Coolest Full Tower ATX case?

[BonzaiDuck]

More fans running at lower RPM is, to my mind, a hell of a lot better than fewer fans spinning full whack.

As a matter of general principle longstanding in this forum, I think your judgment about this is correct.

On the other hand, if one only needs to focus attention on a single fan or pair of fans to mitigate the noise, I'd shown in other threads over the last year and a half how it can be done. Again -- there's "white noise" from air-turbulence as one would find with the room AC vent and its louvred obstructions; and there's motor noise. Even on a decent high-quality, high-output fan, if it or a pair of such fans shows that sort of top-end noise, it can be muffled pretty well with acoustic improvements that isolate the fan mounts and attenuate the noise and its amplification within the case.

If we are only talking about one fan or a pair, then the acoustic improvement only need application in the immediate proximity of the fan(s), as opposed to using a "padded cell" approach to the entire case interior.

 

[ClockHound]

I wouldn't call it modding but I have upgraded the CoolerMaster XB case I have.

The first thing I did was to buy an IcyBox 3.5" HDD Cage to put into the 2*5.25" slots to expand the system to incorporate 5*3.5" hot-swappable drives.

I put two 80mm Noctua fans in the bottom back, I put a Noctua 120 mm venting out the back, a clear CoolerMaster 200mm fan venting out the top.

I replaced the two 120mm fans which came with the Corsair H100i with Noctua 120mm fans.

I incorporated filters onto all the fans

I also got some mesh which I cut to fit the side and back vents and they are held in place by magnets.

Including the fans on the Sapphire 280X Vapor-X card, there are a total of nine fans in the system, yet when I turn it on and even playing games the temperature remains low and the with my ear about 1.5 feet away from the case I cannot hear the machine running when it is turned on.

More fans running at lower RPM is, to my mind, a hell of a lot better than fewer fans spinning full whack.

Once you start up/down the upgrade path...there's no turning back...how long will that creased and tacky molded plastic front bezel last? ;-)

Are you running the bottom 80mms as intake?

What filters are you using? And what sort of mesh?

I may resort to the DEMCiflex kit for the XB. Still playing around with a few washable furnace filters and uh-oh, pantyhose. Which is why the DEMCiflex filters are so sexy - similar tech as ladies stockings. ;-) And if you're recording, double as great mic pop filters too.

With less restricted airflow, directed where it needs to be compared to most cases, the XB fans can spin lower and hence quieter. Multi-level computing FTW!

Swapping out parts is more fun in the XB, plus the option of running in testbench mode. Don't expect I'll be returning to any of the airflow torture towers too soon.

 

[Nec_V20]

Once you start up/down the upgrade path...there's no turning back...how long will that creased and tacky molded plastic front bezel last? ;-)

Are you running the bottom 80mms as intake?

What filters are you using? And what sort of mesh?

I may resort to the DEMCiflex kit for the XB. Still playing around with a few washable furnace filters and uh-oh, pantyhose. Which is why the DEMCiflex filters are so sexy - similar tech as ladies stockings. ;-) And if you're recording, double as great mic pop filters too.

With less restricted airflow, directed where it needs to be compared to most cases, the XB fans can spin lower and hence quieter. Multi-level computing FTW!

Swapping out parts is more fun in the XB, plus the option of running in testbench mode. Don't expect I'll be returning to any of the airflow torture towers too soon.

As I stated in another post:

I'm autistic (Asperger's) and my favourite looking aircraft of all time is the Republic A10 Thunderbolt II so don't ask me about aesthetics. I just don't care.

The two 80mm after much internal debate I decided to run as intakes. Believe me I spent a couple of days discussing the merits and demerits of this with myself.

What decided me in the end were two arguments:

Using them as an intake would cool any 2.5 inch drives I may install (I now have four SSDs of various capacities in there). I also wanted to have a bit of overpressure in the bottom half because my desk gets messy and I didn't want the the holes in the bottom of the case sucking up dust from under the case if I used the fans as an exhaust.

The filters I have on the 80mm and 120mm Noctua fans are 120/80mm Aluminium Mesh Fan Filters from Watercooling UK. The 200mm is a clear plastic mesh cover. I cannot remember where I got the plastic mesh sheeting which I cut to cover the intakes at the side and back.

The one time I used ladies tights was when I was asked to guest lecture in computers at the University of Tartu in Estonia and decided (stupid as I was) that driving up through the Soviet Union would be a great adventure.

We had a diesel engined car at the time and the tights were to filter the diesel we bought there because it's pretty dirty and would have clogged up the engine (put one of the legs of the tights into the leg of the other, push them into the tank opening and then put the hose of the pump into the leg.

What I had not reckoned on was the absolute abysmal state of the roads and with a very front heavy Renault 19 we were risking breaking the front axle all the way up there and back.

I also have the CoolerMaster HAF XM tower for the system I built up as a backup and which will become my NAS; which, although it will have a number of drives (56TB worth) appearing as one drive will not be in any kind of RAID.

To my mind the HAF XM is the best tower BY FAR with regard to not wanting to pay a ridiculous amount of money.

The best argument for it for my purpose would be the four 200mm fans (side, front, two in the top, with the ability to mount two 120mm fans to the drive cages).

 

[BonzaiDuck]

As I stated in another post:
The two 80mm after much internal debate I decided to run as intakes. Believe me I spent a couple of days discussing the merits and demerits of this with myself.

What decided me in the end were two arguments:

Using them as an intake would cool any 2.5 inch drives I may install (I now have four SSDs of various capacities in there). I also wanted to have a bit of overpressure in the bottom half because my desk gets messy and I didn't want the the holes in the bottom of the case sucking up dust from under the case if I used the fans as an exhaust.

The filters I have on the 80mm and 120mm Noctua fans are 120mm Aluminium Mesh Fan Filters from Watercooling UK. The 200mm is a clear plastic mesh cover. I cannot remember where I got the plastic mesh sheeting which I cut to cover the intakes at the side and back.

The one time I used ladies tights was when I was asked to guest lecture in computers at the University of Tartu in Estonia and decided (stupid as I was) that driving up through the Soviet Union would be a great adventure.

We had a diesel engined car at the time and the tights were to filter the diesel we bought there because it's pretty dirty and would have clogged up the engine (put one of the legs of the tights into the leg of the other, push them into the tank opening and then put the hose of the pump into the leg.

What I had not reckoned on was the absolute abysmal state of the roads and with a very front heavy Renault 19 we were risking breaking the front axle all the way up there and back.

I also have the CoolerMaster HAF XM tower for the system I built up as a backup and which will become my NAS; which, although it will have a number of drives (56TB worth) appearing as one drive will not be in any kind of RAID.

To my mind the HAF XM is the best tower BY FAR with regard to not wanting to pay a ridiculous amount of money.

The best argument for it for my purpose would be the four 200mm fans (side, front, two in the top, with the ability to mount two 120mm fans to the drive cages).

"Tights?" "Ladies tights!" OK -- I get it -- "Panty hose."

 

[erichatesmice]

I still like the Silverstone TJ08 and FT01. Caselabs also makes nice full tower computers but they are in a whole different level of pricing.

 

[jpk]

OK I've decided I need a new case. I currently have an old HAF 932 with the big fans removed in favor of 8 120mm fans; 4 on the side, 2 on the bottom and 2 on the top.

This setup has worked very well for me over the years, by keeping my components extremely cool, and my case practically dust free due to the positive pressure airflow.

But the fans are getting old and making all sorts of noise despite my best attempts to re-grease the bearings. So I want a new case, one that can keep my GPUs and my CPU as cool as possible and hopefully equal, or better the performance of my current setup.

Plus I need lots of space as I have SLI, and a great cable management system would also be nice.

So far all I've really looked at the HAF X. Seems to be very highly recommended for people that want not only tons of space, but maximum air flow.

It's been so long since I've shopped for a new case though that I don't just want to jump the gun and buy it without asking opinions. So which case is the best for airflow and space?

I'd prefer not to spend over $200 USD if possible, but if a case is really that much better, then I could spend a bit more perhaps..

I went from the HAF 932 to the Corsair C70. The Corsair unit has been a great case for a few years now and I do not see a need to move to a newer or different case.

 

[YBS1]

I wouldn't call it modding but I have upgraded the CoolerMaster XB case I have.

The first thing I did was to buy an IcyBox 3.5" HDD Cage to put into the 2*5.25" slots to expand the system to incorporate 5*3.5" hot-swappable drives.

I put two 80mm Noctua fans in the bottom back, I put a Noctua 120 mm venting out the back, a clear CoolerMaster 200mm fan venting out the top.

I replaced the two 120mm fans which came with the Corsair H100i with Noctua 120mm fans.

I incorporated filters onto all the fans

I also got some mesh which I cut to fit the side and back vents and they are held in place by magnets.

Including the fans on the Sapphire 280X Vapor-X card, there are a total of nine fans in the system, yet when I turn it on and even playing games the temperature remains low and the with my ear about 1.5 feet away from the case I cannot hear the machine running when it is turned on.

More fans running at lower RPM is, to my mind, a hell of a lot better than fewer fans spinning full whack.

^^^ Cooler Master HAF XB - I have yet to see a case that has a more ideal layout for keeping things cool. It's not a fancy featured or beautiful case, there are many more awesome cases on the market, but purely for cooling using standard run of the mill solutions it's probably the best. Room for a 2x120/140mm AIO on the front intake, heat from that and from multiple gpus is immediately sucked out the top by the huge and near silent 200mm top fan.

 

[ClockHound]

Agree about the XB. Even for airheads. In my XB, with twin A15 intakes, air comes in, travels a few inches hits the D15 and custom 280x cooler and is expelled out the back so fast it leaves airmarks on the wall.

Shame CM never developed the XC beyond prototype stage. Altho, the prototype appeared to sacrifice airflow for eye-flow.

 

[utfrodo54]

540 all the way. I still walk out of my home office looking back at it like as it was a sports car.

 

[Puffnstuff]

Agree about the XB. Even for airheads. In my XB, with twin A15 intakes, air comes in, travels a few inches hits the D15 and custom 280x cooler and is expelled out the back so fast it leaves airmarks on the wall.

Shame CM never developed the XC beyond prototype stage. Altho, the prototype appeared to sacrifice airflow for eye-flow.

That's good to know as I'm considering abandoning my HAF 932 for an XB when I do a new build.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

If you plan your work, and if you choose to avoid hurry with your computer building project, you can do a lot with paint and primer of the appropriate kinds.

There is, for instance, a plastic spray enamel formulation you can buy in spray cans. You can get primer for aluminum surfaces and ferrous metal. And there is the Alsa Chrome-Kit, if done properly.

I am very pleased with the result I've created with my old Coolermaster Stacker 830 mid-tower with its teeny-weenie braked double-casters. It's "fully ready" for a front-panel intake-mount for a 280mm radiator and 140mm dual fans. Behind the fans and the space for the radiator, room for several internal drives of either 2.5 or 3.5, but hardly needed. Side intakes in the 4-fan plastic door are only two BitFenix LED Spectre-Pro 140's. There's the traditional rear exhaust ducted behind the cooler, and a right-side exhaust from a 12" CM Crossflow barrel fan which sucks air from a motherboard duct. I should post pictures; I already have some, but there are more from my camera.

If you can make the case fit the project objectives, you can get by without a new case. And I wouldn't call it "just getting by" with some luck and ingenuity.