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Best case for temperature/airflow for SLI and CPU

28K views 25 replies 6 participants last post by  claes 
#1 ·
I'm interested in getting either a NH D14 or silver arrow, or a h110 and i'll be having SLI 670 windforces that exhaust heat inside the case.

What case would work best for me and should i get a h100 or h110 or a NH D14

Case size does not matter as I wouldn't move it much, currently I have a LIAN LI PCK62 case and it all feels cramped.
 
#2 ·
You thought about the silver stone ones like those Raven's with the 90 degree mounting design? I always thought that was innovative for letting heat out of the case and looked unique...not sure on specs for them really but the big boutiques used similar designs in their multi million dollar builds so would work for me
biggrin.gif
 
#3 ·
http://www.corsair.com/us/pc-cases/carbide-series-pc-case/carbide-series-air-540-high-airflow-atx-cube-case.html

that has been getting some good reviews lately from what ive seen.

i dont have any personal experience with the NH D14 but i helped my gfs brother out with his h110 and it seems to perform impressively, i would have to suggest one of them.

also, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119245

i have one and the air cooling on it is superb, aswell as the watercooling capabilities.
 
#4 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by szeged View Post

http://www.corsair.com/us/pc-cases/carbide-series-pc-case/carbide-series-air-540-high-airflow-atx-cube-case.html

that has been getting some good reviews lately from what ive seen.

i dont have any personal experience with the NH D14 but i helped my gfs brother out with his h110 and it seems to perform impressively, i would have to suggest one of them.

also, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119245

i have one and the air cooling on it is superb, aswell as the watercooling capabilities.
I like the style of that corsair, what other cases are there? preferrable below 150 or 200$
 
#5 ·
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160

this case is in the line of the HAF ( HIGH AIR FLOW ) series from cooler master, i dont have personal experience with one, but they were designed with air coolers in mind, maximum air cooling performance with the capability to also mount water cooling equipment as well. A good friend of mine has a H110 in it currently.

159.99 usd.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139006

another from corsair, the 650D is a very popular case for many reasons, you really cant go wrong with it, good for air and a H110.

179.99 usd.
 
#6 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by szeged View Post

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160

this case is in the line of the HAF ( HIGH AIR FLOW ) series from cooler master, i dont have personal experience with one, but they were designed with air coolers in mind, maximum air cooling performance with the capability to also mount water cooling equipment as well. A good friend of mine has a H110 in it currently.

159.99 usd.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139006

another from corsair, the 650D is a very popular case for many reasons, you really cant go wrong with it, good for air and a H110.

179.99 usd.
How would those compete against the HAF XB
 
#7 ·
Im not 100% sure on the HAF XB, i have next to no experience with it, but from the looks of it there MIGHT be room to put an H110 in it, though im not 100% sure. You can probably mount a H110 radiator externally and route the tubes inside and have a much easier time. As i said i dont have much experience with the case but just judging by it, there are plenty of fan placement options to get good airflow, and the price is on the lower end so thats always a plus. I think OCN might have a dedicated club to the HAF XB but i dont know off the top of my head.
 
#8 ·
I think CM HAF cases are overrated. You have to replace the fans in order to get good airflow at tolerable noise levels, and then you're basically dealing with a fancy Antec 900 with more radiator options.

I would suggest the Corsair 540 or one of Silverstone's Raven or Fortress designs for maximum airflow. People will tell you that you don't want a GPU that exhausts in those Silverstone cases but in practice, at least as far as I've seen on various forums, the difference between an external exhaust and internal exhaust is only a couple of degrees more on the CPU and mobo - even with the weird orientation and the disruption of airflow aftermarket GPUs still seem to perform better than reference in 90*, positive-pressure cases.
 
#9 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by claes View Post

I think CM HAF cases are overrated. You have to replace the fans in order to get good airflow at tolerable noise levels, and then you're basically dealing with a fancy Antec 900 with more radiator options.

I would suggest the Corsair 540 or one of Silverstone's Raven or Fortress designs for maximum airflow. People will tell you that you don't want a GPU that exhausts in those Silverstone cases but in practice, at least as far as I've seen on various forums, the difference between an external exhaust and internal exhaust is only a couple of degrees more on the CPU and mobo - even with the weird orientation and the disruption of airflow aftermarket GPUs still seem to perform better than reference in 90*, positive-pressure cases.
as with almost all cases, the stock fans they come with are garbage, or really low quality, so if youre buying a case based off of what fans come included, then you might aswell look for whatever case has the highest quality fans and completely ignore the really terrible design they usually come with.
 
#10 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by szeged View Post

as with almost all cases, the stock fans they come with are garbage, or really low quality, so if youre buying a case based off of what fans come included, then you might aswell look for whatever case has the highest quality fans and completely ignore the really terrible design they usually come with.
I've decided I want the best case possible, that will 2 780's in SLI, in which these 780s will exhaust heat inside the case(I want the evga 780 with the dual cooler) and possibly a NH D14 or a H100. depending on which one is better, that will have the best temperatures.

I wont be getting this case till around august, but in august im going to sell off all my used parts and build a new one, with haswell, and i know haswell generates alot of temps but i'd be hoping for a 4.4-4.5 ghz overclock out of a 4770k

Also, case fans I can replace as i have a bunch of ap 15's and random 120-140mm fans all over, including some very good brands like noctua and NZXT

An idea of what my rig will be is
4770K @ 4.5
GTX 780 EVGA's SLI exhausting inside the case overclocked
Whatever wattage good PSU
8GB-16GB RAM
2TB hard drive
2TB hard drive
2 256GB SSD's
Motherboard
DVD DRIVE
Case.

Maybe some LED lighting strips and new fans if the case needs it.
 
#11 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by szeged View Post

as with almost all cases, the stock fans they come with are garbage, or really low quality, so if youre buying a case based off of what fans come included, then you might aswell look for whatever case has the highest quality fans and completely ignore the really terrible design they usually come with.
Like the Air 540 and Silverstone's AP lines?
wink.gif


Just saying, IMO, the HAF series is an aging line with little innovation, much like the Antec lines it resembles. "HAF" just means that there are a lot of spots to mount things and for air to escape, which is great, but doesn't really justify the 120+ price tag IMO. NZXT, Fractal and Corsair offer much more in a similar layout at better prices.

Probably the most important question here is how much the OP is willing to spend. SLI 780s suggests they might consider looking into caselabs and the higher end Corsair, Silverstone, and Lian Li lines.
 
#12 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by claes View Post

Like the Air 540 and Silverstone's AP lines?
wink.gif


Just saying, IMO, the HAF series is an aging line with little innovation, much like the Antec lines it resembles. "HAF" just means that there are a lot of spots to mount things and for air to escape, which is great, but doesn't really justify the 120+ price tag IMO. NZXT, Fractal and Corsair offer much more in a similar layout at better prices.

Probably the most important question here is how much the OP is willing to spend. SLI 780s suggests they might consider looking into caselabs and the higher end Corsair, Silverstone, and Lian Li lines.
200 is around the max unless i can get way better for a higher price
 
#13 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by claes View Post

Like the Air 540 and Silverstone's AP lines?
wink.gif


Just saying, IMO, the HAF series is an aging line with little innovation, much like the Antec lines it resembles. "HAF" just means that there are a lot of spots to mount things and for air to escape, which is great, but doesn't really justify the 120+ price tag IMO. NZXT, Fractal and Corsair offer much more in a similar layout at better prices.

Probably the most important question here is how much the OP is willing to spend. SLI 780s suggests they might consider looking into caselabs and the higher end Corsair, Silverstone, and Lian Li lines.
I agree 100% sorry if it sounded like I was trying to be rude or anything. OP if you can up your budget at all we can probably find a much higher quality case that will last you a lot longer.
 
#14 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by szeged View Post

I agree 100% sorry if it sounded like I was trying to be rude or anything. OP if you can up your budget at all we can probably find a much higher quality case that will last you a lot longer.
more above 200? right now 200 is my limit but i'm open to any others, if the case is more expensive i'll just have a extra week to buy everything
 
#17 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by psyclum View Post

under $200, RV02
over $200 FT02
Mhm, easily the best options for airflow, the Corsair Air 540 is a decent option as well.

Should mention that the RV04 and FT04 just came out, where Silverstone argues that they achieve better results with fewer fans, but I haven't read any good reviews on either yet.

Edit: Anandtech on the RV04
 
#18 ·
The FT02 is probably the best case for air, it's just wicked good. Also, the Fractal Arc Midi R2 isn't a bad option too if you don't want a case with a rotated motherboard tray. I'd still prefer the FT02 especially if you have a heavy GPU without a backplate, it won't make the card sag and possibly warp the PCB. If you're doing the NHD-14, the FT02 would be the better choice because it's basically one of the best air cooling cases out there still.

If you're doing water, I'd still recommend the Arc Midi R2. It's significantly cheaper too, so you can take that money and put it towards something else.
 
#19 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by claes View Post

Mhm, easily the best options for airflow, the Corsair Air 540 is a decent option as well.

Should mention that the RV04 and FT04 just came out, where Silverstone argues that they achieve better results with fewer fans, but I haven't read any good reviews on either yet.

Edit: Anandtech on the RV04
there are some design elements of the 540 that makes it a "better" option with liquid cooling in mind. (no mods needed for liquid cooling) and the wide body design does lend itself to cleaner wire management on the back of the mobo tray. however when it comes to sheer air cooling power, i don't think there is a single case on the market today that beats the FT02/RV02.

as for the RV04/FT04... they've gone away from their roots and are failing HARD
biggrin.gif
they say 2x180mm fan can provide "better" airflow then 3x180mm fan?
biggrin.gif
sure... i can provide even BETTER airflow if i used a 70w 300CFM 7000RPM 120mm delta fans instead
biggrin.gif
what they neglect to mention is that they are using 2000 RPM fans instead which we KNOW will be ALOT louder then the existing 1200RPM fans. and the existing 1200RPM fan is plenty loud enough already on full speed... they made some improvements on the fan filter design which if they were smart they would apply that improvement on the FT02/RV02... as much as i like silverstone, I cant stand behind the design of the FT04/RV04 since they are simply bigger versions of the TJ08-E. I'm not saying TJ08-E is a bad case, but I am saying TJ08-E is a nice case BECAUSE of the form factor it was made for. the RV04/FT04 is sorta like making a "smart car" stretched limo..... kinda pointless...
biggrin.gif


FT02/RV02 are not the best options for liquid cooling unless you are willing to bust out the dremel, but when it comes to air cooling. you wont find a case on the market today that can do a better job. (WITH filtered intake fans)
 
#20 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by psyclum View Post

there are some design elements of the 540 that makes it a "better" option with liquid cooling in mind. (no mods needed for liquid cooling) and the wide body design does lend itself to cleaner wire management on the back of the mobo tray. however when it comes to sheer air cooling power, i don't think there is a single case on the market today that beats the FT02/RV02.

as for the RV04/FT04... they've gone away from their roots and are failing HARD
biggrin.gif
they say 2x180mm fan can provide "better" airflow then 3x180mm fan?
biggrin.gif
sure... i can provide even BETTER airflow if i used a 70w 300CFM 7000RPM 120mm delta fans instead
biggrin.gif
what they neglect to mention is that they are using 2000 RPM fans instead which we KNOW will be ALOT louder then the existing 1200RPM fans. and the existing 1200RPM fan is plenty loud enough already on full speed... they made some improvements on the fan filter design which if they were smart they would apply that improvement on the FT02/RV02... as much as i like silverstone, I cant stand behind the design of the FT04/RV04 since they are simply bigger versions of the TJ08-E. I'm not saying TJ08-E is a bad case, but I am saying TJ08-E is a nice case BECAUSE of the form factor it was made for. the RV04/FT04 is sorta like making a "smart car" stretched limo..... kinda pointless...
biggrin.gif


FT02/RV02 are not the best options for liquid cooling unless you are willing to bust out the dremel, but when it comes to air cooling. you wont find a case on the market today that can do a better job. (WITH filtered intake fans)
I'm thinking if i buy a H100 i should get a AIR 540, as the H100 is a pain to fit in the rv02/03
 
#22 ·
H100 is easier to mount on the air 540 since it's made with liquid cooling in mind.

however, h100 won't out perform a top end air cooler like a phantek/silver arrow/DH14 by much especially if you pair it with a superior airflow design like the FT02/RV02. when considering the performance of any cooling, you need to take into consideration the decibel level of the solution so that you are comparing apples to apples. you CAN use a hyper212 and have it perform almost as well as a top end cooler if you put a pair of 300CFM delta fans on it
biggrin.gif
but... it will be ear bleeding loud
smile.gif
so the question is would a H100 perform as well as a phantek at the same decibel level? the answer is no. liquid cooler can't be as quiet as a high performance air cooler because at the very least, there is the water pump noise you have to account for.

the question you should ask yourself is do you feel you'll ever go full custom liquid somewhere down the road? if the answer is yes, then go with the air 540 since it's obviously made with liquid cooling in mind.

however if you are willing to do a fair bit of modding. the FT02/RV02 is still the better solution since it can use a 540mm rad (3x180mm) internally. I'll let this picture do the explaining as to why i say it's a superior solution
biggrin.gif


CREATOR: gd-jpeg v1.0 (using IJG JPEG v62), quality = 85

and yes the one in the front is your standard 360 rad (3x120mm)
biggrin.gif
and MOST people consider a 360 rad to be a big rad
biggrin.gif
you can imagine what a 240 rad (H100i) looks like by removing the length of 1x120mm from the 3x120mm rad in the picture
tongue.gif


remember. buying a high quality case is a decade long commitment. so don't simply think about your current build, but future builds as well. a high quality case should last you AT LEAST 10 years if not longer. the ONLY reason to replace a well designed high quality case is you eventually got sick and tired of looking at the same case every single day for over 10 years
biggrin.gif
or your taste has changed and wanted to go with a smaller/quieter machine. it's the main reason i spent the extra $ to buy the FT02 instead of the RV02 because the elegant look on the FT02 is timeless. i doubt I'll ever get tired of looking at that case as time goes on and it's quiet enough for bedroom use when paired with a fan controller.

so.. if i were to buy another case in the future, it'll definitely be a SFF case for a HTPC. it definitely wont be because the FT02 cant accommodate whatever hardware they can build for the consumer market.
biggrin.gif
 
#23 ·
I don't know about the rv02 but the ft02 includes mounting brackets for a 240mm radiator.
 
#24 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by claes View Post

I don't know about the rv02 but the ft02 includes mounting brackets for a 240mm radiator.
they do. both FT02/RV02 uses the exact same sub-frame and include the same kit when shipped. the only major difference between the 2 is the cosmetics and that 4mm aluminum unibody on the FT02 that makes it look sooooo sexy
biggrin.gif
personally i dislike the plastic bracket they included so I consider it a "factory supplied mod" rather then a "proper" adapter solution. the bracket could have been made much better instead of those crappy plastic things IMO.
 
#26 ·
I don't think anyone can really answer this for you without owning all three cases and using the same testbed. However, the RV02 and Air 540 are probably going to be significantly better due to their high airflow fans and the single airflow path. Your best bet is to read a few comprehensive reviews yourself
smile.gif


Should also consider the Phantom line if you're into a more traditional layout. That weird GPU fan seems to do wonders.

P.S. I would sincerely wait for more reviews of the RV04 as well - anandtech seems to think it's a gem other than all of the plastic. I would not be surprised if it outperforms the RV02 in SLI setups.
 
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