Buying the right PC case is critical when building a gaming PC. If you’re an enthusiast, it’s tempting to spend big to try and get the best of everything. But for most builders, it makes more sense to get a more affordable computer case to free up money for other components. And that’s where the best PC cases under $100 shine.

The best cases in the $50 to $100 price bracket get the basics right without going overboard with luxuries that you may not even use. If you’re after a specific size, feel free to skip ahead to the section you’re most interested in. If you’re just browsing, why not go through the whole list to see if something catches your eye?

• Best mid-tower cases under $100
• Best Micro-ATX cases under $100
• Best Mini-ITX cases under $100

The Best Mid-Tower Cases Under $100

Before we start, we thought it necessary to point out that the $50 to $100 case market has been significantly impacted by the ongoing supply chain issues caused by the pandemic. Most PC cases in the $50 to $100 price range sell above MSRP, with a few selling for significantly more than $100.

We’ve decided to not include those cases in our list. This ensures that our recommendations are PC cases that you can buy immediately without waiting for prices to come down.

Phanteks P400A Digital

You can get a lot for less than $100, and the Phanteks P400A Digital is a brilliant example. The P400A Digital has most of what you’d want from a modern airflow case, right down to a healthy number of included fans and RGB lighting.

Phanteks has made a name for itself with its high-performance airflow PC cases of late, and the P400A Digital is no exception. The front panel uses the company’s “Ultra-Fine” mesh, which is tight enough to minimize dust ingress while maintaining good airflow.

The P400A Digital’s airflow-friendly design is aided by the three included 120 mm D-RGB intake fans. This mesh and fan setup results in some impressive temperatures, as you can see in Gamers Nexus’ 3DMark Firestrike testing:

A 24.7 degrees Celsius CPU temperature delta and a 48.6-degree CPU temperature delta put the P400A Digital right up with some of the best airflow cases from the past few years.

For context, these numbers were from an air-cooled Intel i7-6700K at 4.4 GHz and an MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X GPU. Not cutting-edge hardware, admittedly, but still pretty hot hardware nonetheless.

The lighting on the included Phanteks D-RGB fans is controlled directly from the PC case itself via a dedicated D-RGB button. This button lets you set the colors and lighting modes of the fans. It’s worth noting that the P400A Digital doesn’t come with an exhaust fan, so you’ll probably want to budget for one to optimize airflow.

There’s really not much to complain about with the Phanteks P400A Digital. Yes, the metal isn’t as thick, and radiator support isn’t as good as more expensive cases. But those don’t stop the Phanteks P400A Digital from being the best mid-tower case under $100 in our book.

The P400A Digital is available in black and white, although the black version is significantly overpriced as of January 2022. Stick with the white model until pricing stabilizes.

Corsair 4000D Airflow

If the Phanteks P400A Digital isn’t quite doing it for you, then Corsair’s 4000D Airflow is probably your next best option for an airflow-focused sub-$100 case. There’s not much to separate the two, so you really can’t go wrong with either.

Leaving the subjective aspect of looks aside, the Corsair 4000D has one notable disadvantage in its default fan setup. Despite having ample space for PC case fans, the 4000D only ships with a single 120 mm intake and 120 mm exhaust. It’s slightly disappointing and makes the P400A Digital the better option if you don’t want to spend extra money on fans.

That said, the 4000D Airflow still manages to post decent temperatures. You may not even need the extra fans if you live in a cooler climate (or have A/C):

You can get away with a 50.7-degrees Celsius GPU temperature delta in a cooler climate, but that’ll probably be too much otherwise. So we’d recommend installing at least an extra intake for optimal case airflow.

The 4000D does have an advantage if you’re going with liquid cooling, though. It has space for up to a 360 mm radiator in the front and a 280 mm radiator in the top. This is more than enough room for even a serious custom liquid-cooling loop, so the 4000D Airflow is the better choice if you’re going that route.

However, do note that there isn’t enough space for a 360 mm AIO radiator in the front due to clearance issues. It’ll fit a 360 mm custom loop radiator fine, but AIO users are better off going with one of the best 280 mm AIOs and installing the radiator in the top.

Overall, the Corsair 4000D Airflow is an excellent mid-tower case that also happens to be one of the best-looking PC cases under $100. The front I/O is disappointing and we would have loved to see more fans, but overall, it’s a strong contender in this price bracket.

The Corsair 4000D Airflow is available in black and white. The black version is regularly sold below MSRP on Amazon, qualifying it for this list. However, the white version will set you back slightly more than $100.

Phanteks P300A

Looking for value is tricky when even budget PC cases tend to sell significantly above MSRP right now. But Phanteks’ P300A is a welcome exception that will appeal to the particularly price-conscious amongst you.

The P300A retains the P400A Digital’s key features, namely the airflow-centric design and fine mesh front panel. But Phanteks made a few notable cuts to bring the price down. Firstly, the P300A only comes with a single 120 mm intake fan, reducing airflow and directly impacting temperatures.

CPU and GPU temps in the P300A are significantly higher than the P400A Digital’s, ending up on the high end of Gamers Nexus’ testing. They’re not bad, but certainly less than ideal.

Thankfully, these temperatures can be solved easily by installing a couple of additional 120 mm fans (one intake and one exhaust). Arctic’s 120 mm PWM fans are a great option that won’t break the bank, crucial if you’re trying to keep costs down.

There are also fewer fan mounts in general, with the P300A only supporting two 120 mm front intakes and a single top fan. This should be enough for most rigs, but you’ll want to avoid the P300A if you plan to go crazy with your fans for whatever reason. You’re also limited to four drive mounts in total, so storage freaks need not apply here either.

Overall, though, the Phanteks P300A is a decent value option in a slightly topsy-turvy market. It’s not perfect, and it arguably needs at least an extra $15 or so worth of fans to really take advantage of its airflow design.

But if you’re trying to minimize spending wherever possible and don’t mind higher temperatures, the P300A is a PC case worth considering.

The Best Micro-ATX Cases Under $100

Cooler Master NR400

The Cooler Master NR400 is one of our favorite Micro-ATX cases outright, with its decent airflow and good component compatibility. So it’s no surprise we also consider it the best PC case under $100 in its category.

One of the NR400’s biggest selling points is its impressive number of drive mounts. Four 2.5” and 3.5” drives put even some mid-tower cases to shame, while the 5.25” drive mount may come in handy for some of you. There is a version of the NR400 without the optical drive bay, but it’s sadly unavailable in the US.

The biggest issue with the 5.25” drive bay is how it limits you to two front intake fans. It’s not a critical issue, though, especially when you can go for two 140 mm fans. But we would have preferred the option for three intakes over the choice of installing an optical drive.

Cooler Master ships the NR400 with an intake and an exhaust fan, an acceptable setup given the NR400’s price. Besides, the mesh intake front panel helps keep temperatures relatively cool, even with a single intake fan.

Bit-Tech recorded a 44 degrees Celsius delta on their Intel Core i5-4670K overclocked to 4.0 GHz. That’s impressive since it matches their results on an open-air test bench. GPU temperatures are solid, too; a 45-degree delta on a GTX 980 running Unigine Heaven is decent for a small case.

An extra intake fan will definitely help, but the default setup is definitely workable. As long as the ambient temperature in your gaming room is in the 20s (Celsius), that is.

As far as mATX cases go, there really isn’t much to criticize the Cooler Master NR400 for. Sure, an extra fan would be nice, but that’s hardly the sort of dealbreaker that would stop us from recommending the case. If you’re after an affordable Micro-ATX case, this is the best PC case under $100 you can get.

Thermaltake Core V21

Thermaltake’s Core V21 is a compelling option if you’re after a cube PC case for less than $100. it arguably looks a bit dated, but don’t let that fool you. The Core V21 is still a competitive option that trumps most other PC cases in its flexibility.

The Core V21’s signature flexibility lets you install the motherboard horizontally or vertically. In the former layout, the V21 is split into an upper and lower chamber. In this configuration, your main heat-generating components (CPU and GPU) go in the top section, while the PSU and drives go in the lower half.

Prefer a more traditional layout? In that case, you can rotate the internal panels around to install the motherboard vertically. The inside is split vertically in this setup, with the PSU and drives installed behind the motherboard tray.

If you want to go crazy, you can also stack a couple of Core V21s together. It’s hilariously impractical, but it’s an option if you’re going to run an exotic liquid cooling solution that requires more space than a single Core V21 offers.

You might not need that, though, since the Core V21 offers ample room for fans and radiators. We recommend you take advantage of the many fan mounting locations by installing a couple of exhaust fans in the rear and top to complement the default 200 mm intake fan.

Testing shows that this setup can drop CPU temperatures by nine degrees Celsius and GPU temperatures by seven degrees. So it’s definitely worth investing in a few extra fans if you build a rig in the Core V21.

The Thermaltake Core V21 isn’t a PC case for everyone, with its dated looks and cube format. But if you’re after something a bit different in your sub-$100 case, then it’s an excellent (and affordable) option. The fact that it gives you some leeway to arrange the internals how you like is the icing on the cake.

The Best Mini-ITX Cases Under $100

Cooler Master NR200

The Cooler Master NR200 is one of the best Mini-ITX cases outright, continuing the theme started by its bigger brother, the NR400. The NR200 gets the essentials right, with the most appealing feature being above-average component compatibility for a Mini-ITX case.

The NR200 fits a 13-inch, triple-slot GPU and a 6.1-inch tall CPU cooler, meaning you’ll be able to install and cool some serious PC gaming hardware in it. You will have to buy an SFX or SFX-L power supply, but that’s a minor issue given the existence of great high-power SFX PSUs like the Corsair SF600.

The NR200 comes with a 120 mm top intake and a 92 mm rear exhaust by default. It’s not the most complete default fan setup you’ll see, admittedly. But it’s enough to keep temperatures in check, if on the slightly higher side:

You’ll have to live with the mesh-paneled NR200 when shopping below $100, but that actually works out great for your temperatures. Bit-Tech recorded a 49 degrees Celsius delta with their overclocked Intel Core i5-4670K, which isn’t too bad for a Mini-ITX case. Compare that to the 56 degrees with a tempered glass panel, and we think you’ll agree that sacrificing some bling is worth it here.

GPU temperatures are equal at a 49-degrees delta measured with a GTX 980. You might see higher temperatures or slightly lower clocks with a more modern RTX GPU, but it’ll still likely be well within control. Especially if you install a 120 mm fan in the bottom intake to feed cool air directly to your GPU.

The Cooler Master NR200 is hands down the best PC case under $100 for Mini-ITX builds. It looks great and will accommodate components that you wouldn’t expect a Mini-ITX case to fit. Yes, you can get a better PC case if you’re willing to spend, but the NR200 offers excellent value in a market segment not known for it.

The NR200 is available in multiple colors, although only the black and white versions are priced at less than $100.

SilverStone SG13

The SilverStone SG13 isn’t the flashiest, newest Mini-ITX case you can buy. But it’s still one of the few (if not the only one) that combines a sub-$100 price with serious small form factor (SFF) credentials. This makes the SG13 an excellent affordable PC case when size is your main priority.

The SG13’s 11.5-liter volume is perfect for a tiny HTPC or mid-range living room gaming build. It’s not for enthusiast-grade hardware, but the 10.6-inch GPU limit is still enough for a GPU like the Zotac RTX 3060 Ti Twin OC. So your PC build will still have decent graphics grunt, even in the SG13.

The SG13’s limited CPU cooling options will be a bigger restriction when building a gaming rig, though. 2.4 inches limits you to low-profile coolers, while the single 120/140 mm AIO radiator mount stops you from installing a super beefy AIO. So we’d recommend sticking with a mid-tier CPU just to keep the temperatures in check.

As Gamers Nexus’ testing shows, you can keep temps reasonable in the SG13 if you go with the right hardware. They tested with an AMD Ryzen 5 2400G and a GTX 1070, a sensible mid-tier pairing back in 2018. Stick to modern internal components with similar power consumption, and you should be fine.

It’s worth pointing out that while the SG13 has room for a standard ATX PSU, SilverStone recommends one that’s 140 mm (5.5 inches) long to leave space for the PSU power cable connectors. A modular PSU is ideal, as the SG13 is so compact that you really don’t want to have any unused cables taking up space inside. One of Seasonic’s FOCUS Plus PSUs will fit both criteria and would be an excellent choice.

Overall, SilverStone’s SG13 is the best PC case under $100 for SFF builders. Cable management will be more challenging than in the NR200, and you’ll need to choose components wisely to keep temperatures under control. But that’s par for the course when building in such a small case.

The SG13 is available in a few colors. We’ve linked the black model above, but it’s also available in pink and white. Beyond the color choices, you’ll also have to pick between mesh and solid front panels. We recommend the mesh, as it’s better for ventilation and airflow.

Closing Thoughts

Yes, you can spend a lot of money on a PC case. But you don’t need to, as this list of the best PC cases under $100 shows. The cases on our list get the most important things right: proper airflow, reasonable build quality, and good internal layouts. We think almost all of them look great, too, although that’s ultimately in the eye of the beholder.

Regardless of your criteria, we’re confident you’ll find the perfect gaming PC case for your next build here. But if you need some help with your decision, make sure to read our guide to choosing a PC case for all the essential things to look out for and consider.