Coincidentally, the alphabetic order in which the cases are arranged coincides with lowest price first. That certainly makes a nice-looking chart, since it’s difficult for any company to come up with a 5% performance advantage to overcome its $5 price disadvantage. With the average of all cases as the 100% baseline, we can see that BitFenix’s low-cost Shinobi tops the chart by 22% over-average.

BitFenix sells the third-place performer in today's round-up, and it uses a $5 price advantage to beat the second-place performer from Enermax. That company's Ostrog GT is the only case in our comparison to include an eighth slot. I recommend the eighth slot to anyone who builds serious gaming machines and occasionally swaps motherboards, simply because some motherboards have a PCIe x16 slot at the bottom. Performance-oriented graphics cards usually need two slots.
Enermax has a few other features that help justify its $5 premium, such as the pair of intake fans that help with its second-place performance finish, along with its dedicated SSD cage (even though it appears to have been tacked onto an older chassis). But I can’t hand an award over to Enermax just yet.
Next up on the value chart is Rosewill’s R5. The R5 can hold up to three times as many SSDs as the Ostrog GT, though most enthusiast-class machines top out at two anyway. The R5 also has flapped rubber grommets covering all of its cable passages for a cleaner appearance. Its incompatibility with slightly-oversized motherboards could be an issue, however, and its performance left a little to be desired.
At the top of the performance heap, Zalman’s high-end MS800 Plus takes last place on the performance-per-dollar chart only because it falls just within our $100 limit. This is one of the cheapest high-end cases I’ve seen, so a performance-to-price comparison with mid-quality parts isn’t exactly fair. And, as much as it might be the perfect case for many of us, a perfect gaming case should at least have an eighth slot. I’m also concerned that the shape of the motherboard tray might block access to some of the SATA ports on slightly-oversized platforms, such as the previously-qualified Asus P9X79 WS. Over the years, we’ve seen several 10.5”-wide boards marketed specifically towards the mid-budget enthusiast market.

So the highest-quality case in today’s comparison, Zalaman’s MS800 Plus doesn’t win our top prize simply because it’s not specifically designed for mid-budget gamers. Enermax’s mid-market Ostrog GT has the performance and features to make it the value-oriented pick over BitFenix’s less-expensive Shinobi, so the Ostrog GT gets our "Smart Buy" award.
- Value-Oriented Cases: More Quality, Same Cash?
- BitFenix Shinobi
- Building With The Shinobi
- Enermax Ostrog GT
- Building With The Ostrog GT
- Rosewill R5
- Building With The R5
- Zalman MS800 Plus
- Building With The MS800 Plus
- Test Settings
- Temperature, Noise, and Acoustic Efficiency
- Which Of These Four Cases Takes Top Spot?
Also, still looking forward to a review of the Cooler Master HAF XB.
Apparently you were unaware of the slideshow they released last week. What Toms has done with all of these round ups was take the pictures and post them, then once they get done with their battery of tests they post the results and commentary afterward.
Inner butt cheek. Side boob. That's what's going to sell cases.
Apparently you were unaware of the slideshow they released last week. What Toms has done with all of these round ups was take the pictures and post them, then once they get done with their battery of tests they post the results and commentary afterward.
I typically ignore any article that starts with "In Pictures"
I'm guessing that the vast majority of gamers and enthusiasts run two cards or less ( with the majority of those setups single-card. ) I just think an eight slot on a budget case should only be considered a welcome addition, not a requirement.
Slot configuration really depends more on the chipset than the motherboard manufacturer. If the chipset has enough lanes for 16-8-8, you'll generally find that configuration. If Intel can't cut it for you in the mid-budget market, consider how many more lanes AMD offers
Slot configuration really depends more on the chipset than the motherboard manufacturer. If the chipset has enough lanes for 16-8-8, you'll generally find that configuration. If Intel can't cut it for you in the mid-budget market, consider how many more lanes AMD offers
Thanks for answering. In reading the conclusion, it seemed to me you were a little harsher on the lack of an eighth slot than I would have been. I can see what you mean though, under $70 you just want a solid case and don't expect frills. Once you start bumping into the $100 mark, such things should be a little more common. At $150, an eighth slot and radiator room should be mandatory.
I will admit, I don't care much for either liquid cooling or the eighth slot ( probably why I don't get why others DO give them more weight. ) I don't plan on doing liquid cooling anytime soon because air serves me just fine for less money. And even if I had the money, I'm not apt to add a second GPU, let alone a third one. I figure by the time it takes for me to save up money for a second GPU ( or am at the point where I can no longer play games at acceptable detail levels, ) I'll be almost two generations behind the current cards. In those situations I spend a little extra for a single newer card that gives me similar performance as two older cards while using less power and no micro-stuttering issues. If I needed multiple cards for compute purposes, obviously I'd do things different.
Granted, I'll admit I'm a bit odd as a "practical enthusiast."