Discussion - Help choosing a case (2024)

Hi all,

I've posted to the sffpc reddit a few times in the past couple of days, but I thought I'd try here for some advice. Looking for case to that will fit an asus 3070 ti TUF and ryzen 5600X (if it could handle a 5900X that'd be awesome, but definitely not a requirement). I'd also like it to get be somewhat portable (was looking at sliger and was going to go with an SM560, but I'm in Aus and didn't account for the shipping - too expensive). It would only be taken a few times a year so I don't mind it's slightly inconvenient to stuff in a backpack.

I've looked at a few cases but they don't seem to be available (FormD T1, Dan C4, Jimu D+), or too small (Dan A4).

I've come across ZS-Cases and was looking at the A4 3.2 (also looked at the OC V1 but I'm sure there are some downsides with an open case design, even though it looks cool). Other things to mention I think would be this will be my first PC build, I don't have anything against AIO other than the general anxiety that I'd mess something up having never done it, I'm mainly looking for the ability to play video games (Skyrim, Elden Ring) at 1440 p and do data science work (R Studio/python) and would like a case that will be able to accomodate future upgrades (assuming GPUs keep growing)

Any other recommendations on cases to look at or experience with ZS-Cases? Thank you in advance!

For what it's worth, I have a 5600x with a black ridge cooler (and noctua fan) in the Dan A4 and it is throttling. So now I'm looking to get another case.

I think it would be the same in the zs A4. I would advise to go slightly larger to accommodate better CPU cooling. The following cases are around 13L : sliger s610, mechanic master c26.
Or wait for the Dan H2O (11L) that starts pre-orders on February 9th.

Yep, ZS-Cases are probably a decent choice, since they seem to have shipping to Australia worked out.

Although for portability I'd go with the new ZS ST V1 as it can fit a 240mm radiator(with slim fans) without a tophat, has a smaller footprint, and an option for a PCIe 4.0 riser.

Here's a pretty neat buildlog:

pr0m3t said:

For what it's worth, I have a 5600x with a black ridge cooler (and noctua fan) in the Dan A4 and it is throttling. So now I'm looking to get another case.

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O man....its throttling with an 5600x?? I thought that'd be easy to keep cool. So would probably need a top hat/bigger size then. That's a bummer.

Gilles3000 said:

Yep, ZS-Cases are probably a decent choice, since they seem to have shipping to Australia worked out.

Although for portability I'd go with the new ZS ST V1 as it can fit a 240mm radiator(with slim fans) without a tophat, has a smaller footprint, and an option for a PCIe 4.0 riser.

Here's a pretty neat buildlog:

Click to expand...

This seems pretty cool, but I'd have to do AIO hey. Would 240 be enough to cool a 5900x? And do you reckon I'd need to waste cool the gpu as well? That post did use a 5900x but didn't mention temps and didn't watercool the gpu

For watercooling both CPU and GPU I wouldn't go any smaller than a 280mm rad at the very minimum.

The 3070 ti TUF doesn't seem to rely much on flow-through cooling, so I think you should be fine with air cooling even in a sandwich-style layout. And for cooling the CPU only, a 240mm rad would be enough.

pr0m3t said:

For watercooling both CPU and GPU I wouldn't go any smaller than a 280mm rad at the very minimum.

The 3070 ti TUF doesn't seem to rely much on flow-through cooling, so I think you should be fine with air cooling even in a sandwich-style layout. And for cooling the CPU only, a 240mm rad would be enough.

Click to expand...

And 240 mm would handle the higher end cpus as well? Sorry I don't have a reference for size of rad/fan and the cooling it can

TibialCuriosity said:

Would 240 be enough to cool a 5900x?

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yes it would, 105W at default setting is easy, and still fine if you enable PBO, just need to set a good CO to lower the voltages

thelaughingman said:

yes it would, 105W at default setting is easy, and still find if you enable PBO, just need to set a good CO to lower the voltages

Click to expand...

Thank you! One last question, do you think 120 mm would be enough for the 5900x then? I'm thinking of buying an xproto, would it just be better to get an adequate cpu cooler at that stage?

TibialCuriosity said:

do you think 120 mm would be enough for the 5900x then

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I think can, but depends on your use case also - if it's for work and 100% load the 5900X all the time then no, you'll probably lose out on some performance due to not enough thermal headroom. But if it's for gaming, normal usage (think 50-70% load) then should be fine.

TibialCuriosity said:

I'm thinking of buying an xproto

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just be aware that you'll need plenty of 90-degree adapter to make an XPROTO build looks nice, otherwise it's cable-spew at the top of the case. I have bought and would highly recommend the ZS OC v1, cables coming out the back and bottom, and you can slap on a 360 AIO and don't have to worry CPU thermals

thelaughingman said:

just be aware that you'll need plenty of 90-degree adapter to make an XPROTO build looks nice, otherwise it's cable-spew at the top of the case. I have bought and would highly recommend the ZS OC v1, cables coming out the back and bottom, and you can slap on a 360 AIO and don't have to worry CPU thermals

Click to expand...

I have looked at that as well! But couldn't find reviews on it. Does it feel high quality? Do you have any pictures you could share of your build with everything plugged in?

TibialCuriosity said:

I have looked at that as well! But couldn't find reviews on it. Does it feel high quality? Do you have any pictures you could share of your build with everything plugged in?

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It's not a mainstream release so no big influencer reviews like OT and such. For information you can look at my signature, there's a few posts about building in it, or can look at the official SFF.net forum thread