Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat case at any price but not necessarily for the beginner.
Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2017
I bought this to replace an absolutely ancient mid-tower case that I am now passing on to my son for his first build. It's lighter than my old case which, apparently, is made entirely out of iron or something. I'd spent some money several years ago outfitting the old case with new fans, but even those "good quality" fans are from another era. This case comes with five fans, out of the box, and it is SILENT. I was shocked when I fired it up for the first time. I thought I'd done something wrong! So happy with that aspect of the case.
As with most computer components these days, the documentation is miserable. Just be prepared to futz with stuff a little bit before everything falls into place. I'm new to these newer styles of cases, and I really appreciate all the cable management that goes into them. Though this one apparently lacks what some have come to expect, I was so friggin' happy to be able to hide most of my cable. The inside, viewable through the sweet window, is TIGHT, as in "extremely excellent and awesome." Literally, it's very loose! I'm diggin' the window and how nice everything looks inside. I knew my motherboard had LEDs that pulsed, but now I can watch them pulse. Ooo...so mesmerizing...
Two cons. First, and this is more a function of my PSU not being modular (what can I say...I am frugal and hang on to stuff forever...), but the basement install for the PSU made it tough for me to get all my power cables to where they needed to be. Some passed through the grommets but others were a real hassle. The power cables are heavy-duty, weaved mesh, so they are a little rigid. If your PSU cables are like that, beware: getting it all just right might be a chore. The 12v cable to my motherboard (Asus Z170 Pro Gaming) had to stretch so much I couldn't find a way to get it connected. I was afraid my son would be inheriting this case! Or I'd have to buy a new PSU. But, eventually, I was able to route it over my GPU such that my GPU will NEVER move. The cable is holding it firmly in place. The rest of the PSU cable too a lot of positioning so I could get the "underside" panel back on. Particularly vexing were the power cable to the hard drive cage. And on that note...
Con number two was HDD and SSD positioning. My experience was also influenced by my PSU cables, but I think, overall, the HDD cage and associated trays in the basement compartment of the case are pretty tight, and not in the extremely-awesome way. It took quite a bit of positioning and re-positioning to get both my HDD and my SSD settled in. The various locations for SSD install are a little awkward, and I found routing cable to also be a challenge. They are located right next to grommets and thus impeded cable management. Even the SSD connector cables didn't like the odd positioning, so I sent the SSD to the basement, too.
Overall, I get everything situated so that it all worked the very first time I fired up the case. In DIY PC world, that's always a nice surprise! I can't really take away any stars in good faith since the PSU issue seems to be mine. So, regardless of being a "inexpensive" case, this case is stellar, in my opinion. I'd recommend it to anyone!