Upgrading and Adding Case Fans vs Buying New Case?

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PCMonkey

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So here's my situation. I have a Corsair 500R with stock fans (2 front 120mm, 1 side 200mm, 1 rear 120mm), 1 120mm top fan i salvaged from a junker, and 1 120mm bottom cpu fan that I turn into a case fan when i replaced it with a noctua.

I want to improve my cooling because I just got a Gigabyte 4090 Gaming OC (ended up having to do surgery and cut off the bottom off my 5 1/4 bay to make room for the anti sag bracket, but it works).
I also want to improve the case noise by having all PWM fans. Corsair 500R stock fans aren't PWM and the salvaged fans aren't either (they are 3 pin voltage controlled).

So i make cart on amazon:

  • - 8 arctic P12 (2 5 packs for a couple spares)
  • extensions and splitters
  • - 5 1/4 3.5 drive bay 120mm fan cage
  • - rubber silent fan mounts

Comes out to just over $130

OR

I could buy a brand new Corsair 4000D Airflow or NZXT H7 Flow for about the same price maybe less and add 1 or 2 extra fans.

In the fan upgrade scenario:

Pros:
  • - I'd be maxing out the airflow capabilities of the 500R. 1 rear, 2 top, 3 front, 1 bottom, 200m original side, and a second CPU fan for a push/pull setup.
  • - 100% PWM controlled for silent running most of the time, except for the 200mm which is quiet anyway.
  • - still functional and does the job

Cons:
  • - older design, had to be physicially modded to accomodate the 4090 (has some sharp edge due to that)
  • - 5 1/4 bays non-natively turned into extra cooling and storage racks

Neutral:

  • - The 500r case doesn't have mounts to support the back edge of the ATX MB, it just sort of hangs there. Always makes me nervous when i am plugging things into that back edge. I dunno if this is common for ATX mid towers, so i dunno if this was a glitch with the 500R case design or not.

OR

Case upgrade:

Pros:
  • - newer more modern design
  • - natively accommodates the 4090
  • - The two cases I'm looking at have tempered glass sides. "Meh" at best, since right now my case sits on the left and i can't see that side.
  • - improvements in cable management, better than 500R with the new power requirements for GPU and CPU
  • - fans would still be 100% PWM ( i think)

Cons:
  • - less case fans, 4000D comes with 2, NZXT comes with 3 (i think), could upgrade to 4/5 respectively
  • - no CPU push/pull config
  • - no 200mm side case fan that does so much for fresh air on the 4090 cooler

What'r your thoughts? So which way makes the most sense? add pros and cons as you think of them. Thanks
 
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The 500R supports up to 4 140mm fans (2 top, one bottom, one rear). Why not use some 140s?

Forget the front 5.25 120mm fan cage. It's not going to do much in the overall scheme of things.

Depending on the fans you have, they might be worth keeping and controlling via a fan controller with temp sensors. Something like the Lamptron CM512 can use a temp sensor inserted into the heatsink of your 4090 and ramp up the fans as the temperature rises. $33 + shipping at Performance-PCs. There are other fan controllers on Performance-PCs ranging from $10 to $70.

The motherboard in your signature is narrower than standard ATX for whatever reason (ATX is 12x9.6 while your board is 12x8.8). The edge hanging off is solely due to your choice of motherboard and will be the same regardless of what ATX tower you choose.

The NZXT H7 Flow does not come with PWM fans based on the specs listed, and only comes with 2 120mm fans.

Honestly, if better cooling performance is your goal, your current case is fine. The only reason I would consider upgrading a case is for front panel USB-C support.

500R: Supports 1 rear 120/140mm, 2 top 120/140mm, 2 front 120mm, 1 bottom 120/140mm, and 1 side 200mm or 2 side 120/140mm fans. Highest airflow potential with 2x120mm, 4x140mm, and 1x200mm fans.
4000D: Supports 1 rear 120mm, 2 top 120/140mm, and 3 front 120mm or 2 front 140mm fans. Highest airflow potential with 4x120 and 2x140mm fans.
H7 Flow: Supports 1 rear 120/140mm, 3 top 120mm or 2 top 140mm, and 3 front 120/140mm fans. Highest airflow potential with 3x120 and 4x140mm fans.

In terms of fan support and total airflow potential, your current 500R has greater potential than any of the options you're looking at. With both the 4000D and H7 Flow, I would actually reduce the number of fans by 1 because there isn't enough intake to balance out the exhaust unless you flip all of the top fans to intake as well (goal is to replace the air exhausted by the 4090 ASAP). With the top filled and set to exhaust, you will end up pulling out some fresh air before it has the chance to cool anything.
 
Just Buy a New Case there is a lot of good stuff out there that are extra wide and Deep like the new Asus Tuf case that looks like a box. Alot of deep cases where you don't have bend GPU cables.
 
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Comixbooks said:
Just Buy a New Case there is a lot of good stuff out there that are extra wide and Deep like the new Asus Tuf case that looks like a box. Alot of deep cases where you don't have bend GPU cables.
Click to expand...
I agree. Too many good cases out there at reasonable prices to try and hang onto an older case.
 
PCMonkey said:
- fans would still be 100% PWM ( i think)
Click to expand...
Better make sure; a surprising number of (even premium) cases still come with non-pwm fans.

Amusingly enough, I've seen quite a number of budget cases that do have em. For example, the montech 903 air (base or max) has been gathering tons of praise lately.
 
Comixbooks said:
Just Buy a New Case there is a lot of good stuff out there that are extra wide and Deep like the new Asus Tuf case that looks like a box. Alot of deep cases where you don't have bend GPU cables.
Click to expand...
which asus tuf model number are you referring to?
 

View: https://youtu.be/eZpxtXIPYsQ?si=m-g0KCbV0OjdG7P7


Screenshot_20231229-100511.png
 
I have the older model picture bottom right but rather have this one but not willing to change it out because it has spots for x4 3.5 SSDs
 
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chameleoneel said:
You can get inserts/standoffs to support the mobo holes which do not have actual standoffs. keeping the board from flexing when putting pressure on that area. You could also drill holes and install your own standoffs:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=plastic+motherboard+standoffs&crid=3R1X4JSSLB2ER&sprefix=plastic+motherboard,aps,155&tag=hardfocom-20&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_19
Click to expand...
Fortunately for the 500r there is a large rear access cutout and I have been able to support the board from the other side with my right hand while pushing in the connectors with my left.
 
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Comixbooks said:
I have the older model picture bottom right but rather have this one but not willing to change it out because it has spots for x4 3.5 SSDs
Click to expand...
I've had a few of those TUF 501 cases and they are a nice case with great air flow. Only thing I hated was that plastic PSU shroud.
 
Niner said:
I've had a few of those TUF 501 cases and they are a nice case with great air flow. Only thing I hated was that plastic PSU shroud.
Click to expand...
I tossed that in the garbage and used a gpu standup support bracket that came with my Msi SuprimX.
 
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