Arc Mini R2 or Arc Midi R2?

[Sylorastus]

So I haven't ordered all of the parts for my gaming rig and I have only gotten tripped up on one thing: the case. I did some research on cases and I was originally going to go with the Corsair 500R but from what I see, a lot of people prefer Fractal Design for higher end builds. That being said, I also like the looks of the two Arc cases more than I like how the 500R looks. The only issue I have is that I can't decide between the Mini R2 and the Midi R2. They both look exactly the same so that isn't the issue, the only issue is size. I see a lot of reviews that say the Mini isn't all so "mini" and from looking at specs it seems that the Midi is only slightly bigger than the Mini as well.

The reason I have been looking into getting the Mini is that I don't have much space on my desk since it's form factor doesn't allow for super tall and bulky towers. Is there a difference between airflow in either of them seeing as the Midi is a mid tower? Or would housing my powerhouse (4790k, H100i, 280x, etc.) be just fine in the Mini? Or should I opt for the Midi since it's an ATX mid tower instead of a mATX tower like the Midi? Or maybe I'd be better off going with the 500R since they are all around the same price.

[Idrinkwhiterussians]

Honestly, the biggest concern is actually the size of your MB. If it is standard ATX, then you CANNOT use the Arc Mini. You could however use any of the cases were the MB a m-ATX.

That being said, the Arc cases are quite lovely. It does depend on where you are from, but there are probably other really nice choices (quite possibly cheaper) to go along with what you are looking at.

If you could post specs of what you have purchased, and how much you would like to spend (max) on the case, that would help anyone here make a bit more informed suggestion for you.

[Sylorastus]

I forgot to say that I haven't bought any components yet, I just know what I'm going to purchase. Here's the list:

Intel Core i7 4790K CPU
Corsair H100i AIO Water Cooler
Samsung 840 250GB SSD
G.Skill Sniper 2x8GB DDR3 2400 RAM
Radeon R9 280X GPU
EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold PSU

Any suggestions for mobo are welcome as well, I'm not going to be doing SLI or X-Fire anytime soon since I only really play WoW. For the GPU I might up it to a 290 or a 780, I'm not sure yet. Maybe the 280X will be enough for me. As far as budget, I don't really have one, but I also like get the most out of what I pay for without breaking the bank for the components. For a case, I don't think I want to spend hundreds upon hundreds of dollars but somewhere around the $100 range I feel would be sufficient unless I'm told otherwise.

[Idrinkwhiterussians]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($329.99 @ TigerDirect)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Best Buy)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-G55 SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($118.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($144.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($106.81 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Black Edition Double Dissipation Video Card ($279.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 Blackout with Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1229.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Here are the suggestions I would make. You do have some decent parts picked out, I just thought to make some notes.
1. The H100i could be switched out for the bequiet! Dark Rock 3 for $30 less and have nearly the same performance. It also looks really nice!
2. The RAM is a bit expensive. You could switch out to 1866 and not really notice a performance loss. The other thing is voltage and overclocking. 1.5/1866 will more than likely help with OC. (higher ceiling)
3. The SSD you have is a good choice, but you can save ~$20 and get the one here without change of performance.
4. Here is my suggestion for a great case at a pretty good price (it is also geared towards silence)
5. The MB here is a good piece/performance.
6. All suggestions are in keeping with a black/blue theme.

Feel free to ask any other questions!

[Sylorastus]

Thanks for the suggestions. Would the R4 really be that much better over the Mini/Midi R2s? The thing I don't really like about the R4 is that it's not as aesthetically pleasing and I don't like the "door" on the front. But if it's better than the other two I guess I can live with it.

[solvexx]

The R4 is not "better" than the ARC.
They each focus on different aspects. The Define series focuses on having the least amount of noise as possible, while the ARC series focuses on cooling and airflow configurability.

There are some people on this forum that shout Define series at every chance they get, I personally use the ARC Midi R2, and it is amazing.
They are both amazing and neither could do you any wrong, go with the one that suits your needs and aesthetic wants as neither is better than each other.

[Idrinkwhiterussians]

It is not that I am clamoring for the case, it is a simple fact that it is $10 cheaper. Either is really fine.

[Sylorastus]

Makes sense. See a $10 difference doesn't bother me much if they are both good cases. If there will not be much difference in quality, I would rather go with the Arc series in all honesty. I understand how the Define is very popular since it's silence optimized with Fractal's known quality, but silence isn't an issue for me since I usually have headphones on and don't really notice much noise at all (which at times isn't too much of a good thing). I mean I don't want the thing to be vibrating like crazy and noisy as heck, but I would rather sacrifice some noise to have better airflow and cooling.

[solvexx]

Well considering that they are both flagship cases and sell incredibly well to all walks of computer builders, you will not need to worry about quality.

[Sylorastus]

Seeing as you have the Midi R2 would you say it's a pretty big case? I was originally looking at the Mini R2 because of the size of my desk but it appears that the dimensions of the two are pretty similar with the Midi being about 30mm bigger all around.

[solvexx]

30MM is practically nothing when talking about differences between cases.
The Midi R2 is a great combination of size and practicality when it comes to Mid tower cases.
The strengths of the Midi R2 come in the large space behind the motherboard for cable routing, along with the removable/lots of combinations of HDD cages allowing for pretty much any version of cooling solution that you can think of. I've even seen a very simple mod to allow the fitting of a 360mm radiator in the top of the case.

It's an all round good case, especially for beginners who are building for the first time.

If you're looking for a size of case to desk comparison, here is a video showcasing my new PSU which features some footage of the case on top of my desk amongst my set up. Although the best option would be to measure your desk and then compare to dimensions/to the real case at your local Fractal Design retailer.

[Sylorastus]

See I've been thinking of getting the Mini R2 because it's on sale for $69.99 versus $99.99 for the Midi R2 and I've read that mATX builds are really powerful nowadays and the Mini R2 seems to have very similar specs to the Midi R2 and looks like it provides good airflow too.

[solvexx]

Sure, if you're interested in a Micro ATX build then why not grab a Mini R2.
There's a chance depending on the motherboard that there won't be enough fan headers for your cooling solution which can often be the case on Micro ATX boards, along with a smaller amount of PCI slots.

Unless you're going for quite a small form factor PC, (which in that case you should look in to Bitfenix's cases IMO) then IMO you should go for an ATX build.
All your preference though. You can't go wrong with this case, regardless of motherboard size.

[Sylorastus]

I honestly don't have much of a preference between mATX and ATX seeing as I've read mATX boards are actually pretty suped up nowadays and comparable to ATX except they have less PCI slots (which I don't plan on XFire or SLI anytime soon) and sometimes have less ram slots. I just want to have a semi future proof build that will last me a while and play WoW just fine.

[solvexx]

For motherboards there really isn't future proofing TBH.
As soon as a new generation comes out, they're obsolete anyway.

Get what ever suits your needs for the foreseeable future.

[Deleted]

Ive used this for a few computers, all good solid built.

http://www.coolermaster.com/case/mini-tower/n200/

Better with a side vent vs window so the cards get better airflow.

[DeltrusDisc]

Ive used this for a few computers, all good solid built.

http://www.coolermaster.com/case/mini-tower/n200/

Better with a side vent vs window so the cards get better airflow.

More or less a cheap ripoff of the ones that Fractal Design and Corsair make.