Seeking Case recomendation

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joeythebull
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Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2014 7:34 am

Seeking Case recomendation

Post by joeythebull » Sat Jan 04, 2014 7:50 am

I've built PCs for decades, usually one every 5 years or so, but I don't keep up with the tech in between builds so it's a little like starting over each time. My current rig is an Antec Solo (orig) which I've been happy with, although the power button broke pretty early on and I had to recreate the mechanics.

Anyway, I'm just starting the process of researching a new build and I figured I'd start with the case. I plan to make it a gaming rig at least as powerful as the PS4/XboxOne, but I don't overclock. I find upgrading isn't very cost effective so I usually buy something with the components maxed out then forget about it all until another 5 years rolls buy. At this point I don't even know what I'm willing to spend, maybe $1500 on the whole rig, give or take a couple hundred.

Anyway, I want a mid atx tower. I haven't looked around too much, but the Fractal Design Define R4 caught my eye. Obviously, quiet and good airflow design are important, but I also kinda liked the ports on the top. I don't use the DVD much, so I don't mind if I have open a door to access it. I noticed the reviews cover the R3. Anyone know if the R4 is about the same or if they cut corners and ruined the design as they sometimes do? Also, I expect to keep the case inside a computer desk with a hinged door that covers it up. The back would be completely open and the front door would have a vent to let air in. Also, I couldn't care less if the tower has a window or not nor do I care much about cosmetics in any way.

That said, maybe you guys could tell me the top three mid tower ATX cases you'd recommend for gamer builds? The reviews have been helpful but some are a bit dated.

Thanks, I'm grateful to these forums as a good resource.

PS: Not to be nit picky, but during the anti-spam registration the question was asked who was assassinated, MLK jr or Ghandi. I put Ghandi and got it wrong, but the truth is that BOTH men were assassinated.

EDIT: Post originally stated FULL atx, rather than Mid. Of course I meant MID. Also, added a little more description of desired case.
Last edited by joeythebull on Sat Jan 04, 2014 8:40 am, edited 1 time in total.

CA_Steve
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Re: Seeking Case recomendation

Post by CA_Steve » Sat Jan 04, 2014 8:35 am

Welcome to SPCR.

I just built an i5-4670K/GTX 760 based system in the R4. The case is solid and very easy to work with. The included fans are quiet @5V, but not silent.

joeythebull
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Re: Seeking Case recomendation

Post by joeythebull » Sat Jan 04, 2014 3:39 pm

CA_Steve wrote:Welcome to SPCR.

I just built an i5-4670K/GTX 760 based system in the R4. The case is solid and very easy to work with. The included fans are quiet @5V, but not silent.
Cool. How'd that work out? I think if I went with anything like that I'd give the stock fans a test before considering an upgrade. But as for gaming, how's the machine? I just checked the prices of the CP/GPU and that's about where I want to be for spending. Also, do you have any idea how your setup compares to a ps4/xbox1 in terms of gaming power? My bare minimum is beating the newest consoles and then I'm looking for bang-4-buck after that.

joeythebull
Posts: 57
Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2014 7:34 am

Re: Seeking Case recomendation

Post by joeythebull » Sat Jan 04, 2014 3:58 pm

CA_Steve wrote:...u kit, Gigabyte EP45-UD3P, HD5770 + AC L2 Pro, ,.. .

I'm using the HD5770 right now on Core CPU @2.4 (6600). I imagine your new build is a considerable step up.

CA_Steve
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Re: Seeking Case recomendation

Post by CA_Steve » Sun Jan 05, 2014 6:53 am

The build is only a week old - still fine tuning. Love it so far.

I game at 1080p. Here's some early results:

WoW (I frame limited it to 60fps) - CPU 38C, GPU 54C, exhaust fan temp 28C, Power use 120 to 180W. (running around, not in an instance).
Rift (seeing 80 fps) - CPU 45C, GPU 61C, exhaust 29C, Power 200W.

I don't use consoles, so no idea.

ggumdol
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Re: Seeking Case recomendation

Post by ggumdol » Sun Jan 05, 2014 9:26 am

joeythebull wrote:Not to be nit picky, but during the anti-spam registration the question was asked who was assassinated, MLK jr or Ghandi. I put Ghandi and got it wrong, but the truth is that BOTH men were assassinated.
Ghandi was assassinated? That's a revelation to me. It seems that I did not study 'world history' course hard enough. I think, unless you opt for water-cooler configurations, Fractal Design Define R4 (along with Fractal Define Mini) and SilverStone Temjin TJ08-E are probably the two most popular choices among casual (if not hard-core) gamers.

I would personally go for an extremely tiny vertical chassis such as Lian Li PC-TU100 when SFX PSU market starts to churn out truly silent products. It is not likely to happen in the forseeable future, though.

joeythebull
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Re: Seeking Case recomendation

Post by joeythebull » Sun Jan 05, 2014 10:55 am

ggumdol wrote:
joeythebull wrote:Not to be nit picky, but during the anti-spam registration the question was asked who was assassinated, MLK jr or Ghandi. I put Ghandi and got it wrong, but the truth is that BOTH men were assassinated.
Ghandi was assassinated? That's a revelation to me. It seems that I did not study 'world history' course hard enough. I think, unless you opt for water-cooler configurations, Fractal Design Define R4 (along with Fractal Define Mini) and SilverStone Temjin TJ08-E are probably the two most popular choices among casual (if not hard-core) gamers.

I would personally go for an extremely tiny vertical chassis such as Lian Li PC-TU100 when SFX PSU market starts to churn out truly silent products. It is not likely to happen in the forseeable future, though.
Ghandi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassinat ... tma_Gandhi

Well, there's always something new around the corner. I make allowances for noise level, but I'm probably not as concerned about it as most of the posters here. I'll check out the Silvestone you mentioned. Thanks for the tip.

joeythebull
Posts: 57
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Re: Seeking Case recomendation

Post by joeythebull » Sun Jan 05, 2014 10:58 am

CA_Steve wrote:The build is only a week old - still fine tuning. Love it so far.

I game at 1080p. Here's some early results:

WoW (I frame limited it to 60fps) - CPU 38C, GPU 54C, exhaust fan temp 28C, Power use 120 to 180W. (running around, not in an instance).
Rift (seeing 80 fps) - CPU 45C, GPU 61C, exhaust 29C, Power 200W.

I don't use consoles, so no idea.
I don't use consoles either but because they dominate the market the gaming companies tend to design games around them. They aren't going spend tens of millions on a game that only runs on a high end PC. At least that's my theory.

Did you build your new PC with overclocking in mind? I don't overclock so I don't see a point in buying hardware that supports it. What was your mobo/memory/cpu fan/psu on your new setup?

CA_Steve
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Re: Seeking Case recomendation

Post by CA_Steve » Sun Jan 05, 2014 1:21 pm

joeythebull wrote: What was your mobo/memory/cpu fan/psu on your new setup?
It's all in the referenced thread. I ended up with the G.Skill 1833 RAM.

K part: I will eventually OC when the games need it. At the moment, there's no reason to. When I built my e8400 system (in signature), I didn't OC for 2-3 years. Then, I started needing every clock cycle I could get for gaming and that lead to OC'ing a bit.

joeythebull
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Re: Seeking Case recomendation

Post by joeythebull » Sun Jan 05, 2014 2:03 pm

CA_Steve wrote:
joeythebull wrote: What was your mobo/memory/cpu fan/psu on your new setup?
It's all in the referenced thread. I ended up with the G.Skill 1833 RAM.

K part: I will eventually OC when the games need it. At the moment, there's no reason to. When I built my e8400 system (in signature), I didn't OC for 2-3 years. Then, I started needing every clock cycle I could get for gaming and that lead to OC'ing a bit.
Steve,

Ah, I missed the "just built" reference but I see it now. That's very much what I had in mind. I've been doing my homework a little more. So in terms of performance, how would your build compare to a PS4/Xbox1? From what I've read, your build looks only slightly more powerful. I was hoping for a little more that slightly, but for the money it seems you've got the setup I want. Maybe I'll need to wait a few months...

As for the i5-4670, Tom's Hardware recent review suggests that CPU is good because it allows for overclocking and then also says if you're not going to overclock, you might as well step down to a cheaper CPU. That step down would probably put me below a PS4/Xbox1 and yet I can't really justify the extra cash for something I don't need or want.

Anyway, still thinking about my options. Seeing your build is a good framework for me. I was hoping it would be a little cheaper to put something together that would beat the new consoles, but maybe I just need to wait.

CA_Steve
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Re: Seeking Case recomendation

Post by CA_Steve » Sun Jan 05, 2014 2:25 pm

Sorry - I don't track consoles.

Abula
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Re: Seeking Case recomendation

Post by Abula » Sun Jan 05, 2014 2:37 pm

If consoles do all you need to, then go for it, its cheaper. But personally i just do a lot of more things on the PC, even gaming for me takes maybe 30% of the time i spend on the PC, for me consoles are not an option.

joeythebull
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Re: Seeking Case recomendation

Post by joeythebull » Sun Jan 05, 2014 4:10 pm

Abula wrote:If consoles do all you need to, then go for it, its cheaper. But personally i just do a lot of more things on the PC, even gaming for me takes maybe 30% of the time i spend on the PC, for me consoles are not an option.
I am NOT a fan of consoles and haven't owned one since Atari 2600 , but the fact is, these days the gaming industry designs their games around what will run on the consoles. The last PS3 went 7 years before the PS4 came out a couple months ago. So by my thinking the PS4 should maybe last 7 more years. If I want to play games on the PC, I feel I need to have a build that's at least as good as the PS4, if not a little better.

joeythebull
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Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2014 7:34 am

Re: Seeking Case recomendation

Post by joeythebull » Sun Jan 05, 2014 4:12 pm

CA_Steve wrote:Sorry - I don't track consoles.
I'm not a console fan either. Thanks for all your feedback just the same.

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