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Sturdy mid tower atx case

tabascosauz

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H440? Pretty sturdy.

EDIT: Whoops. "Good airflow"

How about the S340? Not an NZXT fanboy, just the first ones that come to mind.
 

tabascosauz

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Also need 175+ mm cpu cooler clearance.

I think I want one of these three fractal design cases.

define r5
arc midi r2
core 3500

The first looks most practical but it has a front panel

The second apparently has a vibration problem but looks great otherwise

Third, haven't find much about it


From their website it's hard to how much of the cases is metal and how much is plastic. Does anyone know about these cases?

You might be disappointed with the Midi R2. The front looks brushed but the whole thing is plastic. Nice plastic, but plastic nonetheless.

Core 3500 should be much worse than the Midi R2 since it's a budget case.
 
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Ah ok. How about the define r5, what parts are plastic or metal?

Front plastic, other parts metal... but not sturdy, the R4 had thicker metal parts.

My suggestion - take any of them and mod them...
 

tabascosauz

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Haven't had experience with the 500R, but it's quite narrow and also employs a lot of plastic.

If it's metal you're after you can try Silverstone, Lian Li, Caselabs, and NCase (mITX only). Otherwise there aren't a lot of options. Phanteks is good too but is on the big side. If you're huge on FD and not willing to look at the H440 and S340, I'm afraid you're out of options. Out of personal experience, Fractal Design has been a pretty disappointing affair as my Arc Mini R2 hasn't lived up to what people told me about it and FD in general, and I've since replaced all the R2 series fans with Cougar Turbine and Noctua F12. ymmv
 
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the S340 Blue/Black is On Sale for like 69$ usd..and it comes with like 70 Eggpoint on Newegg.

I like the Phanteks ethoo pro...its only 100$ but its a "full Tower" technically HERE

Both of the Cases i listed have Seperate PSU areas that Will Greatly increase cooling capabilities...plus the phanteks is just Really High quality, and Good looking. Both look Really good and are Good quality cases.
 
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If you want sturdy then Antec. You can literately stand on them.

P280
P183
P180
P100
 

rtwjunkie

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The Fractal Define R5 is a damned good case. No vibration issues and very sturdy. The front door is the only think plastic on it, but it is high quality plastic. Don't worry about the door, if you're worried about airflow. It's designed to take the air in through the grills along the side of the front cover, and does it very well. Airflow is excellent.

That said, you should be able to find R4's for sale still, and I would recommend over an R5 because the steel is even heavier and sturdier. Think of the R5 as an armored personnel carrier, and the R4 as a tank. Both are sturdy and very strong, but one is obviously stronger. Just my preference, but both are good cases and build quality is excellent!
 
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R5 is a great case. has some plasticky stuff, but hardly a bad option. I have a rig in a Corsair 550D, also a good case, again some plastic, and the door is a little flimsy on the hinges, but I really like the case overall.
 

rtwjunkie

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R5 is a great case. has some plasticky stuff, but hardly a bad option. I have a rig in a Corsair 550D, also a good case, again some plastic, and the door is a little flimsy on the hinges, but I really like the case overall.

The door is the only plastic on R5. Even the drive trays are metal. And the door and hinges are well made, although not as sturdy as the R4, since R5 door is made for user to switch which side it opens.
 
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The moduvent thingies are plastic too, and apparently the clips (unsurprising TBH) have a tendency to break. Even then, it is pretty much the best case in the price bracket IMO, if it had more top rad space I would be straight onto it for my next rig.
 
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Can't remember off the top of my head, but try looking for the cases you are interested in the Harwarecanucks youtube channel, Dmitry does really good reviews and has a very good eye for potential flaws.
 

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I'd say the Antec III 500, though the front panel is plastic and a tad flimsy; the main body was as solid as anything as I've had.. heavy things.. ram into it...
 
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Didn't think they were any thicker than the standard 25mm
 
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Probably, might have confused them with the 38mm thick Deltas
 
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It's great, very happy with it

Only problem is either its fans or the 2 noctuas I put in are a bit loud, I'll test it out

i think its not from noctua, maybe from the other fans, check maybe the oil get dry or the center touch something so it makes grinding sound
 

tabascosauz

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It's great, very happy with it

Only problem is either its fans or the 2 noctuas I put in are a bit loud, I'll test it out

Which Noctua fans and where in the case are they located? The R5 will cause airflow issues to any fan in front, so if it's very restricted there, the fans will create extra noise trying to suck air through a dense filter.

Also, if you have F12s, they are noisy without LNA or fan control since they max out at around 2200rpm.
 
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