Having the best PC case under 100 has much to do with personal choices, but when you are on a budget of 100 USD, airflow and cooling might as well become the top priority. The good news is that $100 is just the right amount to get you enough space, fans, and soundproofing, with plenty of style and swaggy RGB.
And no, we aren’t talking about a pizza box – which is free, customizable, has good airflow, keeps dust off, and smells good when building your PC build.
So, without further ado, here’s our list of 4 Best PC Cases Under 100.
1. Phanteks P300 – Great price to performance
2. Phanteks P360A – Phanteks but with better airflow
3. NZXT H510 – Popular choice, minimalist, and a head-turner
4. Thermaltake Core V21 – Performance-oriented small form factor
1. Phanteks P300
Phanteks P300
The Phanteks P300 is the high-performance option for budget builds. It is available in two options – with and without mesh.
It has dimensions of 7.8 in x 17.7 in x 15.7 in (LxWxH), which is quite spacious for even ATX builds.
It has just enough fans for gaming – two in front for intake and one on the back for exhaust.
However, the total fan count might be less for excess heat from overclocking or extended gaming sessions. In that situation, you can add another fan at the top of the case.
Pros: Cons:
Starting this list of the best PC cases under 100 is the Phanteks P300, our highly budget-friendly option. It costs only around $60; with an additional $10, you can opt for the mesh option of this PC case. The mesh will block the dust at the cost of a slight obstruction in airflow – the difference is mostly negligible, especially if you regularly clean the filter.
It has a 200mm clearance at the bottom, so you can install your bulky power supply unit in this compartment. The bottom placement works well when combined with 2x120mm (or 140mm) intake fans at the front. Of course, there’s also a fan mount option at the back for the exhaust.
It has a complete metal exterior with tampered glass panel; you can install and enjoy all kinds of RGB inside the case. Cherry on the topping is the RGB strips running along the base of the case.
Although this case meets the minimum requirement for the number of fans in a gaming PC case, it might still be weak during high-demand and extended gaming sessions. In that case (pun intended), you can install an extra fan at the top of the mid-tower.
2. Phanteks P360A
Phanteks P360A
The Phanteks P360A is a mid-tower computer case designed for gaming and high-performance builds. It has a clean-looking design with two powerful RGB fans in the front and a tempered glass side panel to allow pleasant viewing of internal components.
The case provides plenty of cooling with the option to install up to two radiators inside the case – in front and on top atx motherboard.
Pros:If you had any reservations about cooling or the high airflow used in the Phanteks P300, the 360A covers you. It comes prebuilt with two powerful RGB fans in the front; however, you can install up to 3x120mm fans. It has space for 1 fan at the back and 2 at the top. And we still haven’t gotten to the impressive part yet.
The P360A allows you to install a 240-280mm radiator in the front that can hold up to two fans. With a bigger radiator of 360mm, you can install 3 fans! That’s not all. You can also install a radiator on the top, holding 2x140mm fans.
This combination more than ensures a very cool build for your brutally high-performance tasks, hence the P360A’s presence on our list of the best PC case under 100. Additionally, with a magnetic dust filter on the top panel and a removable dust filter on the front panel, you will get maximum clean airflow (just remember to clean them occasionally).
Speaking of drawbacks, while this is a plenty spacious case for even ATX motherboards, there’s limited clearance for CPU coolers bigger than 160mm. However, if you play to your strengths and install the radiators, you won’t need to get unnecessarily large CPU coolers.
3. NZXT H510
Product Title
Next in our hunt for the best PC case under 100. The NZXT H510 is a mid-tower build that can deliver you every bit of performance as expected from a high-class build.
It has two fans in the front, one in the back, and space for another fan at the top panel. It comes pre-equipped with 2xAer 120mm fans in the front. And if you require additional cooling, you can install 2 (instead of 1) fans on the top panel.
It has a high-quality steel build along with a tempered glass panel, offering you both – durability as well as aesthetics.
Pros:
The NZXT H510 is a PC case loved by the PC enthusiast community. It is a sharp-looking head-turner build, combined with high-quality steel construction and tempered glass, gives the perfect combination of aesthetics and durability.
For cooling options, it can have up to 5 fans with 2x120mm or 2x140mm fans in the front and the top and 1x120mm fan at the rear. It comes pre-installed with 2xAer 120mm fans – one in front and one in back, so you’re ready to go with adequate cooling right out of the box.
It has four expansion slots, for up to 7 expansion cards, which you can use to install graphics cards, network cards, sound cards, and other interface cards.
Although it does have slots for 7 cards, it is possible that you might not utilize them all. SLI cards have been long out of fashion (multiple GPUs aren’t as powerful as one single potent card), and motherboards themselves mostly take over the job of sound or network cards.
Additionally, the extra fan at the top might not have enough clearance to provide optimal airflow. And speaking of clearance, there’s limited available for CPU coolers – not more than 165mm, which might be insufficient for bulky or high-end models.
4. Thermaltake Core V21
Thermaltake Core V21
The Thermaltake Core V21 is a PC case with a smaller footprint for micro-ATX and mini-ITX motherboards. And yet it has plenty of space in the inner compartment to house larger hardware. It has dual compartments, with the upper chamber reserved for bulky components that generate a lot of heat.
It can house 4 fans, with 1 fan in front, 2 on top, and 1 at the rear. It also has radiator support at these fan locations, with one more spot for the radiator at the bottom of the case.
Pros: Cons:
This entry of the best pc case under 100 is for the micro-ATX and mini-ITX builds. These motherboards, especially micro-ATX, offer all the essential features for high-end gaming without wasting or underutilizing the extra features, which is typical in ATX boards.
Although the Thermaltake Core V21 is designed for small form factors, it has plenty of space in its inner compartments. Yes, there are two compartments – the upper chamber holds larger components that generate more heat, so we recommend installing exhaust fans at the top. The lower chamber holds PSU, drive bays, space for cable management, and all other components to be hidden from sight when viewing your case from the outside.
And unlike the other builds on this list, this PC case can house a motherboard support a CPU cooler with a height of up to 185mm. You can also install a bulky GPU with more than 350mm in length – even more space than other ATX-build cases on this list.
Finally, cooling systems it has the following radiator support: 240mm (front), 280mm (top), 120mm (back), and 280mm (bottom). You can combine your fans with these radiators to achieve plenty of airflow and cooling.
Final Thoughts
A best PC case is perfectly balanced (as all things should be!). It has enough specs that don’t cause a bottleneck, and neither goes for overkill with features you will never use.
To get the best PC case under 100, consider its dimensions, fan mounting options, and preferably some nice aesthetics (although we would place aesthetics on a lower priority).
Additionally, you don’t need a mid-tower PC case when a smaller form factor PC case will give you equivalent performance (if not better!).
That said, mid-tower PC cases within $100 are highly performance oriented. And several of these look good too, while delivering you the best in the cooling system and airflow. The PC enthusiast community knows this about the NZXT H510 – hence, the reason for over 30,907 purchases!
So, what do you think about our list of the best PC case under 100? Which one are you currently using, and which do you plan to buy? We would love to hear your thoughts!
