Which ATX tower is the most elite? We invited more than two dozen brands to compete. Today, Azza, In Win, Rosewill, and SilverStone (the first four to respond), face off in a battle to out-do each other in price, features, performance, and pizzazz.
The Tom’s Hardware Elite award is reserved for the very best products in their class, from graphics cards to motherboards and even complete systems. Yet, we have the easiest time crowning a component "best" when it's able to outperform the competition in a suite of smartly-chosen benchmarks. Quantifying our results means we can demonstrate why a certain choice ranks up there at the top.
It's a bit more difficult to do that for cases. The quietest examples are either hot or heavy, so they certainly don't earn the favor of gamers who want to stay somewhat mobile. And even if we restrict ourselves to full-sized cases, differences in drive capacity and the ability to support oversized motherboards are more important to some readers than others. We’ve refined our performance metric, comparing cooling to noise. But that won't help us say, definitively, for example, that a full-tower is better than a mid-tower enclosure capable of similar performance.
Sometimes it’s easier to define the negative. While we can’t say that an elite case needs to use exotic materials, we can say that it shouldn't use flimsily-thin steel sheet. We can’t say that an elite case must be silent, but we can say that it won’t be noisy. Putting this back into a positive approach, “quality everywhere” is the first priority in our search.
We didn’t specify a list of “enthusiast features” for today's story, but we will be looking for them along the way. And we didn’t limit our search to premium brands either, instead hoping that we might also find a few surprises from budget labels.

| Azza Genesis 9000 | In Win Tòu | Rosewill Blackhawk Ultra | SilverStone Fortress FT04 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | ||||
| Height | 25.9" | 23.0" | 25.0" | 21.5" |
| Width | 9.7" | 10.7" | 9.4" | 8.6" |
| Depth | 25.1" | 25.8" | 26.3" | 19.0" |
| Space Above Motherboard | 0.5" - 2.0" | 2.1" - 2.8" | 3.0" | 1.1" |
| Card Length | 14.0" - 14.7" | 15.1" | 15.6" | 13.3" |
| Weight | 34.5 Pounds | 30.3 Pounds | 36.3 Pounds | 26.1 Pounds |
| Cooling | ||||
| Front Fans (alternatives) | None (None) | 1 x 120 mm (None) | 2 x 140 mm (2 x 120 mm) | 2 x 180 mm (3 x 120 mm) |
| Rear Fans (alternatives) | 1 x 120 mm (None) | None (None) | 1 x 140 mm (1 x 120 mm) | None (1 x 120 mm) |
| Top Fans (alternatives) | 2 x 230 mm | 3 x 120 mm (None) | 2 x 230 mm (3 x 140/120 mm) | None (None) |
| Left Side (alternatives) | None (2 x 120 mm) | None (None) | 1 x 230 mm (9 x 120 mm) | None (None) |
| Right Side (alternatives) | 2 x 120 mm (+ 1 x 230 mm) | None (None) | None (1 x 120/92 mm) | None (None) |
| Drive Bays | ||||
| 5.25" External | Nine | One | Four | Two |
| 3.5" External | 1 x Adapter Bracket | None | 1 x Adapter Bracket | None |
| 3.5" Internal | Five*** | Three | 10 | Seven |
| 2.5" Internal | Five* | Two | 10* | Four |
| Card Slots | 10 | Seven | 10 | Eight |
| Noise Dampening | ||||
| Sides | None | None | None | Foam |
| Top | None | None | None | Foam |
| Front | None | None | None | Foam |
| Price | $170 | $999 | $190 | $200 |
| *Shared on 3.5" tray **w/o Center Cage ***By 5.25" Adapter Tray | ||||
Perennial provider of value-oriented products, In Win was first to look beyond its roots in search of an exhibition-worthy offering. I'd have to guess that as much as half of its lofty price is committed to replacing any parts broken during shipping, though superb packaging includes thick foam and ½” plywood box lining.
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Conversely, SilverStone attempts to add value to its flagship Fortress line by pushing a $199 to $267 price for its cast-aluminum-faced Fortress FT04.
Azza and Rosewill attempt to move upscale by making more space for multiple, oversized components. Traditional design and materials could toughen the climb to elite status, but there’s always a chance they might have perfected these features.
- What Does It Take For A Case To Be Elite?
- Azza Genesis 9000
- Inside The Genesis 9000
- Building With The Genesis 9000
- In Win Tòu
- Inside The Tòu
- Building With The Tòu
- Rosewill Blackhawk Ultra
- Inside The Blackhawk Ultra
- Building With The Blackhawk Ultra
- SilverStone Fortress FT04
- Inside The Fortress FT04
- Building With The Fortress FT04
- How We Test Our Four Elite Cases
- Heat, Noise, And Heat Vs. Noise
- Which Case Is Elite?
**go to heat and noise page and then the last page from the first page**
I really don't have the inclination to read each - and - every - page in this article based on a piece of rubbish idea. Really Tom's, what on earth possessed you to do thi...**sees the picture of the In Win Tou**
Hmmm...
**reads to the In Win Tou pages**
Wow. Ok, that case is quite the looker. Gee, that construction kinda justifies the stratospheric pricing. What a beautiful case! With some nice watercooling this case will be quiet AND cool AND cool-looking! I agree with you that this is the most elite, erm, showboat-iest case of these four!
Thanks for making your readers aware of products that they would've otherwise missed Tom's! :-)
**go to heat and noise page and then the last page from the first page**
I really don't have the inclination to read each - and - every - page in this article based on a piece of rubbish idea. Really Tom's, what on earth possessed you to do thi...**sees the picture of the In Win Tou**
Hmmm...
**reads to the In Win Tou pages**
Wow. Ok, that case is quite the looker. Gee, that construction kinda justifies the stratospheric pricing. What a beautiful case! With some nice watercooling this case will be quiet AND cool AND cool-looking! I agree with you that this is the most elite, erm, showboat-iest case of these four!
Thanks for making your readers aware of products that they would've otherwise missed Tom's! :-)
http://www.forbes.com/pictures/fkim45flf/1-dark-blade-2/
20 of the most elite
What size radiators can be fit into these cases?
With all due respect, there's a whole lot more regarding a case review, than has been covered.
However, they have almost zero bling, so I guess they might not fit this series. For me though, they're the cases I want to own right now. I don't do much showing off of my computers.
The NZXT Phantom 630 (aside from some of the angles), in my opinion, is the most practical case I've had the pleasure of working with to this point. The innards and internal case design just make sense.
'Elite' definitely doesn't mean practical.
A bit of advice ... don't feed the trolls !!
Don't bother responding to the idiots with the stupid questions, and if they follow up with more tripe then let the mods clean up for you.
You will get all worked up and then we have to come around with a bottle of Jacks and sedate you ...
A bit of advice ... don't feed the trolls !!
Don't bother responding to the idiots with the stupid questions, and if they follow up with more tripe then let the mods clean up for you.
You will get all worked up and then we have to come around with a bottle of Jacks and sedate you ...
I used to mine in the Elitist Jerks pool, until I figured out that I was too good for them...
I was scratching my head over what to call the front fan on the Win case as well ... almost like it was an afterthought.
Can't wait to see part II.
Back in the day the V1000 ... V6000 Thermaltake cases were pretty good ... huge great honking things. The 1000's were steel ... mine could have taken a 7.62 round and kept going. Reminded me of my Combi Van ... had fans everywhere. Heavy. I took to it with a bosche nibbler and improved it no end in terms of airflow.
I was wondering if they refused to participate?