A Closer Look - Inside

On the interior of the metal side panel, there is another magnetic mesh cover which is nice to see.


Looking at the interior, it really becomes apparent that Gigabyte has gone the extra mile to make sure as much of the chassis as possible is white. While this includes obvious aspects like the mesh as well as the glass framing, the details continue in form of white fans, white cable sleeving as well as white connectors. There is a shroud at the bottom of the C102 Glass Ice, which is fully vented and offers up three openings for cable routing. Unfortunately, the case lacks grommets on all cable routing openings in general, which would have been an excellent addition to keep things clean and tidy. There is a large opening towards the front of the case, so that you can easily install potent radiators. The fact that intake fans are installed on the exterior of the frame means that you have room for thick units or push/pull configurations while still being able to fit long and powerful GPUs. Looking at the back, it becomes a bit apparent how bare the case is due to the focus on value. Overall, the body doesn't feel too sturdy either - all aspects of streamlining production cost.


The side mounting options for cooling is a nice little detail that is also something unexpected. However, while Gigabyte advertises the ability to install a 240 mm AIO here, that is only plausible if you are willing to sacrifice the ability to go for a long and powerful GPU. On top of that, fans in this section of the case may collide with any front radiator you may plan to install. Instead of providing the user with the side cooling feature, Gigabyte could have forgone this and invested the budget into something like a USB-C port or white grommets - especially with the already capable design for air and liquid cooling in front and ceiling. On the backside of the motherboard tray, you will find two mounting possibilities for 2.5" drives, which use the supplied rubber rings and special pin screws. This method is tool-less and has proven to be pretty effective.


Under the shroud, you will find a HDD cage which is held in place by a thumb screw. There are two positions for the cage, one of which focuses on space for the PSU, while the other prioritizes front cooling clearance. Speaking of which, the entire front from top to bottom is dedicated to this purpose.


In the rear, the PSU bay is basic but functional with four white grommets for the unit to rest on. Above that are the five expansion slots. There is a sliding cover next to them, so there is no unsightly hole, which is a nice detail. Unfortunately the covers are of the breakout kind and Gigabyte does not include any in the accessories kit. As such, you may have to source your own if your system configuration changes in a way that uses fewer expansion slots. At the very top, there is that second fan. It is worth pointing out the small details like the clean white sticker on the fan as well as the all white cable and connector. On the downside, but unsurprisingly, both fans within the C102 Glass Ice utilize 3-pin RPM to interface with your motherboard.


Looking up at the ceiling, it becomes apparent that the top is meant for cooling purposes exclusively. The Gigabyte C102 Glass Ice can comfortably hold a 360 mm radiator here, without blocking cable routing or the connectors at the top edge of your board. These are attributes that even far more expensive cases do not manage to provide.


As mentioned before, the Gigabyte C102 Glass Ice goes a long way to ensure all aspects within the chassis are white. While it is not unheard of but still uncommon, that includes the wires themselves. Even more unusually, Gigabyte even opted for white connectors - a detail any fan of white will certainly love.