In case you missed them
We've done a few best bang for the buck round ups for the super budget-conscious lately and today
That dollar menu gravy train keeps on blowin', baby.
You've got your cheap gaming peripherals already, which means now it's time to start building your cheap gaming
PC. So we teamed up with Newegg to test seven of the best rated cases on their site for under
35 bucks before sale or rebate pricing.
Zotac's Magnus EN1070 mini gaming PC comes VR and AAA-game ready. Check it out now at the link below.
We'll be judging the cases in order of their popularity on newegg.com based on three main metrics.
One: compatibility.
How much can we comfortably stuff inside?
Are there any component size limitations to take into account?
Two: performance.
Does the case have air flow issues? How many fans can you mount? Can you mount a radiator?
And three: injury factor.
Are there any sharp edges?
"Umm.. so I got sliced open."
Is it awkwardly top-heavy?
Oh, and actually, for a 10% bonus: extras and aesthetics.
These aren't necessities at this kind of a price, but they're certainly nice to have.
So first up is the micro-ATX Xion XON-310_BK.
It's the most popular case in our roundup
and it's certainly the cheapest at just $23, but...
That may be its only selling point. It's pretty sharp looking it- includes a USB 3 port.
It's sturdy enough, and it's extremely lightweight, but installing anything
but a mini-sized graphics card is a carnival of frustration and sadness, and.. oh yeah!
There's this thing the screw retaining it is on the inside
And it just swings out of place to install a card
Also while the Box claims that it has five and a quarter inch bays
They're mia, but the rails are there making usable space so tight that it's almost impossible
to mount the power supply and cable management was even worse the cables just kind of
Hang out at the bottom of the case
And there's no top or side ventilation thermal performance is utter balls
There's nowhere for the heat or even air to go not recommended
We'd actually prefer a milk crate off eBay and some zip ties instead
Next up is the full ATX log-assist es350 BK. Which is both solidly built and
Thoughtfully laid out
For a design from 2003 to its credit
It comes with a power supply, but the claim that it can handle three hundred and thirty watts of total continuous load is
probably bullsh*t.
This thing won't be powering anything north of a GTX 1050 Ti and even for that
I wouldn't recommend it now the case is rolled edges help with preventing injury
But they aren't totally pinched off
And there's also these break off PCI slot covers and a rear i/o shield to contend with
Otherwise there is plenty of space in here which is good
But there's nowhere to throw cables so managing them is a chore
The aesthetics of the case other than the glossy plastic are fairly inoffensive so that also is good
But with only a single intake fan for cooling this case pulled off some of the worst thermals in this group
And that is saying a lot
Not recommended our third most popular case is the micro ATX
Zalman t3 it's a little cramped to work in but it's also the first in our roundup so far with a semi
reasonable modern layout the edges are pretty smooth and the overall fit and finishes oh-kay.
The reset buttons mushy, and this is starting to look like a pattern here
Actually, there is only one USB 3 port on the front panel again rather than the two supported by the motherboard header
I mean I guess copper prices are going up but geez you guys
Building in it though was mostly painless the hard drives can only be accessed by removing the front panel for some reason
But the two and a half inch SSD mounts are easily accessible
And there's actually quite a nice amount of cable management room behind the back panel
there's no included radiator mount but up top you will actually find cutouts for use with an
External radiator an old feature that dates the core design here a little bit
It's a touch game relooking, but overall this case has pretty excellent thermals mesh covered fan mounts and clean cable management
recommended on
to the Compu case
Voyager
Where is the Voyager going?
somewhere far away
I hope this is a MIDI
Computer case that I would raid a "meh" D out of 10 on its looks alone the front panel is adorned with brightly colored
headphone and mic jacks straight out of 2005 the power button kind of looks like a cigarette lighter and
When your PC freezes you can call team rocket with this button right here
Inside isn't much to write home about either
It's a very early 2000 style with a top mounted power supply
Taste the rainbow style front panel cables and very little room for cable management to hide them there aren't really any sharp edges
But with these breakaway PCI slot covers, and its thin metal construction. You'll be creating your own soon enough
Drive bays line the entire front of the chassis
Which means that you will need a dremel for a large,
High-performance graphics card not that you should be putting any decent gear in here anyway our CPU got
Super toasty without a fresh supply of cool air not
recommended
In the number five spot is the apex sk3, and you know what who cares it doesn't matter
I'm calling this one the disappointment not only does it look like a
2005 piece of steel junk it's got so many sharp edges that I had to dish out
Hazard pay to the unlucky sod who built the system in it in any way there is
Nowhere for cables to hide so have fun with that the PCI slot covers are tear off without
a tab to which a screwdriver into so you'll be using your hands and
While there's a 120mm fan mount in the front of the case and an 80/92 mount in the rear
Both of them are unoccupied by default so out of the box the power supply acts as the main
Exhaust this thing's an oven not
recommended
Wow
most of these sucks so far
Next up is the DIY PC Jack's 12 BK which
huh
Actually doesn't look too bad
it's got a nice clean aesthetic as long as you're into pandas a single USB 3 port on the front panel with a
Twin USB 2.0 to boot and on the inside
It's even got a shroud to hide the power supply and three and a half inch bays
And you can see them through a nice wide acrylic window
The full ATX layout is as open as you could want with SSD mounts to the right of the motherboard
and I mean really all we're missing here is a
Radiator mount and some topside ventilation both of which can be remedied with a dremel and some time
The construction is sturdy though with rolled and smooth edges throughout
And we've also got a huge area in the rear for hiding all of the junk in the trunk
It's not an
ideal config; the breakaway slot covers are a good example of this as is the minimal clearance about the motherboard
But it is leagues better than everything else
we've seen so far and
perhaps unsurprisingly then
Its thermal performance is pretty good too with 120mm fans on the front and rear complementing its wide-open interior
highly recommended
Finally we've got the Cougar
The cougar mg 110, another micro ATX case
We've got single USB 3 and USB 2 ports on the front and on the rear we got those
blasted breakaway PCI brackets on the interior though
We've got smooth edges all around and it looks like that 5.25" bay is tool less too
with a nice little handle labled "gaming"
We've got a 120 mm case fan pre-installed on the rear, and we even get space on this one for a 2 by 120
mm radiator on the top if you remove the yes
Removable optical drive mount there's also a removable three and a half inch hard drive tray and a decently sized area
In the rear panel for cable management
Complete with management points and two and a half inch SSD mounts
Thermal performance was actually stellar too, owing to the clean interior and decent placement of the exhaust fan and copious ventilation holes
recommended again, so
Overall then what we learned today, is that the one with the most votes
Might not actually be the best choice in all cases
The Cougar mg 110 was the best case overall and our pick for an M
ATX build with the Jax 12 over here
Creaming the rest of the competition if you've got a full sized ATX board
The Zalman t3 then gets an honorable mention
For sucking a lot less than the rest of them and as for the rest of them
The Sennheiser 5 8x from mass drop uses Sennheiser's new
150 ohm drivers making these headphones easier to power from devices like your cell phone then their predecessors
The emphasis of this particular set is on clean extended bass with a smooth, but clear upper range
They've got soft velour earpads with elliptical ear cups that I know it's crazy follow the anatomy of the ear
round on an ear I don't know where that idea ever came from but
Not with these they come with a handy detachable cable
And they're available now on Massdrop for ($159.99) US
With free shipping to the USA so check it out at the link below
So thanks for watching guys if you just like this video you can hit that button
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