Real Dilema picking a case

G

gilljoy

New member
Hi all so I've ordered my new system and I'd like to pick up a nice new case to replace my xigmatek midgard. My h100i Barely fitted into my midgard.

I've narrowed down my choices to the following:

Corsair 650D
Corsair 550D
Fractal Design R4
Fractal Design XL R2

Has anyone fitted a h100i into one of these cases with room for some 3.5" HDD drives? If so what would you say the pros and cons of the case are?

I've heard mixed things about the Fractal cases as I know that overclockers.co.uk had a large thread about why they where no longer stocking the Fractal cases.

If you haven't owned one personally what one would you choose?
 
welcome to the OC3D forums.

I own four FD cases. three midi and one mini. all in mint condition on arrival.
as for the FD R4, it can hold the H100 in the roof with minor modification (mobo
heat sink related). don't know about the XL R2 at this time.
FD support to me has been top-rated. even when I damaged the part, they sent
me another, free gratis. so I am bias towards great support.

seems the retailer might have points on not carrying them, but others seem to
be content with their sales.

any product having to endure a monster mile trek from manufacturing to warehousing
to end-user can toll any product. just depends on uses on QC that day.

I always like the 650D, but they too have faults and have been discussed here on
OC3D.

the 550D for just and air-cooling cabinet is great. anything more many write it
off as fail.

by your choices, it looks as if you are looking for a silent case (cases with front doors)?

depending on your tastes/needs, budget and location it is up to you.
just a stylish box to hold your PC gear.
 
airdeano said:
welcome to the OC3D forums.

I own four FD cases. three midi and one mini. all in mint condition on arrival.
as for the FD R4, it can hold the H100 in the roof with minor modification (mobo
heat sink related). don't know about the XL R2 at this time.
FD support to me has been top-rated. even when I damaged the part, they sent
me another, free gratis. so I am bias towards great support.

seems the retailer might have points on not carrying them, but others seem to
be content with their sales.

any product having to endure a monster mile trek from manufacturing to warehousing
to end-user can toll any product. just depends on uses on QC that day.

I always like the 650D, but they too have faults and have been discussed here on
OC3D.

the 550D for just and air-cooling cabinet is great. anything more many write it
off as fail.

by your choices, it looks as if you are looking for a silent case (cases with front doors)?

depending on your tastes/needs, budget and location it is up to you.
just a stylish box to hold your PC gear.
Click to expand...


Thanks very much for the reply.

Yes I should have said I'm looking for something nice and sleek looking thats nice an quiet ideally. Front doors are optional I just happen to like the 550d and the r4

Ahh so the 650D isn't a good choice then and the 550d isn't the best If I'm going to be sticking in a h100i.

Seems who ever you speak to has different views on cases etc.

What mod did you have to make with the r4? I am quite close to buying it
 
again, depending on what mobo is installed. relocating the radiator towards the left-side
further instead of using the OE fan mount holes.
the R4 would be the best choice. the 650D has a price-point not equal to the current
choices as described in other posts. the 550D can hold the H100, but seems to
be a air-flow issue to properly ventilate the case. and if in the future you go custom
loop, the 550D is not a candidate. all the others listed are potential great choices
for a custom loop installation.
 
Ok cool thanks for the info.

I think it's going to come down to the R4 or the 650d, I know the 650d is slightly more expensive but I do love the aesthetics of the case.

I've got a gigabyte z77x ud3h motherboard and from what I've been reading I think I shouldn't have much of an issue fitting the h100i into the fractal case as it doesn't have many heatsinks on the top of the board
 
I think just about all cases have their faults depending on what you want to put in them. I have a h100i in my 650d and it fits no problem , personally I like the looks of the h100i pump mount vs the h110 pump mount. The 650d does have airflow issues though , I think like Andre said in his review of the case, if it had 2 x 120mm fans in the front of the case instead of the 200mm fan, airflow would be much better. And the stock fans that come with the case are not very good , I replaced all of them on my build. It needs a usb3 motherboard header for the front panel usb3.
But is is a pretty nice case , I like the build quality.
 
I actually wasnt even aware of any quality issues with Fractal until i read this post. (Obvs not a member of the other forum)
Having said that my R4 is my first Fractal - heck my first ever full build and like you my top two choises were the R4 and the 650D.

When i landed on the R4 it was mainly due to these things. Lower price, supplier just got the first stock of the windowed case AND at a unbeatable price in my market...
Internal USB 3 header. Fan-controller, seemingly endles config-options on HDDbays. back-mobo mounts for two SSDs and I also found a video that showed mounting of the H100i with my mobo of choice.......that sort of semented my choice. I also read up on all the tests available at the time on performance wich all concluded that the R4 was the best silent case on the market. Done deal for me.

Needless to say at this point my case came in perfect condition. Install of the H100i and mobo was less of a hassle as to what was expected and the performance of the case has not let me down in any way to this date.

Having said this its always a shame to get a case with flaws so hope you will not experience this. Good thing all people on oc.uk say that Fractals customer service always comes through if something should be wrong tho...

U should take a look at oc3ds Fractal Design case club for other pointers and questions u might have :-)

Good luck whatever u choose m8
 
I've been swayed I think I'm going to go for the Fractal R4 its just proving a right pain to get a hold of a windowed R4 in black or Titanium over in the UK atm everywhere's out of stock
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Bang
I Finally did it.... sort of
Replies
0
Views
4K
Bang
Bang
B
Case Labs, the case I cannot escape from.
Replies
3
Views
4K
Bartacus
B
B
Home theatre rebuild, with home-frosted hard tube
Replies
1
Views
1K
Warchild
W
Zoot
My Home Media Server/NAS
Replies
4
Views
3K
AlienALX
AlienALX
A
Fractal Design Define C - An OC3D Themed Case Mod
Replies
6
Views
7K
WillSK
WillSK
Back
Top