Best Mid tower ATX Case under 150-175 that fits my requirments?
Posted by Ok-Distribution-4743@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 9 comments
After my NZXT H500 power button starting to fail and me noticing how much of a heat box this case has become after installing MSI Ventus 5070ti, I've been searching for a good looking Mid Tower case for 2-3 days straight and can't find a single one that fits my requirment. The case i'm looking for has to have 2 USB A ports, more than 2 storage slots and it needs to fit Arctic Liquid Freezer 3 240mm AIO.
I looked up Fractal Design cases but Epoch can't fit liquid freezer 3 because this AIO is very thick and the XL variant isn't out in my country yet, Meshify 3 is very overpriced (Non-RGB with no glass pannel is 230+usd). As for Lian Li cases, 207 only has 2 storage slots and 217 seems to be very loud based on multiple posts complaining how loud it is.
Lancool 217 (Fan noise issue?)
Want to buy Lancool 217, but I wonder if Lian Li has solved the acknowledged fan noise issue
braydon125@reddit
XL pop air
Ok-Distribution-4743@reddit (OP)
I don't know if I want to spend on a case that's already obsolete, Fractal already announced pop 2 which has bottom fan mount but it only comes with 1 USB A port...
chsn2000@reddit
Its a case. Idk what you think will be obsolete about it
Unfortunately mid towers with support for 3.5" drives (I'm assuming that's what you mean by storage) are quite rare, especially with how big GPUs have gotten as well as the airflow/cooling requirements of modern PCs
Are you opposed to using a USB hub? Especially if your motherboard has type C or 3.0 ports, I usually find that a lot more reliable than going through the case.
Ok-Distribution-4743@reddit (OP)
Sorry, I should have been clearer. For storage, I meant more expansion slots for 2.5" SSDs since I’m using two now and plan to add more later. As for the USB hub, my B450 Carbon Pro AC motherboard doesn't support a front USB-C connection.
chsn2000@reddit
If its only SSDs I would not disqualify a case based on how many dedicated bays it has. SSDs have no moving parts and aren't sensitive to vibration. Honestly most cases I've found the default slots to only make it harder to wire up the power and manage them seeing as most PSUs give you a daisy chained SATA connector. I've had SSDs loose in my PC for 6+ years with 0 faults, although admittedly there are others I swap frequently (sneakernet trumps everything when it comes to rapidly transferring files) so I prefer having them loose for that reason also.
For USB, adding a hub to my desk connected to my motherboard's rear USB-C has been way more reliable and handy than relying on the case, but obviously thats some more clutter and an extra purchase.
Out of the suggestions the Pop XL probably is the winner.
Ok-Distribution-4743@reddit (OP)
Yeah Pop XL seems like a good case that checks everything that I need, also maybe its me going insane after going through many cases in past few days and coping but after staring at CORSAIR Frame 4000D RS for long enough I'm starting to not mind the case fugly design.
Maybe I'll go for this case instead
pythonic_dude@reddit
Can't say I've had issues with my 217, but I'm also running the front fans at a pretty much fixed rpm (they are pretty loud at 1500 rpm but it's also way more air than anyone should ever need). Definitely not any more offensive than P12 pros.
Can't vouch for other fans, I've only used them for maybe a few weeks before replacing for visual reasons, but they seemed adequate.
Ok-Distribution-4743@reddit (OP)
my guess is the fix you found actually highlights the main problem with the 217. Multiple users have found that the default PWM connector/hub on this case interferes with the motherboard signal. By locking your RPM, you’re basically stopping the hub from constantly micro-adjusting the speed, which is what usually causes that 'phantom' high-pitched noise everyone is complaining.
pythonic_dude@reddit
I mean yea the hub barely deserves the "you tried" award, but I don't think it interferes at all. My rpm isn't fixed, it's just static most of the time. Constantly adjusting rpm on such large fans is moronic, they have far too much inertia.