Yes, the much coveted 5.25 bay has been a vital requirement in my latest searches as well.
After randomly* buying quality cases cheaply on sale (*:when there were really large discounts to be had) over the past decade, and now wanted to try to build something with them, I discovered that many were not quite suited for what I wanted, albeit very cheap (relatively) when I bought them, so no big loss.
But having gained a more specific knowlegde of what I actually would want to see in a computer case, I now suddenly found that the much 'needed' 5.25 bay was almost nowhere to be found, at least not if I wanted a full spacious tower with minimum 3x such bays.
After some research, I found a few models I liked, and that were not too costly, but finding them for sale proved nigh impossible.
So currently there seems to be 3 candidates that still are somewhat available.
In no particular order;
- the Fractal R2 XL has had good reviews
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Fractal-Design-Cas … Y1c18p/23261992
($166, strangely cheaper than the black one)
- then there is the Phanteks Enthoo Pro
https://www.phanteksusa.com/collections/cases … =31733951529015 (available in the US! at $89)
- and Corsair Obsidian 750D
I also really like the Cooler Master Storm Trooper, or even better the white version, but of course these are long gone from any retail channels by now.
http://us.coolermaster.com/product/Detail/cas … se/stryker.html
Of course, these are my very personal choices, and heavily influenced by the high number of external bays I want, while still enjoying a modern array of space and cooling options, so....
- Regardless, trying to be OT, I have sadly no idea where there might be some less known shops(online or otherwise) that sell old stock of the apparantly obsolete /EOL models in the US... 😐
Myself being located in Europe, it is hard to find anything older even here.
Seems like there was a 'golden age' of the big bays, starting to decline some 5-6 years ago, at least that is from when all the ('good') models I've looked at reviews for seem to hail, 2011-2014 or so.
Hence I've resorted to scouring local 'craigslist' for boxed/semi-new older models, which occationally actully pop up there.