Looking for a case ...

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keltor
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 1:23 pm

Looking for a case ...

Post by keltor » Fri Jul 19, 2013 3:01 pm

I'm building another PC for one of my kiddos and I thought I'd just inquire here ...

So I'd like a quiet as possible case except it's going to contain:
a SSD
a pair of 3TB spinning drives
a GTX 780 (the Asus DirectCU II version)
a i5 4670k
No optical

I'm not really married to any certain form factor, though Mini ITX would probably be great and I'll probably use a quality PSU like a SeaSonic SS-520FL2. I'm not married to any certain brand and I probably don't have an issue with buy different fans either. Price is not a big deal since I'll probably keep the case for a while - I am using a Solo on my own PC since maybe, 2006 I think? (or even earlier maybe)

cordis
Posts: 1082
Joined: Thu Jan 15, 2009 10:56 pm
Location: San Jose

Re: Looking for a case ...

Post by cordis » Fri Jul 19, 2013 6:08 pm

Well, seems like you have a pretty wide range you could select from. Does your kid have any preferences? I have a BitFenix Prodigy that would easily fit what you're looking at, and might appeal to the kid's aesthetic sense. But honestly, if you don't care about the form factor or much else, you options are fairly limitless. How about a Corsair 900D?

Abula
Posts: 3662
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:22 pm
Location: Guatemala

Re: Looking for a case ...

Post by Abula » Fri Jul 19, 2013 7:03 pm

I was toying the idea of doing a haswell build but at the end i kinda wanted to saved some and stayed with my TJ08-E and micro ATX size, but there are some nice components to do a build on the prodigy, this is what i had planned,

CASE: BitFinix Prodigy
FAN: BitFenix Spectre Pro 200mm Fan
Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Impact (to be releaed to retail august confirm by asus).
CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K
CPU Cooler: PHANTEKS PH-TC14PE (cross check if it fits once the impact is released)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport Very Low Profile 8GB Kit (4GBx2) DDR3-1600 1.35V
GPU: ASUS GTX780-DC2OC-3GD5 or MSI N780 GTX780 (i would go MSI seems more quiet on reviews).
PSU: Seasonic SS-660XP or SeaSonic SSR-550RM (if you want to save some, wont be passive ever, but still quiet in my experience).
SSD: Samsung 840pro 256gb
HDD: WD 3TB RED

If you have some time i recommend you check the following therad, OCN Bitfenix Prodigy Owner's Club, you will find tons of builds there with a lot of different coolers, etc, so you can get some ideas for your build.

keltor
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 1:23 pm

Re: Looking for a case ...

Post by keltor » Sat Jul 20, 2013 5:25 pm

Looks like the TJ08-e is a strong possiblity. I actually had been thinking about a Desktop mini-itx form factor, but wasn't sure since that doesn't seem very popular cept for HTPCs.

Abula
Posts: 3662
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:22 pm
Location: Guatemala

Re: Looking for a case ...

Post by Abula » Sat Jul 20, 2013 5:56 pm

keltor wrote:Looks like the TJ08-e is a strong possiblity. I actually had been thinking about a Desktop mini-itx form factor, but wasn't sure since that doesn't seem very popular cept for HTPCs.
The TJ08-E is a nice case, i have my gaming build running on one and about to re do it with haswell. But be warn that the frontal fan on high and low is still very noticeble, you will need to undervolt it, via software like Asus FanXpert2 (this is how i want to try on haswell) or a resistor like Zalman FanMate2 (this is how i have mine atm). The size of the Prodigy even if its mini itx is still big, its not the usual small factor case, as it does fit very big hardware that usually mini itx builds dont like big GPU or full atx PSU, full height CPU coolers, etc. With that said i think prodigy is still slightly smaller than TJ08-E, but not by much, i think the TJ08-E is a very viable option for you. Another suggestion that i would give you on the TJ08-E is get a Thermalright HR-02 Macho, really good cooler for the money and fits very well on it, almost to the PCIe 16x, and for the gpu, i would here go ASUS GTX780-DC2OC-3GD5, since it comes with backplate and HR02 is fairly close, this will avoid any risk if it touches (if you decide not to use the middle hdd cage as support for the gpu), beside would match the Asus Maximus IV Gene.

The only bad for what you trying to do is the 2x 3.5 hdds, even though the TJ08-E can hold 5x 3.5hdds, the middle cage + 3.5 hdds will restrict you into what memory you can chose (height) and what CPU cooler you can run (or at least if you can place the CPU fan on the front of the heatsink). It would be great if you were fine with 1x 3.5 as there is a bay on bottom that can take one. On my build im going to run 1x 2.5 ssd + 1x 2.5 mechanical hdd 1tb, the real storage i maintain it on my server, personally i dont like to have a lot of mechanical hdds on my desktop builds to avoid extra noisy.

If you wish to see a lot of builds to get some rough ideas, check OCN Silverstone TJ08-E Owners Club.

flemeister
Posts: 346
Joined: Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:42 am
Location: Australia

Re: Looking for a case ...

Post by flemeister » Sat Jul 20, 2013 10:54 pm

+1 for the TJ08-E. If undervolting the 180mm intake fan isn't enough for you, there are 140mm mounting holes as well.

And to see how much the case can hold, one pic tells all. 8)

Image

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