Is my computer case too big?

Tomaspol

Hi,
2 months ago a PC was build for me with these specs :

- PSU Power supply unit COOLER MASTER 550W
- case COOLER MASTER cm690 III
- 8GB DDR3- PC3- 12800
- SSD crucial 250gb
- Processor intel core i5- 4460- 3.2Ghz
- MSI GeForce GTX 970 GAMING 4G
- ASUS H97M Motherboard

In the begging i was being offered different case, namely cooler master n600.
I did some research and decided to change it for the cm690 iii one.
When i was collecting my PC i was surprised how big is that case !
The dimensions are :
(W x H x D) 230 x 507 x 502 mm / 9.1 x 20.0 x 19.8 inch

I like the look of it but it is massive. It looks quite big on the desk.
I am thinking now that i should have gone for the n600 one which is smaller :
207 x 455 x 520 mm / 8.1 x 17.9 x 18.9 inch

Is there any good side of that huge size case like better airflow or something or would the smaller one be as good as the bigger one?
Which one would you go for if you would be me?
The cm690 iii or n600?
Did I just buy a case which is too big for my specs and there was no need for it as i do not overclock or anything. I just play the newest games.
What are the sizes of your cases?

..Brian..

That would be standard enough for a mid sized tower. You'll usually have better air flow, better cable management options, room for more HDD etc in a bigger case. Plus more room to work around in. Tbh though if you aren't going to be opening it up and messing around inside, just pick one you like the look of.

Lu Tze

Tomaspol wrote: »

Hi,
2 months ago a PC was build for me with these specs :

- PSU Power supply unit COOLER MASTER 550W
- case COOLER MASTER cm690 III
- 8GB DDR3- PC3- 12800
- SSD crucial 250gb
- Processor intel core i5- 4460- 3.2Ghz
- MSI GeForce GTX 970 GAMING 4G
- ASUS H97M Motherboard

In the begging i was being offered different case, namely cooler master n600.
I did some research and decided to change it for the cm690 iii one.
When i was collecting my PC i was surprised how big is that case !
The dimensions are :
(W x H x D) 230 x 507 x 502 mm / 9.1 x 20.0 x 19.8 inch

I like the look of it but it is massive. It looks quite big on the desk.
I am thinking now that i should have gone for the n600 one which is smaller :
207 x 455 x 520 mm / 8.1 x 17.9 x 18.9 inch

Is there any good side of that huge size case like better airflow or something or would the smaller one be as good as the bigger one?
Which one would you go for if you would be me?
The cm690 iii or n600?
Did I just buy a case which is too big for my specs and there was no need for it as i do not overclock or anything. I just play the newest games.
What are the sizes of your cases?

i think the m in H97m indicates its a micro atx size motherboard, so if you dont have a hape of hard drives etc. you could get quite a small case if you want.

Something like these









Obviously double check the length of your graphics card etc.

duridian

Lu Tze wrote: »

i think the m in H97m indicates its a micro atx size motherboard, so if you dont have a hape of hard drives etc. you could get quite a small case if you want.

Something like these



Obviously double check the length of your graphics card etc.

Need to be careful with this too though. Some of those smaller cases are designed to take a mini-ITX motherboard which is much smaller again than a micro-ATX. The Bitfenix Prodigy pictured, that I left in the quote, for example takes such a motherboard.

shruikan2553

For asus motherboards im 90% sure that the M is micro. I have one myself and while works fine I would rather have a full size ATX and a large case. If at a later date you decided to add more RAM or change the graphics card it is a lot easier to work with a bigger case and motherboard.

duridian

shruikan2553 wrote: »

For asus motherboards im 90% sure that the M is micro. I have one myself and while works fine I would rather have a full size ATX and a large case. If at a later date you decided to add more RAM or change the graphics card it is a lot easier to work with a bigger case and motherboard.

Yeah, you guys are right about the "M" indicating a micro-ATX on Asus boards. Boards with onboard video were also traditionally indicated by a "V".

Lu Tze

duridian wrote: »

Need to be careful with this too though. Some of those smaller cases are designed to take a mini-ITX motherboard which is much smaller again than a micro-ATX. The Bitfenix Prodigy pictured, that I left in the quote, for example takes such a motherboard.

There is a micro atx version of the prodigy, been out a good while

Tomaspol

Thanks guys for your help.
Yeah - I was thinking that my case is too big and there is no real need for it but I presume when you are getting a gaming PC it is good to get big case so you can upgrade it easily in the future.
Specially when you spend loads of money for your computer and you're hoping that it will serve you for years.
On the other side when you're buying computer with some low specs for the internet browsing and movie watching only you can get some small case as it does not require a good airflow(low processor power won't overheat)and you will not be upgrading it in a future.

Venom

Tomaspol wrote: »

Thanks guys for your help.
Yeah - I was thinking that my case is too big and there is no real need for it but I presume when you are getting a gaming PC it is good to get big case so you can upgrade it easily in the future.
Specially when you spend loads of money for your computer and you're hoping that it will serve you for years.
On the other side when you're buying computer with some low specs for the internet browsing and movie watching only you can get some small case as it does not require a good airflow(low processor power won't overheat)and you will not be upgrading it in a future.

Bigger cases tend to provide much better airflow for the most part along with the ability to add more GPU's to a system and bigger CPU air coolers. Remember, a good case and power supply are the only real elements you can future proof when building a PC.

Lu Tze

Tomaspol wrote: »

Thanks guys for your help.
Yeah - I was thinking that my case is too big and there is no real need for it but I presume when you are getting a gaming PC it is good to get big case so you can upgrade it easily in the future.
Specially when you spend loads of money for your computer and you're hoping that it will serve you for years.
On the other side when you're buying computer with some low specs for the internet browsing and movie watching only you can get some small case as it does not require a good airflow(low processor power won't overheat)and you will not be upgrading it in a future.

Its not an either or to be honest, you can get decent m-atx cases as well which will dissipate heat quite well etc.

I have this
http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/cases/define-series/define-mini



Takes up to five fans, and big enough to accommodate an EVO 212 cpu cooler. Lined with sound dampening material like its bigger brothers.

Have Intel quad (3570), and an HD7970 in there no probs, very quiet decent temps.

There is always options at any size. That said you wont be getting sli/crossfire in there, but you may not have a board that supports it anyways. Its a matter of preference, pro and cons for both. I'll likely go itx next time.

Tomaspol

Lu Tze wrote: »

Its not an either or to be honest,

I do not agree with you.
You can not deny a facts that it is better to have a bigger case as :
-CPU coolers are getting massive and water cooling is also popular which requires tons of space for tubing...etc
-Video cards are getting huge, new ones released are are 10''+...some are even a 1 foot long lol
-Plus large cases are easier to build in and have more room for expansion like storage and hardware.

Components are getting bigger, better, faster, stronger.

Lu Tze

Tomaspol wrote: »

I do not agree with you.
You can not deny a facts that it is better to have a bigger case as :
-CPU coolers are getting massive and water cooling is also popular which requires tons of space for tubing...etc
-Video cards are getting huge, new ones released are are 10''+...some are even a 1 foot long lol
-Plus large cases are easier to build in and have more room for expansion like storage and hardware.

Components are getting bigger, better, faster, stronger.

It purely depends on each individuals needs - if you need 8 pci/x slots, or intend to water cool, or 15 fans, yeah sure you will need a bigger case.

If you want something portable your needs are different.

If you want something silent your needs are different.

If you dont have space available, then a corsair 900d or similar giant case isnt a wise choice.

For me, something tidy that was quiet, easily movable, with plenty of grunt suited. Plenty of spare space inside for what i need, good cable management features.

As for your "facts", you can get itx cases designed for water cooling that will fit full length graphics card, just check out the Ncase M1 (had one but never built in it) and the EVGA Hadron.

It all depends on what you need out of it

Venom

Lu Tze wrote: »

It purely depends on each individuals needs - if you need 8 pci/x slots, or intend to water cool, or 15 fans, yeah sure you will need a bigger case.

If you want something portable your needs are different.

If you want something silent your needs are different.

If you dont have space available, then a corsair 900d or similar giant case isnt a wise choice.

For me, something tidy that was quiet, easily movable, with plenty of grunt suited. Plenty of spare space inside for what i need, good cable management features.

As for your "facts", you can get itx cases designed for water cooling that will fit full length graphics card, just check out the Ncase M1 (had one but never built in it) and the EVGA Hadron.

It all depends on what you need out of it

I agree with you for the most part except case size has nothing to do with how silent a computer runs but more down to the make of fans you use. I'm running a 6 fan aircooled Haf 932 setup and it's whisper quite even under full load.

Tomaspol

Lu Tze wrote: »

It purely depends on each individuals needs - if you need 8 pci/x slots, or intend to water cool, or 15 fans, yeah sure you will need a bigger case.

If you want something portable your needs are different.

If you want something silent your needs are different.

If you dont have space available, then a corsair 900d or similar giant case isnt a wise choice.

For me, something tidy that was quiet, easily movable, with plenty of grunt suited. Plenty of spare space inside for what i need, good cable management features.

As for your "facts", you can get itx cases designed for water cooling that will fit full length graphics card, just check out the Ncase M1 (had one but never built in it) and the EVGA Hadron.

It all depends on what you need out of it

I dont need 15 fans, 8 pci/x slots and i dont intend to water cool.
I dont specifically want it portable as i dont intend to move it.
I just wanted a case which will be good enough for my specs(wont be overheating and i would be able to upgrade it in a future)
Smaller is better IF IT IS EFFICIENT and would manage above requirements
The case which i got (cooler master cm690iii) looks bigger than the average case and i was thinking is there a need for such a massive case on my desk?

My question in the first post was :
"Did i buy a case which is too big and there was no need for it?"
I see there are few different opinions here.

By the way I like the look of the Ncase M1 and the EVGA Hadron.
That kind of case would look neater on my desk rather than the mid tower massive box.

Johnboy1951

My question in the first post was :
"Did i buy a case which is too big and there was no need for it?"
I see there are few different opinions here.

There is no such thing, IMO, as a case that is too big ..... if you have the space to accommodate it.
Most of the components will be happier in a larger case.

If the physical size of the case is too much for your environment then the case is too big for you.

If you decide to reduce the size of the case then you need to choose carefully, taking regard to all the things mentioned such as air flow, particularly around hotter components, space for 'extras' like HDDs, and of course that the motherboard and graphics card will physically fit while still allowing sufficient air flow to cool them.

Redfox25

Can you put the case on the floor and you wont have to look at it?

Tomaspol

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

There is no such thing, IMO, as a case that is too big ..... if you have the space to accommodate it.
Most of the components will be happier in a larger case.

If the physical size of the case is too much for your environment then the case is too big for you.

If you decide to reduce the size of the case then you need to choose carefully, taking regard to all the things mentioned such as air flow, particularly around hotter components, space for 'extras' like HDDs, and of course that the motherboard and graphics card will physically fit while still allowing sufficient air flow to cool them.

Thanks that's a really good reply.
Good point.
Yeah i think that the case is too big for me.
When i was getting a PC case unfortunately i did not pay the attention to the size of it.
I did not look at the dimensions and just choose the one i liked the look of.
That was my first time getting a PC and i didnt realize that the cases can be so big these days. I thought it will be smaller than that.
If i could go back and get my PC again I would make sure to choose smaller case.
I dont think i will be investing again in a new case and getting rid of the old one.

Tomaspol

Redfox25 wrote: »

Can you put the case on the floor and you wont have to look at it?

Hi,
there is no room under my desk.
But i also heard that it is no good to keep the case on the floor as it gathers a lot of dust.

Redfox25

It will gster some dust alright. Im justing you could move it so your not looking at it. Longer leads and your set. All you need is the power switch which you could rrmote. Easier than switching cases. Cheaper too.
Might not be a runner in your case though

Johnboy1951

Tomaspol wrote: »

Hi,
there is no room under my desk.
But i also heard that it is no good to keep the case on the floor as it gathers a lot of dust.

Mine won't fit under the desk either ... so I moved the desk sideways and put the tower between the desk and wall .... and even use the top of it as a shelf

Tomaspol

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

use the top of it as a shelf

Good idea unless it is not blocking the airflow.

Johnboy1951

Tomaspol wrote: »

Good idea unless it is not blocking the airflow.

No vents on top or side of my case