So I've been staring at the Fractal Mood for a bit, but now I'm less sure.
Anyways, long story short: a young family member wants their first true custom gaming PC. And I want it to be special, so I'm not rushing things without proper research.
To that end, requirements:
- White + RGB (they like the aesthetic, cool!)
- ITX (obv) or small mATX
- Portable! This PC will be travelling regularly (2-3 times a year maybe) so No glass is a good idea too!
- Future-proof -ish?
- Solid cooling and filtering
- Noise isn't a huge concern, but I'd still like to find something quiet.
- Around $200 max, total PC budget I'm aiming for is 800-1k.
Cases under consideration so far:
- Fractal Mood White: I'll add RGB fans I already have, and use a 240mm AIO *exhausting* out the mesh (seems like few, if any, have tried this? I don't get why or why not)
- Corsair 2000D? Bottom pain in the butt connections aside, I really, really don't understand a chimney -style case that isn't top exhausting. What the heck Corsair?
- Coolermaster NR200? Slightly boring, to me, but seems solid otherwise.
- Lian Li A4-H20? Definitely smaller and portable, but only airflow is a top 240mm rad?
- Hyte 3? Interesting design, especially
with a carry handle and little hooks for headphones... but again, chimney case with No top exhaust? Cmon!
*Dan cases and the like are outside the budget.
That's all I've got on my list so far. The Mood might still be the front runner, mostly because top exhaust, filtering and soft sides are portable -friendly. The smallish gpu space isn't a big deal (will probably be a long while before they're going to be gaming at a level that needs massive 4090s or whatever), and I think some decent static pressure fans pulling through a 240mm AIO and directly exhausting outside the case would mitigate the CPU temp concerns.
Other ideas or input guys?
Anyways, long story short: a young family member wants their first true custom gaming PC. And I want it to be special, so I'm not rushing things without proper research.
To that end, requirements:
- White + RGB (they like the aesthetic, cool!)
- ITX (obv) or small mATX
- Portable! This PC will be travelling regularly (2-3 times a year maybe) so No glass is a good idea too!
- Future-proof -ish?
- Solid cooling and filtering
- Noise isn't a huge concern, but I'd still like to find something quiet.
- Around $200 max, total PC budget I'm aiming for is 800-1k.
Cases under consideration so far:
- Fractal Mood White: I'll add RGB fans I already have, and use a 240mm AIO *exhausting* out the mesh (seems like few, if any, have tried this? I don't get why or why not)
- Corsair 2000D? Bottom pain in the butt connections aside, I really, really don't understand a chimney -style case that isn't top exhausting. What the heck Corsair?
- Coolermaster NR200? Slightly boring, to me, but seems solid otherwise.
- Lian Li A4-H20? Definitely smaller and portable, but only airflow is a top 240mm rad?
- Hyte 3? Interesting design, especially
with a carry handle and little hooks for headphones... but again, chimney case with No top exhaust? Cmon!
*Dan cases and the like are outside the budget.
That's all I've got on my list so far. The Mood might still be the front runner, mostly because top exhaust, filtering and soft sides are portable -friendly. The smallish gpu space isn't a big deal (will probably be a long while before they're going to be gaming at a level that needs massive 4090s or whatever), and I think some decent static pressure fans pulling through a 240mm AIO and directly exhausting outside the case would mitigate the CPU temp concerns.
Other ideas or input guys?
