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?

Building With The Ostrog GT

Though it doesn’t have a USB 3.0-to-USB 2.0 internal adapter, the Ostrog GT does support motherboards with inadequate fan headers by including a pair of four-pin drive connector power adapters. Hard drive rails use pins, so screw selection is reduced to the motherboard, 2.5” drives, and the power supply.

Removing the 2.5” cage from the base panel and reinstalling it in the upper hard drive cage made it possible for me to use a single power cable for my SSD and optical drive. Other builders might do the same to create room for longer power supplies, a bottom intake fan, or to simply get the cage out of the way of modular cable connectors.

Flipping the optical drive latch gets its pins out of the way, and the latch automatically re-engages when a drive is inserted. Conversely, power cable holes at the top of the tray are too small to fit the latches of an EPS12V connector, forcing me to use a 4+4 connector that splits and passes through the hole more easily.

The finished build looks flashy enough for folks who dig lighting, and getting some style without all of the flair is as easy as pushing the LED control button on the Ostrog GT’s top panel.

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