why ignore the budget cases

[pc-guy]

from a practicality and build perspective, why people dont go on about the budget ones. there are plenty sub £45 cases that have good air flow, cooling capacities as well as the usual stuff like USB-C connectors or some kind of RGB controls.

people seem to go on about the cases you seem on youtube a lot - Fractal, NZXT, Corsair etc etc

- a hinged glass door with magnetic closer is great, but who opens the case on a daily basis?
- superlight carbon fiber chasis (doesn't exist btw) is awesome for computers on Spaceships but what does it add to a desk?
- sliding HDD trays or whatever sliding business is good for the initial build, might have save you a couple of curses and a few drops of sweat to get your hand around that tight bend to tuck the cables etc in, but then again, once build who goes back into the guts of the computer again and again?
- I am not a fan of glass side panels (my case does have one). I personally dont like to see the glowing inside of my PC. I dont like to see my PC at all that's why it is under my desk. so my desk is used for having useful stuff on it, like books, camera, cards, pens, etc etc. I certainly don't want to hear it either or feel the heat coming off it. so why pay a premium for a glass panel when something that is subtle can be elangant also?

just curious as seeing plenty people have glowing insides in uber expensive cases, the constant sight of that will make me go out and buy something new every 6 months. Plus all the dust inside, I will have to rip everything apart to give it a good clean ever so often!

budget cases are often functional, practical and can be good looking too obviously no frills. so why are they so often ignored?

 

[Kurgen]

glass side window is just a preference, budget cases tend to be poor quality and badly designed like the Zalman b gade case i bought the other day, rivets had been missed and the motherboard tray was buckled, which i sorted.. phanteks usually offer a solid panel on their cases as do fractal and many other brands. and in this forum you will find a lot of people go back to their computer again and again, like they would do a car, cleaning dusting, constantly changing bits, its a hobby as well as functional PC. and then there are those like you who prefer minimalistic and as long as its working im ok... either is fine.

 

[McPhee]

I think you're conflating two things here. Budget cases, and windowed cases with lights. Plenty of cheap cases have glass (or acrylic) side panels and flashy lighting. The Game Max Abyss is a prime example of that.

There are some excellent budget cases (Silverstone Fara, for example). But there's also a lot of junk. With a cheaper case, there's less money to spend on materials, so you'll tend to find more steel and less aluminium, thinner metal, more plastic. Also fewer (and lower quality) case fans.

Why are they so often ignored? Because people want the reassurance of knowing they're buying something good. So they look up reviews. The big review sites don't tend to review cheap cases. Not because they're being snobs, but because they don't pay for the products that they review. There's enough margin on a P400A for Phanteks to send a few dozen units out for review. On a £40 Zalman i3, margins are tighter. If profit is only a few pounds per unit, you aren't likely to be able to provide free review samples.

 

[pc-guy]

I don’t agree that budget cases are crap.
I am currently using a thermaltake H18 costing only £34. Ok doesn’t have USB-C ports or RGB controller or other fancy stuff and it is built out of steel. However it is perfectly fine. It is highly functional has mesh front supports 240 or 280 AIO, loads of fan positions, loads of holes for routing cables, MB tray to back panel has ample space for hiding cables away, quite decent click in HDD/SSD installation system etc. This case would have never been reviewed by any of the YouTubed as it is “budget”. But it is a decent case.

Using cheaper material doesn’t mean it is crap. Using aluminium is great but if that makes the case 3x more expensive while the functionality and features are the same then it will be down to the consumer to make a choice between what they are after.

cases are cases, I can understand crap cases will have poor ergo and things that frustrate. But again they still should hold the components in place and stand upright without falling apart right...I have not heard of a case falling apart.

 

[xb8browney]

You get what you pay for, I've had cheap cases before and moved on. Poor fitting panels etc.

 

[Jamin280672]

I don’t agree that budget cases are crap.
I am currently using a thermaltake H18 costing only £34. Ok doesn’t have USB-C ports or RGB controller or other fancy stuff and it is built out of steel. However it is perfectly fine. It is highly functional has mesh front supports 240 or 280 AIO, loads of fan positions, loads of holes for routing cables, MB tray to back panel has ample space for hiding cables away, quite decent click in HDD/SSD installation system etc. This case would have never been reviewed by any of the YouTubed as it is “budget”. But it is a decent case.

Using cheaper material doesn’t mean it is crap. Using aluminium is great but if that makes the case 3x more expensive while the functionality and features are the same then it will be down to the consumer to make a choice between what they are after.

cases are cases, I can understand crap cases will have poor ergo and things that frustrate. But again they still should hold the components in place and stand upright without falling apart right...I have not heard of a case falling apart.

I think this is the case I originally brought for my dad's build, would I be right in thinking that once you install a board in it, the board pretty much covers the cable holes ? I ended up sending it back to where I brought it from, it made cable routing a nightmare, brought another budget case instead for the same build which actually quite shocked me at how versatile it was, Sharkoon V1000 Window edition, they also make an S1000 which is the same case, different front panel, it made the build so much easier yet still a budget case.

EDIT: Sorry it was the H15 that the cable holes were being blocked off by the motherboard, made by Thermatake still, not a very thought-out design,

 

[bakes0310]

Budget cases to me is a case that's under £100. My phantek enthoo itx case fits that and think it's the best case I've had compared to my more premium £200 cases I've had in the past.

 

[McPhee]

I don’t agree that budget cases are crap.
I am currently using a thermaltake H18 costing only £34. Ok doesn’t have USB-C ports or RGB controller or other fancy stuff and it is built out of steel. However it is perfectly fine. It is highly functional has mesh front supports 240 or 280 AIO, loads of fan positions, loads of holes for routing cables, MB tray to back panel has ample space for hiding cables away, quite decent click in HDD/SSD installation system etc. This case would have never been reviewed by any of the YouTubed as it is “budget”. But it is a decent case.

Using cheaper material doesn’t mean it is crap. Using aluminium is great but if that makes the case 3x more expensive while the functionality and features are the same then it will be down to the consumer to make a choice between what they are after.

cases are cases, I can understand crap cases will have poor ergo and things that frustrate. But again they still should hold the components in place and stand upright without falling apart right...I have not heard of a case falling apart.

Cases are, primarily, an aesthetic item. So it seems odd to trivialise the importance of aesthetics in order to make your point.

Looking at the H18, I'd say you need to draw a distinction as to what you mean by "budget". It's a cheap case, but there's only one fan included, the front panel is plastic, and there's no drive cage, RGB, or any covers over the cable pass-throughs. To me, that suggests the base chassis is likely decent, with costs cut elsewhere. It's basically the polar opposite of, for example, a Game Max case, which seeks to include as many features as possible at a bare minimum price.

Are you arguing in favour of "budget" cases? Or just arguing against cases with features that you deem superfluous?

 

[pc-guy]

Are you arguing in favour of "budget" cases? Or just arguing against cases with features that you deem superfluous?

budget to me is anything below £45 mark. Not £90+

Forget superfluous features. Why don’t people go on about cases on lower end more. I do appreciate it is an aesthetic thing however many low end cases do try to copy the aesthetic of higher end case or certainly do a good imitation of it. Some of them are quite unique and good looking.

I really don’t like windows. I prefer the old school solid panels. However someone above mentioned a case brand that don’t do windows but those cases are expensive as well.

to me case adds very little to the computer in terms of performance. Long as it has the sufficient space for the cooling required and the space for fitting everything in. Then one case to another makes no difference in terms of computer Horsepower. There will be tiny bit of practicality consideration. But certainly to me doesn’t justify £150 vs £35...

 

[Haggisman]

Why do people pay £500+ to have their car painted a different colour? It doesn't make it go any faster, and in fact 99% of the time you don't even see it because you're inside!

Some people like to pay a bit extra for quality & aesthetics, it's really as simple as that.

Really, we should be thankful, otherwise we'd all be still using those plastic beige monstrosities from the 90s

 

[Relentless81]

I like choice, and there is plenty of it, be it budget or over £100 or one of those inwin jobs that cost ££££'s

However after saying that I'm extremely fussy and the perfect case does not exist

 

[ttaskmaster]

cases are cases, I can understand crap cases will have poor ergo and things that frustrate. But again they still should hold the components in place and stand upright without falling apart right...I have not heard of a case falling apart.

Haven't you?
Oh well....

Long as it has the sufficient space for the cooling required and the space for fitting everything in.

Most budget cases do not fit even that basic requirement, either for my own personal builds or for a fair few of those I've done for others.
One of the BeQuiet cases we had recently was well priced and had loads of great reviews, but realistically gave you the choice of fans or radiators... not both, which in the latter case is kinda necessary.

Besides, some cases really are just unacceptably butt-ugly. Phanteks have made some hideous ones!

 

[pc-guy]

Haven't you?

how does someone make a case fall apart? image of a summo wrestler come in mind.

I get the ugly ones and some that not practical but there are plenty decent cases at £50 or lower band that are hugely versitile and functional. many cases offer top and front radiator configuration in 240, 280 and even 360 config.

you are right that most under the £50 mark are not good, but my point is that there are some that are very good but don't seem to get as much attention. I can understand if you are putting together a 3900x or i9 and some decent looking RGB and custom waterloop then you want to show it off a bit and a premium case makes the case for that.

personally I dont look at the computer I use, i look at the monitors when I am using it. so I am aethetics is not very high on my builds - i kind of like monolithic front for simplicity none of those futuristic stuff and no lights. however I do appreciate people like these sort of things.

 

[Gray2233]

how does someone make a case fall apart? image of a summo wrestler come in mind.

I've come across some very flimsy, poorly made cases. Metal that literally bends with a little application of force, extremely brittle plastic in areas such as the front panel. Even being as careful as humanly possible I've managed to snap/damage those areas when removing them to work on the system. Standoffs in non-standard places, poor soldering on the case wiring which can result in it coming loose. Sharp edges, drive bays which wouldn't fit their respective drives without taking a Dremel to them. We're talking £10-30 no name jobs here, but I can absolutely see a poor enough 'budget' case being entirely unfit for purpose and potentially being destroyed in an attempt to make it functional.

That said, I've used plenty of £30-50 cases which were fantastic, excellent value for money and a fairly premium feel to them. It all depends on what you buy rather than the budget, there's some terrible £100 + cases out there too.

 

[ttaskmaster]

how does someone make a case fall apart? image of a summo wrestler come in mind.

As Gray said above, really.
Cheap, poorly made, not designed to industry standards meaning components don't fit and attempting to install them pushes things out of alignment.
See the recent video on JayzTwoCents, where the case twists and flexes so much it's in danger of breaking the glass side panels, and where the cable routing channels have holes that are actually too small for the case's own internal cables!

you are right that most under the £50 mark are not good, but my point is that there are some that are very good but don't seem to get as much attention.

That's how it goes, though. You could rant and complain about the latest flagship phones, or the highest trim of sports car, or the largest in a range of motor yachts, or just about anything, really. Entry level stuff always gets less focus than the top spec version.

personally I dont look at the computer I use, i look at the monitors when I am using it. so I am aethetics is not very high on my builds - i kind of like monolithic front for simplicity none of those futuristic stuff and no lights.

There's more to it than that, though.
Look at Phanteks cases - I have their mid-tier Enthoo Luxe. My friend has the top spec Primo. They're similar size, build quality is the same and they share many common features, but building a rig into mine and into his are very different exeriences. Mine is nice, but his case has loads of little aspects and options that just make it a far better project. Compare that to the Elite 430 build we did and the shortcomings are stark, despite it being a 'good' case.
A lot of what you're paying for with the high end stuff is what makes it better to actually build in, or to expand and revise things in the future.

It's not just about aesthetics, but also what the case itself can do.

 

[C64]

I don't get the rgb lights craze at all peoples setups looking like close encounters of the third kind
I disable every light going even my mouse leds it just detracts from the screen

 

[Marsman]

There are some decent budget cases, but they are few. Silverstone Fara, mentioned above, is a good example. Phanteks P300 Air, looks to be another albeit slightly more.

Friend of mine is wanting a new budget PC. I suggested something like the above for the case as they have good airflow, but he wants something a bit more snazzy looking. Cheap, good cooling and snazzy looking, don't often appear in the same case.

Which leads me to what really makes me want to rage; those cases that are designed with bling as being most important and have three fans stuck behind a glass front, with tiny slots directly to the side of the fans. How can fans suck in air efficiently, if the vents are not in front of them but at the side of them!

Zalman i3 Edge is such a case, but in the one review of that case on this site, the reviewer says it has good airflow! Fans look they are shoved right up against the glass. Non Edge is far better option with grill front, but I imagine a number of people opt for the Edge because of glass and bling!

Some of the Aerocool cases are ironic, given the brand name. Shard in particular looks terrible.

 

[ttaskmaster]

I don't get the rgb lights craze at all peoples setups looking like close encounters of the third kind
I disable every light going even my mouse leds it just detracts from the screen

I don't get the fashions worn by most people, but that's just another example of different choices and tastes.

 

[Minibiker]

I don't get the rgb lights craze at all peoples setups looking like close encounters of the third kind
I disable every light going even my mouse leds it just detracts from the screen

RGB gets extra FPS!! Thought you'd know that, you've been on here long enough

 

[Gray2233]

Some of the Aerocool cases are ironic, given the brand name. Shard in particular looks terrible.

Aerocool has a lot of junk cases, although they've a new "Aero One" line that's actually quite good, especially the M-ATX version.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Aerocool Aero One Mini Eclipse ARGB Micro- ATX Case - White Tempered Glass= £49.99

Total: £49.99 (includes shipping: £0.00)​

​

Mesh front, comes with four RGB 120mm fans (not my cup of tea, but it's easy to turn the lighting off), I'd say it's pretty good value at £50.

Review: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/aerocool-aero-one-eclipse-atx-case/