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I'm in the market for a new case. I've got an EVGA X58 3X SLI Classified and due to the expansion slot configuration, I want to move my third video card down to the last slot (slot #4) and use slot #3 for something else. (Probably another card for PhysX, RAID controller, or a network card which I have reasons for using.) In any case, I want to make use of all four PCI-Express slots. My current case, the TJ-09 will not let me do that unless I cut the crap out of the support bracket under the 7th expansion slot. I also need another large case to migrate my Skulltrail setup into which will serve as my Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise server, host my VM's, and perform duties as an Exchange 2010 beta server. Aside from fairly poor cable management the Silverstone TJ-09 will work fine for the Skulltrail setup. I will be using a RAID controller, Intel PCI-Express server NIC, and a single video card. (Probably the spare Geforce GTX 280 I've got.) So right now the plan is to transplant my gaming computer (Core i7 920) into a new case so that I can leverage all four PCI-Express slots and put my Skulltrail back into the TJ-09.
So, I've been doing my research and I think I'm almost set on a Lian-Li case. I've considered, and I am considering the Corsair Obsidian 800D. I've got a couple minor reservations about that, but the main problem is time. I don't want to wait much longer to get this extra box up and going. There are several models and considerations. I've broken down the list here. Cost of the case isn't really in the consideration. Airflow, cable management, flexibility, appearance, and most importantly, everything fitting inside of it are key. Water cooling is not a consideration. So please bear that in mind. I've been there and I've done that. I simply change out computer hardware too frequently to want to mess with it. These days the overclocks I'm seeing out of air cooling are impressive enough that the cost of changing blocks with all the new hardware that comes out each generation just can't be easily justified. The EVGA X58 3X SLI board is not truly an E-ATX board but it is larger than ATX standard. It falls between the two in size. ATX cases will sometimes work for it provided there is room for the extra length to hang over the last row of standoffs. And because I love dual processor stuff, an eventual E-ATX dual 1366 socket system isn't totally off the table. It could happen one of these days. So an E-ATX case is a must requirement. With all that in mind I've compiled a list of possible cases, pros and cons for each, and I would like to hear from people who actually have some of these cases, and what your experiences are.
The hardware going into the new case is as follows:
Power supply: Corsair HX1000
Motherboard: EVGA X58 3X SLI Classified
CPU: Intel Core i7 920 @4.2GHz
CPU Cooling: Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme RT 1366
RAM: 3 x 2048MB Corsair Dominator GT (TR3X6G2000C8D) DDR3 2000MHz
Video Card(s): BFG Technologies Geforce GTX 280 OC (x3) 3-Way SLI
Optical: LG Blue-Ray Writer
Hard Drive(s): 2 x Intel X25-M 80GB SSD (RAID-0)
Other storage is external. So I'm not worried about sccomodating more internal storage. Bear in mind that for any cases with a hot swap backplane, the SSD's may not line up correctly. For those of you using SSD's, your thoughts and experience is most welcome. So please, share any additional recommendations for cases that would do the job. Here are some simple qualifiers:
1.) No windowed side panels.
2.) No LED fans. (I really hate those.)
3.) No plastic, preferably no steel, but steel is ok if I like everything else.)
4.) It must support the E-ATX form factor.
5.) No doors. I can't stand doors on cases.
6.) Excellent cable management is a MUST.
7.) No cube cases. No Mountain Mods UFO, or Lian-Li PC-343B.
8.) No hideous casters. (Rules out some Lian-Li models.)
Here is the actual list of considerations:
----------------Lian-Li Armorsuit----------------
Pros:
Aluminum construction
Excellent quality. (What Lian-Li doesn't have this?)
Meets E-ATX requirement.
Card/Expansion slot problem solved as this case has 10 expansion slots.
Conventional 3.5" drive bays would work well for SSD mounting.
Cons:
Ugly (I think this may be the ugliest thing Lian-Li ever put out.)
Blue LED fans are fugly.
Unable to access optical drive bay without opening the fan door.
Unknown cable management.
Lacks the cut out in the motherboard tray for changing heat sinks. (A con only because it is available on newer Lian-Li designs.)
----------------Lian-Li PC-A7010----------------
Pros:
Aluminum construction
Excellent quality. (What Lian-Li doesn't have this?)
Meets E-ATX requirement.
Easily one of the best looking cases I've ever seen.
Cons:
Concerned with SATA backplane not mating to SSD's.
Unknown cable management.
Lacks the cut out in the motherboard tray for changing heat sinks. (A con only because it is available on newer Lian-Li designs.)
----------------Lian-Li PC-A70----------------
Pros:
Aluminum construction
Excellent quality. (What Lian-Li doesn't have this?)
Meets E-ATX requirement.
Upper PSU mounting option would solve expansion card slot problem.
Conventional 3.5" drive bays would work well for SSD mounting.
Cons:
Lacks the cut out in the motherboard tray for changing heat sinks. (A con only because it is available on newer Lian-Li designs.)
Unknown cable management.
----------------Lian-Li PC-A77----------------
Pros:
Aluminum construction
Excellent quality. (What Lian-Li doesn't have this?)
Meets E-ATX requirement.
One of the better looking Lian-Li cases I think.
Upper PSU mounting option would solve expansion card slot problem.
Conventional 3.5" drive bays would work well for SSD mounting.
Fan speed controller (This isn't a huge issue to me, but it is kind of nice.)
Cons:
Unable to access optical drive bay without opening the fan door.
Unknown cable management.
Lacks the cut out in the motherboard tray for changing heat sinks. (A con only because it is available on newer Lian-Li designs.)
----------------Lian-Li PC-B70----------------
Pros:
Aluminum construction
Excellent quality. (What Lian-Li doesn't have this?)
Meets E-ATX requirement.
Upper PSU mounting option would solve expansion card slot problem.
It appears that it is possible to install or remove heat sinks from the motherboard while the board is mounted due to the square cut out in the motherboard tray.
Cons:
I do not like the fact that you have to access the drive cage from the front of the case.
Not a huge fan of tooless card retention mechanisms.
Blue LED fans are fugly.
Conventional 3.5" drive bays would work well for SSD mounting.
Unknown cable management.
----------------Lian-Li PC-B71----------------
Pros:
Aluminum construction
Excellent quality. (What Lian-Li doesn't have this?)
Meets E-ATX requirement.
Upper PSU mounting option would solve expansion card slot problem.
It appears that it is possible to install or remove heat sinks from the motherboard while the board is mounted due to the square cut out in the motherboard tray.
Cons:
Concerned with SATA backplane not mating to SSD's.
I do not like the fact that you have to access the drive cage from the front of the case.
Not a huge fan of tooless card retention mechanisms.
Blue LED fans are fugly.
Unknown cable management.
----------------Lian-Li PC-V2010----------------
Pros:
Aluminum construction
Excellent quality. (What Lian-Li doesn't have this?)
Meets E-ATX requirement.
Conventional 3.5" drive bays would work well for SSD mounting.
Cons:
Does not solve the expansion slot problem.
Too damn ugly.
PSU bay may not be large enough for my Corsair HX1000 or a Thermaltake ToughPower 1200
Unknown cable management.
Lacks the cut out in the motherboard tray for changing heat sinks. (A con only because it is available on newer Lian-Li designs.)
I can't stand the casters on the bottom of the case. I'd much prefer feet. I'd rather rape the Taco Bell dog than look at those on my desk. (I won't put my machine on the floor.)
----------------Corsair Obsidian 800D----------------
Pros:
Appears to have excellent quality.
Meets E-ATX requirement.
Outstanding layout, excellent cable management.
It appears that it is possible to install or remove heat sinks from the motherboard while the board is mounted due to the square cut out in the motherboard tray.
Cons:
Concerned with SATA backplane not mating to SSD's.
Steel Construction (This isn't a deal breaker for me, or a huge issue, I prefer aluminum for its looks, rather than for weight savings.)
Don't like windowed cases.
Not sure about the feet.
----------------Silverstone TJ-09----------------
Pros:
Aluminum construction
Excellent quality.
Matches my existing TJ-09. (I like things to look standardized.)
Conventional 3.5" drive bays would work well for SSD mounting.
Cons:
Does not solve the expansion slot problem.
Mediocre cable management.
Thin/fragile side panels. (Not a problem, but I don't like it.)
So, I've been doing my research and I think I'm almost set on a Lian-Li case. I've considered, and I am considering the Corsair Obsidian 800D. I've got a couple minor reservations about that, but the main problem is time. I don't want to wait much longer to get this extra box up and going. There are several models and considerations. I've broken down the list here. Cost of the case isn't really in the consideration. Airflow, cable management, flexibility, appearance, and most importantly, everything fitting inside of it are key. Water cooling is not a consideration. So please bear that in mind. I've been there and I've done that. I simply change out computer hardware too frequently to want to mess with it. These days the overclocks I'm seeing out of air cooling are impressive enough that the cost of changing blocks with all the new hardware that comes out each generation just can't be easily justified. The EVGA X58 3X SLI board is not truly an E-ATX board but it is larger than ATX standard. It falls between the two in size. ATX cases will sometimes work for it provided there is room for the extra length to hang over the last row of standoffs. And because I love dual processor stuff, an eventual E-ATX dual 1366 socket system isn't totally off the table. It could happen one of these days. So an E-ATX case is a must requirement. With all that in mind I've compiled a list of possible cases, pros and cons for each, and I would like to hear from people who actually have some of these cases, and what your experiences are.
The hardware going into the new case is as follows:
Power supply: Corsair HX1000
Motherboard: EVGA X58 3X SLI Classified
CPU: Intel Core i7 920 @4.2GHz
CPU Cooling: Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme RT 1366
RAM: 3 x 2048MB Corsair Dominator GT (TR3X6G2000C8D) DDR3 2000MHz
Video Card(s): BFG Technologies Geforce GTX 280 OC (x3) 3-Way SLI
Optical: LG Blue-Ray Writer
Hard Drive(s): 2 x Intel X25-M 80GB SSD (RAID-0)
Other storage is external. So I'm not worried about sccomodating more internal storage. Bear in mind that for any cases with a hot swap backplane, the SSD's may not line up correctly. For those of you using SSD's, your thoughts and experience is most welcome. So please, share any additional recommendations for cases that would do the job. Here are some simple qualifiers:
1.) No windowed side panels.
2.) No LED fans. (I really hate those.)
3.) No plastic, preferably no steel, but steel is ok if I like everything else.)
4.) It must support the E-ATX form factor.
5.) No doors. I can't stand doors on cases.
6.) Excellent cable management is a MUST.
7.) No cube cases. No Mountain Mods UFO, or Lian-Li PC-343B.
8.) No hideous casters. (Rules out some Lian-Li models.)
Here is the actual list of considerations:
----------------Lian-Li Armorsuit----------------
Pros:
Aluminum construction
Excellent quality. (What Lian-Li doesn't have this?)
Meets E-ATX requirement.
Card/Expansion slot problem solved as this case has 10 expansion slots.
Conventional 3.5" drive bays would work well for SSD mounting.
Cons:
Ugly (I think this may be the ugliest thing Lian-Li ever put out.)
Blue LED fans are fugly.
Unable to access optical drive bay without opening the fan door.
Unknown cable management.
Lacks the cut out in the motherboard tray for changing heat sinks. (A con only because it is available on newer Lian-Li designs.)
----------------Lian-Li PC-A7010----------------
Pros:
Aluminum construction
Excellent quality. (What Lian-Li doesn't have this?)
Meets E-ATX requirement.
Easily one of the best looking cases I've ever seen.
Cons:
Concerned with SATA backplane not mating to SSD's.
Unknown cable management.
Lacks the cut out in the motherboard tray for changing heat sinks. (A con only because it is available on newer Lian-Li designs.)
----------------Lian-Li PC-A70----------------
Pros:
Aluminum construction
Excellent quality. (What Lian-Li doesn't have this?)
Meets E-ATX requirement.
Upper PSU mounting option would solve expansion card slot problem.
Conventional 3.5" drive bays would work well for SSD mounting.
Cons:
Lacks the cut out in the motherboard tray for changing heat sinks. (A con only because it is available on newer Lian-Li designs.)
Unknown cable management.
----------------Lian-Li PC-A77----------------
Pros:
Aluminum construction
Excellent quality. (What Lian-Li doesn't have this?)
Meets E-ATX requirement.
One of the better looking Lian-Li cases I think.
Upper PSU mounting option would solve expansion card slot problem.
Conventional 3.5" drive bays would work well for SSD mounting.
Fan speed controller (This isn't a huge issue to me, but it is kind of nice.)
Cons:
Unable to access optical drive bay without opening the fan door.
Unknown cable management.
Lacks the cut out in the motherboard tray for changing heat sinks. (A con only because it is available on newer Lian-Li designs.)
----------------Lian-Li PC-B70----------------
Pros:
Aluminum construction
Excellent quality. (What Lian-Li doesn't have this?)
Meets E-ATX requirement.
Upper PSU mounting option would solve expansion card slot problem.
It appears that it is possible to install or remove heat sinks from the motherboard while the board is mounted due to the square cut out in the motherboard tray.
Cons:
I do not like the fact that you have to access the drive cage from the front of the case.
Not a huge fan of tooless card retention mechanisms.
Blue LED fans are fugly.
Conventional 3.5" drive bays would work well for SSD mounting.
Unknown cable management.
----------------Lian-Li PC-B71----------------
Pros:
Aluminum construction
Excellent quality. (What Lian-Li doesn't have this?)
Meets E-ATX requirement.
Upper PSU mounting option would solve expansion card slot problem.
It appears that it is possible to install or remove heat sinks from the motherboard while the board is mounted due to the square cut out in the motherboard tray.
Cons:
Concerned with SATA backplane not mating to SSD's.
I do not like the fact that you have to access the drive cage from the front of the case.
Not a huge fan of tooless card retention mechanisms.
Blue LED fans are fugly.
Unknown cable management.
----------------Lian-Li PC-V2010----------------
Pros:
Aluminum construction
Excellent quality. (What Lian-Li doesn't have this?)
Meets E-ATX requirement.
Conventional 3.5" drive bays would work well for SSD mounting.
Cons:
Does not solve the expansion slot problem.
Too damn ugly.
PSU bay may not be large enough for my Corsair HX1000 or a Thermaltake ToughPower 1200
Unknown cable management.
Lacks the cut out in the motherboard tray for changing heat sinks. (A con only because it is available on newer Lian-Li designs.)
I can't stand the casters on the bottom of the case. I'd much prefer feet. I'd rather rape the Taco Bell dog than look at those on my desk. (I won't put my machine on the floor.)
----------------Corsair Obsidian 800D----------------
Pros:
Appears to have excellent quality.
Meets E-ATX requirement.
Outstanding layout, excellent cable management.
It appears that it is possible to install or remove heat sinks from the motherboard while the board is mounted due to the square cut out in the motherboard tray.
Cons:
Concerned with SATA backplane not mating to SSD's.
Steel Construction (This isn't a deal breaker for me, or a huge issue, I prefer aluminum for its looks, rather than for weight savings.)
Don't like windowed cases.
Not sure about the feet.
----------------Silverstone TJ-09----------------
Pros:
Aluminum construction
Excellent quality.
Matches my existing TJ-09. (I like things to look standardized.)
Conventional 3.5" drive bays would work well for SSD mounting.
Cons:
Does not solve the expansion slot problem.
Mediocre cable management.
Thin/fragile side panels. (Not a problem, but I don't like it.)
