The Best PC Cases are AFFORDABLE

Do you actually need to spend a lot of money to get the best PC case? Well there's a brand new crop of more affordable and inexpensive cases from Phanteks, NZXT and Corsair that offer a ton of features, great airflow, good build quality and more...all for less than $100. But what are you missing out on when buying a budget gaming PC case versus a premium one?

Buy the cases in this video from Amazon:

This video is sponsored by Montech. As per Hardware Canucks guidelines, no review direction was received from manufacturer. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

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[krisanalfa]

I believe most of us don’t mind spending more on cases. The only problem here is sometimes the price can’t justify the features and the quality, like Corsair case. So I think the title should be, “stop spending money for shitty cases”.

[drewnewby]

Phanteks XT Pro Ultra, Montech Air 903 Max, Lian Li LANCOOL, and Antec Flux line keep my budget customers happy most of the time.

[travistuckerSB]

I think budget cases are better than ever - the $60 - $100 tier for mATX and ATX are great.

The bigger issue is that value is all over the place. There are $65 hits from Montech and $150 duds from Corsair.

Price alone just doesn’t tell the whole story, especially when it comes to build quality. Fractal cases are not the least expensive but always impress with details that are hard to quantify on a spec sheet.

[JesseSkwierawski]

Agree. I just built a new system and used the "old" Corsair 4000d airflow. It's only ~$70 usd with 2 fans and worked absolutely fine and looks great. I don't want multiple glass panels or the "new" side mount, extra wide PSU cases so this worked great for my build. It was a great case a year ago, it's still more than fine.

[artsy]

I will never stop overspending on any PC gear

[NathanielKempson]

I have a Corsaid 5000D Airflow. And its the best case that I have ever had. INSTANTLY fell in love with it when they first came out, it looks great, easy to build in, airflow is off the charts impressive. Tempratures are always rock solid steady aswell which the airflow is responsible for of course.

[veltriix]

Regarding that panel gap bit, I got the Fractal Torrent Compact because the glass panels have the tool-less removal but also has a screw on top to secure it for transport or if the plastic pegs break which is amazing. I wish all case makers would give us that option to secure those tool-less panels!

[bzdtemp]

To me cases with glass are just silly.
I want a case to be sturdy in case I need to move it and just overall so it doesn't get out of shape if pushed. One or more glass panels is just fragile elements with no functionality that makes the computer better, in fact normal side panels with sound insulation covering will stop more noise than a glass panel.

[craciunator]

Loving my Liani Li 216, its a little bit but very quite and effecient

[techxbd]

using Corsair Spec 02 as my Chassis for last 10 years. and i love the versatility, looks, build quality and challenges of this compact chassis that can accommodate almost everything except 360 Radiator. my next upgrade in this chassis will be a BIG RTX 4080Super or similar 3+ Slot GPU from, MSI.

[Aina_Nightfall]

Did a build in the Phanteks XT Pro last week and its solid for 79€, 2 week earlier i build i pc for a friend in a fractal pop Air and its Poop.... the glass panel has a big 2mm gap at the back and the metal is super thin and bend easy.

[ScenesByOmnic]

Over the years, I've bought from all three major PC case companies, always opting for mid cases with a focus on aesthetics and cooling, plus a windowed side, at budget-friendly prices. While Lian Li is now widely recognized, Chinese brands offer similar designs with solid quality. I recently chose a Musetex Y6 for $80 USD, which delivers excellent dual-chamber cooling, tempered glass on side/front, and great overall quality—outperforming many competitors at that price point.

I feel like if we're going to seriously talk about how people can stop "overspending, " then even sticking to name brands at this point is a bit unnecessary, as many lesser-known brands offer comparable quality and features for a fraction of the price, and their inclusion can help round out the discussion.

[Barry_YT_]

I just swept from O11D to NV5, and I love it. It’s more compact and looks more beautiful when every component are close to each others. Dual-chamber is really not that necessary as long as you are not keeping building and rebuilding your PC.

[PatJamesRicketts]

I just paid $350CAD for an OpenBenchTable to mount a $6000+ custom loop. I can wall mount but have it horizontal display style on the desk. I have the 2 thick push-pull rads blowing air towards the GPU and motherboard which does great for keeping dust off, and I can get at the entire rig for maintenance. Not having kids or jumpy pets is helpful, so for the foreseeable future I am going caseless. I like some of the open chassis designs but nothing would fit the parts I chose, so a open bench was the most versatile option, and displays all the components quite well with my metal tubing layout. There is even an expansion board for cable management and extra ports if I want to expand functionality, that would put the entire chassis closer to $500CAD, but you pay for good engineering.

[Nerdhaunt]

Hmmm, makes sense. ANYWAYS my Terra arrives in a week

[szabolcsnyiraty]

I have just bought a Montech XR for about 60 USD with 3 ARGB fans and yes, with spare clips. I strongly recommend it for review.

[tarno_bejo_]

I ve been moving to chinese 50 bucks case. I think, its sturdy enough for that price.
Well, its einarex yosemite. I think, its copy of lianli.
Its dual chamber. I think, thats the only good solution for the very bulky corsair PSU cables.

[orogin]

I was looking into getting a new case, and I was surprised how hard it is to find a good full tower without tempered glass. I want a solid side panel with preferably some sound dampening. All I can find is Antec's performance 1 silent and of course the old school Fractal Design cases, but not even the newer north series... Seems like most manufacturers don't care for it, sadly. Also, why do so many cases still put the I/O ports on top and not to the front or side of the case. Most people put their case on their desk anyway. It sucks to stand up every time I want to use my I/O

[Daisudori]

Darkflash dlx 21. The same base chassis as montech 903. Others are also using this tooling. Cheap, good case in all of the brands.

[Kmcornell]

I'm using an H6 Flow and it has been fantastic. It's just big enough to hold my XFX 7900XTX and a large CPU cooler all while providing a ton of airflow. Dual 140mm fans push fresh air right into my GPU so temps are in the low 70's while the card pulls almost 400 watts at 100% utilization. Definitely a good choice.