So I'm in the process of getting all the parts to build a gaming PC. Never built one before and the last time I bought one pre-built was 2005.
I need a case with very good cooling for hopefully no more than $150 but may stretch it if there is a persuasive enough argument for it. If it has pre-installed fans that would be a bonus.
What I have so far:
Motherboard: B450 Tomahawk Max
CPU: Ryzen 5 3600
GPU: Geforce RTX 2070 Super
Any help greatly appreciated.
The more holes the better! Maybe expanded steel which could be an expensive build.
On the cheap side you can use chicken wire
I like where your going with this :-)
Fractal Meshify C is just about $150. Great airflow.
Looks excellent for the price. Only very minor thing missing is front panel USB-C.
Agreed, but USB-C is still generally only found on $200+ premium cases (a few exceptions though).
ALso given theres still not a huge demand for USB-C, its not a huge loss.
Can you get adaptors that plug into a usb?
@Noddy Doldrums: Possibly but that half defeats the purpose of having USB-C 3.2 10GB/S as USB 3.1 Type-A maxxes out at 5GB/S if I recall….
@Noddy Doldrums: My point is moot anyway. Just found that Tomahawk B450 only has front panel headers for 5GBPs max. You are not losing anything.
You are going to want a case that is reasonably quiet too (ie. noise deadening too). Bought one recently and it's so loud it makes the PC unpleasant to use.
What did you get?
Yeah being relatively quite would be good too.
Was a Corsair Carbide 100R case. Do not buy LOL!!
Just thinking other cases we've bought in the past that are are very good at deadening the sound are very heavy, there is a lot of insulation (or something) in there that stops the fan noises going through to the outside.
This case is light. It's supposed to be a quiet case too, but really isn't.
@voiletmay: Is it noisy when gaming/working hard or just all the time?
I've found that closed off cases perform worse under load as the choked intake fans have to work harder to pull in enough air.
If its noisy all the time then it might just be a matter of getting some better fans. Or mitigating vibrations, if that's the noise you're getting (since you've mentioned the case is pretty light).
@toomuchdogfur: Very much all the time, did not even use it for gaming in this case though they were gaming insides inside it (actually it's had two different lots of gaming insides in it, both horribly loud).
Lower the fan RPM speed.
Generally speaking, you cant have both silent and high airflow.
IMO you're better off going with a high airflow case (lots of mesh) and just turning the fans all down to low. That usually gives a fairly quiet result whilst keeping the case cool.
Note noise can also be generated by vibrations from fans and 3.5" HDDs. Soft-mounting these components and getting a heavier case would help reduce these.
I remember an old Fractal Design case I had with heavy sound-deadening material on its side panels… I wonder if they still make those with the Meshify cases? So in theory you could kill off vibration noise and reduce CPU & GPU fan noise (since they're further inside the case) while providing good front-to-back airflow, and you'd only have to worry about the intake fan noise.
@toomuchdogfur: Yeah the problem OP will face is that most cases with good sound dampening are over the $150 mark.
@toomuchdogfur: Fractal Design Define cases have the sound deadening material.
No sound deadening material on the Fractal Design Meshify cases.
Most have two 120mm intake fans and 120mm exhaust. Make sure they are mounted correctly
My tip use AIO water for the CPU and mount the tank behind an exhaust fan so heat is dumped outside the case. Seem my GPU temps drop 10-15C doing this.
I'm using a Meshify C, but I did replace the front 120mm fan with dual 140mm's for intake. Also used low noise resistor cable for the CPU fan to cap the fan speed, now it's pretty much dead silent (at least until I start taxing the GPU).
As per lots of suggestions above, anything that has lots of mesh and a simple front-to-back layout (usually 2-3 120mm fans at the front and at least 1 x 120mm at the back) will perform well thermally and not break the bank. Do not get a case with a closed off front - they usually have tiny side intakes instead that will choke your intake fans. There are cases that do this better but they will cost more.
In terms of noise, if you pick your fans carefully your computer will be pretty quiet as your fans will be unrestricted and won't have to run too fast to cool well. But your GPU fans will ramp up during gaming regardless - only watercooling will quieten that down without compromising on cooling, but that's a lot of $$$.
It might be stretching your budget a bit, but with a gaming PC I'm assuming you want the best GPU cooling performance?
Grab the SL600m it offers pretty much the best GPU cooling you could get with its stock configuration, very nice looking too (IMO). It doesn't have a front intake, so it is relatively quiet too with the case being driven by dual 200mm fans (the larger the fans, the slower it has to spin to move the same amount of air). https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/3384-cooler-master-sl-…
While I was shopping for cases, I did see it for around $200 at umart. But it looks like they've discontinued it over there. Now that I think about it, I probably should've gotten that instead of a c700m
My next vote would be lian li o11, it doesn't come with any fans though
A big case is easier to keep cool than a small case.
It also helps if your GPU vents outside the case
So I ended up going for Antec P101 Silent.
Thankyou for all the suggestions .
This is what will go in it . (All bought in the last 2-3 days)
Ryzen 3600 $257
MSI B450 Tomahawk Max $169
Crucial Ballistix 2X8GB $118
Thermaltake Gold 650W Semi modular $135
Crucial P1 1TB NVMe $159
Asus RTX 2070 Super 8GB Strix $699 + $14 delivery = $714
Antec P101 $132
Total $1685
Honestly you will be fine with anything it won't break your pc if you don't have max cooling.
Are you ocing? I'm assuming not after your description.