Four More Sub-$100 Cases For Your Gaming Build, Reviewed

Round-ups
By Thomas Soderstrom
published

Our second group of value-oriented cases looked good in the photo preview, but we really wanted to see how they’d perform with a load of hot gaming hardware. Will these beat their predecessors in terms of quality, feature, hardware support, or value?

Enermax Ostrog GT

Stepping up just a bit to $75, the Ostrog GT facilitates twice as much room for SSDs compared to BitFenix's submission. The dual-drive cage still appears to be a tacked-on afterthought though, since it's mounted directly in the middle of the case’s bottom intake fan grille.

Surprisingly, the Ostrog GT is the only case in today’s comparison featuring eight expansion slots, which could mean that it’s the only true gaming case in the minds of some builders. We still review motherboards with sixteen-lane PCI Express slots down at the bottom and, given the double-slot coolers most enthusiast-oriented cards employ, the eighth case slot comes in handy if you want to install a card there.

Factory-equipped with two intake fans and one exhaust blower, the Ostrog GT supports two more exhaust fans on top and one more intake fan on its base. Adding a base fan requires removing the 2.5" cage, but that's not really a problem since it can be relocated elsewhere.

Lacking enough space above the motherboard to stack a radiator with those fans, you'd need to "steampunk" the top panel by mounting fans on the case's exterior (though you'd probably need to add some aftermarket grilles as well).

A lack of adapter loops makes the Ostrog GT’s cable bundle look clean. Motherboards manufactured within the last year shouldn't need any of those messy adapters, anyway. 

Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
31 Comments Comment from the forums
  • jdwii
    Why no love for coolermaster its easily the best Case company out there, i rarely even consider anything else. For just 60$ they offer one heck of a deal.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    jdwiiWhy no love for coolermaster its easily the best Case company out there, i rarely even consider anything else. For just 60$ they offer one heck of a deal.Tom's HardwareOf the 28 companies we invited to participate, 11 responded with cases they thought would give the Tom's Hardware audience the best balance between quality, features, and price. We divided the round-up into three groups based on when each of the samples arrived.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    Sorry about the double post, I can't seem to find the delete button :) Moderators?
    Reply
  • griptwister
    Wow! Looking for a new case! It's time to upgrade my Antec OneHundred windowed. it's too loud with all the fans. and the PSU. Looks like I'll be going with a Zalman MS800 for my next rig! I liked the look of the z11 better at first, but seeing what the MS 800 looks like with a few LEDs, it seems classy and sleek yet not overdone. Great review THW!
    Reply
  • slomo4sho
    Thank you for not doing a slide show for this like the other reviews.

    Also, still looking forward to a review of the Cooler Master HAF XB.
    Reply
  • dalmvern
    slomo4shoThank you for not doing a slide show for this like the other reviews. 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.
    Reply
  • nd22
    Excellent review! I like to get the best possible performance for the money I spent and it seems that these cases you reviewed are perfect for a mid-end gaming build I am planning to do! How about some exotic cases to review for us Tom? For example I would like to see a review of cooler master haf xb or fractal 304.
    Reply
  • sincreator
    It's about time Zalman sent you guys one of their budget oriented cases. I bought the Zalman Z9+ for $34.99 last year with free shipping from NCIX, and I absolutely love the case. Great quality with a huge amount of features for a case of that price. It has more features than my brothers Antec 900 surprisingly, and it probably should of been $70-80. I'm not complaining though. lol. I have recommended the MS 800 and the Zalman Z9+ to a few friends, depending on their budget. They all loved the cases and were shocked at what they got for the money. I'd love to see more reviews for Zalman's cases on Tom's.
    Reply
  • ubercake
    Ok. Where are the Tom's models?

    Inner butt cheek. Side boob. That's what's going to sell cases. :)
    Reply
  • Crashman
    ubercakeOk. Where are the Tom's models?Inner butt cheek. Side boob. That's what's going to sell cases.Sorry, all the models near this location are BBW. I don't believe that would go-over with the majority :p
    Reply