Three Gaming Cases, With Power, Under $100

Sticking It To “The Man”

Though the above phrase is typically used in reference to politicians and corporations, the true power brokers in our PC purchasing decisions tend to be people we trust. These are usually people with a great deal of experience, or at least those whose advice appears to come from a place of experience.

They tell us to spend in places that don’t make sense, to save in places where we don’t want to skimp, and to basically build their idea of what our PC should be. And while many of the people we trust diverge on the finer details, the one place they almost always meet is on the subject of cases with power supplies. They tell us that, as a rule, any power supply that’s cheap enough to be included with a case is worthless.

We know better. Deep down inside, they know better. Everyone knows that there are exceptions to nearly any rule, and now is the time to make our own rules. As with any revolution, we must first determine our true needs, then find the means to meet them.

Though most performance enthusiasts want a PC worth thousands of dollars, the truth is that many would rather not stretch their budgets that far. The majority of builds start out well below $800. And what most experienced builders won’t tell you (or forget to tell you) is that the lion's share of sub-$800 builds use less than 600W of power. If we push a little harder, we can even build a $550 performance system that draws less than 300 peak watts. That's why, today, we're examining a few money-saving combos able to output far more than 300W for far less than $100.

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Header Cell - Column 0 Cooler Master USP 100In-Win GriffinThermaltake VI1450BWS
Dimensions
Height19.0"16.30"17.3"
Width8.6"7.5"8.9"
Depth19.4"19.6"19.7"
Space Above Motherboard1.31"0.38"0.15" to brace 0.75" total
Card Length11.42"11.60"16.75"
Weight21.0 pounds14.0 pounds19.7 pounds
Cooling
Front Fans (alternatives)1 x 120 mm (92, 80 mm)1 x 120 mm (92, 80 mm)1 x 120 mm (stock only)
Rear Fans (alternatives)1 x Empty (120, 92, 80 mm)1 x 92 mm (80 mm)1 x 120 mm (92, 80 mm)
Top Fans (alternatives)Not AvailableNot AvailableNot Available
Side Fans (alternatives)1 x Empty (120, 92, 80 mm)1 x 220 mm (2x 120 mm)2 x Empty (120, 92, 80 mm)
Drive Bays
5.25" ExternalFourFourNine
3.5" ExternalOneOne1x Adapter
3.5" InternalSixFive3 x 5.25" bay to 3-HDD Cage
2.5" InternalNoneNoneNone
Power Supply
ModelRS550-PCARE3IP-S400DQ3-2TR2 RX-450PP
ATX Version2.32.12.2
PFC TypeNoneNonePassive
80 PLUSNoneStandardNone
UL Cert.E320127E193791E303666
Rated Output550W400W400W
12V Rails16A +16A18A +16A14A +15A
12V Combined32A25A20A
ATX Lead20+4 Pin20+4 Pin20+4 Pin
ATX12V4+4 Pin4-Pin4-Pin
PCIe Power2 x 6+2 Pin1 x 6-Pin1 x 6-Pin
SATA Power6 (2-leads)4 (3-leads)2 (1-lead)
ATA Power1x 3-drive2 (2-leads)6 (2-leads)
Floppy Power1-drive1-drive2-drives
Price$88$82$83
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
TOPICS
  • Vic84
    Good review
    Reply
  • gordo_46
    yeah good review
    Reply
  • xc0mmiex
    In "Measured Test Results", first chart, temperature over ambient in degrees Celsius... even at freezing temperature of 0C, CPU would be at 67+ C.... and on a hot day of 30C your CPU would be approaching boiling... i think its a little too toasty so there gotta be a mistake in there somewhere; wrong unit or math
    Reply
  • dirtmountain
    Good article, i really enjoy these articles about squeezing the biggest bang for the buck out of builds. We'd all like to be able to drop big $$$$ on our systems, but sometimes reality (or the wife) puts a pretty low limit on how much we can spend.
    Reply
  • Just to confirm, are you guys using a dual channel RAM for a 920 build?
    Reply
  • JonnyDough
    Unfortunately, Cooler Master does not include an exhaust fan.

    I would not only prefer not to have one if not necessary due to noise, but I would also prefer to purchase one of my choosing so this is not necessarily a bad thing.
    Reply
  • falchard
    I think in cases more people are looking at aesthetics and ruggedness over temps and acoustics as nearly all cases have acceptable values. When it comes to this NZXT and Rosewill have really seperated themselves from other cases under $50.
    Reply
  • JonnyDough
    I agree, but as an enthusiast I'm really loving that Cooler Master case. I tend to like front to back air flow just because it helps direct noise away from me and I can cool my hard drives first and my GPU last since that seems to be the order of coolest to hottest operating temps.

    I suspect with a bit higher power draw Cooler Master's PSU may perform a bit more admirably on efficiency. The only way to really know is to test the PSUs against each other and measure power draw of the PSUs themselves (until they power off preferably!) under load/idle. If you're going to make a statement about energy efficiency at all then it is my belief that you should test them.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    xc0mmiexIn "Measured Test Results", first chart, temperature over ambient in degrees Celsius... even at freezing temperature of 0C, CPU would be at 67+ C.... i think its a little too toasty so there gotta be a mistake in there somewhere; wrong unit or mathNo, it's an overclocked Core i7 at eight threads of Prime95, if you find those numbers shocking you're thinking of the wrong CPU.
    falchardI think in cases more people are looking at aesthetics and ruggedness over temps and acoustics as nearly all cases have acceptable values. When it comes to this NZXT and Rosewill have really seperated themselves from other cases under $50.These are basically $40 cases in this article. Two of the cases in the review are already far better than this one:
    http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-computer-case,2579-5.html
    That is to say, two of these $40 cases are vastly superior to that $100 case. So you can say what you like, but words alone will not convince me.
    Reply
  • grossemesser
    Why in blazes you did NOT include in this... comparison the amazingly incredible HAF 922??? Its way better than any of these and costs only $90 Plenty of space, cable management space and of course AIRFLOW! it even has slots in the door so you can fit one big or two small fans... Anyways what can i say, you should have included it

    ... ummm sorry didn't get the WITH POWER part hehe... well i can just add that this is a great case and it is worth saving up the extra bucks for the added money you'll have to pay for the PSU
    Reply