0-20k Budget Case and Cooler

Arigaytor

Arigaytor

Explorer
Any good budget cases with decent airflow around 2-3k? I'm running an i5-3570k at stock speeds with the default cooler and it sometimes shoots up in temps due to my cramped oem case, which has no ventilation or fans, I'm thinking of getting a decent looking case and maybe a budget cooler so I can make it a bit more tolerable and maybe reuse the case for an upgrade coming later this year. Could I get some suggestions? Gonna buy the case in a few hours, would like something that doesn't take a week to deliver.
 
Case - Cooler Master Elite 301 Lite could be one option - ~3.3k on amazon - https://www.amazon.in/Cooler-Master-Elite-Lite-Computer/dp/B0D6FFRJLC?th=1 - Assuming you have an m-ATX motherboard, bigger boards would not fit in this.

This case only has 1 fan preinstalled though, so eventually good to add another 1-2, if thermals are still bad.

Coolerwise - if it was me, I would decide after changing the case. Since CPU is a bit old, so might not be worth getting a new one specifically for this, since soon you might ending up upgrading and cooler might end up being incompatible depending on the future upgrade.
 
apac said:
Case - Cooler Master Elite 301 Lite could be one option - ~3.3k on amazon - https://www.amazon.in/Cooler-Master-Elite-Lite-Computer/dp/B0D6FFRJLC?th=1 - Assuming you have an m-ATX motherboard, bigger boards would not fit in this.

This case only has 1 fan preinstalled though, so eventually good to add another 1-2, if thermals are still bad.

Coolerwise - if it was me, I would decide after changing the case.
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I mean that's going a bit over budget, I was hoping to keep it under 3k to put the money towards the cooler. How much do preinstalled fans have an effect on thermals? Would going with something like budget cases with worse thermals but more fans included be a better idea?
 
In my opinion, a good case would help more than a good cooler.

And honestly since this CPU from quite an old generation, I would look for a used case / used fan / used cooler, in that order. Getting new components like case/cooler for much older gen pc doesn't make lot of sense, since it might be already starting to show it's age forcing you to upgrade eventually. Will try to give some examples from our classifieds here.
 
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apac said:
In my opinion, a good case would help more than a good cooler.

And honestly since this CPU from quite an old generation, I would look for a used case / used fan / used cooler, in that order. Getting new components like case/cooler for much older gen pc doesn't make lot of sense, since it might be already starting to show it's age forcing you to upgrade eventually. Will try to give some examples from our classifieds here.
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Like I mentioned above, it'll probably be used for an upgrade as well. Never going to put highend stuff in here, a ryzen 5 or 7 at most. No more than a 70 class card either so I don't think crazy airflow is needed.
 
Get the Deepcool AG400 to cool your CPU but don't skimp on the case. Would recommend going for the case upgrade and getting a cooler once you upgrade the CPU (as in most cases, even the stock coolers would serve your purpose)
 
Arpit Sharma said:
Get the Deepcool AG400 to cool your CPU but don't skimp on the case. Would recommend going for the case upgrade and getting a cooler once you upgrade the CPU (as in most cases, even the stock coolers would serve your purpose
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I really didn't want to spend more than that for now, 3k is all I have, maybe I can change out the case a few years down the line if necessary I don't mind but the person I'm building it for is relatively tight on budget atm. For the cooler I'm going to skimp for now as there's going to be an upgrade in a year and we can get something better then
 
Arigaytor said:
I really didn't want to spend more than that for now, 3k is all I have, maybe I can change out the case a few years down the line if necessary I don't mind but the person I'm building it for is relatively tight on budget atm. For the cooler I'm going to skimp for now as there's going to be an upgrade in a year and we can get something better then
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Get just the case (the coolermaster one linked above seems good) then with a 3 cheap fans, 2 for front intake and one for top exhaust. The cooler seems to be an unnecessary expense. What temps are you seeing? Have you tried cleaning the cooler up and reapplying thermal paste? Like I said, the stock coolers on most CPUs you want to upgrade to later will work just fine anyway.
 
Arpit Sharma said:
Get just the case (the coolermaster one linked above seems good) then with a 3 cheap fans, 2 for front intake and one for top exhaust. The cooler seems to be an unnecessary expense. What temps are you seeing? Have you tried cleaning the cooler up and reapplying thermal paste? Like I said, the stock coolers on most CPUs you want to upgrade to later will work just fine anyway.
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Stock cooler shows around 60 on idle and goes up to 85-90 when gaming and if I stress test it, it goes up to 105 (which is the tjmax) but hwinfo never shows it thermal throttling which is alright i think
 
Arigaytor said:
Stock cooler shows around 60 on idle and goes up to 85-90 when gaming and if I stress test it, it goes up to 105 (which is the tjmax) but hwinfo never shows it thermal throttling which is alright i think
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I think 105 will be thermal throttling. I don't think hwinfo separately mentions thermal throttling. You should definitely try a repaste and see if that makes a difference. Cheaper than buying a new cooler.
 
My previous suggestions still stand. Regardless, since budget is a constraint here, few options from the offers I can see right now -

- Case already suggested earlier - do not have much idea about cases below/around 2k, and think their quality might not be good for the money. Perhaps might be better to check local shops and see the cheaper options, and get something which atleast feels sturdy/has useable I/O options.
- Cooler - ~1.8k minus whatever card discount - https://www.amazon.in/Thermalright-Refined-SE-ARGB-Technology/dp/B09LHLS4V4/ - believe this is usually priced higher, and not entirely sure about seller. But has 10 day return, so can give a try, and return if it's not authentic.
- Fans if needed - ~1.3k - Antec Storm 120 3-pack - https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B09X1FS4YM?th=1
 
I believe this is the CPU that you bought from me. May I suggest going for a used cooler like hyper212x or similar? I actually have the one I was using with this system. However, if your case doesn't have any exhausts, the cooler will not be of much help.
 
Silent47Assassin said:
I believe this is the CPU that you bought from me. May I suggest going for a used cooler like hyper212x or similar? I actually have the one I was using with this system. However, if your case doesn't have any exhausts, the cooler will not be of much help.
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Hey, if you wanna sell your old cooler, I'd definitely buy it off you lol, no qualms since it was really nice last time
 
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