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Wanting a cheap, mildly crappy case with side vents, mid atx

Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 8:07 pm
by ~El~Jefe~
I need a new case in a jiffy and really do not want to go for fancy cases.

I have a fanless psu as well.

I have 4 120mm fans at my disposal, 4 year old scythes, Still going well and quiet.

My last setup had 2 side fans cooling graphics and partially blowing on cpu and hitting the mosfets

I dont have airconditiong (i live by an ocean, it is always nice at night) and the computer is kept on 24/7.

AMD 1090T
1 hardrive
2 optical drives
1 fan controller bay thing, full 5 1/4" width

Just as long as it doesnt buzz. I have acrylic right now and it was a great choice but too hard to work with. No buzz or reverberations.

I have read a lot and am confused been too long to know what is good that is out. I like antec's build quality, but there are so many out there. I dont amazing at all. and dont want to spend a lot. (flexible-ish)
thankyou

Re: Wanting a cheap, mildly crappy case with side vents, mid

Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 10:14 pm
by quest_for_silence
~El~Jefe~ wrote:dont want to spend a lot.
How much is a lot?

At first glance: Cooler Master Centurion 590 and Elite 370 (and relevant siblings) along with those Zalman Z9/Z9 Plus may be similar to your current/old setup; the Antec One is decent and cheap but it has just 1 side vent; the Antec VSK4000 is even cheaper and less decent but with wider side vent (and apparently no fan mountings around that area); there's also the Silverstone RL04, maybe the most garish among the mentioned ones but its only possible drawback is the VGA clearance (lenght up to 11.5"); then maybe the Corsair 200R (relatively sleek and enough cheap, but mediocre thermals due to the closed front: its cousin 230T has better thermals, but no side vents and it's probably garish and usually less cheap). I would add to this shortlist something like the Fractal Design Core 3000, which is somehow similar to the Antec One (so just 1 side vent), but it's usually noticeably less cheap, and with no front USB 3.0 IIRC: last but not least, the NZXT Source 210/220 are IMO very decent enclosures, but usually not easy to source (pun not intended: and anyway they sport just 1 side vent).

Re: Wanting a cheap, mildly crappy case with side vents, mid

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 6:29 am
by CA_Steve
Fractal Design has a new budget series...haven't seen any reviews, but look interesting. Press release at Guru3D. The Core 3300 is $55 @ newegg.

Re: Wanting a cheap, mildly crappy case with side vents, mid

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 7:12 am
by quest_for_silence
CA_Steve wrote:Fractal Design has a new budget series...haven't seen any reviews, but look interesting.
Indeed, but AFAIK the entire X3-series sport just two 5,25 bays (the OP apparently needs three).

Re: Wanting a cheap, mildly crappy case with side vents, mid

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 11:42 am
by CA_Steve
<shrugs>

Re: Wanting a cheap, mildly crappy case with side vents, mid

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 12:39 pm
by quest_for_silence
CA_Steve wrote:<shrugs>

Sorry Steve, I don't know what shrugs may exactly mean! :oops:

Another possible option (YMMV@EJ).

Re: Wanting a cheap, mildly crappy case with side vents, mid

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 3:05 pm
by CA_Steve
It's the universal symbol for I didn't notice he needed 2 optical drives, but really, who needs two optical drives, so, what the heck, here's a case.

Re: Wanting a cheap, mildly crappy case with side vents, mid

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 3:16 pm
by quest_for_silence
CA_Steve wrote:It's the universal symbol

Maybe not so universal (or maybe it's so for english-speaking people: you know, one words, so many meanings) :wink:

Re: Wanting a cheap, mildly crappy case with side vents, mid

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 5:49 pm
by ~El~Jefe~
well yeah i have a blu ray playing drive and a dvd burner drive (Plextor) and a 5 1/4 bay controller

I am looking at the ones suggested. thank you. hm. any more suggestions are welcome to compare.


all but zalman is discontinued or out of stock :(

I also think having sideways hd's is bad for airflow. the front intake cant keep the hd cold with a cage blocking it. sorta useless to me. I wish they could be repositioned either direction


the coolermaster would have been perfect in all directions i think. I wish they didnt have a top fan port, I dont use them ever. Aside from that, looks great.

nothing seems to have filters. i can deal with that though i guess

Re: Wanting a cheap, mildly crappy case with side vents, mid

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 6:34 pm
by CA_Steve
~El~Jefe~ wrote:nothing seems to have filters. i can deal with that though i guess
Sounds like mission creep - you want cheap or you want full featured? :D

The BD player isn't also a DVD burner? bummer.

HDDs just need a little bit of airflow to keep cool. The bigger bummer is that the perpendicular cages block easy airflow through the case. My favorite cases have removable cages.

Re: Wanting a cheap, mildly crappy case with side vents, mid

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 7:26 pm
by ~El~Jefe~
cheap. I dont see the big difference in fancy to cheap. I see less airflow in most fancier designs. Just put enormous heatsinks on things and undervolted fans, the case should be more open i feel if it doesnt make almost any noise to begin with. I just dont like the top port but seems i can always put a plush toy rabbit on top. (yes i have several and one can go on top)

I would like the hd cage standard position. it also prevents squishing of wires. I do builds long haul. I rarely change anything aside from graphics cards for 3-4 years.

Re: Wanting a cheap, mildly crappy case with side vents, mid

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 2:08 am
by quest_for_silence
~El~Jefe~ wrote:all but zalman is discontinued or out of stock :(

I also think having sideways hd's is bad for airflow. the front intake cant keep the hd cold with a cage blocking it. sorta useless to me. I wish they could be repositioned either direction


You are looking mainly at cheap and old-school enclosures, so I guess it's somehow understandable that the market mostly dropped them out.
If those Zalmans don't fit your needs (or you don't like them), whether you dropped the dual side vents requirements, perhaps you might find some more alternatives.
Among the quoted ones, personally I would go either for an Antec One, or a NZXT Source 220 (about 49USD shipped by Amazon), or look at Corsair 230T and Fractal Core 3000 as a bit more modern, second best options.

~El~Jefe~ wrote:nothing seems to have filters. i can deal with that though i guess

Look at Silverstonetek accessories catalogue, and anyway have a good luck with your (re)build. :wink:

Re: Wanting a cheap, mildly crappy case with side vents, mid

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 3:22 pm
by ~El~Jefe~
being that my systems stay on 24/7 and i do game, i really want flow over every part of the board. my cpu cooler does not ever hit mosfets. I would want 2 on side fans.

I put one in front, 2 on side, 1 going out back. That and price is key here.

Re: Wanting a cheap, mildly crappy case with side vents, mid

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 3:41 pm
by ~El~Jefe~
Hm... maybe i only need 1 side fan. the top exhaust is right next to the mosfets. yeah i only need one fan being that the psu is on the bottom. that is a lot of flow near the mosfet area on the motherboard.

zalman looks sorta cool hm

It also has rubber HD mounts. That saves money too. if i order before july 5th i get 20 dollar gift card of some kind making it 55 dollars. hm.

that case is so open but i guess that's ok. looks nice and i like supporting zalman normally.

Still looking though. the rubber mounts are a nice touch on a case. saves money and time.

Re: Wanting a cheap, mildly crappy case with side vents, mid

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 4:58 pm
by xan_user
sounds like a perfect job for a m350 strapped to the back of the tv. who could need more?

edite: oops.. never mind
- you want a big rig with external drivebays and all that stuff. -sorry.

Re: Wanting a cheap, mildly crappy case with side vents, mid

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 5:17 pm
by ~El~Jefe~
looking at the NZXT Phantom

sorta cool and has coupons bringing it down a bit.

Snazy :D

Red :D