I just discovered that my new ASUS TUF RTX 4090 doesn't quite fit properly in the massive case from the HP Blackbird 002 that I bought in 2007 and have upgraded many times in Ship of Theseus fashion. The 4090 barely fits, but in a way that the card ends up not seating properly, resulting in mysterious random system freezes that I only really diagnosed after pulling the motherboard out and assembling the system on my desk.
So it's time for a more modern (and maybe slightly less massive) case.
The components in my system are:
Back in the day, I had a original IBM PC, and one of the things I remember is how easy it was to install new boards. The top of the case came off completely, and it was easy to make sure the boards were seated properly, since they were vertically mounted. My ideal case would be a modern ATX version of that. However, the largest horizontal ATX case I could find via Google was the Silverstone GD11, which again seems to only barely fit a 4090.
However, having plenty of room and being easy to access is more important than whether the case is horizontal or vertical.
I don't care about LEDs. Build quality is important. Price is not that much of a factor, as long as it's not ridiculous.
Other cases that have turned up in my searches include the Fractal Torrent, the Corsair 5000D and 7000D, and the Thermaltake Core X5. The Core X5 uses a horizontal orientation for the motherboard, which is a plus, but I don't really care for its aesthetics.
There don't seem to be that many cases that 5.25" optical drives these days. Having that would be a plus, but not an absolute requirement.
What would you recommend for a 4090-friendly case that prioritizes ease-of-use?
So it's time for a more modern (and maybe slightly less massive) case.
The components in my system are:
- AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
- ASUS TUF RTX 4090 OC
- ASUS Crosshair VIII Hero motherboard
- Noctua DH-15S air cooler
- Samsung 980 PRO 2TB M.2 SSD (mounted on motherboard)
- Samsung 980 EVO 2TB M.2 SSD (mounted on motherboard)
- Samsung 2.5" SATA SSD
- Western Digital 16 TB 3.5" hard drive (for backups)
- 5.25" optical CD/DVD/Blu-Ray drive
- 32GB RAM
- Seasonic Vertex GX-1200 PSU
Back in the day, I had a original IBM PC, and one of the things I remember is how easy it was to install new boards. The top of the case came off completely, and it was easy to make sure the boards were seated properly, since they were vertically mounted. My ideal case would be a modern ATX version of that. However, the largest horizontal ATX case I could find via Google was the Silverstone GD11, which again seems to only barely fit a 4090.
However, having plenty of room and being easy to access is more important than whether the case is horizontal or vertical.
I don't care about LEDs. Build quality is important. Price is not that much of a factor, as long as it's not ridiculous.
Other cases that have turned up in my searches include the Fractal Torrent, the Corsair 5000D and 7000D, and the Thermaltake Core X5. The Core X5 uses a horizontal orientation for the motherboard, which is a plus, but I don't really care for its aesthetics.
There don't seem to be that many cases that 5.25" optical drives these days. Having that would be a plus, but not an absolute requirement.
What would you recommend for a 4090-friendly case that prioritizes ease-of-use?
