Need a case for beast machine


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Hey good folks of Neowin,

 

For my work I need to build a custom PC. Basically it's going to be a Haswell on Z87 with an SSD, optical, etc., but the special part is we're going to put 3 discrete video cards on there. So we've already got a mighty PSU, only thing I'm wondering about is the case. Now, since all our PCs are dull black square Dells, I was thinking of sprucing things up a little with something like the NZXT Phantom:

 

Phantom_1280x1024.jpg

I found this just by sorting full tower cases by rating on newegg, this came out as the most loved one.

 

The case should mainly be easy to work with and provide good airflow for an array of powerful video cards, but looking nice is a plus. Do you think that's a good choice, or what else would you recommend?

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I like dull black squares :(

Nothing says, "Don't steal this" like a very old beige PC case. Think of how cool it'd be to have this GPU powerhouse in a case that appears to be from 1997. In fact I like this idea so much, it's exactly what I'm going to do come March when I finally purchase my new machine.

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I'm a big fan of the Coolermaster HAF series of cases. Though I guess these might be considered dull black squares. Although they are one of the few cases out there that don't have blue leds in them which I especially like.

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I'm small form factor for life now, with my digital storm bolt with custom innards, but I'm looking for a reason to build a second full size PC and I'll p robably go with this case in black: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147202

 

I like the minimalist look and slot loading BDXL/DVDRW's are about 65. Top and bottom fans for airlfow.

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Not sure if it was the right NZXT but it looks like it, one of my friends from work said that it's all plastic and badly made.

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I got a mid tower NZXT case for my latest secondary computer build and it is definitely the best case I've had. Excellent features and really good cable management options. Mine definitely wasn't plasticy or poorly built. It's all metal and the edges are all rounded and smoothed. It was the first time I built a computer and didn't notice I cut myself on something half way through the build.

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To bad you couldn't wait for "NZXT H440" case to come out next month. here's 2 newegg links. one is white an the other is black.

White: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146148

Black: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146149

 

An here's a nice overview on it:

I'm not sure that could fit 3 double-slot video cards. The bottom compartement looks like it would either touch or obstruct space for the 3rd card (or perhaps I'm seeing it wrong?). I'm going with a full tower for this very reason.

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If you need a ton of space and money is no objection, you can't go wrong with a Corsair 900D.

Except it's too big :P I'm not even sure a full tower is warranted, I'm just erring on the side of caution.

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Hello,

 

Well, if you don't need a full tower, what about one of the Fractal Design cases, similar to your personal build?

 

Regards,

 

Aryeh Goretsky

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I'm going full tower to err on the side of caution; I've never built a PC with 3 power hungry video cards and I'm worried airflow might be an issue in a case like the Fractal Design R4 with that much wattage. The NZXT case provides plenty of space and the ability to add a large fan on the side to blow directly on (or away from) the video cards. That said, I most definitely don't need a "super" full tower or a giant server case or whatever.

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So, I did the build today, (with the NZXT Phantom), and as it turns out, there isn't quite enough room for 3 large video cards like the EVGA GTX 680, in that case and on a typical Z87 motherboard. The bottom PCI-E slot ends up too close to the PSU, and even if there was more vertical space, the heatsink would then collide with the case/usb connectors on the bottom of the motherboard. So, even with a larger case I would have still not been able to fit 3 large video cards. Turns out you really should pay attention to the PCI-E slot layout and make sure there is a 3rd PCI-E 16x slot some reasonable distance away from the bottom of the motherboard. Funny no reviewer ever seems to mention that.  :/

 

This seems to be true of virtually all Z87 motherboards, with the notable exception of the GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-OC Force (420$) and the ASRock Z87 OC Formula (360$). I didn't know, so, there ya go. Less stupid going to bed tonight.

 

It's not exactly a catastrophe as 2 GPUs will be good enough for our purposes, at least for a while, and I can easily add a smaller 3rd video card if need be. I'll just have a GTX 680 sitting around.

 

Quick review of the case: it looks kickass and has plenty of built-in fans, which is nice. However, I was doing this build in parallel with another one using an Antec Eleven Hundred, and while the Antec is a boring black square, it's miles ahead in terms of build quality and ease of assembly. If you don't care too much for looks, I think the Antec wins easily.

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