Roundup: Four Gaming Cases Under $150
Table of contents
- 1. Defining The Game-System Case
- 2. Cooler Master Storm Sniper
- 3. Inside The Storm Sniper
- 4. Building With The Storm Sniper
- 5. NZXT Hades
- 6. Inside Hades
- 7. Building In Hades
- 8. Thermaltake Element V
- 9. Element V Elements
- 10. Building With The Element V
- 11. Zalman Z7 Plus
- 12. Inside The Z7 Plus
- 13. Building With The Z7 Plus
- 14. Test Settings
- 15. Test Results
- 16. Thermaltake Wins!
A seemingly never-ending stream of press releases bombards the review world with flowery language and hard-to-prove claims of superiority, often from case manufacturers maintaining that a specific model is perfect for nearly anyone’s gaming rig. In the face of all this fluffy stuff, we have to ask ourselves what really qualifies as an ATX enclosure for gaming use. Is it a combination of features? The way certain graphics cards fit? Could ventilation be the deciding factor? Portability, perhaps? Or could the term “gaming case” simply be one of those nondescript descriptors that define nothing more than a styling theme?
Flat-black paint, top-panel ports, and manual fan control are three things that all of today’s competing cases have in common. Now that we know the similar features that chassis designers believe gamers desire, here’s a short list of differences.
| Cooler Master Storm Sniper | NZXT Hades | Thermaltake Element V | Zalman Z7 Plus | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | ||||
| Height | 21.75" | 17.75" | 22.0" | 18.63" |
| Width | 10.13" | 8.50" | 8.81" | 9.0" |
| Depth | 22.50" | 21.95" | 22.25" | 19.62" |
| Space Above Motherboard | 1.75" | 1.06" | 1.82" | 1.0" |
| Card Length | 13.38" | 16.65" | 13.63" | 16.80" |
| Weight | 25.0 lbs. | 16.0 lbs. | 31.5 lbs. | 17.0 lbs. |
| Cooling | ||||
| Front Fans (alternatives) | 1 x 200mm (120mm, 140mm) | 1 x 200mm (stock only) | 2 x 120mm (stock only) | 1 x 120mm (140mm) |
| Rear Fans (alternatives) | 1x 120mm (92mm, 80mm) | 1 x120mm (80mm) | 1 x 120mm (92mm, 80mm) | 1 x 120mm (92mm, 80mm) |
| Top Fans (alternatives) | 1 x 200mm (2 x 120mm) | 1 x 140mm (2 x 140mm/120mm) | 1x 200mm (2x 200mm/120mm) | None |
| Side Fans (alternatives) | 1 x 200mm (2 x 120mm) | 1 x200mm (stock only) | 1 x 230mm (1 x 120mm) | 1 x 120mm (2 x 120mm) |
| Drive Bays | ||||
| 5.25" External | Five | Four | Five | Nine |
| 3.5" External | 1 x Adapter | None | 1 x Adapter | Combo Tray |
| 3.5" Internal | Five | 4 x Adapters (5x 5.25" internal bays) | 2 x Three-Bay Cage | Four-bay/Five-HDD cage, Combo Tray |
| 2.5" Internal | 1 x Adapter | Two-drive Tray | None | Combo Tray |
| Price | $140 | $100 | $135 | $80 |
Zalmans’ small Z7 Plus stands out as having the most external bays, though four of these are consumed by an internal 3.5” drive cage. Meanwhile, Thermaltake’s Element V actually has 11 external bays, though the bottom six are covered in groups of three. With explanations like these needed for such a simple features table, a closer examination is required for each product before testing begins.
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why are other cases such as the antec 900 not in this comparison?
Indeed, a very limited comparison.
Btw, is this a series of articles discussing cases at all price points or a stand-alone article? Please tell me it's the first option...
i love my nzxt apollo
Whats a gaming case? ;P
A gaming case should be easy to transport to a Local Lan Party and the only one that comes close is the Coolmaster, atleast they included a Handle to transport it around. The Scout by coolmaster is the closes to a prefect Gaming case with a handle that make it easy to move around. The scout needs to be a little longer and made out of a lighter material and it would be perfect. A gaming case without means of easy transportation is not a gaming system case in my book. All these cases would be better with handles.
A gaming case should be easy to transport to a Local Lan Party and the only one that comes close is the Coolmaster, atleast they included a Handle to transport it around. The Scout by coolmaster is the closes to a prefect Gaming case with a handle that make it easy to move around. The scout needs to be a little longer and made out of a lighter material and it would be perfect. A gaming case without means of easy transportation is not a gaming system case in my book. All these cases would be better with handles.
There are cases for Lan parties availible, and folks at Anandtech managed to make a tiny (micro-ATX) full blown gaming rig with high end graphics and all (even handles!). Pricey, but great.
However, I wouldn't say a gaming case needs to be the above. It has to be well cooled, sturdy, pleasing to look at (altough that's subjective) and well priced. Being portable is not something that a gaming case must have according to most people. Not having a niche feature doesn't make a case incomplete, just unsuitable for that niche.
There are cases for Lan parties availible, and folks at Anandtech managed to make a tiny (micro-ATX) full blown gaming rig with high end graphics and all (even handles!). Pricey, but great. However, I wouldn't say a gaming case needs to be the above. It has to be well cooled, sturdy, pleasing to look at (altough that's subjective) and well priced. Being portable is not something that a gaming case must have according to most people. Not having a niche feature doesn't make a case incomplete, just unsuitable for that niche.
In my opinion you're 100% right, It makes perfect sense. Thanks
So the thermaltake is the best of a bad bunch. From these reviews I don't think you should have given a recommended badge to any of them. This badge will be touted as a "must buy" with none of the caveats in the article mentioned. There are several other gaming cases that weren't considered so to recommend one without that consideration is a very narrow viewpoint.
My choice was the Xigmatek Midgard - a great all black inside case.Very spacious,ready for liquid cooling & with loads of other features.Unfortunately not everyone considers the fact in top mounted psu's,the Cpu heatsink exhaust will be sucked in the Psu by its fan.Therefore instead of having cooling air , the psu will have heated air !!! My only comment is that the 2 front Usb's are connected to only one internal connector.Would have made more sense to connect them to 2.Another consideration one has to make is the length of the PSu to Cpu power cable.In my case I had to cut it off some 2 inches from the connector on my Coolermaster silent pro & add around 5 inches more wire.Whilst this is fairly easy to do,one has to solder the wires & use heatshrink to insulate them.Checking for shorts with a meter is a must also.Otherwise one has to pass the cable across the Gpu,definetly not nice.By increasing the length ,it can now be threaded & clipped behind the M/b.
Hope this helps
Z
I think that the hades maybe the best one out of them because it's the easiest to work with, I have some pics of mine on the forums and everyone seems to like it a lot. Also this isn't the best comparison I mean where is the Cooler Master 692 advanced at its the best case for under 100 bucks by far ask anyone. Also I do have the 692 advanced and I love it, I've got triple 4850s in it and it keeps them and the 955 black edition over clocked to 3.97 38 degrees c at load. But I also have some of the more expensive cooling solutions in it.