TR Forums

I need help deciding a case for my new build. I can't make a decision and it is blocking me from buying the rest of the parts (mobo, psu, cpu cooler) since the case will determine which sizes I can buy.
I am stuck on finding a case which match my 2 criteria; good looking (IMO Lian-Li) and small but still functional (cooling). I don't really like windows but am not going to avoid a great case if it's my only choice (Corsair Obsidian 450D).

Since I will have this PC for the next 5 years, spending an extra $100 on the perfect case is no problem for me. I really like TR's recommendation on the windowless Corsair Obsidian 350D but find it a little large (height) and would like more 3.5'' slots (why 2 5.25''s?).

Things I am undecided about:

ATX vs micro-ATX (I don't want mini)
I feel weird about cases with internal PSUs (some Lian-Lis), seems the cooling could be an issue and I don't want to take any chances (is this unjustified?)

Things I know I want:

Great reliable cooling
At least 1 2.5'' slot (SSD)
At least 3 3.5'' slots (HTPC, NAS)
Least amount of 5.25'' slots possible (not even going to install one)
I currently have a 240mm (9.5'') GPU (GTX 560 Ti) which I would like to be able to fit

Some ones that I am looking at right now are:
SilverStone TJ08-E (http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.p ... 03&area=en)
Lian-Li PC-V358 (http://www.lian-li.com/en/dt_portfolio/pc-v358/)
Corsair Obsidian 350D

Am I missing any which I should definitely know about?

What I would love to see is a micro-ATX Lian-Li that is 15'' high with 1 5.25'', 4 3.5'' from a reliable seller (Newegg, Amazon). I am finding Lian-Li very hard to find/search, Newegg is my only merchant which directly sells them and their stock is pathetic.

If you don't want any 5¼" drives, does the super-compact 23.0L Sugo SG10 work better for you than the 30.2L Temjin TJ08-E? How do you feel about the 32.5L Fortress FT03?
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article75-page5.html

One thing to remember about 5.25" bays is they are 'universal bays' - you can put anything in them, including HDDs, fan controllers, or whatever. So you could consider cases that have 5.25" bays but fewer 3.5" bays and just use the 5.25" for HDDs.

Also, when it comes to mATX...either get something that is genuinely mATX-sized, or just get an ATX mid-tower. There isn't much point in getting a 19" deep mATX case that is just an ATX case with 3 fewer expansion slots which just makes the case a few inches shorter. The catch to the truly compact mATX cases (ones that don't just have a normal ATX case dimension) is that the build can be trickier, and you may have to be careful with component selection.

Since you like Lian Li there's this guy: http://www.lian-li.com/en/dt_portfolio/pc-a04/

But similar to what you were saying earlier, good luck finding it in North America.

I like the PS07 better than the TJ08-E. It's pretty much the same internals except you get two 120MM fans in the front instead of one 180mm. I'd avoid the 350D personally unless you really wanted to do water cooling. It's just too big and doesn't really offer that much for its size; an extra 2 inches in height and length and you can get the 450D.

There's the Cooler Master N200 that might be good for you (pretty good deal on newegg right now, too). In that same vein, Cooler Master has a Silencio 352 that they just refuse to release in North America at the moment, so if you liked that better you could hold out I suppose. It's the same internals as the N200 but more focused on sound dampening.

It's kind of a long case (only ~15in tall though) but the Fractal Design Arc Mini isn't a bad choice and they just announced an updated Core series. Check out the Core 1500 as well but I don't know when the 1500 will get to the retail channel (probably shortly after Computex but you never know).