MSI Fractal Design Core 1100 - Mini Tower Computer Case - mATX - High Airflow and Cooling - 1x 120mm Silent Fan Included - Brushed Aluminium - Black

This was my first mini-itx build, and while there were some fairly minor hassles I am very pleased with the finished product. First, building in a sff case like this is quite a chore compared to building in a tower, but I do appreciate the thought that went into this layout, and cramped spaces aside I don't think that any space was really wasted here. For starters, you can put a decent-sized CPU cooler in here. That was one of the main reasons that I went with this one over the others that I was looking at, and it pays off. My CPU is staying a crisp 42-45 degrees while gaming thanks to the cooler I was able to get in there (I'm using air). The GPU, on the other hand... Well, let's just say that it's struggling a bit with the airflow even though it's got direct access to air via the mesh side panels. It's not overheating (typically in the 65-75 degree range gaming) but that's hotter than it's run in other cases. Not a huge deal, though. BTW, that GPU is a little over 10" and even with a semi-modular psu I still had room for cables, although it was certainly a tight fit in that corner. Speaking of cable management... good luck with that. About the best you can do is try to keep them out of the central area as much as possible so as not to impede airflow, but at least you don't have to look at them. I love that you have so many options for storage and even an optical drive. I'm old school and actually put one in my build. It's got an optical drive, a ssd, and a hdd - perfect for a media center/HTPC, which is what I'll probably use this one for mostly, although it'll game, too. My few minor complaints mostly have to do with how tight some of the screws were (there's a real danger of stripping here, so be careful), and how much of a pain the outer shell is to put back on (taking it off is not an issue). These aren't deal-breakers, just annoying, and not something you're likely to have to deal with often. But the finished product is hard to knock. The form factor is great, and the flexibility of the layout is just fantastic. I mean, you can get an optical drive, a full-sized GPU, and a full sized CPU cooler in there on top of everything else, and I just haven't found any other case that lets you do that at this size. This case is *perfect* for a HTPC build, and it's also a nice desktop or living room gamer. You can really build a powerful, full-featured machine into this space. For the price, this was an easy buy for me, and I don't regret it even if the build was a little frustrating at times.

K. Burke · 2019-09-20 · via amazon

I had to do a build for a client and needed something relatively cheap and on the smaller side. This fit the bill from the start but I had a couple concerns about feature set and such with such a small and cheap case. Nope, this thing had all the basics and a little bit extra including a fan as a nice touch. I mean it didn't feel premium but it didn't feel like sheet metal. I didn't expect highly of a $30 case but it exceeded expectations. It was nice and easy to build in, the build didn't take me more than 45 minutes. My only real gripe with this case was the hard drive mounting system, it might just be me not reading into it enough but the way I had to mount my drives was nightmare-ish. For $30 you get a case with a fan, all the screws you need, and some cable ties. Nothing to spectacular but they don't screw you over. Fractal Design did a nice job with airflow and keeping it pretty silent and it looks pretty good for an office setting because it's not overtop in any sense of the word. TL;DR Case has enough features to not hinder your build and is cheap as a meal for 2 at Chick-Fil-A. Should you buy this case? Yes, if you just need something to throw an mATX motherboard into something and have a working computer or you don't care about looks, this is it. It's what shows up when you look up "case" in the dictionary.

Arthur Brown · 2021-01-08 · via amazon

Overall, very pleased with this case for a micro ATX budget gaming build. Can be found for around $40 easily, sometimes on sale for around $30; at those prices it is a great buy. Pros: Low Price Very nice, clean look Small, compact size Comes with 120mm intake fan Front USB 3.0 Rubber vibration dampeners for 3.5" HDD Cons: Side mounting of HDD/SSD Limited space for 3.5" HDD due to included intake fan Powered GPU wiring cramped due to side mounting of HDD/SSD No rear mobo/processor access hole Limited cable management options (I had no intention of using an optical drive, so I looped all the cables in that area) It may seem like a lot of cons, but I expected as much from a cheaper, compact mATX case. There is no rear access to the mobo/cpu, so beware if using a cpu fan/heatsink with a large rear bracket. Also, the side mounting of the HDD/SSD may interfere with graphics cards longer than 9"; any longer will require cramped wiring and an SSD in the lower bracket instead of a full sized 3.5" HDD. These might seem like major problems, however, keeping in mind that this is a budget case, the budget build usually will not have these issues if using a stock cooler or smaller gpu. The only issue I had that keeps it from 5 stars is the included fan did not fit with my 3.5" HDD that I installed on the top bracket; I had to dremel and file the extra plastic of the fan until it was close to the fan screw hole, and was able to securely fit the bracket back in with a 3.5" HDD on top and SSD on the bottom. Overall a great looking case for the price.

Vincenzo · 2015-04-11 · via amazon

I wanted to buy a simple computer case after needing a newer one, and I found this one. A few things I didn't like were the hard drive mounting area overlapping with the front fan and the screw threads. I needed to dremel down a corner of the fan to fit a hard drive into the case. One of the screws for the hard drive mounting area do not fully thread, leaving a somewhat loose connection. Other than that, it is just fine.

Mr. Glue · 2026-04-13 · via amazon

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