[section_title title=Conclusion]Conclusion
Jumping right into the design aspect of the Core 1100 and it is a bit of a mixed bag. Looking at it front the front it looks very aesthetically pleasing, as you move around to the side panel with the little vented area for the 120mm fan it becomes more apparent that this is in fact a budget case. The worse aspect, when looking at it from the outside, is when you get around to the back and realise it has a top mounted PSU, this just ruined the whole case for me personally. When looking inside, things don’t get any better, unfortunately for the Core 1100. While it is still very possible to tuck cables out of the way and make sure any build inside it doesn’t look a mess, this is all down to the user as the case itself offers absolutely no cable management.
When it comes down to performance I don’t think that was what Fractal Design had in mind when designing this case. The Core 1100 seems to be more so designed for users looking for something that’s not very hard on the eyes from the front and is easy to just go ahead and pretty much just throw everything inside it that is needed. When it comes to building in a case there is nothing easier than just being able to plug everything in without really having to worry about where it’s going to go. However, not only does this make it look messy it can also obstruct the air flow and seeing as to how the Core 1100 doesn’t have the best options for air flow either it is a bit disappointing.
When it comes to value I feel the Core 1100 is overpriced, there are a many of other cases on the market for £5-10 cheaper that offer a lot more functionality which would also equate to better performance in my opinion. For £30 the Core 1100 doesn’t offer much more for the money other than the Fractal Design branding and a metal box to protect your components. The only thing it has going for it is that the front panel is pleasant to look at.
I would like to thank Fractal Design for sending the Core 1100 in for review and look forward to seeing more from them in the future.
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Performance
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Design
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Value
Summary
Pros:
– Brushed aluminium front panel
Cons:
– No cable Management
– Top mounted power supply
– Lack of proper hard drive cage
– No ventilation on the top of case
Please explain the problem with top-mounted PSUs in your review. And please mention some examples of the better cases for less money. Something similar in size would be the Aerocool QS-180 (or 182), but it doesn’t make a great impression and there are hardly any infos on it.
Top mounted PSUs are totally fine for most workloads. A disadvantage is that they are generally getting all the hot air from the case going through them, so if you have a high-power CPU / GPU etc pumping out a lot of heat, that’s going to get sucked through the PSU and prevent it cooling properly. But honestly the “problems” with top mounted PSUs are exaggerated and probably irrelevant for 95% of PC builds. I’ve run top mounted PSU for years on end with no issues.
Similar cases for similar money would include the Cooler Master n200, Cooler Master Silencio 352, Silverstone PS08/PS09, Corsair Carbide 88R and Nanoxia Deep Silence 4.
After considering all my options at this low budget I went for the Core 1100 as reviewed here. But given that this reviewer seems so prejudiced against top-mounted PSUs he would probably be happier with something like the n200.