What's new
  • Please do not post any links until you have 3 posts as they will automatically be rejected to prevent SPAM. Many words are also blocked due to being used in SPAM Messages. Thanks!

Good airflow on a budget.

kungfuevil

New member
Joined
Aug 16, 2019
Messages
4
Hello everyone, i registered here in hope of getting some help, or at least a wider perspective.
So let's get to it.

Just recently, i retired my old x58 and i7-920 and the CNPS9900MAX cooler.
Psu (TX650 > RM550), GPU (XFX R9 280X DD > undecided / preferably something with maximum 1x 6pin) and the case (Z11 Neo) of course.
So, basically i am doing a complete build.

There are some criteria though, but i do know that these restrict my options a lot.
And finally my budget for the entire thing is a maximum of 100 dollars.
So here is a list.

-The front has to be ocd friendly, ie NR600 is a no go, because the line isn't on the middle.
-The side has to be windowed, but only tempered glass. Acryl is a no go.
-The psu has to have a full shroud, except for a cutout for the third fan if it supports more than 2.
-Must not support EATX, my tiny b450 ATX would be basically lost in it.
-Must not have colors other than black , white, gray, silver/metal or the combination of these. Unless it's the cause of RGB illumination.
-No odd.
-If the front is mesh, it must not have that honeycomb thingy.
-The closer i get to my price limit, the better included/optional fan ratio i want. (poor people problems).

RGB isn't necessary, the G100M illuminates the entire case, and i can always add a led strip in the future.
That's about it i think.
I am very well aware, that i just discared most case options.
And i am grateful to you for even bothering to read this far.
Any recommendations and help are appreciated.
Thank you in advance.
 

Dwayne

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 17, 2008
Messages
1,720
Location
Courtenay, BC
This might help, might not. There is no mesh front filter, yet, but here is a PC Part picker filtered to $100 with some of your criteria.


You can filter for external drive bays, internal drive bays, and what have you. Pictures of the cases included. Once you see something you like, just Google up a review or two to see how they fair for thermals.

Good Luck!
 

sswilson

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Dec 9, 2006
Messages
24,652
Location
Moncton NB
The only one on that list that stands out to me as fitting the great majority of your criteria is the thermaltake V200 but I'm not sure if the cut-away to display the PSU's label would work for you, and while the side is tempered glass, I have a sneaking suspicion that the front panel is either clear or smokey acrylic.


Your front panel OCD criteria is throwing me off as well... does that mean it needs to be a straight up flat front or would something with somewhat symmetrical design elements be ok? (Like the AZZA Raven)


edit: Cases are probably one of the hardest things to make recommendations on unless it's based on hardware specific "will it fit" type questions.
 

kungfuevil

New member
Joined
Aug 16, 2019
Messages
4
The only one on that list that stands out to me as fitting the great majority of your criteria is the thermaltake V200 but I'm not sure if the cut-away to display the PSU's label would work for you, and while the side is tempered glass, I have a sneaking suspicion that the front panel is either clear or smokey acrylic.


Your front panel OCD criteria is throwing me off as well... does that mean it needs to be a straight up flat front or would something with somewhat symmetrical design elements be ok? (Like the AZZA Raven)


edit: Cases are probably one of the hardest things to make recommendations on unless it's based on hardware specific "will it fit" type questions.


Symetrical front is the word i was looking for, rather than ocd friendly, sorry, not a native speaker.
The azza is definitely not one, and the V200 has the glass panel side curved, while the other is a normal corner.

Edit:
From Cooler Master MS600 looks great, but i am affraid of it having no dust filters. Then there is the H500, But that is exactly my limit, and need 1 more 200mm fan, overstepping the budget. Then there is Nzxt H500 i like, But if i want matching fans, i will also overstep the budget.
These cases are good examples of what i am looking for i think.

This one fits all my requirements, It also has 4 built in fans, and it's just under 100 dollars.
But i am not sure about the airflow.

Any opinions?
 
Last edited:

Mac29

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 5, 2010
Messages
209
Location
Florida
That Zalman looks impressive. Although I haven't been impressed w/their build quality, previously. Other than pcpartpicker I had two sites that really held extensive lists of cases. Can only find this one: https://www.tweaktown.com/cat/cases_cooling_and_power_supplies/index.html and although it takes a long time to go through the pages of cases, I did think I had exhausted the possibilities by the end. I then looked on amazon and ebay to see if a model was still available and in my price range.

Good luck.
 

freeagent

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 30, 2007
Messages
226
Location
Winnipeg, Canada
Looks like memory express has the Meshify C TG for 104.99. It’s a solid case with awesome airflow only problem is you need to use your own fans. I removed the foam filter from the front. I got mine off of kijiji for 75, and pulled all of my crap out of my define r4.
 

kungfuevil

New member
Joined
Aug 16, 2019
Messages
4
By the time i decided to go with meshify C, giving up some of my criteria, the price of it increased to 120 dollars.
The X3 is also around 110 now.

So right now i am trying to decide between the following cases.
Unless i find something in the next couple of days that is better.

CoolerMaster: MB500, K500RGB, NR600, H500 mesh.
Nzxt: H500
Phanteks: P350X
Thermaltake: Versa J24 TG ARGB
 

SugarJ

Moderator
Staff member
Folding Team
Joined
Jan 17, 2008
Messages
7,870
Location
Langley, BC
Of the cases listed there, I'd pick the Phanteks first then the NZXT.
 

Latest posts

Top