the rear fan is properly oriented, such that it's blowing outward. I've seen them backwards before. If you choose to install a front case fan (you probably don't need one), the opposite applies.

I'm also curious about something- do you already own this processor and motherboard, or is this the thing you plan to buy for a new build?

I ask because for a machine with multiple dedicated GPUs, the 6800k APU seems like an extremely odd processor choice, as compared to something in the FX class, or better yet, an i5/i7.

Getting it from a friend. I've been looking into the fortress FT04 cases Bit pricey but very noise proofed and good flow.

Was hoping to stay around 150 on the case. The temjin is nice but 400 bucks is a bit much.

Ah.


Well, buy this for $40: Newegg.com - Cooler Master N300 - Mid Tower Computer Case with Meshed Front Panel

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1386702644 https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1386702644

(the entire front panel is nothing but air intake)

Then spend another $70 on a power supply to feed what I presume to be a laughably power-hungry array of APU and GPUs, and maybe a few bucks extra on the loudest exhaust fan money can buy for the side (close off the top entirely), and there you have it.

I would like to add that washable filters are nice to have too if you can swing it.

This is a nice mid-tower, I have one. My main rig was in it until I got my HAF. Now my guest gaming rig is in it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129042
http://store.antec.com/productimages...ront_top_q.jpg
The filtyer on the front is super helpful. If you make the x2 120mm fans on the front the only intakes it will stay pretty clean inside. When it gets clogged you can just swing it open and vacuum it out or w/e.

I love the HAF, but its not perfect. There are things I miss about the Antec (like the filter), but I really wanted a full tower and the HAF is the bang-for-buck full tower imo.

Hows the temps? on the HAF? HAF X?

I have the HAF 932, just like tw34k's but with the different side panel

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1386816620

It is very nice. Lots of room for big cards and HDDs. Plus there is a good gap behind the mobo tray so you can tuck all the wiring back there for improved airflow. It has 3 extra-big-ass fans that move lots of air and are completely silent.
If you can deal with it looking so big and ostentatious, its fantastic. If it had a filter screen in the front it would be perfect.

What do you think about this OP?

Carbide Series® Air 540 Arctic White High Airflow ATX Cube Case

Well if i was to get the 540 i'll be getting the black case. Just looking for other options with good air flow to keep temps down but without too much noise.

But white is in!

Go for it, i kinda like that case (in white).

There was another one. The case was black but inside was orange with orange mesh for the vents. The contrast looked very good.

Found it.

Corsair Carbide Series Air 540 Cube Case - Custom Dual Radiator Series - FrozenCPU.com

So, I'm confused... Are we looking for an affordable, cool-running PC case or a piece of post-modernist sculpture?

In priority order
$130-140 max,
good cooling,
Little less ugly than what Joe posted :D (since after all i'll have to look at it for quite a while).

I know someone who just used the big one i posted to put his old parts in. He said it runs good. I'm guessing more space for heat extraction is a plus. But he also has a liquid cooled CPU.

I look at that case, and I see a very large box that has quite a lot less ventilated area than the $40 CoolerMaster that I liked to in post #12.

Sidebar: liquid CPU cooling is a gimmick, but if he's married to the idea, that same case I posted has a top exhaust for a 240mm radiator:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1387031295

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ter-_-11119279

I don't get the gimmick.

Neither do I. And yet they seem to sell reasonably well, judging by the amount of shelf-space they get at Fry's.

Whats gimmick about it? It removes more heat from the heat sink than the normal cpu heat sink will. On my current computer i've hit 70C on the cpu. My gpu used to run 80-85 before i added the side fan (now max of about 70c). I've seen the same video card at full blast run 6-7 c above room temperature on water cooling.

That's the gimmicky part (because it's a lie.)

If by "normal" you mean "the POS cooler that comes with current-gen AMD CPUs", then yes, I'm sure it does. That thing is laughable.

Most actual A/B comparisons which I have read (eg: those published by THG) indicate that store-bought water cooling solutions tend to perform roughly on-par with higher-end heatpipe / fan air-cooling solutions insofar as processor temperature and noise are concerned, while costing 2-3 times as much, having more moving parts, and generally causing much higher temps at the vCore regulator, RAM, and other components which are located adjacent to the CPU socket and intended to be cooled by the same fan as the CPU.

Joe,
The Noctuan NH-D14 (bestest air cooler) does beat quite a few of the liquid coolers, like my old POS H50 for instance, but as of right now the best coolers are self contained liquid coolers. They have improved a fair bit in the last couple of years.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1387039148

Although, when you take into account price and sound, the NH-D14 could be considered "the best cooler", even if it is no longer the best at cooling.

That chart is exactly what I'm talking about.

A decent air cooler is better than many water cooler at cooling CPU, better than most of them at cooling the regulator an RAM, costs far less, is quieter, and has fewer moving parts.

Yes, it's possible to find certain liquid coolers that can move more heat than this specific reference air cooler. By the same token, there are probably Miata radiators which can move more heat than a $170 OBX , but unless something is really wrong with your engine, you don't need them.


Maybe it's just because I prefer to spend my money on decent CPUs, rather than over-boost the hell out of cheap CPU/APUs, and then spend all the "saved" money on a $525 FM Crossflow.



When did this thread stop being about Triple88's quest for a case?

Went to microcenter and they had the 540 on sale so I just got it. Cheers folks. Appreciate the help and recommendations. I would have gone with an HAF X if they had it on sale but at 160 i decided to stick with the corsair 540 (99 bucks). Today i'm working on the hids so i wont upload any pics but i'll definitely post stuff soon.

Here it is folks. Corsair 540 air, partially completed.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1387089154

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1387089154

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1387089154

Figure i'll update this thread.
Upgraded to a 770.

Also wanted to get rid of the monitor stands.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1397345380

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1397345380