Recommend me a desktop PC case

LongLensPhotography

LongLensPhotography

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It looks like I will be going with self-built desktop PC route. Most likely I'll settle for AMD Ryzen 9, perhaps just a 7 / 4000 series but I'm still leaving door open for 11th gen Intel. For graphics I will likely go with AMD RX5700Xt or the followup (better linux drivers), or as an alternative Nvidia RTX series. 32-64GB RAM. The point is it will need some proper cooling.

I'm absolutely lost between all the cases and can't say I like most of them at all. So if you can point a finger towards something a bit more like HP Z4 case I would be very grateful.

Wish list:
  • Simple and discreet design. Absolutely no Xmas lights or LEDs inside! Should be easy to find but sadly it is really not - just look at all pre-build PCs from CCL or Scan!
  • Good and efficient cooling
  • VERY QUIET
  • Modern ports: USB-C and USB3 (at least 4x, ideally 6 or 8x), (mini)Display port, HDMI (pref 2.1), thunderbolt would be nice too if motherboad supports it. I think there is USB4 coming out soon too?
  • No rubbish ports like USB2, serial, VGA or floppy disk. I can't believe most still have it!

Obviously I can wait a till around black friday when I do most of my orders, but I need to know what I'm looking for.
 
Do you want glass side panel or just a plain box? Any budget in mind? Motherboard size?
 
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popcorn said:
Do you want glass side panel or just a plain box? Any budget in mind?
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No idea or real preference. I guess whatever helps to meet the wish list above...

Budget-wise... I'd rather put the money towards the better CPU or more RAM if that answers the question. Let's call it a discreet mid-range option.
 
Some of the ports you mention are down to your motherboard and graphics card rather than the case. As you've emboldened "Very quiet" and as you want discreet have you looked at the Be Quiet Range? Perhaps the "Silent Base 601" model. which comes in at around £100.
 
www.overclockers.co.uk

Fractal Design Define 7 Mid-Tower Case - Black & White Clear Tint Tempered Glass

Aluminium front panel, Sound dampening, Dual-layout interior, USB Type C, Fan hub, Tempered Glass Side, Supports Vertical GPU mounting, High airflow Nylon filters, Supports up to E-ATX Motherboards
www.overclockers.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk

I think this is a good compromise ? You will have more USB posts on the motherboard . I dont think a case exists with 8 USB 3 ports on it lol
 
popcorn said:
Some of the ports you mention are down to your motherboard and graphics card rather than the case. As you've emboldened "Very quiet" and as you want discreet have you looked at the Be Quiet Range? Perhaps the "Silent Base 601" model. which comes in at around £100.
Click to expand...

Looks good. Lack of front USB-C may or may not be a problem longer term. Hopefully, its all at the back in the MB

fujilover said:
www.overclockers.co.uk

Fractal Design Define 7 Mid-Tower Case - Black & White Clear Tint Tempered Glass

Aluminium front panel, Sound dampening, Dual-layout interior, USB Type C, Fan hub, Tempered Glass Side, Supports Vertical GPU mounting, High airflow Nylon filters, Supports up to E-ATX Motherboards
www.overclockers.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk

I think this is a good compromise ? You will have more USB posts on the motherboard . I dont think a case exists with 8 USB 3 ports on it lol
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That looks OK too. I see there are some variations on this like the compact version for a bit less. Perhaps I shall buy the motherboard first and size this up there and then. Is there a point to get full ATX tower if I get say ITX or mATX board for example? ASRock boards look quite good at the moment, and even come with TB3 port for AMD X570. Reasonable integrated graphics may be nice to have as I can wait a little before getting the dedicated one until I actually start real video editing work. Of course there may be hopefully new toys out very soon, which is why the idea to wait a little for the big spending.
 
fujilover said:
www.overclockers.co.uk

Fractal Design Define 7 Mid-Tower Case - Black & White Clear Tint Tempered Glass

Aluminium front panel, Sound dampening, Dual-layout interior, USB Type C, Fan hub, Tempered Glass Side, Supports Vertical GPU mounting, High airflow Nylon filters, Supports up to E-ATX Motherboards
www.overclockers.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk

I think this is a good compromise ? You will have more USB posts on the motherboard . I dont think a case exists with 8 USB 3 ports on it lol
Click to expand...
I'd agree on fractal being a good option, I have a similar-ish Phanteks case. I suggested the Be Quiet as the panels are foam lined for noise dampening. But obviously silence is a trade off for air movement/cooling too generally
 

Quiet PC | Custom Built PC Specialist | Buy a PC

Quiet PC specialise in developing custom PCs and quiet PC components, from PSUs and CPU coolers to computer fans and quiet cases, for a silent PC.
www.quietpc.com www.quietpc.com

Have a gander here I have on occasion bought their quiet case fans but that was all.
 
Another shout for Fractal Design cases.

I had the 500 which is an ITX case.
Plenty space to cram the necessary in and still have good airflow for the RX580 GPU and other hardware.

In general the fractal cases are good quality and well thought out for end user internal layouts.
2019_0910_18481600-01 by Stuart Pardue, on Flickr
 
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I use a Silverstone TJ08. With a suitable (large!) cooler on the the CPU, the 180mm fan at the front and 120mm at the back let it run without a fan on the CPU and I have an i7 9700F in there. The GTX 1660 Ti's fans only run when needed so the whole thing is very quiet. I've put an Akasa USB3 device in the the bottom 3.5" opening so I have two USB3 type A and two USB C ports at the front.
 
LongLensPhotography said:
Would I do something stupid if I get this used be quiet 601 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USED-Be-Quiet-Tower-Case-Believed-Silent-Base-601-2-x-Pure-Wings-2-Fans-Inc/353194283548?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l9372
50mi away from me but possibly might go that way for a job soon.
Of course if this is missing anything important or fractal design is so much better then perhaps best to stick with that...
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I would say this is a decent case, not the best for thermals... but you want a quiet case.

I run the PWM versions of the Pure wings 2 in my system and they are very quiet at idle and under load they get louder as they should. The case comes with 2x 3 pins, I personally would just replace those with 4 pins of the same make and model, 140mm @ £10 each. Id stick 2/3 up front and 1 at the rear to begin with, if your cooling requirements are greater you can add another 3x 140/120s at the top and 1 x 120 on the PSU shroud so you could potentially push a lot of air through this case. Also, add a dark rock cooler to the cpu.

Noise and thermal wise reviews put it at similar figures to a Fractal define (a case Ive owned), that doesnt surprise me, both are good manufacturers known for producing well made silent cases. Heres an exploded diagram... and full spec can be found here.

www.bequiet.com

be quiet!

be quiet!
www.bequiet.com www.bequiet.com

8b95d6a8-19fb-4a3a-a0b4-6a9df100f13b.png
 
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... As youre spending a ton on high end gear I personally wouldnt buy a well used case with very obvious signs of use to put them in.

Theres a lot to consider, do you want a smaller ITX or Matx, or does size not bother you, materials (plastic/glass/alloy), is it on show or hidden etc etc.
 
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I regularly build high spec PC's for customers and prefer Corsair or Antec Cases for the quality and simplicity. I particularly like the Corsair Carbide 100R Silent Edition (without side window) with Corsair TX750 modular power supply and the Corsair H60 water cooling. All of which are easily available from the likes of Scan.
Sleek design, nice lines, quiet and good cable management. Also lots of space for disks !
 
I have a Be Quiet! 601 with a Ryzen 9 in it. It's pretty quiet :) However, it's nowhere near silent like my iMac was.

I also have the Silent Wings and Dark Rock Cooler. It's way more quiet than (say) a desk fan. If I push it hard then it revs up like you would expect but by that time I usually have headphones on :D

BTW - the 601 is really quite a big case. It will totally do everything you list and IMO is really rather nice to look at.
 
Have a look at the Thermaltake S300, I have one and it is a great case, extremely well built, loads of space inside for letting air circulate.
They are not stupid prices either as you can usually get them around the £60 mark.

This guy made my mind up about the case, although I went for the Snow Edition :)
LINKY
 
Sorry to hijack this thread, but are you guys water cooling, or using conventional fans?
 
No water in my rig Paul, temps are fine with just two intakes and one exhaust with a Gamemaxx 500 CPU cooler
 
JonathanRyan said:
I have a Be Quiet! 601 with a Ryzen 9 in it. It's pretty quiet :) However, it's nowhere near silent like my iMac was.

I also have the Silent Wings and Dark Rock Cooler. It's way more quiet than (say) a desk fan. If I push it hard then it revs up like you would expect but by that time I usually have headphones on :D

BTW - the 601 is really quite a big case. It will totally do everything you list and IMO is really rather nice to look at.
Click to expand...

TBF it whoops an imac and you could definitely create a custom fan curve, Id bet your setup is ramping more than it actually needs to (which isnt a bad thing unless you want shhhh)
 
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Paulie-W said:
Thanks guys, appreciate you posting (y)
Now I just need to figure out exatly what "load" is ....
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Unless specified in another manner.....

Load will refer to calculating how many Watts Rating the PSU should be to power the PC.

This is one online calculator to do this.
www.bequiet.com

be quiet!

be quiet!
www.bequiet.com www.bequiet.com

HTH :)
 
Box Brownie said:
Unless specified in another manner.....

Load will refer to calculating how many Watts Rating the PSU should be to power the PC.

This is one online calculator to do this.
www.bequiet.com

be quiet!

be quiet!
www.bequiet.com www.bequiet.com

HTH :)
Click to expand...

Cheers, mate. That`s very handy (y)
 
Reading reviews doesn`t really help me, as it seems a bit of a mare, Heat dissipation seems to be a big issue with some cases, and make it tricky to decide what is best, between style and a ship load of fans ;)

I only play COD WAW occasionally, and the rest is editing pix or browsing etc

My stuf is pretty old, but works. So have no intention of upgrading just for the sake of it, apart from my tin box.

PS 650w
AMD 8350 with a Cooler Master Hyper 212 evo cooler
G 1650 super
32mb Ram
500 gb SSD
3TB HDD for saving pix etc

It works for me, and for what I do, seems fast enough.

I have no use for USB-C so have pushed the button on a Fractal R6 :)
 
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Everyting now swapped over :)
It`s a really nice case, and so well built compared to my old pop riviet special ;)

Just waiting for a sata power extension cable now, for my optical drive, but hey ho. Everything else is working nicely (y)
 
Paulie-W said:
Everyting now swapped over :)
It`s a really nice case, and so well built compared to my old pop riviet special ;)

Just waiting for a sata power extension cable now, for my optical drive, but hey ho. Everything else is working nicely (y)
Click to expand...
Do please remind me, which case did you buy???
 
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