Corsair 500D SE vs Corsair Crystal 570X RGB

[Deleted member 17413]

I was hoping for some advice on cases, I have a build in the queue atm with the 275x Airflow case, but where it was changed from a Intel build to a AMD build I have about £100 extra free in the budget, and i still have another £50/£75 i can squeeze out to add to the total.

Ive made a investment in the monitor and the build...but the case was fairly standard...so I thought maybe add some finishing touches and hopefully also get a better case so the build in general is kept in better conditions/longer life.

I was looking at these two cases, as well as the 680X RGB, but ive decided i dont really like the 680X and it also only comes with a lighting controller, so I would still need to get a Commander Pro fan/lighting controller if I want to tie everything in to iCue control so would end up being the most expensive out the three. So dismissed it.

With that said, I looked at the 500D SE (which comes with LL120 fans and a commander pro already, although not sure if it also has the temp probes that you get when you buy a ComPro separately). I would be looking at getting a single LL120 fan to add to it and then having a rear fan, two roof ones, then the H100i Plat and a single LL120 fan in the front (suck in through front, pump out through rear/top?)

OR

570X case, speak to PCS and get the 3 LL120 fans off them and have them swap out the SP120's it comes with, buy a CommPro unit and an extra LL120 and have same airflow setup as mentioned above.

To do it with the 570X, it is a little more expensive (about £30 or so by the end) but obviously more work and I would need to put the control unit in etc, but i'm confident I can do that no issues. I also have to admit, I like the look of the 570 a little more than the 500D SE.

But my main aim here is quality case, completely integrated with iCue, and i do like the 500D SE as well. So whats the best option?
More importantly, are they actually good options?

(Btw, anyone who is more familiar with setting up airflow in cases, any tips would be welcome, i'm thinking purely along the lines of what makes sense with airflow in my head, doesnt mean its how it would actually work in practice...)

 

[Deleted member 17413]

Anyone able to offer any insight/advice?

 

[SpyderTracks]

With that said, I looked at the 500D SE (which comes with LL120 fans and a commander pro already, although not sure if it also has the temp probes that you get when you buy a ComPro separately). I would be looking at getting a single LL120 fan to add to it and then having a rear fan, two roof ones, then the H100i Plat and a single LL120 fan in the front (suck in through front, pump out through rear/top?)

The 500D SE is a lovely case, but you don't need to go overboard on fans, remember the cooler has 2 fans on the radiator which would be fixed to the roof, so you wouldn't need any further fans there, just one on the rear.

Too many fans actually causes issues with airflow, doesn't improve it.

I would choose the 680x over the 570x, just a far better case imho.

 

[Deleted member 17413]

So the 500D SE would mean no need to buy any more fans or a fan/lighting controller.
Is there a reason why the radiator would be fixed to the roof rather than swapping it to the front and using those two front fans in the rear/roof?

Im really not familiar with this area, but in my head, I thought having cool air coming into the radiator at the front would provide better cooling for the CPU, rather than on the roof where its taking air thats already warmed up and passing it over the radiator as it extracts?

 

[SpyderTracks]

So the 500D SE would mean no need to buy any more fans or a fan/lighting controller.
Is there a reason why the radiator would be fixed to the roof rather than swapping it to the front and using those two front fans in the rear/roof?

Im really not familiar with this area, but in my head, I thought having cool air coming into the radiator at the front would provide better cooling for the CPU, rather than on the roof where its taking air thats already warmed up and passing it over the radiator as it extracts?

The radiator has the fans in front of it pushing air out, otherwise you're pulling air into the case which defeats the object and will overheat the CPU and everything else. Fans are a part of the radiator.

 

[Deleted member 17413]

I think im following...

So if the radiator was in the front drawing cool air in, it pumps that air into the machine but that air will have been warmed up, so i end up pumping warm air into the case.

Putting it on top means the heat from the radiator is being pumped out, even though the air its drawing across it is from inside and a bit warmer than external air, its still more effective at cooling overall?

 

[SpyderTracks]

I think im following...

So if the radiator was in the front drawing cool air in, it pumps that air into the machine but that air will have been warmed up, so i end up pumping warm air into the case.

Putting it on top means the heat from the radiator is being pumped out, even though the air its drawing across it is from inside and a bit warmer than external air, its still more effective at cooling overall?

Yes, that's it. Draw the cool air in, expel warm air out through the radiator. The surface area of the radiator is so large that the extra heat of the warmth is easily expelled.

 

[Deleted member 17413]

Thank you

 

[robin h 25]

I was looking at these two cases, as well as the 680X RGB, but ive decided i dont really like the 680X and it also only comes with a lighting controller, so I would still need to get a Commander Pro fan/lighting controller if I want to tie everything in to iCue control so would end up being the most expensive out the three. So dismissed it.

I have the 680X RGB case, it comes with a lighting controller and lighting node pro,

so there's no real need for a Commander Pro lighting controller,
unless you go for a case like this... in which 2 or more will be needed,

This is my PC here https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/threads/my-new-4k-gaming-pc.65854/ and with only the lighting node pro and lighting controller, there all linked in the iCUE software, i can still add another 2 RGB fans or RGB lighting strips that can be linked ( daisy chained ) together if i wanted, without having to get a Commander Pro controller,
I have no need for the extra 2 fans that could be added or any RGB strips
How mine is, is more than enough for me, i like RGB but i don't want to go too overboard with them.

The temperature inside my 680X case remains nice and cool.

 

[Deleted member 17413]

I was interested in the commander pro because it isnt just lighting, but controls the fans too.
My understanding is that the 680X only comes with controllers for the RGB lighting, not fans themselves. I know i can set things like fan speed in BIOS but I wanted to be able to tie it all into iCue so one interface has control over all of it.

Following Spyders advice, i'm not going to buy any extra fans, just the setup it would come with (so the three in front, and the cooler on the roof which has two) It looks a lot like the 500D SE is the easiest and cheapest option, its a case I also like (even if I like the 570X a little more) and appears to also be a well-performing case (no one has given me any negatives about it..yet).
It would arrive already setup for this...just install iCue and go from there.

Im thinking thats a good plan? I havent hit proceed on the change yet, I have a good week to properly think it over before building will start and i've learnt my lesson about rushing! (Had to completely change the build spec where I just jumped straight in at the beginning)

As reference, this is the spec currently on order:
Case
CORSAIR 275R AIRFLOW
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 3800X Eight Core CPU (3.9GHz-4.5GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X570-F GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2070 SUPER - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready!
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100i RGB PLATINUM Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Monitor
AOC AGON AG271QG 27" Gsync Gaming Monitor

I have a corsair K70 RGB MK II keyboard, to pair with it and my existing mouse (Razer Mamba - when its time to replace that I would likely look at a corsair one keeping it all in the iCue "family")
Also have 2 480Gb SSD's to go in as the general storage.

The plan would be to upgrade the M.2 to the 1Tb Firecuda as the main drive for operating system and games, but will give it a bit before I consider doing that. This is a real investment piece for me, i'm not expecting to need to make any changes for several years, but also one that is able to be upgraded rather than having to look at a complete new build. Thats also why I was looking at spending the refund from switching from intel to AMD on a better case for it, hopefully bringing it more inline with the rest of the build.

I would of been really tempted to wait till the end of the year and take advantage of the new GPU and CPU's that are due to come out, only my current system is literally on its last legs....

 

[robin h 25]

I was interested in the commander pro because it isnt just lighting, but controls the fans too.
My understanding is that the 680X only comes with controllers for the RGB lighting, not fans themselves. I know i can set things like fan speed in BIOS but I wanted to be able to tie it all into iCue so one interface has control over all of it.

Yeah.. just RGB lighting controllers with the 680X case,

But for me personally, I'd be why spend more on a commander pro to also add fan curves, when you can freely use and add custom fan curves in the BIOS, that's my way of thinking and it's what i do with my PC,
I've set a custom fan curve in the BIOS just once so far, not long after i got my PC over 7 months ago and I've not had to go back into the BIOS to change it as of yet, as temp's inside the case are nice and cool, I've done a set it and forget it with my fan curves, unless i see the temp's start to make a big change,

You could save a bit of money by not getting one and putting that money elsewhere into the PC if needs be, but if you're happy in getting a commander pro and that's what you're wanting, you're choice.

As for the rest, I'd wait for Spyder's advice, they have far better and far more knowledge than me, I just like to try help out from time to time, if i can with what limited knowledge i have.

 

[Deleted member 17413]

680X just isnt for me though, i really do prefer the 570X and the 500D SE.
I get what you are saying about just a lighting controller, which would save me some money if I went with the 570X even with changing the fans to the LL120's so the end price would be about the same as the 500D SE.

From what Spyder said though I got the impression the 500D SE performs better?

 

[Deleted member 17413]

Just noticed Spyder did say about a rear fan still... so I would need to buy a rear fan on the 500D SE....
So switching to the 500D SE would cost me about £50 extra, going with the 570X and getting the fans switched to LL120 w/lighting controller is £20 extra roughly. So I think im leaning 500D SE I dont mind the £30 if the case performs better.

 

[Scott]

The 500D SE is a better looking case and more premium. I would purchase an ML120 from Amazon for the rear of the case (extraction).

You may want to weigh up upgrading to the 3800XT as well, I certainly would in your position

 

[Deleted member 17413]

The 500D SE it is then, and the ML120 will save another £5 for me, thank you.
I really was tempted by the CPU upgrade but I really am squeezing the last of the budget here.
When looking at whether to use the refund, I tried to see which bit would I upgrade to gain the most benefit.
Thought about the M.2, CPU, adding a bulk storage drive anyway and ignoring the ones I have already etc, I figured making an improvement to the case would buy me performance in terms of temps but also lifespan, and it would be something I would reuse which is why I squeezed the last of the budget (the additional £50/£75 max).

 

[SpyderTracks]

The 500D SE it is then, and the ML120 will save another £5 for me, thank you.
I really was tempted by the CPU upgrade but I really am squeezing the last of the budget here.
When looking at whether to use the refund, I tried to see which bit would I upgrade to gain the most benefit.
Thought about the M.2, CPU, adding a bulk storage drive anyway and ignoring the ones I have already etc, I figured making an improvement to the case would buy me performance in terms of temps but also lifespan, and it would be something I would reuse which is why I squeezed the last of the budget (the additional £50/£75 max).

A good case is a really good purchase. As you say, not just for the better temps, but I've had my current case now for about 5 years, and I'll be using it for my next build as well because it's such high quality. The only thing I'm really missing out on is USBC on the front of the case, but as it stands, I still don't have anything other than my iPad which uses USBC so it's not really a concern for me yet.

The 500D SE is really a showcase case, it's not just great at thermals, but my god does it look pretty up close and personal. You won't be dissapointed. You will have to polish it fairly regularly though