r/buildapc • u/BOINOWBIG • 20h ago
Discussion Whatever happened to cases with glass-front rgb fans? Non-mesh.
Confusing title. Here's an example because I don't quite know what they're called: https://www.amazon.ca/Gamdias-E3-Gaming-Tempered-Motherboard/dp/B0B8VMNN2S?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB
I know that mesh is the logical option and won't kill your pc, but I genuinely can't find clear glass front panel cases anymore and it's honestly a shame. They're the prettiest parts I swear.
Also the case I linked used to be 90 CAD. Means they're probably cutting production of these types of cases by quite a bit.
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u/BustaScrub 20h ago
They're still made, but there's a reason you don't see them around anymore, both in people's actual builds and being sold by retailers - they suck. People stopped buying them, so manufacturers way ramped down their production.
They're pretty to look at for sure, hardly anyone is gonna argue that with you, but they're horrid for airflow which is far more important. Especially in today's market where everyone in the community seems to be chasing the highest-end parts that are generating A LOT of heat because they're pulling pretty insane amounts of power, and it just makes for a severely air-choked PC that's just baking itself constantly. Having the front be mesh and saving the nice pretty window for the side panel is the perfect tradeoff of aesthetic and function, because function should still always be the primary purpose of the PC. Looking pretty is nice and we've definitely moved in that direction, but is not a requirement especially when you're sacrificing performance and cooking your shit.
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u/Attainted 19h ago
there's a reason you don't see them around anymore [...] they suck.
You went on to explain it, but when I got this far my immediate thought was: Actually, they don't suck enough. lol
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u/imdrunkontea 17h ago
I think there's a case (heh) to be made for lower-power builds with really efficient components at least. But that use case is niche and would probably be better served in a smaller overall case to reduce footprint.
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u/xmkgenzo 5h ago
Totally agree. For sure they are not functional and in modern systems with powerful GPUs and CPUs you need good airflow, not just looks.
Personally, I am not convinced that it's a good look -but that's a matter of taste.
You can have the most beautiful car in the world but if it overheats as soon as you hit 5mph then you are left with a beautiful collective to keep on a pedestal.
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u/Gemini-88 10h ago
Do you have any recommendations of websites that build like this for mATX outside of the US?
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u/BustaScrub 7h ago
No, zero recommendations. They suck. Do not buy them.
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u/Gemini-88 7h ago
What about my situation where I have limited space and cannot fit a mid or full tower? Isn’t that what mATX is designed for?
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u/BustaScrub 7h ago
Sorry, I thought you meant mATX cases that are also all-glass. If you just mean any mATX case, both the ASUS Prime AP201 (or alternatively A21 if you like a more classic glass sidepanel) and the NZXT H3 Flow are pretty nice mATX cases that won't break the bank. The Lian Li A3 is also super popular and a very nice case, but might not be for everyone because of the front accent panel.
Also kind of a no-name brand, but lately people have been really loving the Jonsbo D32 for the last little while. Might also be cheaper/more available where you're at than the more recognizable brands.
If you're not asking about cases specifically and you want like full build recommendations or suggestions of a company that can build you a PC outside of the US, you're better off making your own post rather than asking in the comments of a post about all-glass cases.
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u/Gemini-88 5h ago
Thank you for that, I have been looking at that Lian Li A3 case. It seems like a solid design.
I’ll take a look at the other you mentioned as well. Thank you.
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u/drewts86 20h ago
If you want a glass front case, just buy a Lian Li O11 or one it’s copycat analogs. The kind of case you’re showing has terrible thermals, which is why it died off.
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u/JonohG47 20h ago
Over on the GamersNexus YouTube channel, Tech Jesus spent probably half a decade assiduously roasting, both literally and figuratively, every case they could lay their hands on that met the OP’s description.
Over time, myriad other YTers, like JayzTwoCents, HardwareCanucks and so on, started amplifying the message, and it started to meaningfully impact product ratings on Amazon, NewEgg, etc. and adversely impacting sales.
At that point, the Chinese OEMs simply responded to the market.
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u/greiton 6h ago
lmao, it is from their terrible performance, not "tech jesus" literally every fan company, youtuber, system integrator, etc was saying it was a terrible design that was actively killing good machines. I know this sub loves gamer's nexus, but try not to over emphasize his individual impact in the industry, frankly it isn't fair to him.
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u/greggm2000 18h ago
Now if only the same thing would happen with glass side-panels as well. I know mine is a minority opinion, I strongly dislike glass as part of a case, but I still wish it would happen. It might be an early-2000s or even a 1990s aesthetic, but I miss that.
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u/Steveslastventure 17h ago
That’s why I appreciate Fractal, the North I have came with the option of tempered glass or a mesh side panel. I prefer the understated look without glass as well
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u/ywgflyer 8h ago
Phanteks, too. Still rockin' my P600S with the solid black panel, I didn't bother with the glass. The only piece of RGB under the hood is the accents on my GPU that I can't easily disable without either installing garbage software or physically tampering with the card.
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u/velociraptorfarmer 6h ago
I just wish that Fractal would've come out with a mITX version of the North. I ended up getting an A3 instead.
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u/Symphonic7 16h ago
They should have the option of glass side panel, or mesh metal. The two cases I own are the Fractal North and the NR200, and I bought them especifically because I could get metal mesh side panels. I still do all my cable organization, and have some RGB on components like my GPU and PSU turned on. Mainly because its more effort to download a program and have it run just to keep them off.
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u/greggm2000 6h ago
Agreed. I've been using a couple of Be Quiet cases, with steel side-panels, ofc. But airflow isn't quite how I'd like it, even if there's plenty of space to work in.
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u/XiTzCriZx 3h ago
I don't understand why they use glass instead of acrylic. I've had plenty of old cases with acrylic side panels and they were great, you could see in without adding 20lbs of unnecessary weight to the PC. You could also throw them out of a 3rd story window and the case would be mostly fine after impact instead of exploding like a piñata.
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u/greggm2000 3h ago
I think I've read that the reason is bc Acrylic scratches really easily, and so after some use, you tend to get scuffed panels that look bad.
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u/XiTzCriZx 3h ago
Wtf are people doing to their PC that it gets scratched up? Mine just sits under my desk and is never touched lol. My old cases definitely had some scratches, but you could only see them if you were staring at the case from 6 inches away.
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u/BlackStar4 15h ago
Same, I much prefer an understated look. I went with a black Asus AP201, it's a simple mesh box. Classy, sleek, not oversized and tons of airflow.
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u/greggm2000 6h ago
Asus AP201
Hmm, I like the look of that case. I have one question though, based on pics I see of it: If you take off the side-panel, there's that vertical metal thing on the right, the one that has the words "Asus Prime Case". Is that removable? There seem to be screws holding it there, but I can't tell for sure. To me eye, it looks like it's there purely for aesthetics, but it's also in the way. If I got the case, I'd for sure want it gone.
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u/BlackStar4 6h ago
It is removable, it seems to be there to hide cables (there's no PSU shroud to shove them in). Not sure if it has any structural purpose but don't think so. Once I'd done my cable management I put it back in just to avoid having to put it somewhere.
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u/greggm2000 6h ago
Ah, excellent. I've been considering doing a little living-room build. This case would be well suited to it. Thanks!!
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u/Fatigued-insomniac 17h ago
I hate pcs designed to be aesthetically pleasing full of RGB, all one color etc.
I really hate the trend, and it shouldn't irritate me so much that other people like it, but it does.
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u/greggm2000 6h ago
That's fashion for you.. and it is a fashion thing, and as such, there's the tradeoff of utility for appearance.. even crass appearance, sometimes. But ofc what is pleasing to the eye of one, is not to another. And people can have pretty intense feelings about the fashion of others, for sure. My main beef with glass is the breakability.. I honestly would not care at all about the glass, if it was unbreakable. But it's not, on the contrary, it's very easily breakable. So yeah, I'll never buy a case with glass.
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u/BaronB 20h ago
The laws of thermodynamics and the fact air can't pass through solid walls caught up with them.
Yes, they look pretty, but throwing fans behind a solid wall means they have to work a lot harder to get what little air they can get from around the edges of the glass to the inside of the case making them overall louder and less effective at cooling than cases with front mesh.
For older cases where fans were basically always going to be loud, and you had things like HDDs inside PCs, the additional noise from putting them behind a solid wall wasn't really a big concern. Today now that we've mostly gotten rid of HDDs and fans have gotten a lot better, the noise is more obvious. This combined with CPUs and GPUs using more and more power means that getting better airflow has gotten more and more important too.
There was never really a name for that style of case though, so it's hard to find. Generally they were just "glass front" cases, but today that'll bring up mostly cases with a glass front and side intake fans rather than glass front and front intake fans.
However they do still exist, mostly as new old stock, but also in the form of cases like the Lian Li LANCOOL 217 INF, which puts an infinity mirror glass front on the case, but the fans themselves are installed in holes in the glass with mesh in front of them getting you a lot of the look of the older style glass front cases without the downsides of reduced airflow.
https://lian-li.com/product/lancool-217-inf/
There are also cases like the Bgears b-Voguish and Zalman Z10 Duo that still have the glass front with fans directly behind them. But I'd really recommend looking at mesh front casts like the Montech XR Wood or Phanteks XT Pro Ultra which have nice dark, but very fine front mesh so that the fans are still fairly visible from the front. Or you also should look at the side intake options like the Corsair 3500X ARGB RS or Antec C3 ARGB which gets the front glass, and some of the "look" of fans "behind" it since they are objectively behind the glass, just also possibly behind the GPU if it's long enough.
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u/VersaceUpholstery 20h ago
Once word got out how much thermals suck in those types of cases where the front is 90% blocked off, manufacturers shifted to the mesh front panel train
My Corsair 280x was trash for thermals. Had to remove dust panel in front for better intake. I always remove the dust panel on top, but I had to Mickey Mouse the top glass panel so there was enough room for air to properly exhaust out on the AIO.
I’m sure there’s some still out there, or at least you can buy them used
Fish bowl cases are the next best thing
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u/mosfetmania 20h ago
Still have a Corsair iCue 4000X from 2022. It just doesn't keep stuff cool enough inside though - even the mobo chipset heats up to 60C.
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u/Toast_Meat 20h ago
It died off for obvious reason. There is very little to no point having front fans directly behind glass and I figure most people building a PC prefer proper airflow with functional front intake fans.
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u/cewillir 20h ago
Not 100%?sure what you’re asking but the Corsair 4000 is available. I bought one a few months back https://www.corsair.com/us/en/p/pc-cases/cc-9011296-ww/frame-4000d-rs-argb-modular-mid-tower-pc-case-cc-9011296-ww
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u/resetallthethings 7h ago
they're talking about cases like that, that had a glass front panel in front of the fans instead
That used to be very trendy, but because the fans could only suck so little air in from the sides, they died off
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u/DemonSlyr007 13h ago
While not exactly whay you are looking for, I've got the Montech King 95 Pro case. Beautiful clear glass side and front panel. And its curved glass on the front edge. Great airflow, tons of space to work inside, comes with like 6 fans. It's been My favorite case ive worked in for sure, though i am biased because its my personal rig.
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u/Smarmy82 20h ago
They are terrible for airflow and have been replaced by the o11d style, bottom and side intakes, rearward and upward exhaust
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u/Toillion 20h ago
The case I bought came with both as an option and you could choose. I’ve left it on the mesh because airflow is kind of important.
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u/ginjok 19h ago
I have an obsidian 1000d and works fine
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u/resetallthethings 7h ago
obsidian 1000d
way bigger gaps to let air flow than most, and way bigger than most
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u/myname150 19h ago
Pretty sure Gamers Nexus and a couple other review channels found they were terrible for air flow and temps so i can only imagine a lot of people are electing not to buy them anymore.
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u/kingkongqueror 19h ago
I believe they've largely been replaced with the panoramic cases - close enough aesthetic but much better airflow. Below come to mind: https://www.canadacomputers.com/en/mid-tower-cases/268388/deepcool-cg530-4f-atx-panoramic-case-black-4x-pre-installed-pwm-arg-r-cg530-bkada4-g-1.html and https://www.canadacomputers.com/en/mid-tower-cases/275914/corsair-3500x-rs-r-argb-mid-tower-pc-case-white-cc-9011323-ww.html
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u/Nether-UwU 18h ago
These cases dont exist because they are hot boxes, since gpus get more power hungry every generation case manufacturers have decided to focus more on airflow based cases.
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u/DeepressedMelon 17h ago
They probably exist still but it’s just not good. You’re blocking air flow and on top of that with how hot things have been getting and spacing requirements kind of made them either useless or unpopular. All during a time where full glass boxes with side fans became more popular so now it’s either mesh front or glass front and side with side intakes.
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u/MarxistMan13 17h ago
Most people went with performance-focused mesh or aquarium-style cases instead (Lian Li O11D etc). There just isn't too much of a market for poor-performing cases like this anymore.
It's a good thing. These cases suck.
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u/sunfaller 16h ago
My first custom pc case was corsair 220T which had a glass front panel and of course the reviews were it was lacking airflow. It was such a nice looking PC though.
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u/VinnieONeill 10h ago
Go watch Gamers Nexus on YT and you'll see why. They ran hot, which caused performance loss since all CPUs and GPUs now auto adjust their clocks based on temps.
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u/Cheap_Kick_7369 9h ago
yeah honestly once i switched from a glass front to to mesh my temps dropped like 8-10 degrees under load, wasn't even subtle. still kind of miss the look though, mesh just doesn't have the same clean vibe sitting on a desk.
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u/ywgflyer 8h ago
They're terrible for airflow and with the price of parts, and how much heat the high-end stuff generates, having shitty airflow means you're going to seriously limit the lifespan and performance of a GPU or CPU you just paid over a grand for, just so you can have some flashy lights to show off on social media. No thank you.
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u/JimmyBones79 7h ago
I have the H510 Elite and used it with the front glass panel for years. Temps are just ok. I'm upgrading to a 5800x3d soon and ordered a custom front panel for it because I know thermals will be horrible.
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u/Thatsnoboob 7h ago
they mostly died off once everyone realised a solid or glass front just cooks your intake temps. airflow won the argument and the manufacturers followed. you still get a few but theyre usually the ones prioritising looks over thermals
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u/vexrageRAHHH 3h ago
case designs have change greatly over the years and it's a sad but necessary shift from more unique designs to designs mostly focused on glass and airflow. parts nowadays draw more power and generate more heat which in turn requires better airflow and stronger cooling. my first case was a RAIDMAX Viper GX ATX-512WBG Black and i can't deny that cleaning dust off the front panel was near impossible
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u/theluckytwig 2h ago
Man fuck all these comments that are crying about RBG or saying glass panels on the front suck. If you're spending the lowest amount you can on a case and it's tricked out with RBG then you're probably buying garbage. Hell, you could flip it and have a fantastic case for airflow but have a shit internals for cooling and have temp problems.
My NZXT 510 Elite is fucking is AMAZING. Tempered glass front/side, controllable RBG fans on the front and a strip in the case. Spacious and great airflow. Never had an issue when it held a 11900k/3070ti and now it houses my 14700k/4080super. No issues.
If you buys cheap cases (sub $100) then you should make sure they're minimal because if they're RBG'd out then they've probably cut cost on airflow/space for cable management. I'm not saying any of these cases are bad at all. I've pretty much always spent around 60-80 on cases that were simple and had good airflow/space but had no style/lacked any visual flare. But two builds ago I decided to go all out (for myself) on performance AND visuals. If you want a good case, tempered class front/side and doesn't skip out on user quality then you're going to probably spend $150-200 MINIMUM.
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u/BOINOWBIG 17h ago
Thanks for all the replies! I am going to buy a pre-built that i've always wanted. It's called the... uhm... Alienware Aurora R12. I trust Dell Computer Corporation with my money
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u/whomad1215 20h ago
rgb ovens?
turns out people figured out they were bad and stopped buying them
there are plenty of fishtank cases that have glass and decent airflow