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I'm going to be putting together a system for someone based on an AMD Ryzen 1600/1600x. He currently has a HUGE orange case that someone sold him on years ago for an old build that we are replacing. They put it down in a closed (see cramped) desk with a door but supposedly open the front when the system is being used.

I've got a Corsair 100R Silent sitting here that I know would technically work alright, but it just seems to cramped for things going in it. There is going to be an Optical, 2 HDDs, 1 SSD, video card and the 1600/1600x in this system. Not sure yet if full ATX or mATX. To quote the guy on his preference for case looks "You could build it out of cardboard, I don't care"... so there you have it. I typically stick with Corsair cases but as I said, lots of those options seem to be gone in favor of the new hotness... RGB and glass. This thing is going to be tucked into a desk and needs to stay cool first and foremost. Any recommends, I'm down to give a new brand/model a shot, nothing too pricey.. sub or near $100.

I was about to recommend NZXT as I've used a few reasonable basic cases from them in the past, but it seems they've mostly exited that market segment.

Corsair still seems to make a few no-nonsense mid-towers (e.g. the 200R). Fractal is probably worth a look too, looks like they have some full towers that are at least close to your price range if you decide you need the extra space.

Yeah, one of my go to cases for office builds used to be the NZXT Source 210 Elite case... then they pretty much left the market except for some ridiculously looking flashy cases.

The Fractal Design cases look to me like Corsair and Lian Li had a baby . The design and look of Corsair but the refinement of Lian Li. Priced in-between the two of them.

For cheap and cheery no-bulldust, I like the Cougar MX330. You can find it on sale here (Australia) for $40, or often $80 with a 500W PSU (not recommended).

There's two versions, a cheaper stamped-metal side one, and a windowed one which doubles the front I/O.

Cheap enough to leave you room for a pair of decent 120mm spinners for the front.

My previous go-to was the Corsair Carbide 500R, but they're getting a bit hard to find and long-in-the-tooth. Also a mongrel for dust.

You can, in fact, assemble a working PC in a cardboard box. Back when component compatibility and infant mortality were much worse than they are today, I used to assemble the guts of a new PC on the motherboard box, just to make certain that it would boot to the BIOS setup screen before I bolted it inside the case.

More seriously, how do you feel about the Corsair Carbide Series 200R for $64, delivered? The only strike that I see against the Carbide 100R Silent is that the maximum CPU cooler height is 150 mm, which rules out coolers as tall as the 159 mm Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo. If you're planning to go with a rear-mounted 120mm closed-loop cooler like the Corsair H60, H75 or H80i, that wouldn't be an issue.

Is Antec still a thing? They are now my ultra low budget choice, I think. I now prefer the higher end models of brands like Lian-li, Corsair, or Fractal.

JustAnEngineer wrote:

You can, in fact, assemble a working PC in a cardboard box. Back when component compatibility and infant mortality were much worse than they are today, I used to assemble the guts of a new PC on the motherboard box, just to make certain that it would boot to the BIOS setup screen before I bolted it inside the case.

More seriously, how do you feel about the Corsair Carbide Series 200R for $64, delivered? The only strike that I see against the Carbide 100R Silent is that the maximum CPU cooler height is 150 mm, which rules out coolers as tall as the 159 mm Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo. If you're planning to go with a rear-mounted 120mm closed-loop cooler like the Corsair H60, H75 or H80i, that wouldn't be an issue.

It looks like I'm going the 1500x route instead for him, the 1600 doesn't clock high enough and the 1600x without a cooler adds even more cost. He isn't doing anything special with this box, no gaming even so the 1500x is more than enough. Stock fan in this case, so no worries about the height thankfully.

You know... call me crazy (not maybe), but the 200r felt cheap. I couldn't believe it but the 200r that was newer than the 100r IIRC actually felt like they made it out of cheaper materials, and the front plastics were flat and showed imperfections. No slightly texture like all of the other Corsair cases. So I've always avoided it in favor of either the 100R is silence was needed and the CoolerMaster N200 for office builds.

I'm wondering still.. something like the 1600x, inside the N200 or the 100R, is that an acceptable pairing if using the stock HSF? It sure would be nice to have an idea of some form of TDP or total parts rating for thermal design for cases.

I hope Antec really isn't a thing. They were amazing for their light LAN Boy cases way back, but then they just got too cheap and their PSUs started to become straight junk too. Man, how times change. Antec was my go-to brand for most PC stuff, sort of like Corsair has become now.

Welch wrote:

I hope Antec really isn't a thing. They were amazing for their light LAN Boy cases way back, but then they just got too cheap and their PSUs started to become straight junk too. Man, how times change. Antec was my go-to brand for most PC stuff, sort of like Corsair has become now.

Believe it or not, I still use my old Antec SLK3700AMB mid-tower. Great case back in the day. My main rig is in a NZXT mid-tower now, but the Antec pulls duty as the home for a secondary "smoke test" and screw-around box. That system even still gets one of the ports on my KVM (but that will probably be changing soon when I build my first new gaming rig in over a decade).

I have a newer Antec mini-tower too (currently sitting unused). While the exterior looks OK cosmetically, it really is cheap crap. Sharp edges everywhere inside, and the side panels flex so much you'd almost think they were made out of the same stuff that disposable baking pans are made of.

Lian Li is awesome. Sure you pay a premium, but the quality is well worth it. I'm still using my more than 10 year old PC-V1000. The aluminum is so thick and sturdy that you can sit down on top of it and it wouldn't even flex, plus it's all nice rounded edges on the inside.

Welch wrote:

I'm wondering still.. something like the 1600x, inside the N200 or the 100R, is that an acceptable pairing if using the stock HSF? It sure would be nice to have an idea of some form of TDP or total parts rating for thermal design for cases.

Easily. You'd have to further increase the thermal output before I'd even expect it to be unable to be cooled silently. I was running a Q6600 and a fanless 4850 is a similar 2x120mm Akasa Eclipse for years and that never made a noise.

JustAnEngineer wrote:

You can, in fact, assemble a working PC in a cardboard box. Back when component compatibility and infant mortality were much worse than they are today, I used to assemble the guts of a new PC on the motherboard box, just to make certain that it would boot to the BIOS setup screen before I bolted it inside the case.

I still do this.

Glorious wrote:

JustAnEngineer wrote:

You can, in fact, assemble a working PC in a cardboard box. Back when component compatibility and infant mortality were much worse than they are today, I used to assemble the guts of a new PC on the motherboard box, just to make certain that it would boot to the BIOS setup screen before I bolted it inside the case.

I still do this.

Same here. I wouldn't do it (or a cardboard case for that matter) long-term, due to flammability concerns though. You never know when something might decide to fry, and -- while rare -- things can get hot enough to ignite cardboard.