Best compact case for cooling

[Ste96]

Hi,

I'm looking for a good air flow compact atx case with not too much bling. I've been looking at the meshify c or possibly the p400a. My concerns with the p400a are the dust will build up quickly as it's such an open design. Any thoughts or alternative's welcomed.

My set up is 3700x (stock or aio) gtx1080 but to be upgraded to a 3000 series when they come out.

Thanks

Ste

[ade10]

The Meshify C has some great reviews for airflow and is a nice compact mid-tower case with plenty of space for cable management. I'm sure you already know this, but ensure you check out PCPartPicker.com to check for the compatibility of your hardware. You can also check out other people's setups using the case you choose. Good luck!

[AnotherDave]

The Meshify C is certainly the obvious choice. The other one that springs to mind is the Corsair 275R Airflow. As above, PCPartPicker is your friend when it comes to checking compatibility.

[TechMinerUK]

From memory the Meshify C (as others have stated) is a great option however another option is the BeQuiet 500DX. I'm currently using this for my new build as it seemed to be just as good as the Meshify C but from a different brand. If you like it arrives tomorrow and I can let you know about in more detail

[Helios451]

From memory the Meshify C (as others have stated) is a great option however another option is the BeQuiet 500DX. I'm currently using this for my new build as it seemed to be just as good as the Meshify C but from a different brand. If you like it arrives tomorrow and I can let you know about in more detail

I've just taken possession of a be quiet! Pure Base 500 for my new build - and at first look it's nice and compact, I personally like its design (white with no side window), and with two inbuilt fans, front and back, intelligent out of the way storage space for SDDs and HDDs , nice cable stowage and plenty of dust filters. I'd certainly recommend you have a look at it, Ste96.

Also, TechMinerUK, I've just put a suggestion up to have a project build log thread so each build could be a single thread there under. if you like the idea could you put a supportive quote to it to help the Mods accept it?

[Salted,8]

I’m going to run with the consensus and say the The Meshify C too, it’s a great case, we’ll worth the money.

[clown_abhi]

Meshify C was good when it was launched. There are loads of airflow oriented cases and coz of their nature they will gather more dust then non airflow ones but not by much as they stil have filters to keep the dust out.
Have a look at this link which covers loads of airflow cases. This actually does not reccommend the Meshify as its quite old and outdated.
https://youtu.be/XsMNu0gWlZw

[Poultergoose]

The link that clown has put above is really worth the watch if you want to find out the best measured airflow cases at the moment.

[yippyUK]

Fractal Design has recently release the "Meshify 2" which is the updated version of the Meshify C

[Pob255]

Meshify C was good when it was launched. There are loads of airflow oriented cases and coz of their nature they will gather more dust then non airflow ones but not by much as they stil have filters to keep the dust out.
Have a look at this link which covers loads of airflow cases. This actually does not reccommend the Meshify as its quite old and outdated.
https://youtu.be/XsMNu0gWlZw

This

I was just going to mention the Lian Li Lancool II Mesh

One thing I will mention about mesh/filters is that it will impact air flow, many of the mesh panels are not really fine enough to act as good dust filters, they are good for fluff, hair and pet fur but not fine dust you need a filter for that, the mesh in fan filters is a lot more fine.
I've got an old HAF 912 on of the first things I did was to remove the mesh panel and (rubbish) filter from the front 200mm fan and cut a sheet of fine wire mesh to replace it, then sick a fine wire mesh filter on the side panel fan.
Apart from the older design layout (4x 5.25" bays) I love my HAF 912 https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog.../haf-912-plus/ I think it's the ideal size for AXT, the key being it's 220mm width, which gives plenty of space for cables behind the motherboard tray and height for larger air coolers, it's not good for water cooling but ideal for air cooling.

ATX is generally a bigger limit on case size and next is custom loop water cooling (not all-in-one coolers) you can custom water cool is smaller builds but it's much more complex and requires a lot of planning.

for fan filters I'm a fan of the basic akasa mesh ones http://www.akasa.com.tw/update.php?t...GRM140-AL01-BK and the silverstone ones https://www.silverstonetek.com/produ...&tb=54&area=en

[finlay31]

Meshify C will be a good choice. A friend of mine has it and he speaks quite highly of it.

[spacein_vader]

I've been running a meshify C for about 15 months. It has enough filters that dust isn't really an issue as long as you clean the filters themselves every 3 months or so. What you do need to consider is fan type and placement.

The front panel being so porus affects noise as well as airflow. Fans that run quieter are a good idea. I've got 2 140mm F14 PWM fans in the front that spin relatively slowly and thus quietly.

A nice thing about the Meshify is it allows you to adjust the height of the front fans as the mounting mechanism is a rail. I've got the 2 140mms set slightly either side of the GPU, using it as a divider (as it's nearly the full width of the case,) and ensuring both sides of it are cooled.

[cptwhite_uk]

It depends how small you want to go, I follow cases quite closely so know quite a lot of them. There's tons of options these days, but ones I'd consider for compact ATX:


I believe all dims are L x W x H (L = front to back, W = left to right, H = top to bottom)

NZXT H510 (no RGB) or H510i (with RGB) 428mm x 210mm x 460mm
Phanteks P360X (with RGB) 455mm x 200mm x 465mm
Phanteks P300A (classic case with mesh front) 400mm x 200mm x 450mm
CoolerMaster NR600 (minimalist look with mesh front) 478mm x 209mm x 473 mm
Corsair 4000D (solid front) or 4000D Airflow (with perforated front for increased airflow) 453mm x 230mm x 466mm
Fractal Design Define 7 Compact (for that monolith minimalist look) 427 x 210 x 474 mm
Fractal Design Meshify 2 (various options in white, black etc) 542mm x 240mm x 474mm
Lian Li Lancool II Mesh 478mm x 229mm x 494mm
Lian Li O11 Dynamic Mini 420mm x 269.5mm x 380mm

For fans, if you're on a budget pick up some Arctic Cooler P12 PWM (120mm option) or P14 PWM (140mm option) make sure they're PWM variants, if not go for Noctua NF-F12 chromax (120mm option) / NF-F14 chromax (140mm option)

these are all great cases in their own right, with good airflow. Just base your choice on looks, and price.

[lee_evo]

I have the P400A d-rgb case (mesh fronted), it's a really nice size, has great airflow and I've had no issues with dust build up. The only gripe I have with it is the inability to top mount an AIO liquid cooler.

My other case is a Gamemax F15M (2x200m front intake fans), this also has great airflow and has no restrictions on where you can mount an AIO, the build quality however isn't quite as good as the P400A but airflow and available space inside are good.

I would recommend both of them, I paid £65 for each which I think is great value for what you get

[PsyPill]

For anyone digging through archives later on. Meshify 2 Compact is coming out. Some lucky people actually got it, can find it on Fractal subreddit.