What would be your perfect case? I've been all over the internet looking and really haven't seen anything that really gets me going. I have an off the shelf mid tower and I would like to give it a new home. Ideally a micro ITX would work if i just cut the mobo short but that's not going to happen. I have no desire for 5.25 bays and really want something as tiny as possible. Any suggestions? What do you all want in your perfect case?
I currently use a Fractal Design Core 1500 and I like it. I prefer my computers to just be plain white, gray, or black boxes with no side panel window.
Well perfect is sort of relative to your needs... but right NOW, the Corsair Graphite 760T is probably about as perfect as it gets for me: exceptionally easy to build in, great cable management options and space, ability to display your SSDs, great airflow, great rad support, gigantic acrylic side panel, easy to mount LED strips, plenty of HDD capacity, optional solid side panel if you don't need to see your gear, and surprisingly quiet... though I think that has a lot to do with the sheer size of the case and the fact that I use exclusively Fractal Design Venturi fans and have a custom fan curve for my 980 FTW. Very few compromises you need to make in order to get a really nice system built up in it with everything you need, and nothing you don't.
As for ITX, I happen to really like the Fractal Design Core 500, since similarly you have to compromise with very little to get a really good amount of hardware in there, including compatibility with up to a 280 mm radiator for a watercooled rig (plenty for damn near any hardware that would fit in the case). I use one for my HTPC and did a thorough review on it as well, can't say enough good about it, though the dust filters are a bit of a pain to get to. Not a big deal, though, since at least it includes them and they are great at keeping dust out, while letting air in, regardless of whether or not your fan has a lot of static pressure.
ive seen those, theyre nice. but id like to see the drive area shrink. maybe turn the cages 90 degrees
My perfect case would be one that someone else bought which includes all new hardware inside of it including dual GTX 1080s.
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My perfect case would be a scratch built mod. I used to work in industrial design and I am an artist so I go for the appearance first, then I figure out whether it is a good case or not. Even though I have a nice case I always read reviews and window shop on Newegg to see the cool new products. You are gonna have to shop around and take your time. I'm glad I did, because when I saw my case for the first time i knew IT MUST BE MINE. I love my Silent Base 800 but I wish I got the 600 cause the 800 is big.
I couldn't find the one I was thinking of but this one is nice.
It is M-ATX (there is a mITX version too) and comes in black, white, silver, blue, green, red and gold. It's a little pricey but it got a good review.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA66Z3TV7277
I lusted over an NCase M1 for a while, and then I bought one.
Sorry for potato quality.
It now lives behind my monitor because i bought speakers for my desk, which is too small.
Possible down side for you is this requires a mini ITX motherboard.
I also like the Fractal Define Nano S, and Define Mini a lot. I own a Fractal Node 605, and they build quality cases as far as I can tell with my very limited experience with them. The Mini will take mini ITX or micro ATX.
Perfect case for me would be the NCase M1 with the flat brushed look like the Define series have. Nano S is small'ish, but not as small as the M1.
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For anything that doesn't need to be on show then a 3U/4U rack case that takes standard ATX parts. The air flow in those is simply in at the front and out the back with a wall of fans in the middle!
Otherwise the HAF XB EVO as once the vanity panels are off you have full access to the important stuff and the majority of the cabling is hidden below. Plus it has a horizontal motherboard with vertical GPUs as it should always be :)
Does anyone know of a case with sand blasted aluminum rather then brushed? i hate brushed aluminum as it attracts finger prints.
My perfect case is Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 Windowed. I only wish it came in white. I'm toying with the idea of painting mine, but I'm afraid that I'd ruin it.
I found a cheap ass m-ITX case that I want to build in. My friend wants to get a PS4, but I keep trying to convince him to build a AMD system using an A10 APU for the same price. He keeps saying he doesn't want a big PC and he wants a Blu-ray player. This probably sucks but it's tiny and looks okay.
Apevia X-Fit 200 w/ 250W PSU.
The perfect case for me is the Phanteks Enthoo Pro. I like the "monolithic" aestethic, elegant, nice window on the side, plenty spacious for any build I'll ever do (watercooling or aircooling), great cable management and, overall, a really flexible choice for me. I invested a bit more to get a nice case because I don't want to change it and build in it over and over again.
My gaming friends at old job were all PS4 guys. My one friend did have a gaming PC, but prefers PS4 over PC these days. His PC wasn't super recent (i7-920, 12gb ram (I think), and GTX 560 Ti), but capable. I continually try to convince him to get on PC, and he continually tries to convince me to get a PS4. I understand your struggles.
What I don't understand is his laptop won't play games and he comes over to play on my system all the time, so he knows how good the PCMR is.
Maybe he just wants a couch and a controller convenience. That's my buddys excuse -> Not wanting to sit at his desk to game... has a huge TV and a comfy couch in the living room he prefers. I originally had my system in my living room as HTPC, and it's just not the same unless you have it launch straight into Steam Big Picture mode -> At which point you're limiting yourself to Steam.
Not to get too far off topic, and more perfect case talk....
Here's my idea of a perfect case for Steam Machine build:
NFC S4 Mini
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really want that case, one day.
Assuming you want standard components and a full size graphics card, the Dan A4 is the closes thing I found to a perfect case.
The design is genius. It is close to the absolute smallest that is theoretically possible given the components, and no component installs above another. There is also no power brick!
Few complaints I have are entirely personal preference. I prefer steel over aluminium and I prefer having no front panel USB because they are some of the ugliest to cable manage.
I was going to buy it when it was available but decided to ditch the standalone PC altogether and go VM.
I prefer the NCase M1 aesthetically over the Dan A4, BUT what I do like more about the Dan A4 is that it's a little smaller AND the way the video card is oriented removes some of the restrictions that the NCase M1 has in regards to how wide the video card can be. For example, an ASUS Strix 1070 would be questionable in my case because of the width, but it would be fine in the Dan A4.