What do you wish your budget case has?

[el01]

Hello all!

I was thinking last night about my ideal SFF case, and this question popped up in my mind.

What features do you wish your SFF case had? I know NFC, Chimera, NCase, and DAN do a very good job with features, airflow, aesthetic, functionality, and general fit and finish, but if you don't have one of those cases due to the relatively high cost, what is your case lacking? Be it airflow, aesthetic, I/O, etc. I'm just curious.

Thanks in advance!
-el01

 

[confusis]

Free beer.

In all honesty, build quality is paramount. Sharp edges, poorly fitting panels are the worst.

Or just not fitting hardware. Just received a case that doesn't even fit the motherboard it was designed for. Ugh

 

[Solo]

Actually kind of the same as @confusis

I have never had a case where the I/O lined up properly with the I/O shield unless I mounted it in some weird way, like without one of the standoff screws or something.

 

[NateDawg72]

I had one cheap ITX case where the size of the I/O was so off I had to cut one of the corners of my I/O shield just to get it in. That case also had really flimsy panels and construction, and poor overall design. Changing a hard drive meant removing the case fans, removing the video card, and unscrewing the hard drive bay so you could actually access the drives.

 

[annasoh323]

What's the consensus cutoff price for a "budget" case? $100? $50? $30? I ask because I own two Silverstone cases, RVZ02 and SG13. Both look and function fine; no deal breakers. Do I wish the panels were maybe a bit more sturdy and tolerances be just a bit tighter? Sure, but for $70 and $40 respectively, I'm not sure exactly what I'm missing. Screw holes seem to hold up, fitments seem fine, no electrical issues as far as I can tell with the power cable or mounting point shorts (which would be horrible).

If the definition of budget is $15 with built-in power supply from an undisclosed sweat shop in a poorly-developed country called the NBox Mu1, then mercy on our souls.

 

[el01]

What's the consensus cutoff price for a "budget" case? $100? $50? $30? I ask because I own two Silverstone cases, RVZ02 and SG13. Both look and function fine; no deal breakers. Do I wish the panels were maybe a bit more sturdy and tolerances be just a bit tighter? Sure, but for $70 and $40 respectively, I'm not sure exactly what I'm missing. Screw holes seem to hold up, fitments seem fine, no electrical issues as far as I can tell with the power cable or mounting point shorts (which would be horrible).

If the definition of budget is $15 with built-in power supply from an undisclosed sweat shop in a poorly-developed country called the NBox Mu1, then mercy on our souls.

How about below $100 USD?

 

[GuilleAcoustic]

I had several cheap chassis when I started building my own PCs and then I bought a Lian-Li PC-V1200 ... Never had a cheap chassis anymore.

To be honest, I only bought Lili's since that time. Their build quality is superbe and I love the minimalist and "pure" look of their cases.

My dream chassis has a minimalist look, but is solidly built. Light weight, well vented and no front IO (ruins the minimalist aesthetic). No led is a must, I don't even connect power and hdd LEDs .

I'd dare add that I see no point in storage baies anymore with m.2 being everywhere and affordable (except for storage oriented machines).

 

[NateDawg72]

I'd dare add that I see no point in storage baies anymore with m.2 being everywhere and affordable (except for storage oriented machines).

I second this. I've found my storage needs have actually gone down the last couple years as I play less games, and I'm loving how clean things can be without 2.5" & 3.5". Very few wires for the system and no empty unused bays.

 

[el01]

I second this. I've found my storage needs have actually gone down the last couple years as I play less games, and I'm loving how clean things can be without 2.5" & 3.5". Very few wires for the system and no empty unused bays.

Well, for a user like me who plays games and wants drives but cheap, I still think they're useful. I guess it's useful to still have the option...

 

[annasoh323]

I had several cheap chassis when I started building my own PCs and then I bought a Lian-Li PC-V1200 ... Never had a cheap chassis anymore.

To be honest, I only bought Lili's since that time. Their build quality is superbe and I love the minimalist and "pure" look of their cases.

My dream chassis has a minimalist look, but is solidly built. Light weight, well vented and no front IO (ruins the minimalist aesthetic). No led is a must, I don't even connect power and hdd LEDs .

I'd dare add that I see no point in storage baies anymore with m.2 being everywhere and affordable (except for storage oriented machines).

I second this. I've found my storage needs have actually gone down the last couple years as I play less games, and I'm loving how clean things can be without 2.5" & 3.5". Very few wires for the system and no empty unused bays.

I wish I had as much restraint as you guys. On my part, I can't stop saying to myself, "But what IF I NEED x, y, or z..." Same concept while I'm packing my bags for a trip: "Yes, it's four nights away from home but I'd better pack five kits of clothing just in case I fall in the river or something..."

On storage, I was transferring my laptop 2.5" drive to give it a 2nd life in my SFF build so it stayed. I also started hoarding files so now I have a bunch of somewhat full 2.5" drives. Maybe I'll finally exercise some restraint if I get around to building an ultraportable console build... but I'll probably end up wanting an excessively large m.2 drive. Sad times.

Have the aesthetic qualities of budget cases been improving lately? I suppose something like the Node 202 has a more modern, muted look vs. the Silverstone RVZ02. Anybody have nominations for the most sophisticated-looking budget case?

 

[el01]

I wish I had as much restraint as you guys. On my part, I can't stop saying to myself, "But what IF I NEED x, y, or z..." Same concept while I'm packing my bags for a trip: "Yes, it's four nights away from home but I'd better pack five kits of clothing just in case I fall in the river or something..."

On storage, I was transferring my laptop 2.5" drive to give it a 2nd life in my SFF build so it stayed. I also started hoarding files so now I have a bunch of somewhat full 2.5" drives. Maybe I'll finally exercise some restraint if I get around to building an ultraportable console build... but I'll probably end up wanting an excessively large m.2 drive. Sad times.

Have the aesthetic qualities of budget cases been improving lately? I suppose something like the Node 202 has a more modern, muted look vs. the Silverstone RVZ02. Anybody have nominations for the most sophisticated-looking budget case?

Me in a nutshell (bookmarks, downloads, everything)

Arguably, the most sophisticated looking case is the SG13 (In my opinion), but the (EDIT: knockoff removed) arguably looks good also...

https://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=411 This is weird but cool

 

[Windfall]

Me in a nutshell (bookmarks, downloads, everything)

Arguably, the most sophisticated looking case is the SG13 (In my opinion), but the Kolink Rocket arguably looks good also...

https://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=411 This is weird but cool

The Kolink Rocket is a knockoff, pay the extra and get the Dan-A4.

 

[el01]

The Kolink Rocket is a knockoff, pay the extra and get the Dan-A4.

Oh shoot. I thought it cost less. Never mind.

Does Kolink make, like, ALL knockoffs? The Satellite kinda looks like an SG13 or probably some case I don't know about, and their other cases look really OEM.

 

[NateDawg72]

Well, for a user like me who plays games and wants drives but cheap, I still think they're useful. I guess it's useful to still have the option...

Well, I do still play games it's just that SSDs reached the point where I considered them affordable enough to replace my HDDs. I got a 1TB m.2 SSD for my system, and if necessary I have a 1tb HDD I can use externally but I haven't touched it in ages.

Fwiw, I use m.2 Sata drives because while I like SSDs, I'm cheap fast NVMe 1tb drives aren't in my budget yet.
Edit: Forgot to mention the SSDs I'd buy are reaching $0.15 per gig - $0.10 doesn't seem far away any longer!

 

[el01]

Well, I do still play games it's just that SSDs reached the point where I considered them affordable enough to replace my HDDs. I got a 1TB m.2 SSD for my system, and if necessary I have a 1tb HDD I can use externally but I haven't touched it in ages.

Fwiw, I use m.2 Sata drives because while I like SSDs, I'm cheap fast NVMe 1tb drives aren't in my budget yet.

Lol it's gonna be a long time until I get M.2. Maybe when they're dirt cheap and I can afford them with the low budgets I have now for PC hardware.

 

[Solo]

The SG13 is an absolute PILE. However not as bad as the lower end CM cases such as the Elite 110.

 

[el01]

The SG13 is an absolute PILE. However not as bad as the lower end CM cases such as the Elite 110.

I dig the high airflow a e s t h e t i c. The Elite 110 could use a simplification of the fan filter design.

 

[VegetableStu]

well price is also dependant on how quick it can be made for a set level of tolerable quality, so a lower quality material would be slightly more forgivable for a lower price tier, unless it breaks faster than a cardboard box ._.

or reduce shipping footprint and go full ikea and design the case to be DIY'd and flat-packed. maybe even shippable in regular-sized parcels.

feature wise, I can live without cable management drains or cubbles. I can definitely accept plastic over glass (I'd say that's an upgrade, LOL). I don't mind decisions that makes the case bigger but easier to manufacture. I don't mind it not having included fans (coolermaster still sells fan packs do they? o_o), or if it's cheaper to buy a case with the minimum number of fans without buying extra then sure why not.

Airflow is a must though.

Does Kolink make, like, ALL knockoffs? The Satellite kinda looks like an SG13 or probably some case I don't know about, and their other cases look really OEM.

I used to think they're just importers, but recently I found out they're one of the OEMs of noctua fans O_O

 

[annasoh323]

Well, I do still play games it's just that SSDs reached the point where I considered them affordable enough to replace my HDDs. I got a 1TB m.2 SSD for my system, and if necessary I have a 1tb HDD I can use externally but I haven't touched it in ages.

Fwiw, I use m.2 Sata drives because while I like SSDs, I'm cheap fast NVMe 1tb drives aren't in my budget yet.
Edit: Forgot to mention the SSDs I'd buy are reaching $0.15 per gig - $0.10 doesn't seem far away any longer!

Last year Prime day, I grabbed a 2
5" 2TB SSHD just for raw storage. Now that I have my drone, my 4k video footage is taking that up at an alarming rate. I'll have to evaluate what my real storage needs are, though. I'm sure I have inefficiencies all over.

The SG13 is an absolute PILE. However not as bad as the lower end CM cases such as the Elite 110.

Sorry to hear you say that: I rather liked the SG13 in the build I have it in. Is there another option like it in its size and budget class?

well price is also dependant on how quick it can be made for a set level of tolerable quality, so a lower quality material would be slightly more forgivable for a lower price tier, unless it breaks faster than a cardboard box ._.

or reduce shipping footprint and go full ikea and design the case to be DIY'd and flat-packed. maybe even shippable in regular-sized parcels.

feature wise, I can live without cable management drains or cubbles. I can definitely accept plastic over glass (I'd say that's an upgrade, LOL). I don't mind decisions that makes the case bigger but easier to manufacture. I don't mind it not having included fans (coolermaster still sells fan packs do they? o_o), or if it's cheaper to buy a case with the minimum number of fans without buying extra then sure why not.

Airflow is a must though.


I used to think they're just importers, but recently I found out they're one of the OEMs of noctua fans O_O

I suppose I can imagine a future in which Lazer3d's design philosophy takes off. I wonder if you could do it with the right tolerances while bringing the price down with a more cost effective manufacturing process? @K888D, have you given thought to the economy of scale for your brand/methods?