Can't choose between Fractal Design R5 or Phanteks Eclipse P400s

[Annthrax]

Hey guys was wondering if anyone has used either one of these cases and what do you recommend thanks.


https://www.amazon.com/Phanteks-PH-E...Mid+Tower+Case

https://www.amazon.com/Fractal-Desig...sign+r5+window

[Alantor]

What about the Define C? It's 90 USD and smaller than the R5, while still being ATX.

[Deleted]

I'd recommend the R5.

[Annthrax]

I'd recommend the R5.

Do you have a Fractal case yourself? Iv'e always heard good things about them and being silent. Which is what I want however the Phantek with tempered glass is looking sexy lol.

[Tommi]

I have the R5. Heavy case compared to most, but I love the ability to move the hard drive cages or remove them completely. I took out middle and DVD drive cages as I use 2 SSDs and one HDD. I like how you can have 2 ssds on the back panel hidden out of view.

Sound from fans is highly dependant on what fans you use. I don't use the built in fan controller though, I got a separate one. I have 2 120mm fans in the front spinning at 500RPM, and one 140mm at back spinning at 1100RPM. It's almost silent.

[Fascinate]

I do more research on cases than i really should be lol. This is my list

1. NZXT H440. Still best case on the market, best build quality and features for the price. Only thing missing is tempered glass.
2. Fractal Define c/c mini. They finally added a top dust filter to these models and kept the nice filter on the bottom that is removable from the front. Still good build quality, but not up to nzxt standards.
3. NZXT S340 elite. Great case for the money, but the roof isnt designed that well. For most people this is the case id recommend.
4. P400 TG. Phanteks almost nailed this one, but you cant put a radiator in the roof and has no hard drive cooling (similar to the s340). It also has poor quality included fans and phanteks overall build quality and quality assurance is behind both nzxt and fractal.
5. Fractal R5. Still a great case, but is an old design. Its far too deep of a case to be practical because of the HDD mounting system and optical drive. This case has particularly good build quality and rivals the best nzxt can do, but again to me its just outdated and wastes a lot of internal space most wont use. This case i would only truly recommend to someone if they found it on a great sale, or use it as a server where they need that much HDD storage.

[Deleted]

Do you have a Fractal case yourself? Iv'e always heard good things about them and being silent. Which is what I want however the Phantek with tempered glass is looking sexy lol.

Yeah I do, it's pretty silent.

[Denpepe]

I do more research on cases than i really should be lol. This is my list

1. NZXT H440. Still best case on the market, best build quality and features for the price. Only thing missing is tempered glass.
2. Fractal Define c/c mini. They finally added a top dust filter to these models and kept the nice filter on the bottom that is removable from the front. Still good build quality, but not up to nzxt standards.
3. NZXT S340 elite. Great case for the money, but the roof isnt designed that well. For most people this is the case id recommend.
4. P400 TG. Phanteks almost nailed this one, but you cant put a radiator in the roof and has no hard drive cooling (similar to the s340). It also has poor quality included fans and phanteks overall build quality and quality assurance is behind both nzxt and fractal.
5. Fractal R5. Still a great case, but is an old design. Its far too deep of a case to be practical because of the HDD mounting system and optical drive. This case has particularly good build quality and rivals the best nzxt can do, but again to me its just outdated and wastes a lot of internal space most wont use. This case i would only truly recommend to someone if they found it on a great sale, or use it as a server where they need that much HDD storage.

I'm also in the market for a new case, love my phanteks primo, but it is too big, thats a nice list, still looking for a case that ticks all the boxes for me but I must say that the h440 new edition does look good.

[Belize]

If you want something with tempered glass, have you thought about Mean:it cases?

Only on Newegg, but reviews are all incredibly positive.

[Deleted]

I do more research on cases than i really should be lol. This is my list

1. NZXT H440. Still best case on the market, best build quality and features for the price. Only thing missing is tempered glass.
2. Fractal Define c/c mini. They finally added a top dust filter to these models and kept the nice filter on the bottom that is removable from the front. Still good build quality, but not up to nzxt standards.
3. NZXT S340 elite. Great case for the money, but the roof isnt designed that well. For most people this is the case id recommend.
4. P400 TG. Phanteks almost nailed this one, but you cant put a radiator in the roof and has no hard drive cooling (similar to the s340). It also has poor quality included fans and phanteks overall build quality and quality assurance is behind both nzxt and fractal.
5. Fractal R5. Still a great case, but is an old design. Its far too deep of a case to be practical because of the HDD mounting system and optical drive. This case has particularly good build quality and rivals the best nzxt can do, but again to me its just outdated and wastes a lot of internal space most wont use. This case i would only truly recommend to someone if they found it on a great sale, or use it as a server where they need that much HDD storage.

I can't decide.
If money was not an issue I think I would go for the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX Tempered Glass Edition.
I don't like the look of the P400S TG. I don't dislike it but I don't love it.
NZXT H440 and S340 Elite both look really nice. Sadly no TG on the H440.
The Fractal cases also look really nice...

I'm currently using an Aerocool Xpredator which is enormous. (78L)
I don't think I need a case this big as I'm only watercooling my CPU.
I do need to fit 2 HHD's and 2 SSD's though. Do all the mentioned cases fit this?

I know you can't make this decision for me, but maybe you could make a recommendation?
Maybe I should just save up for the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX even if its €170...

[Fascinate]

I dont know how the evolv got so popular if i am honest, its incredibly overpriced and has airflow issues. (i also personally think H440 for example has better looks)

If tempered glass is a priority you only have a few choices of course, s340 elite would be my recommendation, nice compact case that can still fit a 280mm rad in the front. It also has room for 2 hdd's in the basement and spots for 3 ssd's.

Only negatives for me is the s340 should have done the roof different, and there should be a spot to put a 120mm fan below the radiator mounts to cool HDD's (i know not necessary, just preference). Otherwise its about the best you can get for a case in the 90 dollar range.

H440 is my favorite case still, but its more designed as an air cooling case in its out of the box configuration.

[Thunderball]

R5 is basically only an option for someone who wants strictly a silent PC. There is a bunch of cases who combine both sound insulation with good airflow/AIO radiator compatibility options. If you're looking for an ultimate case I'd go for Phanteks Enthoo Evolv (this case also has a tempered glass version) or Corsair 780T. Best airflow/radiator compatibility: Phanteks Enthoo Pro M - it's not a pretty case but no case in sub-$100 category comes close in airflow options. My go to overall budget options are Phanteks P400S, NZXT S340 and Corsair 400C. Corsair also has good cases optimized for silence and watercooling support, but they are over $100 and dont get a lot of attention because of it.

Overall, you need to think what's the most important for you and choose accordingly. Some design decisions can strongly affect your choice: for example I hate the build quality of the most of cheaper Corsair cases, NZXT's harddrive bay design and latticed on the side top cover designs (which most of major case makers, except for Cooler Master have used at this point).

[Deleted]

I dont know how the evolv got so popular if i am honest, its incredibly overpriced and has airflow issues. (i also personally think H440 for example has better looks)

If tempered glass is a priority you only have a few choices of course, s340 elite would be my recommendation, nice compact case that can still fit a 280mm rad in the front. It also has room for 2 hdd's in the basement and spots for 3 ssd's.

Only negatives for me is the s340 should have done the roof different, and there should be a spot to put a 120mm fan below the radiator mounts to cool HDD's (i know not necessary, just preference). Otherwise its about the best you can get for a case in the 90 dollar range.

H440 is my favorite case still, but its more designed as an air cooling case in its out of the box configuration.

The Evolv is just a matter of taste. I like the way it looks.

I've been doing more research and I'm leaning towards the P400S now. It actually looks better than I initially thought.
Where I live i can buy the P400S TG for €80 while the S340 Elite would cost me €100. H440 would be over €120.
Considering the prices I think the P400S TG is my best bet.

I thank you for your advice! It was really helpful to me.

[Shakadam]

The R5 has a pretty dated design imo, massive amounts of unnecessary HDD slots and even optical bays taking up space.
The Phanteks case is the better option, but you might also wanna look at NZXT and similar cases which have already been mentioned in this thread.

[Denpepe]

The reason I just got the R5 is because it has lot's of HDD and optical drive bays which is an issue with a lot of recent mid sized cases.

Well that and the fact that not all brands/models are readily available over here.

[Deleted]

I have a build in a define c and it's nice case to build in, but is deliberately bland imo. If low key/quiet is your thing FD are excellent cases.

The acoustic matting can be purchased seperately and any case dampened, at an additional cost of course. Ultimately noise levels are largely dictated by the ventilation available, cooler efficiency, fans used in the case and the profiles you configure them with though. I'm a noise freak and will be putting 320+240mm rads in there when I replace my GPU, presuming a waterblock will be available. As it stands I'm handling a 400w load ( both cpu and gpu oc'd)with 3 x 120mm case fans with none of the fans (CPU, GPU and case) running at over 55-60%. The fan on my 650w evga g2 psu is currently the most noticable, I'll try it fan up but if it remains noticable with the rig on water I'll swap it for a full passive.

[Lillpapps]

The R5 has a pretty dated design imo, massive amounts of unnecessary HDD slots and even optical bays taking up space.

The HDD slots are all modular and can be removed as you see fit. If you dont want HDD or optical bay space there's no reason to go for the R5 over the define S though.