A Closer Look - Outside

Taking a look at the design of the Fighter 400, it is simple but effective. With its plastic front, it aims for a clean look by skipping a glossy finish, while the metal mesh strips make for airflow into the case should you want to install fans in the front of the enclosure. It feels sufficiently sturdy and barely flexes under pressure.


You will find an LED strip in the top of the front cover to communicate the power state of your system, while there is a Montech logo on the bottom. This branding is pretty prominent, which may make the chassis less interesting for system integrators. You may pull the whole cover off to reveal three mounting possibilities for fans. Montech also mentions that a 240 mm radiator fits in the front above the HDD cages. The rear of the Fighter 400 is pretty generic, with a traditional layout of the PSU on the bottom of the chassis.


The main side is made out of a simple piece of very gently tinted glass that is held in place by four thumbscrews. While simple, it is absolutely appropriate for a case of this price point, and it is nice to see that you don't have to spend crazy amounts of money to get glass instead of acrylic. That said, you will have to live with the fact that the panel is not framed in black, so you will see all the cutouts and holes of the frame as it is supposed to be able to hold a traditional steel panel as well, which is the case on the other side.


In the bottom is a set of mounting holes for the PSU, with the seven expansion slots above it. Montech offers a single removable bracket, while the rest are of the breakout kind. Considering the affordability of the chassis, this is to be expected, but I would have loved all seven to be of the breakout kind with one or two separately included covers. That way, the user at least has the flexibility to switch things up in the future. In the very top, you will find a 120 mm exhaust fan with clear, dimpled blades and blue LEDs.


In the top is a magnetic dust filter, which is a nice touch for a case of this price segment. Underneath, you will find mounting holes which may hold up to two 120 mm fans. I see no immediate reason why you could not fit a 240 mm radiator here, but alas, Montech does not mention such compatibility, so you have to do so at your own risk. The I/O panel is quite interesting as you will get two USB 2.0 and one USB 3.0 ports alongside audio connectors. There is a cutout for a second USB 3.0 plug, but Montech chose not to use it. I would have either included that second port or dropped USB 2.0 support and just gone with two USB 3.0 connectors. I looked at a list of 162 AM4 and 250 Intel 1151 boards and every single one has at least one USB 3.0 header, so every board price segment is now covered with the new interface.