Over the holidays, I picked up a Montech Air 100 to build a starter gaming system for my kiddo. I'm not going to completely rehash all the reviews already done by professionals, but just suffice to say that if you want a case for uATX or Mini-ITX, the bargain level on this case is very high. I paid $60 USD for the black version and it looks like it's on sale right now for $55 on Amazon.
Pros:
Neutral/Be Aware:
Cons:
The biggest problem reported with this case is the lack of fans spinning, and the documentation doesn't cover fan configuration. The documentation for this case's big brother is easy to find and on those higher end Montech cases, the controller is a true fan-and-ARGB controller while the Air100 is (A)RGB only.
The correct way to connect the controller is:
Connecting the ARGB cable from my HS/F to the controller causes all the lights to flicker-- no big deal as there are other ways to drive that device via the motherboard.
The three front fans don't have any special mechanism to join them together in a bus so they all have individual fan cables and ARGB cables. The fan cables are all connected to each other, hidden up under the PSU shroud. This was the part that I had trouble finding just because there's no indication that it's there-- the cable bundles hide all the routing and the cables themselves are tucked away. The documentation doesn't cover fan connections at all, but there's a cable with a white connector at one end, and that is what needs to plug into the motherboard fan header. Note that since all 4 fans are connected it treats all 4 as one fan in BIOS, so if that's not your desired configuration, you'll need to separate and re-wire this bundle. In my case, the white fan header connector was too far from any of my motherboard fan headers and I had to go buy an extension fan cable.
Googling "Montech Air 100" you're probably going to see "fans don't spin" as one of the top search results. There's a lot of "I fixed it" type responses, but I couldn't find a definitive "this is how you fix it" explanation. Maybe this will help someone as the documentation does not cover any of this at all, and the explanations on how to connect up the other cases are not correct for the Air 100 series. Following those guides just leads to confusion as they have completely different controllers and the location of the case fan cable is different.
Verdict:
Honestly a good case that punches way above its price class, especially considering the included fans. Just don't expect the documentation to be very useful. I'd still recommend it but if you need to route your case fan to the middle or top of your motherboard, plan on needing an extension. Also if you're going for a strict black aesthetic, the white fan cable connector might be annoying.
Pros:
- Four included and decent RGB fans already mounted in the case.
- Very good airflow for an inexpensive case, with magnetic front panel, top panel mesh and mesh filter for the PSU intake (all removable.)
- Pre-wired with hook-and-loop fasteners for the wiring bundle and adequate room to route all cables cleanly. The front holes have rubber grommets, the top holes do not but they're not sharp.
- Fan RGB pre-wired to controller (more on this later)
- Glass side panel is hinged, not one that you have to lay in and secure on all 4 corners. If the fastener thumbscrews come out, it shouldn't crash to the floor and break as the hinge will hold it.
- There's an easily removable (2 screws and one thumbscrew) HDD cage that can be used for one 3.5" or two 2.5", and taking that out gives you a lot more cable room in front of the PSU.
- Two more flat 2.5" mounting trays, removable with a thumbscrew.
- Ample GPU clearance, acceptable HS/F clearance (up to 160mm, so some of the really big ones won't fit or will be tight.)
- Solid build quality, does not feel flimsy at all and no sharp edges.
Neutral/Be Aware:
- Standoffs only installed for Mini-ITX, you'll need to install the rest for Micro-ATX if that's your preferred platform. I assume since this isn't a SFF case, that most users will be uATX not Mini-ITX so failing to install those is kind of strange/annoying.
- No marking or documentation as to which screw is to be used for which purpose-- You just get a bag of screws and zip ties and extra standoffs.
- Not the greatest top-mount radiator clearances, so you'd probably want low-profile fans.
Cons:
- Calling the documentation "sparse" is an understatement. It's a worthless 15 pages of specifications and how to open the case panels and filters. Nothing else.
- Card slots are the punch-out style-- just part of the stamping that you'll have to break off. No spare slot covers are included.
- The slot latching mechanism is fiddly-- it looks like a tool-less design, but you still need to attach a GPU with screws and there's no guidance which ones will fit through the holes in the latch. The whole mechanism is honestly unnecessary since you're just screwing in the card anyway.
- And then there's the ARGB controller... and the utter and complete lack of documentation about how you're supposed to use it. Even the PCB is almost devoid of markings.
The biggest problem reported with this case is the lack of fans spinning, and the documentation doesn't cover fan configuration. The documentation for this case's big brother is easy to find and on those higher end Montech cases, the controller is a true fan-and-ARGB controller while the Air100 is (A)RGB only.
The correct way to connect the controller is:
- Top: ResetSW case cable (the reset switch by default is used to toggle RGB modes in case you don't have a motherboard that can address the devices.) This should be pre-installed. If you want your case to have an old fashioned reset switch you'd have to give up this feature and re-route the cable.
- Left: three front fans in top-to-bottom order. Should be pre-installed in this configuration
- Right: rear fan in top ARGB connector, bottom two empty. (again, pre-installed this way, but no guidance on what to connect to the other 2 ports.)
- Bottom: This is a proprietary cable connector and you need to trace it out. The left half of the cable runs up under by the PSU to connect to SATA power, to power all the ARGB devices, and the right half of the cable splits off to the motherboard ARGB connector. This cable is pre-installed but obviously not pre-connected to either SATA or the Mobo.
Connecting the ARGB cable from my HS/F to the controller causes all the lights to flicker-- no big deal as there are other ways to drive that device via the motherboard.
The three front fans don't have any special mechanism to join them together in a bus so they all have individual fan cables and ARGB cables. The fan cables are all connected to each other, hidden up under the PSU shroud. This was the part that I had trouble finding just because there's no indication that it's there-- the cable bundles hide all the routing and the cables themselves are tucked away. The documentation doesn't cover fan connections at all, but there's a cable with a white connector at one end, and that is what needs to plug into the motherboard fan header. Note that since all 4 fans are connected it treats all 4 as one fan in BIOS, so if that's not your desired configuration, you'll need to separate and re-wire this bundle. In my case, the white fan header connector was too far from any of my motherboard fan headers and I had to go buy an extension fan cable.
Googling "Montech Air 100" you're probably going to see "fans don't spin" as one of the top search results. There's a lot of "I fixed it" type responses, but I couldn't find a definitive "this is how you fix it" explanation. Maybe this will help someone as the documentation does not cover any of this at all, and the explanations on how to connect up the other cases are not correct for the Air 100 series. Following those guides just leads to confusion as they have completely different controllers and the location of the case fan cable is different.
Verdict:
Honestly a good case that punches way above its price class, especially considering the included fans. Just don't expect the documentation to be very useful. I'd still recommend it but if you need to route your case fan to the middle or top of your motherboard, plan on needing an extension. Also if you're going for a strict black aesthetic, the white fan cable connector might be annoying.
