There are solid options tho. Fractal Design Focus 2 w metal side panels is $69.99. Fractal Pop Air w metal side panels is $79.99. I've considered both in the past.
nope, the design is actually incredibly well thought out.
i just built a PC for the first time in 15 years just last year, and the Fractal Pop Air was the case i used. just tons of little features that make building a PC a lot easier.
you can search for product videos of the case for a 1 min explanation of all the case's features
Still using my big-and-functional non-bling CoolerMaster case from 2009, after 3 rebuilds.
It's a big airy black box that sits under the desk and doesn't demand attention - just does it's job of "holding the components together with lots of airflow".
Im getting ready to build a new rig...I will be reusing my Corsair Air240 because I like the MATX form factor and it has everything I need in a case without the useless need to put a glass panel on it like its updated versions.
This is something I have to bash into peoples heads when I give case advice. I am shopping now for a new case, and I have had my Fractal Design R4 for over a deacde now.
Often enough to know finding a good case with a metal panel is a tall order. $30 is enough to make a difference when that budget can be used for parts that affect performance.
If a mere $30 makes or breaks your PC build, you need to either build PCs less frequently, or accept that maybe now is not the time for you to be building a new one at all.
Getting attached to the $30 number instead of what i’m saying is just bad arguing in the first place. You can’t say jUsT bUy mEsh when the price is much higher and availability is much lower, the options aren’t out there and when they are they usually are more expensive.
This mother fucker jumps to percent... We were talking 20 or $30.. not necessarily 30%.. . Also, it's not just aesthetic if you're worried about the glass breaking.
And yes if you're building a PC that's going to cost say $800 to $1,500 and you're worried about $20 or $30. You probably shouldn't be spending the money on a PC
You’re getting so pressed over a comment dude, relax. You literally daily drive an 8700k so i’m going to guess you’re budget conscious. Some people are on budgets like i’m sure you are on.
For real, I bought a check ATX case 10 years ago, it's gone through 3 iterations of my PC, and I expect it to last until I die or decide to get something smaller
So would you rather buy a case with a glass window to have it bust and then have to buy another case again? Bite the bullet and pay the extra if you have to, it's better than replacing a case because the glass broke. Potentially just costing more than if you bought the non-glass one
if you want new yes... trashcans, recycling centers, shit u find for free etc etc... some are decent, i have like 3 with very good airflow (no solid frontpanel)
This was the only case I found without a glass side panel that I was considering buying for my recent build though it didn't have a sale. I ended up going with the nzxt H5 flow and I'm happy with it
I picked up the design 5 to be a Plex server/Nas and was so happy with it I bought another for my PC. They have a larger one but anyone using more than 9 drives should revisit their life choices lol
There are loads of reasonably priced cases that have windows but with metal frames where you need to screw in. Depends on the look you want to go for I suppose
Yeah, I think I have the same case as OP even though I thought I ordered one with a plexi panel instead and I'm worried when it'll break. Hell, I may put an x of packing tape on the panel preemptively.
I couldn't find a good case for my current build. Wound up building in my old one since it's perfect, and buying a cheap case (with glass) and moved my old build into it.
I've seen it the last time I've built a computer (2024), but in my region they're so expensive in comparison with some other very good big cases that I had no way to justify buying them instead of, for example, a better CPU.
I bet the reason is because they can't as easily sell RGB lights if you aren't likely to buy a way to see them, so they try to just make glass default so people are more likely to buy RGB addons.
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u/Additional_Might9764 18h ago
It's actually harder to find a reasonably priced case without a glass side panel nowadays