Dust. Dust is the main reason Im having to change cases. My current case is a Sentey GS-6070 II Abaddom ATX Mid Tower. I picked it up on sale for $20 on newegg around christmas last year for an APU based system I bult on a $400 budget. The case just isnt that great at all. I thought i was getting a steal, but after the last half year or so its just been giving me headaches. The dust filters (if you can call them that) are just pieces of foam and need cleaned every week because of my environment. I live in a very old house and in a basement at that, so dust is everywhere. I have to clean out my components every month because of dust causing my rig to overheat. Cleaning the case takes around 30mins to dissasemble the front, top, and side ends and clean all the fans off and heatsink. Its just a lot of hassle. So im looking for a case that has better dust filters and more cable management (this case has such a thin backplate i cant squeeze the 24pin connector into it and the routing holes are positioned in places making it difficult to get anywhere on the motherboard). I have a $100 budget but would like to only spend $60ish. I like cases with very simple design (like an R4, or 650D). Any suggestions for an ATX case (maybe with watercooling options *wink wink*) ?
i personally love my corsair 300r
made my build 2 weeks ago its got good airflow and has decent cable routing
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139011
Define R4
How about the NZXT H2? It has what seems to be very nice dust filters and shrouds over the top, but it doesn't support 240mm liquid coolers.
bmine2709: I looked at some reviews, but the case doesnt really stand out to me. Asthetically I like it but it doesnt seem very sturdy when i watched a few reviews on it.
Nord496: I may buy the R4, its definitely one id like, but i wanted to see if anyone could recommend a different case i didnt know about that just screamed "buy me"
Kuine: Thats a nice case, but that wierd magnetic shroud on top seems awkward. I move my case around a lot to lan parties and it might move off the case and get lost somewhere knowing me... not really too much of a problem though. I might actually buy this case if I dont grab the R4.
Right now I've got the Define Xl r2 (it's awesome :) ) but I really like how the looks Nzxt h630.
If you're looking for a cheap and good mid tower case. I would suggest the Coolermaster K380 case. It's only $25, it has a window, dust filters and looks nice.
Of course there are better quality cases out there but the K380 gets the job done for the average ATX PC builder.
I have the Define R4 and I love it, super quiet, looks nice and simplistic, and has tons of space on the inside. I probably won't have to buy a new one for a while with a case like that.
Bitfenix Shinobi is very minimalist style, great case, built one about a year ago for a friend, about $80. Would also recommend Corsair 200R for $60 and 300R for $70.
All 3 have watercooling capabilities and cable management, as well as modular drive bays.
I'm wondering if my next case whould be a 500r or a define r4
i'd recommend the 500r over r4. More flexibility with that case.