I’d rather not go over $100, but I could stretch to $130. I am considering upgrading the cooler.
My configuration as is :
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/rG7v8J
Well, none of the reviewers that I follow have done anything with the CM MB311L, so I can’t say anything about it definitively. My observations looking at pics of it, it looks you’ll have to pull the entire front panel off to clean dust off of it. Which is fine, as long as there isn’t a secondary filter behind the mesh panel, which there doesn’t seem to be. It’s just going to wear on the clips holding the front panel on over time. There also aren’t any rubber grommets for helping hide cables, and cable management in the back is kinda lacking from what I can see. But, It’s a more budget case.
If you don’t care about seeing your components, I’d probably recommend the Fractal Meshify C, non-window. It’s about the same price and if you take out the redundant front filter and add the fans you already have then it’s a solid airflow case.
But if you want to stick with a mATX case, then the MB311L may be your best bet. There aren’t exactly a lot of great choices in that form factor, since it’s been all but abandoned by the market.
I understand budget cases being the way they are. My grandparents have asked me to help them put together something for my grandmother, so I may pass on my current case to them.
I’d like to be able to look at my components, so the window would be preferred.
The I’m not a big fan of the geometric shapes in the meshify series. For whatever unexplainable reason, I’ve always found them off-putting.
It’s unfortunate that that segment of the market is so neglected, but I understand it’s not really that popular.
I’d almost be tempted to get something bigger and use it when Ryzen 6000 comes out, dealing with the really weird look of an mATX board in a larger case.
If that’s the case, then you could always look at the Phanteks P300/P400 line or the Lian-Li Lancool series. Corsair also has the 4000D. There was also that Montech case that GN liked. I think it was the X3 Mesh?
If you want to go real small the Cooler master NR200 is a solid case, its a little hard to build in if you don’t plan ahead but its very minimalistic. As far as ATX goes the 4000D airflow is great I just built one (go up in the thread a bit you’ll see it), it looks great, its not that big but still has plenty of room for hardware, and of course the performance in terms of cooling is amazing.
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This is where I run into finding something I like and is readily available is incredibly difficult
The Lancool 2 mesh has been in my radar for a while. Unfortunately, it’s not readily avaliable right now, and most that do have it priced closer to $200.
The 215… I’d tear out the 200mm fans and replace them with something smaller. Not a big fan of the GIANT fans, and it isn’t designed to let the fans do their thing… unobstructed.
The minimalist approach to the IO is more then likely what would kill this for me.
It was the X3 Mesh, though I think it was more of a “it gets a pass” then a “we liked this”. A ton of corners where cut, they used a bunch of the budget with pretty meh fans, and had to include the use of molex (a connector I will die on the hill of believing needs to die).
Paul did look at it when he went to CES 2020
GN did mention it in their overview of the cases from the same show. So far as I know, none of the big channels looked at it beyond CES 2020
The smaller problem to me would be the minimilism. The significantly bigger one: it won’t fit my motherboard. Not without going out and buying a whole new motherboard.
I might give the Lian Li O11 AIR Mini a shot, see how things go.
My issue with the O11 mini (aside from an inflated price in my region) is the lack of support for a 360 Rad, if you are running a more intense CPU a 360 Rad helps (like a 12th gen Intel cheap or a higher-end AMD chip) a lot to tone it down, also from the reviews I’ve seen it has some issues with its airflow due to the size of the holes
If one front USB port makes such a big difference why not just use a hub? mount it under the desk or somewhere else more concealed, IO should not be a concern when buying a case
From my understanding, that was fixed
When I first started, yeah, I looked at Hardware Canucks for case reviews… Unfortunately, due to some of the choices that have been made, I’m not as comfortable with giving them influence with my buying decision. I’m much more inclined to give that to GN.
I’m running a 1600. Not the AF, the older 14nm version. It runs 4.1Ghz at 3.33V. If I push the voltage and some better cooling, I can do 4.125Ghz. I did it when I was up in Maine. Middle of winter, opened the window and had a cheap desk fan blowing cold air across the room at the case. With the same cooler that’s it in now, it ran AIDA64 for about 3 hours without crashing if I recall. Still got pretty warm, but it didn’t crash. Stopped it after that because of the way the cooling in the building was handled (the dorm was an old cold war era air force barracks built in the early 60s of I recall correctly), and I didn’t feel like being reasonable for freezing pipes. I know I have a golden sample, and I’m not really planning on going 6950x or whatever crazy shit they release at the bleeding edge.
Because unless I’m forced, I’m not about the dongle life. It is not for me. Besides…
My desk has two drawers that span the width of the desk. There’s nowhere to “hide” the damn thing. FYI, the legs are flush with the edges of the desktop.
Then why does any reviewer ever give it any attention?
It’s available on Newegg right now for $110. So if there have been stock and price issues and you like it, now would be a good time to jump on it.
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Because its part of the product, the same reason that every audio reviewer has to talk about the cable, you can always swap it out but you want to know what you are getting in the box, it should not be a deal-breaker.
A “dongle life” referees to people with laptops not with desktops, the whole problem with the USB C only laptops (practically the MacBooks) is that it forced you to use a dongle and take it everywhere, a case doesn’t force you to use a dongle it just a box for you motherboard and you arent taking it anywhere
Except the comparison doesn’t really work as you can’t really just swap it for different IO.
So by that logic, a desktop computer doesn’t use “dongles”. Only “hubs”. And if i don’t like how I may be using all the usb ports on the back of my computer with a more budget level motherboard, I should just replace the motherboard with one that has more USB ports, or buy a “hub” that is clearly so much different then a “dongle” because this is a desktop computer.
TL;DR in the thumbnail.
It is WORSE than the RX 580…
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That…that is actually rather impressive. I haven’t gotten to watch it yet, but if it’s worse than RX 580, which is essentially just an OC’d RX 480, then it’s worse than a 5.5 year old mid-range GPU. Again, I have to say I am actually impressed. Disgusted, but impressed.
Some of the reviews have, in certain instances, the 570 beat it.
personally i think the right move for most folks looking for an upgrade is just to wait for Nvidia to release their 4000 series (which is slated to be mid 2022), i just pick up a used 2000/3000 series
interesting…Intel has released CPU microcode with no notification or information.
Why just for Whiskey and Tiger Lake though? I mean, it could work it’s way into Rocket, Comet, Coffee, etc. later, but for it to be initially be rolling out specifically to the mobile SKU’s is odd.
those are only the CPU the updates have been spotted for…only time will tell how broad the issues are.
With these fans, I can finally go for that subtle lighting look for my rig, plus more protection for the eyes when using my PC in the dark.
Well, looks like I may be waiting even longer to upgrade my RX 570, given the reviews of the RTX 3050