Montech Fighter 400

[Darksaber]

The Montech Fighter 400 pushes the envelope in price by being a glass-equipped ATX chassis for less than $50 retail. That in itself already sounds interesting if looking for a solid budget choice, but we take a closer look to see if the details of the chassis are up to the challenge as well.

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[FreedomEclipse]

The poor man's Fractal Define.

 

[Vario]

Looks like the older generation style case but definitely a good budget choice, would probably be cooler if the front had a bit more ventilation.

 

[tussinman]

Looks like the older generation style case but definitely a good budget choice, would probably be cooler if the front had a bit more ventilation.

Agreed. It reminds me style and price wise of the Centurion 5 which was a popular 50 dollar case from like 2005-2010 (nothing fancy but a well built case at a good price)

 

[maxfly]

I actually won this case here at tpu! I was able to put it to good use with my backup gear last week(finally).
Rig consists of
I7 8086k@stock
Msi z370 gaming pro carbon ac
Gigabyte windforce 3 980ti
2x8gb patriot viper steel ddr4 4133
Seasonic x1050w
Xpg sx8200pro 512gb nvme m.2
Noctua NH-U12S chromax.black
2 Noctua NF-P12 redux-1700 PWM in front and 1 as exhaust.
I had to remove the HDD tray to fit the PSU but their were only 4 rivets and it came right out.
Overall it's a solid little case and with the noctua fans the case flow is surprisingly effective and quiet. I went with all black gear and mb rgb leds on white so you can just see the gear(looks sweet). Being a smaller case you could light it up with a single strip or a couple rgb fans no sweat. It's smaller size fits just right on my test bench. For what it is, this little case fits the bill, especially for free! Thanks again TPU and Montech!

 

[Vario]

I actually won this case here at tpu! I was able to put it to good use with my backup gear last week(finally).
Rig consists of
I7 8086k@stock
Msi z370 gaming pro carbon ac
Gigabyte windforce 3 980ti
2x8gb patriot viper steel ddr4 4133
Seasonic x1050w
Xpg sx8200pro 512gb nvme m.2
Noctua NH-U12S chromax.black
2 Noctua NF-P12 redux-1700 PWM in front and 1 as exhaust.
I had to remove the HDD tray to fit the PSU but their were only 4 rivets and it came right out.
Overall it's a solid little case and with the noctua fans the case flow is surprisingly effective and quiet. I went with all black gear and mb rgb leds on white so you can just see the gear(looks sweet). Being a smaller case you could light it up with a single strip or a couple rgb fans no sweat. It's smaller size fits just right on my test bench. For what it is, this little case fits the bill, especially for free! Thanks again TPU and Montech!

Congrats! Hey post up a picture !

 

[kapone32]

I actually won this case here at tpu! I was able to put it to good use with my backup gear last week(finally).
Rig consists of
I7 8086k@stock
Msi z370 gaming pro carbon ac
Gigabyte windforce 3 980ti
2x8gb patriot viper steel ddr4 4133
Seasonic x1050w
Xpg sx8200pro 512gb nvme m.2
Noctua NH-U12S chromax.black
2 Noctua NF-P12 redux-1700 PWM in front and 1 as exhaust.
I had to remove the HDD tray to fit the PSU but their were only 4 rivets and it came right out.
Overall it's a solid little case and with the noctua fans the case flow is surprisingly effective and quiet. I went with all black gear and mb rgb leds on white so you can just see the gear(looks sweet). Being a smaller case you could light it up with a single strip or a couple rgb fans no sweat. It's smaller size fits just right on my test bench. For what it is, this little case fits the bill, especially for free! Thanks again TPU and Montech!

Can you fit a Radiator on the top?

 

[maxfly]

Congrats! Hey post up a picture !

Will do

Can you fit a Radiator on the top?

There's just a hair over 25mm from the top inside of the case to the top of the memory modules. The front and possibly the rear 120 would be it for rads.

I forgot to mention that the rear 120mm fan is right up against the left heatsink on this mb. So it will be very tight if your mb has a tall heatsink. The 120mm in the second pic is sitting on the hsf which is 4 or 5mm lower than the tops of the memory.

 

[Caring1]

Another negative in my eyes is the great big hole in the shroud that is meant to cover the PSU.

 

[kapone32]

Another negative in my eyes is the great big hole in the shroud that is meant to cover the PSU.

That hole is to show off your PSU.

 

[Caring1]

That hole is to show off your PSU.

It's like tinting the windows on your car, then cutting a hole in that, so people can see inside.

 

[kapone32]

It's like tinting the windows on your car, then cutting a hole in that, so people can see inside.

Dare I say penis envy. It's same reason (for me) side mounted GPUs exist. Even some of the high end cases are starting to do that, so your PSU that cost more than your case can have it's brand label on display. It doesn't look like there is a very heavy tint you can clearly see the PSU in Maxfly's post

 

[metalslaw]

@Darksaber In future case reviews, can you please start adding/using a 'large capacity' HDD that has the 'new' bolt hole pattern that is on ALL large capacity drives 8TB+.

Yes, most cases will accommodate the new spacing for these newer high capacity drives, but some may not?

Cheers,
metal

 

[Darksaber]

In future case reviews, can you please start adding/using a 'large capacity' HDD that has the 'new' bolt hole pattern that is on ALL large capacity drives 8TB+. Yes, most cases will accommodate the new spacing for these newer high capacity drives, but some may not?

Hmm, I see what you mean, but even some 8TBs have all six holes, while others only have 4 holes. I can definetly keep an eye on it and mention it in a review if a chassis HDD tray would get in the way of such a newer configuration, but maybe not needed to go out and buy a new drive? Besides, I do not remember a single modern chassis that would be an issue.

 

[RandomizerRaid]

How do I take off and put on the front panel with the light for fan installation?

 

[maxfly]

Grab the bottom of the faceplate and give it a good yank. It'll pop off. It's held on with plastic push pins that hold on really tight.