10 Best PC Cases Under $100 in 2024 – Budget PC Buying Guide for Newbies

Are you thinking of building your own PC, or you already know which parts you want, but you just need to find that perfect case?

PC gaming is only getting bigger and with VR getting only bigger, investing in a build that could let you play the latest games could be a smart investment.

To help you find that perfect PC case, that isn’t astronomically pricey, we made a list of the best PC cases that are under $100 in this year 2024.

1. NZXT H510

This is a mid-tower case that has a beautiful and clean design, with a tempered glass slide panel that can showcase your machine. It has pre-installed NZXT Aer F120 Case Version fans and another rear fan mount that can fit a 120mm fan. It also has support for liquid cooling.

It makes minimal noise, but you should know that the vibrations from the top fan can cause a bit of noise. But all in all this case is great, it looks good, it has good cable management solution and it is affordable.

2. Phanteks Eclipse P400S

This is a full metal body case that has a very stylish tempered glass side panel. Like the previous one, it is also a mid-tower case. The noise that this case makes is minimal because of the material this case is made from.

It has round holes that are good for the airflow, and it has space for two 120mm fans. It has magnetic dust filters, adjustable fan, a removable HDD cage, water cooling and RGB lighting, everything that one case needs to have. And the best part is that it doesn’t cost a lot.

3. Phanteks Pro M

Another cool case from this brand is their Pro M model. It has so much space, so you can build a very good PC and the airflow is great because it has 198mm high tower coolers and two Phanteks Premium 140mm fans. It makes minimal noise, but you should know that a hard drive cage can produce a bit of noise.

4. In Win 301 Mini Tower Case

If you have a small motherboard, then this case is for you. This case has removable HDD cages and Magnetic Dust Filters. It looks beautiful and elegant with the tempered glass side panel. It’s portable, good looking, and affordable. The only thing that can be better with this case is the airflow.

5. NZXT H510i

Here we are again with NZXT H series, but this time with the H510i model. This case has plenty of space for AIO because it features dual-position cable management and a cable routing kit. It looks great with its tempered glass panel and the lighting that has digital controllers.

This case supports multiple GPUs and a lot of I/Os, it accommodates two 140mm fans in the front and two on the roof and one more 120mm fan at the rear. The only problem is that it doesn’t support single 3.5-inch drives, too bad.

6. MasterBox Pro 5 RGB

This case features patterned magnetic dust filters, it has modular I/O panel, and the airflow and cooling are great with this case. It comes with two RGB fans and space for water cooling. Like many others, this case also has a good looking tempered glass slide panel.

The only problem is that it is a bit small, but if you are looking for a small case then it is perfect.

7. Be Quiet! Pure Base 600

A case with such a cool name. The name comes from the fact that this case is so quiet, like no other. If you can’t stand any noise coming from your PC then this case is for you. But that’s not all, this case also looks beautiful, and it has a tempered glass panel.

It has liquid cooling components, the ability to hold 360mm radiators, a couple of Pure Wing fans, and a pair of dust filters. This case is simple, quiet, and brilliant.

8. Thermaltake Core V21

If you are looking for a micro-ATX PC case, look no more. This Thermaltake Core V21 case is a great portable micro-ATX PC case. It offers you lots of expansion options, it allows you room for up to five radiators and 11 fans, so the cooling part is taken care of.

It has magnetic dust filters, and a huge window so you can display your components. The only problem with this case is that it can be a bit noisy because they didn’t you any noise absorbing materials when they were making it.

9. MasterBox Q300L

This MasterBox case is great and it’s portable. If you are on the budget, then this PC case is for you. The design is great, and the design of the magnetic dust filters is even better. It has an adjustable I/O panel. It can accommodate both 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch drives, which is great because not all of the cases can.

It has RGB lighting which is always a plus, we all love those flashy colors. And the cable management system is pretty impressive, you will not have a problem with that. The problem with this case is that it is really small so it will limit the rig building.

And another thing is that it doesn’t come with the instructions for the RGB controller, but that shouldn’t be a big of a problem.

10. Thermaltake V200

This Thermaltake case has three 120mm 12V RGB intake fans that are dual-mode controlled, and it has space for water cooling and dual GPU setup. The cable management system is also perfect, so you will be left with plenty of room for components. It has some cool RGB lighting that will make your PC case stand out.

Building a Budget PC – A Small Guide for Newbies

A budget build probably won’t be able to play 4K games but you should be able to do 1080p with ease. We will shortly go through what you will need and on what things you need to think of.

Building a PC from scratch can be sometimes stressful, and once you’ve figured it all out you don’t need to stress more about the case. But there are so many options out there on the market. Building a budget PC can be a task on its own and we will compile a small guide that should help achieve this.

You really need to do some research on what components will work best and we do suggest spending most of your money into the CPU and GPU. When you figure out what do you want to get in that department, the PSU, RAM and the drives should be an easier job.

The Tools Required

Frankly, nothing more than a screwdriver and an antistatic band are needed. Static electricity can be a real problem if you’re standing on a carpet or sitting on a chair that will make some sort of electricity. It does seem like something that won’t happen to you but it can happen and it could ruin your parts if you are not careful.

The Parts

The market is huge today. So many PC parts, so many real and some faker options from China (that could hurt your other legit parts) are there for you to buy. We suggest always getting new parts from trusted stores and vendors.

Maybe you saw some cheap Chinese component that promises a lot for a fraction of what would the same performing, but much more expensive part in a legit store.  You could be enticed to build a rig out of cheaper Chinese knock offs, but with those parts, it’s never sure what you’re exactly getting.

Linus Tech Tips has some interesting videos where he tests out parts that he bought from Wish or similar storefronts, so in conclusion, don’t try to cheap out as that can hurt you in the long run.

The CPU

The CPU is one of the main aspects of your new rig. Clock speed and core counts do count and higher numbers will bring better performance. You need to know that you need to pair your CPU and your motherboard, so please be aware of that. We also want to tell you that the clock speed is more important than core numbers and the closer you get to late gen parts, the better.

The Motherboard

One more integral component that will dictate you build and how will it perform in the end you need pair with the CPU carefully. All parts will connect to it and if you’re on a budget you should look for AMD or Intel’s B450 or B360 chipsets as those have enough PCI slots for any upgrades that you would later do to your build.

Be sure that you have enough slots and that the size is right! It would be smarter if you would first buy a motherboard and then choose a budget case as you need to make sure that the motherboard fits and that all other components fit! One more thing, if you want to overclock your machine you need to make sure that your motherboard supports it!

The RAM

If you’re looking for a budget case, I think we know what is RAM, at least the basic idea. We just want to let you know that not just the capacity is important, but also the clock speed of the memory. Maybe it would even be smarter to get faster RAM with less memory to optimize the build. 8GB is a must but 16GB would be a sweet spot. In any case, plan and be sure that you have enough slots to expand if anything. Start smaller but have the option to expand!

The Graphics Card

More money, more power. This one is simple and this part will probably be one of the things that you will have to splurge a bit more.  We suggest setting aside at least $150 to $200 for this if you want to make sure that you can play games on High or Ultra setting in all modern games. VR could be out of the question but you could try it out if anything.

Currently, our best bet would be the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 which retails around $170 and you will get the best bang for your buck. 4GB ultra-fast GDDR6 memory with the latest technological advancements from Nvidia, this should keep you satisfied for some time. Considering all, you should really research this and we could talk for days about what card to buy.

The Memory

In addition to all this, you will need a hard drive and an SSD probably. We suggest getting smaller SSD like the SDD: Adata Ultimate SU800 which is 128Gb and which will allow you to install your OS and maybe a few games on it. With this, you will get a fast boot and shutdown time and this can make the machine feel snappier.

On the other hand for a hard drive, we suggest getting a 1TB one that will let you store your heart’s content. These are not too expensive, but there is too much to say here except that you also need to plan that our. As said, OS goes on the SSD and everything else goes on the hard drive.

The PSU

The power supply unit. An integral part of your computer. You should not choose the cheapest option as it can be dangerous to you, your house and your other components. You have three types of efficiencies, Silver, Bronze, and Gold but a rating that is 80 plus should also be good enough.

There are also power supplies that are modular which you fit in your case in a creative way. More power means a better flow of electricity that will keep your components running smoothly. You could and should calculate how much power do you need and then get a supply according to the other parts in the PC. Leave this maybe last and do dig into what exactly will you get.

Final Words

We’ve come to the end of our list, we’ve presented you the best PC cases for under $100. You don’t need to spend a lot of money to have a cool and beautiful case that will work great for you. There is something for everyone on this list, elegant and stylish cases with interesting RGB lighting, small cases, big cases, cases that will keep the temperature of your PC cool and cases that you will forget that even exist because they are so quiet.

Now it’s up to you to choose the case that best suits your needs. Good luck and have fun with your new PC.