Recommend me a case

Casual

Hey guys, the case on my current PC has been falling apart for a while and the power switch is starting to go as well so I guess it's time for an upgrade.

The relevant facts here are I need something that will fit my current components, the motherboard is an ASUS M5A97 Pro, I'd also like something that can fit a decent number of hard drives. My budget for this is £200 or so.

Things that I would like also include

- easily accessible USB ports on the front/top, USB 3.0 preferred
- a case that reduces noise and has quieter fans would be nice, but it really wouldn't be hard to be quieter than my current case
- I go lanning a lot so this case is going to be man handled frequently, it needs to be well put together and relatively easy to carry
- if it looks cool this is a bonus but this is at the bottom of the priority list

If I think of anything else I'll add it to the list but I think that's all the bases covered.

Stormwatcher

This one is really fucking great and seems to fulfill your bulletpoints. It has handles for carrying too.
Dunno about the price though.

Alecthar

I'd recommend the Fractal Design R4. Quiet, looks good, not too expensive. It's not designed to be carried around (no handles) but it's built more than well enough to tolerate it.

Stormwatcher

No YOU'RE Quiet, looks good, not too expensive.

Alecthar

Stormwatcher wrote: »

No YOU'RE Quiet, looks good, not too expensive.

Well played...

Shogun

I will toss in another vote for Fractal Design, but be aware their customer service is either shoddy or non-existent. I bought a Define Mini last year and it arrived damaged. The thumbscrew on the top left had been driven in with force beyond that of one's thumbs and the dent and hole in the case were unmistakable. I contacted Fractal Design multiple times and was entirely ignored. Newegg at first would do nothing but tell me to talk to FD. When I explained the situation they offered to exchange the case but I have kept it. It is functional outside of that single damaged thumbscrew spot. The case itself is the highest quality case I have ever had and the price was great. I do wish FD had at least acknowledged me however.

mere_immortal

Can't speak for their customer service but I'll stick in another vote for the R4.

Built like a tank, looks great and is super quiet. It's the case I used for my new build and despite not building a PC in a few years managed to spend only minimal time on cable management and it still looks super clean.

amnesiasoft

I just bought a BitFenix Ghost and I think it is the best case I've ever owned. The only point of yours that doesn't seem to fulfill is easy carrying, but it's not like it's more difficult to carry than any other case, really.

Also, I don't think your motherboard actually has headers for any additional USB 3 ports than the ones built in to the back, so looking for a case with front side USB 3 ports isn't going to get you anything unless/until you get a new motherboard.

Alecthar

Shogun wrote: »

I will toss in another vote for Fractal Design, but be aware their customer service is either shoddy or non-existent. I bought a Define Mini last year and it arrived damaged. The thumbscrew on the top left had been driven in with force beyond that of one's thumbs and the dent and whole in the case were unmistakable. I contacted Fractal Design multiple times and was entirely ignored. Newegg at first would do nothing but tell me to talk to FD. When I explained the situation they offered to exchange the case but I have kept it. It is functional outside of that single damaged thumbscrew spot. The case itself is the highest quality case I have ever had and the price was great. I do wish FD had at least acknowledged me however.

That's disheartening, as I really do think that they make some of the best cases you can buy these days, and good customer service does a lot to smooth over any missteps in your product catalog (as I'm sure Corsair can attest to). Fractal Design is a European company, and a relative newcomer to North America, so hopefully they'll get better, but how their support evolves (or fails to) is definitely something I'll keep an eye on.

Casual

amnesiasoft wrote: »

I just bought a BitFenix Ghost and I think it is the best case I've ever owned. The only point of yours that doesn't seem to fulfill is easy carrying, but it's not like it's more difficult to carry than any other case, really.

Also, I don't think your motherboard actually has headers for any additional USB 3 ports than the ones built in to the back, so looking for a case with front side USB 3 ports isn't going to get you anything unless/until you get a new motherboard.

god damn it...

this i did not know

amnesiasoft

Front USB 3 ports should still have a connector for USB 2, so you'd still be able to use them, just not as USB 3 ports.