If you're still rocking some dusty box with limited airflow and nowhere to fit a large liquid cooler, you've come to the right place. I review PC cases and I've turned my attention this October Prime Day to finding the best value picks on offer today.
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The good news is you're not short for options. There are quite literally hundreds of PC cases on offer around the web. With that in mind, I thought it might be useful to pick a few from trusted brands I'd consider myself for my next PC build.
Quick links
- Asus ProArt | $119 @ Newegg
- Hyte Y70 | $190 @ Amazon
- Fractal Design North XL | $160 @ Newegg
October Prime Day PC case deals
Starting with one of the more attractive PC cases I've looked at for review this this past year, the Asus ProArt PA401.
The front panel is made of wood on the PA401, which is a popular material among case designers as of late, as we'll get to another similar case shortly. Though the PA401's wood panelling is less obviously natural than some, being a dark Ash. You might not even clock that it is wood at first glance.
The case includes two large 160 mm fans in the front and one 120 mm in the back. That's pretty much all your airflow sorted. Just beware, you cannot fit a 360 mm radiator in the top of this case, only up to 240 mm, which limits your choice of processor a little. Similarly, the GPU length is capped at 315 mm, which rules out most high-end graphics cards. You can fit the Asus ProArt RTX 5080 in there, but it's not the easiest to find nor cheapest card on the market.
A purple PC case speaks for itself, though this one isn't all looks. It's a rather clever fishtank case with lots of flexibility, including in how you mount the graphics card. That little riser cable allows you to set your card down on its side, facing the glass, which looks pretty impressive.
Sure, a fishtank build isn't going to be the absolute best for thermals, but you can stuff some more fans in the base of this case for more direct airflow over the GPU and motherboard. Our Dave has his PC in this case and reports no real issues with superheated components, but did insist on voting it our best pink PC case pick. Just make sure to stuff some good fans down the side to breathe fresh air over your parts and you'll be okay. And yes, you need to buy fans separately as this doesn't come with any.
Since you'll likely want something bright and bold to go with the chassis, the Phanteks M25-120 Gen2 are a good pick. You can grab three reversed, RGB fans here for $37. I've used these fans before and, while a little loud, they're lovely to look at. Plus reversed blades mean you'll be able to mount them as intakes with the infinity mirror hubs facing inwards and plenty visible.
This is admittedly less my pick and more that of my colleague Nick, who swears by the Fractal Design North XL. In his words from earlier in the year, "What I truly love about the North XL is just how it looks and feels. For example, the walnut slats on the front give it a stately appearance, and the damped power button feels very plush to poke every morning."
Now, this isn't quite as big a discount as we saw back in July during Prime Day proper. However, it's still a good $35-$20 off the asking price (the original price appears to fluctuate suspiciously). And can you really put a price on dashing good looks and lots of room?
Well, yes, of course you can. But this case does have both in swathes. The slats on the front make for a gorgeous appearance and it's absolutely massive inside for all your cooling needs.
Take a look at Amazon's entire PC case line-up this Prime Day
1. Best overall: Havn HS 420
2. Best budget: Phanteks G400A
3. Best midrange: Hyte Y40
4. Best budget compact: Thermaltake S100 TG Snow Edition
5. Best high-end: NZXT H9 Flow RGB+
6. Best Mini-ITX: Fractal Design Terra
7. Best Micro-ATX: NZXT H3 Flow
8. Best full-tower: NZXT H7 Flow
9. Best pink: Hyte Y70
10. Best fish tank: Lian Li O11 Vision Compact
11. Best looking: Phanteks Evolv X2
12. Best for beginners: Be Quiet! Shadow Base 800 FX
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