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Overall we are left with generally good impressions of the Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced. It has been cleverly designed to house a powerful mini-ITX based system, making it ideal for a portable LAN gaming PC as there is plenty of room for large graphics cards.
We are impressed by the build quality of the case which is quite reasonable considering the price point. However, the exterior design doesn't have the ‘wow' factor of the Bitfenix Prodigy.
The compact form factor means that there isn't a lot of space to work with inside. The main issue with this is the lack of headroom for CPU coolers as the only model we could find that would fit was the Intel reference cooler.
This means it would be quite difficult to build an overclocked gaming machine in this chassis as most small coolers won't provide adequate cooling performance.
At a price of £40 from Overclockers UK, we feel that the Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced offers great value for money. If you're looking to build a compact gaming system on a budget this is one of the best cases out there. Sure the Bitfenix Prodigy is more attractive to look at and offers more room for CPU coolers but it's about £25 more expensive which puts it into a different price league.
Pros
- Great value for money.
- Room for long graphics cards.
- Good build quality.
- Quiet fans.
Cons
- Limited CPU cooler headroom.
- Uninspiring design.
KitGuru says: An excellent option if you're looking to build a HTPC or compact gaming PC on a budget.
Quiet fans? The fans that come with this are some of the worst sounding fans I have ever heard. Not loud from air flow, just they “tick”ALOT.
Please do not base a fans quietness on how many dba’s it registers.
Send them an email, they might incorporate that new ‘tick’ method of measuring sound. I hear its based on years of scientific research :p