Montech Sky One Lite Case Review

Rating: 8.5.

With the budget case segment of the market rather crowded, do we need yet another manufacturer wanting to come and play too? Well, Montech do, and their Sky One Lite is entering the chat. Starting at just £55, this might be a case that you have never heard of before, but, it might just be one that you will end up considering if you are putting together a budget build.

Time Stamps

00:00 Start
00:20 Sky One Lite
01:28 Front of the case
02:05 Top of the case and I/O
02:30 Rear of the case
02:52 Side panel and underside
03:38 Inside the case
05:00 Cable management concerns
05:22 Accessories
05:36 Building a system into the case
06:17 Build timelapse
07:09 System built – Kris’ thoughts
08:13 Sky One Lite Performance
11:12 Closing Thoughts

Main Features

• High-End Budget ATX
• USB TYPE-C Port
• MONTECH Unique “Air Performance Fine Mesh” Front Panel
• All-Around Anti-Dust Design
• 3x High Airflow Fans Pre-Installed
• Easy Swivel Glass Side Panel
• Ample upgrade space for High-end GPU and Motherboard
• Exceptional ARGB Lighting Show

Specification:

Motherboard support: ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX.
Power supply support: ATX
Expansion slots: 7
Included fans: 2x 120mm 1,500rpm front intake, 1x 120mm 1,500rpm rear exhaust
Fan mounts: 3x 120mm/2x 140mm front, 2x 120/140mm top, 1x 120mm rear, 2x 120mm PSU Shroud
Radiator mounts: 360mm, 280mm,240mm front, 240mm, 280mm  top, 120mm rear.
Internal drive bays: 6x 2.5-inch, or 4x 2.5-inch 2x 3.5-inch
Front I/O ports: 2x USB 3.0 Type-A, 1x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C, mic, headphone.
Dimensions: 490mm H x 416mm D x 220mm W.

Testing
To put this case through its cooling paces we will be using a test system consisting of an Intel 12700, Zotac RTX 3070, and a Seagate FireCuda 510 SSD  For cooling we have used a be quiet! Pure Loop 2 FX 240 with 2x 2500RPM Light Wings 120mm Fans.

Test System:

Processor: Intel Core i7 12700
Motherboard: MSI MPG Z690 Edge Wifi
CPU cooler: be quiet! Pure Loop 2 FX 240mm
Memory: XPG Lancer RGB DDR5 16GB(2x8GB) 6000MHz
Graphics card: Zotac RTX 3070 AMP Holo Edition
Power supply: Montech Gamma II 750W
SSD: Seagate FireCuda 510 NVME
OS: Windows 10

Cooling Performance Overview

The Sky One Lite included case fans are rated at 1500 RPM and so for all our tests I ran three variations to take into account that the Pure Loop 2 FX Light Wings fans can reach 2500 RPM. Tests were run at 750 RPM, 1500 RPM, and then 1500 RPM on the case fans, with the Light Wings at 2500 RPM. The CPU and GPU testing were also conducted with the glass side panel installed and removed to see what influence the front mesh would have on our temperatures.

Closing Thoughts
Coming in at £55 for the black version, and £58 for the white version, the Montech Sky One Lite offers good value with three pre installed case fans. The budget case market is flooded with offerings, there are so many cases at this price point that it’s difficult to compare it to anything specific given the huge number of alternatives that are out there.

If you spend 5 to 10 pounds less, or 5 to 10 pounds more then there are even more options available. The Sky One Lite doesn’t do anything spectacular, sure, it could do with some improvements, but the build quality is ok, it’s capable and functional and personally, I think it looks quite good too.

Pros:

• All round dust filters
• Swivel glass side panel
• USB Type-C is included along with two Type-A ports.
• Storage support
• Cooling support
• Included fans

Cons:

• Cable management is a little sparse and not immediately obvious
• Rear access is required to get to the PSU dust filter
• Sits in such a congested segment of the PC case market

KitGuru says: The Sky One Lite is good if you are looking for a simple, functional, and reasonably well-built case.

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