Help deciding on a new Case

  • Thread starter DQuaN
  • 18 comments
  • 1,020 views

Which case?

  • Zalman Z9 Plus

    Votes: 3 100.0%

  • Sharktoon T28

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    3
DQuaN

DQuaN

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So with my current rig dead I'm going to start a new one.

First off I am going to buy a new case. I'm going to use it test my current rig components to see if I can get them working, and if I can't, just start adding new components.

I have narrowed down to two cases.

The Zalman Z9 Plus
http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/cases/cases/z9plus.html

And the Sharktoon T28
http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/cases/cases/4044951012374.html

The Sharktoon is the better case but is more expensive and I like the fact that the Zalman has fan controls. I CAN'T DECIDE!!

Please help me choose. :)
 
Well the fan controllers on PC cases suck and I can tell from my experience.
Get the Sharktoon then get a lamptron PC5.
http://lamptron.com/products/view/Fan_Controller_FC5

On that you can change the back light color to White, Red, Blue, Green, Cyan, Magenta and Yellow(even turn it off if you choose), plus it can show temps in C or F or you can make it show voltages.

If you are going to go AMD for CPU and GPU replace the green fans to red ones or get it in red if you are going to nvidia SLI go green otherwise go blue as it tends to suit black better but this is my taste.

But what are you going to add to it.

Remember a case will determine what hardware you will be able to install.

Eg a small case will not hold a large video card.
same thing here.

How many HDDs will you have?
Will you ever upgrade to watercooling(even a basic one like corsair H60).

I got my self this tank of a case.
http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/produc...ex=478&cl_index=1&sc_index=25&ss_index=61&g=f
 
The build will be Intel and nVidia.

Both cases seem to be pretty large so can handle anything I put in it. Eventually it will have 2xSATA HDD's and one SSD.

Yes I am planning to use water cooling in the future.
 
Then make sure it has the holes in the back unless you are going for a sealed unit like the Corsair Hydro which means you will need at least 140mm or 140x300mm of free space inside the case.
 
Then something like this wont be bad.

Intel one looks nicest.
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=207_160_45&products_id=18914
Corsair H60 120mm single fan
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=207_160_45&products_id=17061
Corsair H80 120mm dual fan
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=207_160_45&products_id=17919
Corsair H100 240mm twin fan
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=207_160_45&products_id=17961

I used the Corsair H50 on my old rig and it was nice.

With a room temp of 23C I was getting 28C on idle and 36C on max load and this was on a Q9300 2.5Ghz CPU overclocked to 3.25Ghz.
 
What about this case and this case? I know both of them are above in the price range but both are quite better in design and features. The fractal costs the most but it comes with three fans and has support for watercooling. A 240mm rad on the top is ideal because the mounts for it are taller than the memory and thus you can fit a thick rad and even do a push-pull with four fans(click here and go to 18:20 in the video. You can easily fit a 60mm thick rad with two fans and a H100 is not a problem since that's a bit thinner). Even if you just get a H100 or a single 120mm or 140mm rad you will have plenty of room for upgrades.
 
I'd like one of the cases I listed. Adding the poll seems like a pointless excersize!
 
Well... The choice is obvious now. The Sharkoon would be better built vs the Zalman. But then again a Fractal Design 3000 goes for the same price and has better features. You get two 140mm fans and a 120mm fan in it. You can add in 4 more fans if you wanted to go crazy. Plus you get a dust filter in the front and a dust filter for your power supply. It makes computer maintenance a lot easier. Have you decided to want the Sharkoon because of the window and led fans?
 
Last edited:
nick09
Have you decided to want the Sharkoon because of the window and led fans?
Click to expand...

If that is the case I will suggest the Antec 902 or just the Antec 900.

2 120mm Blue LED fans on front, 200mm Blue LED Bigboy fan on top, Window.


Antec 900(this was my old case and it was nice)
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=25_733&products_id=4228

Antec 902(not as flush on the top and it is missing the little cubby dock thing.)
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=25_733&products_id=16228
 
The Zalman will give you more options for airflow adjustment. The Sharkoon seems to be limited in cooling options. However it will still give you positive air pressure via the 2:1 ratio of intake/outtake. Personally, I'd go for the Zalman, I like airflow adjustment. 4:3 Intake/Outtake would be amazing too.
 
Zalman has cable management options and a bigger CPU cutout for any backplates and it looks like a fan can be added behind the mainboard for more cooling, only thing I do not like is the transverse HDD bays, but this is me.
 
I think they both have cable management options.

I've asked Vic what she thinks and she said "Well my one has blue lights so you have to get the green one"! :lol:
 
The shartoon has smaller holes though so you can only get a few in and the big ATX will be a tightish fit.

If you do not want blue lights you can always replace the fans and make it red, yellow, white, RGB, RGBY.
 
Grayfox
The shartoon has smaller holes though so you can only get a few in and the big ATX will be a tightish fit.

If you do not want blue lights you can always replace the fans and make it red, yellow, white, RGB, RGBY.
Click to expand...

This... Fan colors mean nothing. I wouldn't even keep most stock fans.

Get some Coolermaster Sickleflow's in green and just replace all the fans.
 

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