Full Tower PC Chassis inquiry
 

Hello there!

Water cooling, or strictly air?
Adding another Video card down the line?

Re-read your post and obviously, you're air-cooling.

This is my choice for full tower, and a bit under your budget.

Newegg.com - SilverStone RAVEN RV02B-EW-USB3.0 Matte black reinforced plastic outer shell, 0.8mm Steel body ATX Full Tower Computer Case with Window Side Panel with 2X USB3.0 ports

Review at ************ under Cooling&Cases

For your budget and if you don't mind mid-tower;

Newegg.com - SilverStone Fortress Series FT02B-W-USB3.0 Black Aluminum / Steel Computer Case with Window Side Panel with 2 x USB3.0 ports (Black)

Silverstone Fortress FT02 Revisited | silentpcreview.com

Chassis 200mm fans on the left side panel doors
 

Thank you for your comments and suggestions.


I currently own a NZXT LEXA Blackline which is a Mid Tower Chassis. The space inside is OK for that PC’s hardware, but it created some clutter and higher temperatures. So this time I chose a Full tower Chassis for my new built based primarily on the cooling performance and the ease of work that the plenty of space inside provides. Also, Cable Management plays a big roll.

Since I want the best performance, when it comes to PC Chassis, money is not an issue; except for the original Thermaltake Level 10 & Limited editions ($800 to $1000) which are way too expensive.

Anyway, back to the original subject:

• Thermaltake Level 10 GT (Snow Edition): The 200mm fan on the left side panel door seems integrated to the panel structure and does not have a wire - rather the circuit is reconnected once the door is closed. My concern is that if that fan fails, due to this unique design it might not be replaceable with a regular 200mm fan. That would be an issue.
• NZXT Phantom 820 (Gunmetal): My concern with clearance is that the 200mm fan on the left side panel, according to the online reviews and product pictures, would be in very close proximity to the CPU Heatsink (NH-D14 SE2011) and to the GPU (EVGA GeForce GTX 670 FTW). I can’t change my selection of CPU Heatsink and I would like to add another GPU down the road for SLI fun.

Do you folks have any comments and/or information on the above?


Regards,

The Lexa series cases were horrible for air flow. A friend of mine had one, it was like a freaking oven. A lot of the newer mid towers are light years ahead of that case in both design and air flow not to mention way more room inside for the good stuff :) . Take a look at some of the cases from Corsair and Coolermaster. other than that, if you really have your heart set on either of the cases you mentioned do some research online and pick the one that fits your needs the best. Good luck.

Replace the NH-D14 with the Corsair H100i, it takes up much less room and allows easy access to your ram. It cools just as well as the Noctua at low fan speeds with comparable noise and cools much better than the Noctua with fans turned up. (noisier then though)

Thank you!
 

Thank you for your replies, comments & suggestions!

Now, this is some very interesting information that has really helped me. Based on it and the online research I did, I finally made a decision.

The Chassis has plenty of space inside for all the new hardware (even watercooling), the cooling performance I need and many features (like an integrated fan controller).

Also, I got to say I came to the right place and I’m glad I found the answers to my inquiry. You all are very knowledgeable, indeed.


Regards,