Premium Chassis Choice help needed.

[ToffieBoer]

Hey guys, as the title would states I'm in the market for a premium chassis.

I'm seeing a lot of case reviews on OC3D but half of them are not for sale in my country (South-Africa). So my easiest approach is to mention a few cases which will indicate my Price scope , currency will probably just create implications.

I currently have a Cooler Master CM690 II, running with a GTX590. The GTX590 is my main source of problems in this case!
i. It barely fits.
ii. Creates a lot of heat in the case itself.
iii. Its cooking my Hard drives.
Now I've already got 11 x 120mm fans in my case! Still my GTX590 will hit 90C, which worries me seeing that this was no cheap investment. I don't know if its just new games stressing it out more but it never used to get much higher than 80C. Ive tried the front intake as exhaust, side panel fan configuration and just is not getting better.

So I'm blaming my Mid Tower Case .

Now Chassis I've been looking at is the Cooler Master Cosmos II, Read some reviews and it seems great. Bit to much of plastic but I'm not too fussy. Problem is, I've got 2 very good looking Zalman Fan Controllers and not only does this case come with Controllers but it has a "Mask" to cover the 5.25" bays and I'm not sure my Zalman Fan Controllers knobs will fit under it. "Mask" Problem aside if i just installed my Controllers I will have a serious amount of cable clutter from 22 fan cables hanging around.

Then I looked at the very capable Cooler Master Haf-X. Will Do the job but I think its a bit too Boring and Old.

Next was the Antec Chassis, 1200V3 and the DF85. Unfortunately the reviews on them seem generic and they are both good cases Blah-blah. I don't know anyone who owns one of these cases so thought maybe you guys could help me out with them.

My next case the LIAN LI PC-P80NB seems very tempting. But I do not hear from LIAN LI anymore. Only Problem with this case is the very Aluminum look to the inside. I'm Open to Most LIAN LI cases in this Price range(LIAN LI's do get quite expensive).

Then there is the Corsair 800D which seems Big and Black.

Things to Consider:
-I do have a Corsair H100.
-I will NOT going full watercooling because its not available in my country and it requires me to custom import all the parts. Me and friend did the calculations and will cost around £800 for a single 240mm RAD setup(CPU only).
-I have about 15 x 120mm CoolerMaster Xtraflow 2300rpm fans (don't need them all in a case) that I Use with my Zalman Fan Controllers. Any Case I buy will Probably get these fans in them to replace the stock fans. I like a case with Preference to 120mm fans and not the stupid 140mm+ fans! (The Noise couldn't bother me one bit)
-I Prefer Black and RED theme because i will probably be building into a ASUS ROG system in the Future.

I feel this is going to be a Chassis that I will be using for a long time, hence the big budget. So if these Chassis have Durability issues Please let me know.

Looking forward to your Comments,
ToffieBoer.

 

[Cru]

of the cases you mentioned i'd choose the 800d

lots of options in there so i think you can use it a couple years
if you somehow managed to get parts for a custom loop for a reasonable price you could that as well in there

 

[AverageNinja]

Agreed on the 800d
Though I'd have a look at the CM Storm Trooper/Stryker and the Switch 810.

 

[ToffieBoer]

I've had a quick 2nd look at the 800D. I find a grate lack of airflow in the case! Intake only seems to come from the bottom. As this Chassis choice is a step in my next build i don't think 7 expansion slots will cater for that. Most of the Upper X79 (most probably my next build) are Extended-ATX and bigger.

This is where I see the Cosmos II, HAF-X and PC-P80NB will benefit from there 11 expansion slots (9 for the Haf-X).

Thanks for the feedback,
ToffieBoer

 

[alienware]

Unless you are going full water then avoid the 800D. It's really poor for air cooling.

 

[ToffieBoer]

Well, after 2 days of research and watching videos etc. I've decided on the Cosmos II. Good Quality, Sizable, and good airflow potential. Also it allows me to place hard drives in the bottom segment where it is not going to be affected by my GTX590. I'm sure I'll be adding photo's when everything is completed.

Thanks for the feedback,
ToffieBoer.

 

[airdeano]

tbh, your case (with 11 fans) isnt the problem. you'd already mentioned the 590
is large and hot. you are gunna feel the heat in any other case as well.. just
might take it longer to get to 90°.
what is the GTX590 market like there? spending bonker price on a case and jump
from one frying pan to a larger, more-expensive frying pan.
i'd recoupe as much 590 money and look into a newer technology GPU. they run
monster cooler then the 590 and use less energy doing it.
just a thought..

 

[seumasbeathan]

I agrree with airdeano, and I must say, 11 fans is ricicolous, they are most likely just messing up the airflow

 

[airdeano]

ive had a 800D with SLI 480 and it was really no cooler than my CM690.
so i went to water-cooling and cured all my whoas. but thats not on the table.

 

[ToffieBoer]

Have you ever seen a GTX590 inside a CM690 II? There is about 1cm between the card and the HDD bays. I'm Pretty sure it will create some back Pressure. I can't cut off some of the HDD bays because the frame falls apart without the top support. So i do think the case is apart of the problem. I will Probably only replace my GTX590 with a GTX790 or GTX890 as it still performs very well.

Well GTX590 weren't stocked in SA but e-stores were importing them for us(just took a few weeks). I only know of 2 people who own a GTX590, so pretty rare.
SA probably has one of the cheapest Electricity prices in the world because of our strong coal supply.

But i see you're point it is a lot of money for the case. I've always had a motto when it comes to buying new things for my PC: Rather Save longer and get what you really want instead of compromising.

 

[seumasbeathan]

Why not just take out some of the HDD bays?

 

[Feronix]

Wonder what happens when you turn the front fan to exhaust to pull the warm air from the 590/HDDs out the front...

 

[ToffieBoer]

Okay I've managed to get the HDD bay shorter. I think its best I just upload a screenshot!

 

[ToffieBoer]

Inner Workings of the PC.

Side Panel, top exhaust, bottom intake.

top 240rad intake.

Bottom intake Front exhaust, fans on both sides of the HDD's!

 

[airdeano]

View attachment 5577
Inner Workings of the PC.
View attachment 5578
Side Panel, top exhaust, bottom intake.
View attachment 5579
top 240rad intake.
View attachment 5576
Bottom intake Front exhaust, fans on both sides of the HDD's!

for fan config is wrong you know?
sidepanel config is mute.. one in and other out the good comes in and is
blown out pronto
reasoning your GPU is cooking is the air-flow path is backwards. not from a
look stand-point. you are taking heated rad air, pumping into the case, and
the front panel is exhausting pulling heated air from rad and GPU past the HDD.

test this theory:
all in front, all in sidepanel, all out rad and rear exhaust.. itll get you a lil
positive pressure for dust control, intake room temp air and allow the case
to cool the HDD and GPU easily, enough. and tbh, the sidepanel could be
optional need.. less fiddling of wiring..

 

[ToffieBoer]

This (I think) is what you had in mind.

This i have tested...As the GTX590 blows +-70% of its heat into the case(IO Panel is very restrictive) and if the front is intake you get this situation where the heat never leaves the case. While playing PlanetSide 2 the other night my HDD was @55C! I'm pretty sure that's not normal! That's why the cosmos II having the HDD in a separate ,ventilated, compartment will solve my HDD heat problem! Even in the cosmos I will probably use the front to exhaust.

An also, I cant afford to get hot air over my rad as I'm pretty overclocked on my CPU (2600k 4.8GHz @1.38V). Even when running Intel Burn or Prime95 the air coming from the rad is always cool. Something to do with 4 x 93cfm fans on it

 

[airdeano]

yeah, ive never owned a dual GPU card only SLI/CFX and never had temps in those
regions in my CM690. i even put a fan in the ODD bay when using air-cooling for
more cool air intake.

from my 'sperience, the front panel fan should be the highes static you can get.
the floor is boarderline damaging, but directional for your GPU venting. it can be
a normal case fan. the panel fans (optional) would be noce to match the front panel
if its filtered, if not a high cfm will be useful.

using ambient for radiator air vs case air is negligible by 3°-5° and 55° can be 60°
for the sake of the GPU, couldnt it?

 

[ToffieBoer]

Okay using THIS, configuration! I've done a CPU load aswell as GPU load and BAM!

Note the HDD Temp...So it seems like my Temps are fine! But i still have money to BURN!!!

But I Still think I need a case worthy of the hardware!