Montech AIR 100 ARGB MICRO-ATX Tower with Four ARGB Fans Pre Installed, Ultra-Minimalist Design, Fine Mesh Front Panel, High Airflow, Unique Side Swivel Tempered Glass, Dust Protection, White

Pros: Montech’s origins as a company gives it a reputable public image. However, it finds itself competing with other similar companies in the same boat. When the package arrived, it looked a little bulky. Montech chose a wise name for its company. The technology should be the gist of a core industry. For some industries the technology is the manufacturing, while in other industries not so much. Overall, this is a budget and lightweight case that’s somewhat cheaply built. However, the design and layout are heavily refined for best usage from the consumer end. The build quality is not the best. The top and bottom magnetic dust filters are thin and very flimsy to handle. Below the motherboard standoffs near the bottom there is actually somewhat decent room to install bottom fans above the power supply area. The front panel is unfortunately cheaply mounted onto the front and cannot be easily removed without tools. They made the design in such a way so that the fitment of the radiator makes sense. The overall screw threads feel cheap. The rear slot covers are still partially welded and is not tool free; it feels cheap. The hard drive removable slots are average. There is not much wrong with the tempered glass mechanism, but the side cover on the other side handles flimsy. The fans are in-house designed fans and are supposedly to be refined with reliability. This case comes with two fans, one on the front, and one on the back. The top interface on the front panel is very simple, however it does have a reset and LED button. Since especially the last 15 or 10 years or so, where the company is based does not really mean much in terms of the quality when it comes to computer cases.

Cons: not too much cons

Overall Review: If you are a computer novice, buying a case to me means you will start to build a computer. But although a desktop is composed of a kit, it’s not all about performance nor the tech etc. Think outside of the box and don’t put all the eggs in one basket like most people do.

Pros: • Front Panel RGB button for controlling your motherboard LEDs (newer 5V-3pin style only)
• 2x 120mm chassis fans included with several additional mounting points for additional fans or radiators, pumps, and reservoirs
• Case boasts 3 SSD (2.5”) mounts and 2 (3.5”) HDD trays (which can be removed)
• Easily removable magnetic dust filters on the bottom and top of the chassis will help keep inner components clean
• Wire-tie anchor points are everywhere on the back side of the chassis. Cable management should not be a problem although may require additional extensions if you want to hide all cables
• Isolated power supply zone keeps aesthetics high and temperatures low
• Will support an E-ATX motherboard (Up to 12” x 11”)
• Plenty of room to accommodate full length graphics cards (may need to remove a front fan in extreme scenarios if you have 2 or more)
• Large (tinted) tempered glass side door for showing off your LED lighting.
• Plenty of screws, motherboard standoffs, cable ties, and an old-school motherboard speaker included
• LED toggle switch that can be connected to a controller

Cons: • Not future proof - I was disappointed to find that it did not include any USB 3.1 or Type-C connectors
• Metal panels are thin and flimsy and can be easily bent or damaged
• Offers zero sound absorption. If you load it up with fans, expect a lot of noise. The dust filters make it worse, and restrict flow
• Tempered glass is held by 4 thumb-screws equipped with a small rubber gaskets. Over-tightening of these screws could lead to cracking the glass
• SSD 1 is mounted inside the case in the top-right corner, while 2 & 3 are on the backplate and may be covered when running your cables. This is a minor inconvenience unless you plan to swap SSDs often
• Expect difficulty with the lower HDD trays if you have a large power supply.
• Included chassis fans are cheap – non-LED, non-PWM, rifle bearing, low flow rate and static pressure

Overall Review: On opening this case, the first thing I noticed was how light it was for being a case of this size. The tempered glass makes up a majority of its bulk leaving only flimsy metal and plastic. It was difficult removing the front panel using the pre-defined pry locations without damaging the mesh screen or worrying about breaking the plastic. I wouldn’t expect anyone to be cleaning the front filter very often due to this. On the plus side, it does have plenty of room to accommodate an E-ATX motherboard and a full-size graphics card. It came with 6 pre-installed motherboard stand-offs with additional stand-offs included. The LED toggle button on the front was a nice touch but I would have preferred it in a different location rather than next to the reset button after accidently resetting my PC several times during testing. The PCI port screens are very cheap and you must bend them out before installing your motherboard. I assume that’s why they included additional spares. The manual is also severely lacking instructions but I did find the reference to the tint on the tempered glass as an “explosion-proof protector” amusing. Overall, I will probably not continue to use this case but I can imagine it being useful for someone on a budget that wants to show off their LED capability, needs room for a large graphics card, and will not be opening the case nor exchanging hardware after the first build.

Thanks to Newegg.com and Montech for providing the review sample.

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