Why has every case manufacturer decided that no one wants a CDROM anymore and that all hard drives are 2.5" now. Not even the option of a CD-ROM!
It's not that hard to include a spot, and make the rack removable. There are still people out there with desktops that want the ability to rip DVD/Bluray without having to use a USB drive. I like the case but the complete lack of drives is just a non starter. I've yet to find a case that hits all the button points and includes USB-C in the front panel.
Almost zero people still use CD drives. I myself can't even remember the last time I held a CD (or DVD/etc), let alone used one. Drive bays prohibit the inclusion of far more valuable features that system builders often opt for.
You sir are someone who understands how I feel, so many great looking cases have a utter lack of a 5.25 inch bay, which immediately disqualifies it as a potential case, which is also the reason I'm still rocking a master case pro 5 (great case btw) I even went as far as to get the tempered glass side for it, tho it lacks a USB c front.
If there were enough people like you, then I'm sure they would make cases with 5.25" bays. Lian Li and others aren't going to leave money on the table.
there are 'work and play' PCs, and honestly they are just a toy.
Forget about optical media - I do have one for emergency, but that's second priority. I need 5.25" bays, and siginificant number of them to boot, for hard drive trayless caddies,I have headphone amp that is meant for 5.25", I have output panels and temp monitoring fan control also in 5.25" format.
Next, let's talk about hard drives: There are cases which give you option of mounting more than two 3.5" hard drives, they are far inbetween, but they do exist. Some even have space for... six of them. Why? Why not eight? Even older Chieftec server chassis had 6. Thermaltake - all 6. Cooler master - 6. Fractal Define? Yup, you guessed, six, with one and sole exception of XL R2, which (by some engineering fluke, I guess) has eight.
But that still doesn't matter much, since if you want to put in any radiator for anything else than single CPU, you have to remove all those HDD cages.
This goes a little bit further - There are no more cases for building modern workstation. If I want to drop 8 hard drives, dual CPU, dual GPU, watercool it for low noise that effectively forces me to buy ultra-ovesized dual-chamber ultra-gaming case, that won't even necessarily fit SSI-EEB (or even SSI-CEB, which should be standoff-compatible with EATX) board, or find super - old-school case and mod the hell out of it.
If you need a workstation-grade case, why not buy a true workstation case, e.g. from Supermicro? Those support long GPUs (AFAIR, ~340mm), big CPU coolers (NH-D15 would fit), lots of hard drives (incl. hot-swap from front panel), and there are options with 1kW redundant PSUs.
Still trucking along with my old Corsair Air 540 here, the 2x 3.5" caddies weren't ideally placed (but I'm not using it) and the right hand compartment wastes some space (they could've fit a second 2.5mm rack tbh) but the layout and the two vertical 5.25" bays still suit me well.
You are one of 12 or so people who still use optical drives, sorry to say. They are completely outdated and pretty much useless. There's no one thing you can't do faster or better through a flash drive.
My only misgivings on this case is that the CPU cooler height is just a few millimeters to short for some of the really nice offerings on the market. This makes it a case that's better suited for radiator usage rather than aircooling, just because the air cooler height is rather diminutive. You'd think 155mm should be plenty, but it's too short to even accommodate the ever common Hyper 212 EVO (159mm height).
The only choices you have left are the top-down aircoolers or c-type aircoolers to fit the 155mm or less height, but those don't particularly go well with the airflow design of the case, with drawing in fresh air from the front and exhausting it either to the top or the potential 80mm fan placements at the back.
Wish it were 160mm of cpu cooler height, just that 5mm more enables it to house really large coolers like the Thermalright Le Grand Macho (159mm height, 960g of heatsink mass), the NH-D15 (160mm height, 980g of heatsink mass) if you push the fans down 5mm below their optimal mount position, amongst many many very strong offerings. That extra 5mm really would've made a world of difference for opening up compatibility for big tower air coolers.
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rahvin - Thursday, July 12, 2018 - link
Why has every case manufacturer decided that no one wants a CDROM anymore and that all hard drives are 2.5" now. Not even the option of a CD-ROM!It's not that hard to include a spot, and make the rack removable. There are still people out there with desktops that want the ability to rip DVD/Bluray without having to use a USB drive. I like the case but the complete lack of drives is just a non starter. I've yet to find a case that hits all the button points and includes USB-C in the front panel.
inighthawki - Thursday, July 12, 2018 - link
Almost zero people still use CD drives. I myself can't even remember the last time I held a CD (or DVD/etc), let alone used one. Drive bays prohibit the inclusion of far more valuable features that system builders often opt for.Why are you against buying an external drive?
piroroadkill - Friday, July 13, 2018 - link
I still rip blurays and DVDs, so I need them for that...X1XN0B0DX1X - Thursday, July 12, 2018 - link
You sir are someone who understands how I feel, so many great looking cases have a utter lack of a 5.25 inch bay, which immediately disqualifies it as a potential case, which is also the reason I'm still rocking a master case pro 5 (great case btw) I even went as far as to get the tempered glass side for it, tho it lacks a USB c front.jordanclock - Thursday, July 12, 2018 - link
If there were enough people like you, then I'm sure they would make cases with 5.25" bays. Lian Li and others aren't going to leave money on the table.Death666Angel - Thursday, July 12, 2018 - link
Top3 comment on cases that have 5.25" bays: "Why do manufacturers insist on putting 5.25" bays into their cases, such wasted space!". :DVatharian - Friday, July 13, 2018 - link
there are 'work and play' PCs, and honestly they are just a toy.Forget about optical media - I do have one for emergency, but that's second priority. I need 5.25" bays, and siginificant number of them to boot, for hard drive trayless caddies,I have headphone amp that is meant for 5.25", I have output panels and temp monitoring fan control also in 5.25" format.
Next, let's talk about hard drives: There are cases which give you option of mounting more than two 3.5" hard drives, they are far inbetween, but they do exist. Some even have space for... six of them. Why? Why not eight? Even older Chieftec server chassis had 6. Thermaltake - all 6. Cooler master - 6. Fractal Define? Yup, you guessed, six, with one and sole exception of XL R2, which (by some engineering fluke, I guess) has eight.
But that still doesn't matter much, since if you want to put in any radiator for anything else than single CPU, you have to remove all those HDD cages.
This goes a little bit further - There are no more cases for building modern workstation. If I want to drop 8 hard drives, dual CPU, dual GPU, watercool it for low noise that effectively forces me to buy ultra-ovesized dual-chamber ultra-gaming case, that won't even necessarily fit SSI-EEB (or even SSI-CEB, which should be standoff-compatible with EATX) board, or find super - old-school case and mod the hell out of it.
bolkhov - Friday, July 13, 2018 - link
If you need a workstation-grade case, why not buy a true workstation case, e.g. from Supermicro?Those support long GPUs (AFAIR, ~340mm), big CPU coolers (NH-D15 would fit), lots of hard drives (incl. hot-swap from front panel), and there are options with 1kW redundant PSUs.
Impulses - Friday, July 13, 2018 - link
Still trucking along with my old Corsair Air 540 here, the 2x 3.5" caddies weren't ideally placed (but I'm not using it) and the right hand compartment wastes some space (they could've fit a second 2.5mm rack tbh) but the layout and the two vertical 5.25" bays still suit me well.bazampi - Friday, December 7, 2018 - link
You are one of 12 or so people who still use optical drives, sorry to say. They are completely outdated and pretty much useless. There's no one thing you can't do faster or better through a flash drive.JoeyJoJo123 - Thursday, July 12, 2018 - link
My only misgivings on this case is that the CPU cooler height is just a few millimeters to short for some of the really nice offerings on the market. This makes it a case that's better suited for radiator usage rather than aircooling, just because the air cooler height is rather diminutive. You'd think 155mm should be plenty, but it's too short to even accommodate the ever common Hyper 212 EVO (159mm height).The only choices you have left are the top-down aircoolers or c-type aircoolers to fit the 155mm or less height, but those don't particularly go well with the airflow design of the case, with drawing in fresh air from the front and exhausting it either to the top or the potential 80mm fan placements at the back.
Wish it were 160mm of cpu cooler height, just that 5mm more enables it to house really large coolers like the Thermalright Le Grand Macho (159mm height, 960g of heatsink mass), the NH-D15 (160mm height, 980g of heatsink mass) if you push the fans down 5mm below their optimal mount position, amongst many many very strong offerings. That extra 5mm really would've made a world of difference for opening up compatibility for big tower air coolers.
THUMPer1 - Saturday, July 14, 2018 - link
Scythe Ninja 4 or 5 are 155mm exact.vailr - Sunday, July 15, 2018 - link
The photos don't show the location for the PSU (actually: 2x PSU's) very well.Newegg has better photos, although it's currently OOS:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N...
vailr - Sunday, July 15, 2018 - link
Corrected Newegg link:https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N...