Case Recommendation

[Disturbedguy]

God damn it, Jonj

[jimborae]

Hmmmm, Enthoo Luxe you say. As an owner of one and therefore direct experience I'm not sure I'd buy one again.

It's quite a big case but as a watercooler I find it difficult to fit everything in and there are some design fails from watercooling perspective. i.e. your choice of radiators is limited up top due to closeness of the motherboard.

If you want to put a rad up front you have to sacrifice all 3.5" drive space. The case is pretty plasticky on the outside and some of the thumbscrew threads were very poorly finished to the point at which I had to retap some holes.

If you're only aircooling I guess the case would be a lot more flexible and give you massive amounts of storage space and you can hide all the cabling easily and the airflow is pretty damn good.

But for my specific needs I was definitely underwhelmed.

[Jonj1611]

God damn it, Jonj

Lol

[Ttaskmaster]

It's quite a big case but as a watercooler I find it difficult to fit everything in and there are some design fails from watercooling perspective. i.e. your choice of radiators is limited up top due to closeness of the motherboard.

Really?
Dammitt.... I was seriously considering one myself, for this reason. I thought it had the same kind of clearance as the Primo.

Can you not chuck the fans up top above the mounting tabs and sling a rad beneath? Looks like there might just be enough room for that... ?

[Ttaskmaster]

Wow, double-post... not done that in a long time!!

[jimborae]

Really?
Dammitt.... I was seriously considering one myself, for this reason. I thought it had the same kind of clearance as the Primo.

Can you not chuck the fans up top above the mounting tabs and sling a rad beneath? Looks like there might just be enough room for that... ?

No the primo is better suited to watercooling as it's wider so the PSU can go it's side. Re the rad up top & what you are suggesting that's exactly what I've had to do but I had to change my rad for a thinner one as I use 4 fans in a push/pull config. If I get some time tonight I'll post some pics so you can see what I mean.

[Ttaskmaster]

So long as it holds two fans and a standard rad, I'd think it'd be OK, though... I don't really rate Push/Pull for the few ºC extra it usually offers.

Still concerned about the front rad mount, though.

The Luxe is sounding more like the BeQuiet 600 series, which I found to be a fantastic example of forced compromise. Everything seemed a choice between one or t'other on those cases!

[Disturbedguy]

Hmmmm, Enthoo Luxe you say. As an owner of one and therefore direct experience I'm not sure I'd buy one again.

It's quite a big case but as a watercooler I find it difficult to fit everything in and there are some design fails from watercooling perspective. i.e. your choice of radiators is limited up top due to closeness of the motherboard.

If you want to put a rad up front you have to sacrifice all 3.5" drive space. The case is pretty plasticky on the outside and some of the thumbscrew threads were very poorly finished to the point at which I had to retap some holes.

If you're only aircooling I guess the case would be a lot more flexible and give you massive amounts of storage space and you can hide all the cabling easily and the airflow is pretty damn good.

But for my specific needs I was definitely underwhelmed.

I'm going to go with air cooling but your review (which is appreciated) has pretty much struck the Enthoo off my list.

Would be interested in seeing pics of it with hardware in though

[Pob255]

Well with that budget and non-specific requirements you are open to pretty much anything.

Enthoo Elite is the one with a Separate PSU compartment not just a shroud, although I really don't think that a Separate PSU compartment is that important if the psu is drawing air in from under the case, it made sense in the old antec p180/182 because that didn't have a vent in the bottom of the case.
Down side is that the elite is full aluminium with tempered glass and an £800 price tag to match

here's an old odd ball to chuck at you the Silverstone Fortress FT02

[Disturbedguy]

So right now, im torn between the Thermal Take I linked earlier or the DG-86/97

[scaryjim]

Mate pls reply to thread on avforums...

Yaboy, I've discussed your approach in this thread with both jimborae and the mods. I understand that you may have been eager to get jimborae's attention, but pursuing him on Hexus regarding a grievance from AVForums (where I understand the mods are already aware of the situation anyway) really isn't acceptable.

I hope now you've registered you'll take some time to engage with Hexus and explore what we offer as a community - we're always happy to have new members contributing constructively to the active and varied discussions here

[spiralz]

It'll blow the budget big time but have a look at case labs.....

Get the one you need and and you will never need to buy another ....... ever

they are the Rolls Royce of cases , not to everyones taste though.... and no RGB thank the lord

[Disturbedguy]

So, I think I've finally decided on the ThermalTake.

Off work for the next two weeks, so plan is to buy the case then rebuild PC in it...new specs first though >.>

[Pob255]

it weird the way tt was such a big name back in the early 2000's but then they pretty much killed their own rep with overpriced junk esp in their budget ranges.
it's odd to see them slowly coming back.

Please let us know how it goes and what you think of it.

[Jonj1611]

Yes thats what put me off Thermaltake, had some cases which looked the business but were ultimately rubbish.

[Ttaskmaster]

Yes thats what put me off Thermaltake, had some cases which looked the business but were ultimately rubbish.

They seemed to go through a phase of ripping off other companies, but making cheaper versions. One or two I recall were dead-on carbon copies, but in flimsier material. Others were so close, but ever so slightly different...
Thermaltaking others' products!