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Quiet case with good airflow? Is the Meshify the best option?

chrisk

Folding Captain
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500DX of the list for lights/looks?

I did a search for it from Newegg, Canada Computers, and Amazon and didn't see it available...but I now see that the local CC has the white in stock.

I'll take another look at that one..not sure I like the lights and its a bit too much white for me, but I like the price and design overall. I think I would have liked that one in black better, but I'll add it to the list too (I actually just did an Amazon pre-order for the Meshify S2 white, but it does not ship until next week so I still have time to cancel).
 

clshades

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Big White Ski Resort
Tbh I really don't like the "intake" fans on the 011 being 90° off, just seems like it would make a mess of the airflow.

And even more bluntly.... Fractal design seems nowadays like a generic case maker. Steel boxes with "just okay" everything. Maybe ten+ years ago that were a premium brand, but they've hardly changed since. So... Wouldn't be my first choice.

Your loss man. I'm picky as fuck about cases. Had the entho primo white before this one. I'd take this case 1000 times over.

Phantek makes some nice cases but they miss details too. Things that drive me crazy. The slots to ssd mounted in the right side, side panel does not jive well with motherboards and easy wiringa. (Hard to explain) Their velcro straps for wiring management are garbage imo. Ended up using zip ties everywhere.
 

CMetaphor

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Yeah Phanteks does miss details sometimes, but so do many case makers. I just don't see how some of them can make such seemingly obvious mistakes in their designs and no one catches them.

Ex: So many cases, like the CM SL600 actually, use "chimney effect" cooling but don't think it through properly. I had an opportunity to grab an SL600 for a fantastic price but backed away when I looked closely at it. The reason? "Chimney effect" means that your shoving all the heat of your 60-70c GPU directly at your motherboard, and possibly into your CPU cooler as well. Who ever thought that was a good idea? It might've been okay if there was a traditional 120/140 exhaust out the back on the SL600, *but CM plugged that hole for more chimney action*. The result is, if you don't have a blower GPU, don't get the SL600. There's just no place for the hot air to go.

The vast majority of GPUs nowadays aren't blowers, so even when case makers remember to give a nice airflow path to provide such GPUs with cool air, there's still too many the do nothing with the airflow afterwards.

Ex2: Afaik the Silverstone RV02 is still considered one of the best cases for temperatures. Why? Rotated motherboard is one reason, sure. But also: big fans intaking nice cool air and very easy ways for hot air to get out again afterwards. The RV02 uses I think a 140 or 180 exhaust and the entire back/top of the case is grilled - get that hot air OUT.

I'm ranting now, so I'll just shut myself up right after this: I wish case makers thought about the details more. Aesthetics be damned, make cases that do their jobs first.
 

Izerous

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That is something that stood out to me in the O11-D though. Yes there is that werid 90' but if you have a radiator there its a great position. The bottom can install 3 intake fans and 3 on the top for a forced chimney as well.

There are little things when you start shoving components into some cases where it becomes clear if a designer had full control or if a system builder of some sort had some input. I think if these companies got their designers to actually sit down and start building computers in the cases they design we would get another surge of case improvements like we have in the past.

Folded edges so we stop cutting hands up more than a few computer cases have cause me to make blood sacrifices
cutouts and flaps on the MB tray so I don't need to remove the motherboard to swap out a water block mounting plate
wire management options

this kind of stuff didn't come from the designers but some kind of builder.
 

chrisk

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GTA, Ontario
Ok...I've already pre-ordered the white Meshify S2, but I can easily cancel that order because it does not ship until next week. Cost was about $250 tax.inc.

The Pure Base 500DX in white is available locally to me for pickup, at about $90 cheaper tax. inc. I was not excited about the looks of this one, but after looking at some pics and reviews it's growing on me, especially if I can make the front LED blue, or turned off. I'm not sure I like the one USB-A connector in front, but I also can't remember when I needed more than one, TBH...

Besides from cost, and maybe aesthetics, any reason to get one over the other? The 500DX is smaller, but I'm wondering if having the front fans so close to my GPU will actually help it be cooler than the Meshify S2 which is wider, making the fans further away from the card?

So I'm back and forth now between the Pure Base 500DX and the Meshify S2. Seems like Gamers Nexus says the 500DX cools a bit better. The price certainly favours the 500DX.

My current system specs that would go into this case, which I am hoping to get about 5 years on (hence why I care a lot about the cooling):
- Asus Strix B550-E
- 3900X (no overclock)
- Fractal Design S24 AIO cooler top-mounted (2x120mm)
- Asus RTX 2060
- Corsair HX850 PSU
- 1TB Corsair Force MP600 SSD
- 3x 3.5in HDD, will move to 1 or 2 shortly
- 1x Crucial SSD

I'm thinking that the 3x HDDs might be an issue, but I'm looking at getting rid of one, or buying a new bigger one and just using that.

Thanks for the input everyone so far!
 

chrisk

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I have definitely descended into the dark depths of case review hell on this one. Sorry for the additional post.

The Pure Base 500DX seems to have better GPU cooling than the Meshify S2, according to Gamers Nexus.

The 500DX looks so good for the money, but now I'm reading about how this case relies on negative pressure to get the best cooling, especially for the GPU.

So now my question concerns negative pressure, and my intended setup for the 500DX if I went that route.

If I had a dual 120mm AIO at the top of the case (exhaust), two 140mm intakes, and one 140mm exhaust, would the airflow still kinda work as designed in the 500DX? I understand that technical data for the fans might be needed for sure on the question, but generally speaking?

I'll be on the floor in a fetal position for a short while as I try to decide what to do.
 

CMetaphor

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@chrisk
Not sure how the 500dx is better than the S2 for cooling, depends on many things.

To answer your Q:
Probably? So you're thinking this:
Front: 2x 140mm intakes. Or 3? I thought the 500DX can do triple 140s in the front.
Top: 2x 120mm exhausts are part of your AIO.
Back: 1x 140mm exhaust.

Tbh the Meshify S2 can do that much but also have two extra bottom 120s for added cold air to the GPU. But if you don't control the fans speeds a lot in that case you'll have positive pressure, which sucks for the GPU.

Personally? I'd try the 240mm AIO at the highest point on the intake of the case. Then put 140mm intake below it (or 120 is that's all that fits) then everything else exhaust. Both top fans exhaust and the back exhaust. Any hot air from AIO will be immediately dragged out the top, and any hot air coming off the GPU will also be dragged out by the pull of all those exhaust fans.
 

chrisk

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@chrisk
Not sure how the 500dx is better than the S2 for cooling, depends on many things.

Tbh the Meshify S2 can do that much but also have two extra bottom 120s for added cold air to the GPU. But if you don't control the fans speeds a lot in that case you'll have positive pressure, which sucks for the GPU.

Understood. I'm not actually stressing out my rig too much, but I also understand that getting the cooling right will help with long-term stability of the system. I got over 7 years out of the old rig, and I think it was AMD drivers that caused most of my issues towards the end.

Keeping the components cool, but trying to keep it quiet as I work is what I am looking for (the main thing I do that generates any heat is creating videos in Camtasia, and this rig is pretty overkill for what I do, TBH).

Just trying to do it right the first time, with some dusting once in a while moving forward. I won't get many opportunities to do a big upgrade like this anytime soon.

So you're thinking this:
Front: 2x 140mm intakes. Or 3? I thought the 500DX can do triple 140s in the front.
Top: 2x 120mm exhausts are part of your AIO.
Back: 1x 140mm exhaust.

Yes. I was going two 140s in the front because the case came with 3 140mm fans. I was not planning to add any more.

Personally? I'd try the 240mm AIO at the highest point on the intake of the case. Then put 140mm intake below it (or 120 is that's all that fits) then everything else exhaust. Both top fans exhaust and the back exhaust. Any hot air from AIO will be immediately dragged out the top, and any hot air coming off the GPU will also be dragged out by the pull of all those exhaust fans.

So you are thinking I would do similar to this setup, where I would have a 120mmx2 AIO mounted in front, and three fans exhausting like below:

1596214222883.png
 

CMetaphor

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Yep, just like that. But don't forget the one added, clean/cool air fan at the bottom of the front panel. That's an intake for GPU.

The only downside that i can see to this idea is not fully utilizing triple 140 intakes. But on the positive side: any hot air from the AIO will get dragged out right away, negative pressure + lots of cold air near the GPU means the GPU should be very happy, and other nice benefits.

Did either case have a big front air filter? Can't remember right now, but if you're going to go negative, I'd highly suggest using a case with a nice filter, your parts and their longevity will thank you. If neither case has that front 3x120/3x140 spot filtered.... Maybe a different case than those two is still the best option. Just my two hundreds of a dollar.
 

chrisk

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Messages
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Location
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Yep, just like that. But don't forget the one added, clean/cool air fan at the bottom of the front panel. That's an intake for GPU.

The only downside that i can see to this idea is not fully utilizing triple 140 intakes. But on the positive side: any hot air from the AIO will get dragged out right away, negative pressure + lots of cold air near the GPU means the GPU should be very happy, and other nice benefits.

Did either case have a big front air filter? Can't remember right now, but if you're going to go negative, I'd highly suggest using a case with a nice filter, your parts and their longevity will thank you. If neither case has that front 3x120/3x140 spot filtered.... Maybe a different case than those two is still the best option. Just my two hundreds of a dollar.


Ok. This is all very helpful. There are front filters on both options, so that is taken care of.

I am reading some more on the 500DX and various builds, and I'm reading over and over that cable management from the mobo is tricky because of the plate for hiding the cables here:
1596216658515.png

But the idea of creating a negative pressure setup on this case, or the Meshify S2 using front-mounted AIO and an additional intake fan is interesting. I would probably use a 120mm fan at the bottom if I did that, just to keep a somewhat uniform look at the front. White case and front, with black fans behind, I would prefer to keep it uniform a bit. I would want to see what good fans I can pick up for that, adding to the cost a little.
 

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