The perfect computer case

[McRoll]

I am on the search for a computer case with which I am gonna stay for the next years and many computer generations- it needs to fulfill several properties:

- Good workmanship, which means little plastic and cleats which can break off easily etc. I want it durable.
- Dust resistant: as little holes as possible, no "mesh" optics, good dust filters. Ideally just one front and one rear fan, without all the holes on the top, bottom and sides.
- Good airflow
- Doesnt need to be ultra- quiet but nice to have
- Enough space for long graphic cards and cable management
- I dont know how and if electromagnetic emissions affect health but I am not willing to take any risks here considering I sit quite some time besides my PC so it should be emission-proof (which most are probably anyway). This means closed cases made of metal and no open plastic shit.
- Optics are irrelevant but I prefer a straightforward design without all the blinky lights and spaceship design given the choice
- Price around 150 €


Until now I have an Antec case which I am pretty content with but it has some flaws- the little plastic hooks on the side broke off very early and one of the front doors with the dust filters broke out as well because all that holds it are two extremely small and cheap plastic hooks.

I have taken some cases into closer consideration, like this
http://www.caseking.de/shop/catalog/...=14554&imgID=2
or this
http://www.caseking.de/shop/catalog/...=17855&imgID=2.

Such is the direction where it should be going, so I was wondering if you can forward me to some expert case testing sites- or shops or have a case which you can recommend etc.

Cheers

[TZeer]

Fractal Design

http://www.fractal-design.com/

[Paradox]

My favorite case on the market at the moment is the HAF X because the airflow is great, you can mount the PSu either on the top or bottom, it supports water cooling, the build quality is great, it looks amazing IMO and it's quite big so you won't have any problems with upgrades or installing extra shit.

It's probably too big for a lot of people but I don't like smaller cases in general, there is a midi tower version of the case but for a midi tower it's still on the large side.

It's predecessor the HAF 932/ 922 were considered to be the benchmark for mid budget performance cases for a while, I'm using a HAF 932.

[Nordstern]

I am on the search for a computer case with which I am gonna stay for the next years and many computer generations- it needs to fulfill several properties:

- Good workmanship, which means little plastic and cleats which can break off easily etc. I want it durable.
- Dust resistant: as little holes as possible, no "mesh" optics, good dust filters. Ideally just one front and one rear fan, without all the holes on the top, bottom and sides.
- Good airflow
- Doesnt need to be ultra- quiet but nice to have
- Enough space for long graphic cards and cable management

Okay.

- I dont know how and if electromagnetic emissions affect health but I am not willing to take any risks here considering I sit quite some time besides my PC so it should be emission-proof (which most are probably anyway). This means closed cases made of metal and no open plastic shit.

wat

Methinks you need to attend middle school physics again. All semiconductors, by design, will emit EM radiation. You can block EM and microwave with a lead-lined case, but that's expensive, unsafe, and unnecessary. Plus it screws up your heating.

Do you have power cables going in or signal cables coming out? Yes you do. There's emissions right there.

[Chaot1c]

TBH that anidees case looks amazing.

[Durzel]

I dont know how and if electromagnetic emissions affect health but I am not willing to take any risks here

You don't know how or even if something affects you so you're going to play it safe and assume it does?

[FatFreddy]

I cut mine out of a single block of marble. Using only a toothpick and one of the many diamonds I own.

[Navigator Six]

The Silverstone FT02 is supposed to be a fantastic case, and looks like it would check most of your boxes if it's not too expensive.

SPCR should have some good case reviews, and AnandTech does some decent ones as well.

[Aramendel]

TBH that anidees case looks amazing.

I got that one since 2 months. It's pretty nice, however behind the exterior it is has "mesh" optics. As in the floor and ceiling are perforated, similar as the front is in the last picture on caseking. Not sure how much dust comes in from there, ordered the version with sound dampening which blocks those areas anyway. The "ridges" on the sides are plastic btw. I *think* this applies to the hinges for the front door as well, but not sure. From the reviews I've read about it it was one of the most silent, but also the hottest cases being tested ("hot" being relative though, I think the difference was ~7°C between the coolest and hottest case).

Overall quite happy with it, my only complaint i that the power button is a bit wobbely. Oh, and the power and HD LEDs are waaaay to bright, first thing I did after the first
test run was to disconnect them.

So, basically:
- Good workmanship: It is well made, but has some plastic. But for something which you keep in your room its totally sufficient.
- Dust resistant: Might have issues, might not. The front filters were pretty good at filtering dust, but no idea about top and bottom.
- Airflow: There are cases with better airflow, but those are also noisier. But it is totally ok unless you overclock it to stupid amounts and/or SLI 2 $500 graphic cards.
- Quiet: yes
- Space: yes
- EM: see Nordsterns post

[Rudolf Miller]

Either go Fractal, or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119252

The case is big enough for the Asian girl demo-ing it in the video to fit in <3

[rojomojo915]

I have a Lian Lin tower, only a 7B, but I love it. Its easy to work in and has room for cables, has pretty good airflow as far as Im concerned, does pretty well on dust, has space for the longer cards and is pretty quiet.

[Hast]

Used to have a lian-like but now have a fractal. Would recommend. Sturdy, not flashy, extendable when it comes to fans and deadly quiet.

[McRoll]

About this EM thing:

There are quite some people around who are sensitive to electromagnetic fields or colloquially said electric smog. This means, it does affect people somehow- and there are no real long- term studies out yet who can deny possible health dangers because this is a process where you will see results when you are an old man already. I am not overly concerned by this but when I have a 660W power adapter together with a powerful processor, graphics card and all the other stuff working right next to me, I just feel better when there is some metal between me and the components. I won't get sick from that in the near future but who knows whether this makes the difference between having cancer or not in 40 years? Not knowing about something does not mean that you should completely ignore it- and I know that I get enough emissions already from all the mobile phones, transmitter masts, wireless stuff etc. Why continue to bathe in that even @ home?

Anyway, back to topic... thanks for opinions so far, I will continue to read some reviews but the anidees tower is pretty much on top right now. I am thinking about the sound dampened version since I don't overclock and go with the standard configuration of 1 graphics card, 1 hdd and so on- so several degrees hotter shouldnt be a problem. The Lian Li and Fractal towers are nice as well, gonna take some time with my decision.

[FourFiftyFour]

I'm just not sure you will find a case that will effectively insulate you from those emissions.

[McRoll]

I know, I just wanted to say that I want a usual case and not something completely open, that should do it. All the cases in this thread are sufficient.

[Hels]

Yay NZXT Phantom :3

[EntroX]

Yay NZXT Phantom :3

[Cosmin]

Have a Lian-Li PC-A7010 for some years now and I wouldn't change it for the world. Most people call me crazy because of its size, but that sh|t can accomodate a lot of stuff, so I never have to scratch my head when getting upgrade parts "so which part do I need to chainsaw out so I can put this in".

Tbqh I'd reccomend Lian Li because of the craftsmanship. The cases are truly magnificent and Antec has gone down the drain. Never been a fan of NZXT/Cooler Master/Silverstone/Fractal, they seem like children's toys compared to Lian Li. What is also interesting is the Corsair series - take a look at the 500R for instance, it's serious stuff for that money.

[Jason Marshall]

Antec 1200

[Gaydai]

So, me and a couple of friends went onto this quest a few montha ago. We wanted new systems with as few compromises as possible inside REALLY big cases that we would live with for a long time.

My friend went for the COSMOS II.

Now, it's huge. It's not big - it's a BEHEMOTH. However, it has pretty much NO compromises. It really has extra-everything with all bells and whistles. For that system the goal was to find a non-sever case that could host 10+ 3.5" drives without any 5.25" trays (while looking good). Also wanted something that would go beyond the "glorified alumunium box". It sure delivers on that. Though when we started to compare it to other big cases (HAFX, 800Ds, FDs big cases) it really isn't THAT much bigger - atleast it's not an issue. We liked it but it might be niche and a bit expensive - excellent quality though. The inside of it - specially the backside of the MB-plate has so much room that you only need to put all the cables there, close the door and never care about it again - joy to build in.

I went for the Obsidian 800D by corsair.

Now this is a glorified alu-box that you can mount PC stuff inside - in a good way. I was looking for a case that would be big enough to fit a 360-rad without any issues. I also wanted something that had no fluff at all while looking clean. I really didn't want to go with a Lian-Li either. Fell for this one and I am very pleased. The quality of the Alu/paint is really damn good, it's up together with ANTECs old glorydays of the p182s in quality. Layout it big and roomy - it's not as big as the COSMOS II but it doesn't have loads of plastic covers and air-channels either. It's a box - a very good box. Apart from the hot-swap bay (that I managed to burn up and destroy an SSD with, probably because of me being badd), that one could just rip out, I love it.

So my tip is to go with the Corsair 650D. Only heard that it's amazing and going by the quality of the 800D it will live up to your expectations. It can fit 240 rads for watercooling - no idea if that is sufficient for you, as it was the main problem I had when looking for a case. As long as you follow the way Corsair wants you to get air into the case you will be fine (In at the bottom, up though the case and out the top and back).