TOP THREE CASES OF COMPUTEX

As it was a quiet year for major platform releases, we had a lot more time to look at what else was new and exciting across the show floor. Cases in particular were abound, and we noticed a trend towards a bit more subtlety with regards to case design. Cases that look like they belong in a Transformers movie are out. Tempered glass is in. RGB is still prevalent but there was a definite trend towards designs with cleaner lines and functionality rather than all out bling. Here are three personal favourites.

COOLER MASTER SL600M

Cooler Master’s MasterCase SL600M was a real attention grabber. This is one that will appeal to users looking for a silent yet still gorgeous case. Heat rises, so with this in mind, Cooler Master designed the SL600M to pull air in from the bottom of the case and out the top. There are no front or rear case fans. It has a gorgeous aluminium finish that, somewhat perversely feels very nice to the touch. It is due to land in Q4 of this year.

INWIN 915

This gorgeous case blends a beautifully minimalistic anodized aluminium design with functional cooling and a subtle not-in-your-face RGB implementation. Throw in a dark tempered glass side panel and a flexible design including optional PCIe riser for graphics card placement and we have a case that’s suitable for housing everything from a professional workstation build to an all-out colourful gaming rig.

THERMALTAKE LEVEL 20 XT

Thermaltake is moving towards its 20th anniversary, and to mark the occasion the company will release the premium Level 20 case line. While all of the models in the range look great, it’s the mid-tier Level 20 XT that really grabbed our attention. It’s a rather cubical shaped design that can house an ATX motherboard on the horizontal plane. It makes full use of tempered glass and supports a wide range of DIY and AIO cooling solutions as well as up to nine drive bays. The included Riing RGB fans add to the fantastic look without frying your eyeballs.