Best Of The Best, Part 2: Who Makes The Most Elite PC Case?

Building With The Urban T81

The Urban T81’s installation kit includes 3.5” external drive adapters for the convertible 5.25” bay cover, an EPS12V/ATX12V power cable extender, and a large enough variety of screws to cover drive and radiator installation.

All eight internal trays are compatible with both 3.5” and 2.5” drives. Grommets dampen the vibration of 3.5” mechanical drives, while 2.5” drives screw directly onto the tray (since SSDs don't have moving parts).

I was surprised to see that the Urban T81 uses a flap folded out of the rear panel as a card holder and a thin steel cover to hide the gaping hole; typically, that's a hallmark of lighter/cheaper cases.

Everything screws into the Urban T81 in a traditional manner without any surprises, apart from the extra half-hour it took me to re-route cables into the extended part of the right-side panel, allowing it to close.

Minor inconveniences and unexpected cost-cutting measures didn’t prevent the finished piece from looking its best.

At 29 pounds empty, the heft of the Urban T81 assures its stability.

Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
  • blackmagnum
    Answer (YMMV): Thermaltake Level 10 GT.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    13773314 said:
    Answer (YMMV): Thermaltake Level 10 GT.
    You know the original Level 10 was probably "more elite"

    http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/level-10-fortress-2,2594-5.html
    Reply
  • vertexx
    Hope the Phanteks Enthoo Primo is part of the final - will we have to wait another 2 months for that?
    Reply
  • ykki
    I wish that they would use the new powercolor devil 13 290x (their version of the 295X2) for their tests
    Reply
  • amk-aka-Phantom
    Who makes the most elite cases? Corsair and NZXT, no need for investigation :) Still, a nice roundup.
    Reply
  • Drejeck
    There are some cases CNC made, you should talk about this indipendent manufacturers. On SweClockers I saw the best mini ITX computer ever made, with 2 ssds, 2 fans, a picopsu and a discrete graphic card with riser card.
    Reply
  • Drejeck
    Anyway my guess was Lian-Li and Silverstone
    Reply
  • eklipz330
    isn't this a purely subjective article? how can this be quantified?
    Reply
  • Neve12ende12
    I don't know much about cases, but I have an Azza Hurrican 2000 and I think it is pretty badass
    Reply
  • firefoxx04
    Phanteks Primo plz
    Reply