Mini/mid tower case recommendation

[Goi]

Hi,

I might be upgrading my current Sandy Bridge system some time later this year, probably to a Skylake. I currently have a huge Lian Li full tower case, but I'm past that stage of my life now, so I'm looking at getting a much smaller mini/mid tower case. Here's the criteria

1. Budget: Definitely below $150, preferably below $120. The cheaper, the better
2. Design: Understated, simple, no weird curves or angles, no jarring lights.
3. Performance: This will be for non-gaming uses, with at most a mid-range graphics card. Cooling performance is important but not vital.
4. Noise: Noise doesn't bother me too much, but silence is certainly appreciated.
5. Features: I have a bunch of 3.5" HDDs, so I would need at least 4 3.5"bays, and 1-2 2.5" bays. I'll also need a 5.25" external ODD bay. I would prefer 4 external USB 3.0 ports, but it does seem like many cases I've seen only come with 2.

Any recommendations that fit the above criteria?

 

[lehtv]

Nanoxia Deep Silence 4. Accepts MicroATX motherboard. Silent, two fans preinstalled, 6x 3.5"/2.5" + 1x 2.5" + 2x 5.25". High construction quality, simple exterior design, not too pricey.

 

[nerp]

If you like Lian-Li build quality, they have a variety of interesting sizes and styles. I always just go to Lian-Li. I'm biased and I like their stuff.

 

[smitbret]

Nanoxia Deep Silence 4. Accepts MicroATX motherboard. Silent, two fans preinstalled, 6x 3.5"/2.5" + 1x 2.5" + 2x 5.25". High construction quality, simple exterior design, not too pricey.

I would agree that the Deep Silence case is great. I like the styling on the FD Define Mini a little better and I can vouch for its performance.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...2011&cm_re=DEFINE_MINI-_-11-352-011-_-Product

 

[Goi]

The Nanoxia looks good, but only 3 USB ports. I've looked at the Fractal Design Define series, but AT didn't really give the R4 or Mini great reviews.

How about the Thermaltake Suppressor F31/F51? Seems to tick all the boxes, but I'm a bit wary of Thermaltake quality.

 

[lehtv]

You can easily add more front ports with a 3.5"/5.25" bay device, as long as you have free internal USB ports on the motherboard. If not, use an external hub.

This fits right into the 5.25" bay, you'll never run out of ports, and it has a card reader too: Rosewill RDCR-11004 $28 @ amazon
Or if you just need a couple more USB 3.0 ports, you can install this 3.5" panel into the 5.25" slot using the adapter included in the Nanoxia case: Rosewill RCH-200 $10
Or you can buy a cheapo external hub like this one with 4 2.0 ports for $7

I have a Thermaltake case (Core V21) and the build quality certainly isn't as good as on my previous Fractal R4 case. I ended up ditching the entire 3.5" drive cage because it was so annoying to work with and there was no cooling in that part of the case. I don't know if the build quality is better with the Suppressor cases. Possibly. They do seem to use cheap plastic drive trays similar to the ones I had problems with in the Core V21. Nanoxia uses metallic trays. Features-wise the F31 and F51 both seem excellent, but they're both bigger than the Deep Silence 4.

 

[repoman0]

I just migrated from an Antec 300 Sandy bridge system to a Silverstone TJ08 skylake system. The silverstone might fit your criteria -- it's mATX, about $100, nice and understated, seems like it would be hard to get much smaller while still holding 4 3.5" drives and a couple 5.25" drives. The build is definitely more cramped, but everything fits together very nicely once it's in place.

I'm happy so far with the upgrade, mostly for the platform improvements and the 6700k runs at half to 2/3 the power and 20 degrees cooler than my 2600k at the same frequency. It was a super smooth transition .. my old Windows 10 install even booted right up after it detected and installed all the new hardware, and has so far remained activated.

 

[Goi]

Thanks. I'll keep the TJ08 in mind as well.

Has anyone used a Sharkoon S28 value? This one seems to tick all the boxes as well. I haven't seen any reviews of it though.

 

[looper]

IMO, for MiniITX, the Fractal Core 500 w/ best cooling but tighter fit for components, and the larger Phanteks Evolv...

I'm getting the Fractal as I will be OC'ing the 6700k and using the Corsair H75 AIO water cooler.