Montec Air 903 Base Review

The exceptional number of PC case value competitors we’ve reviewed in the year since we reviewed Montech’s Air 903 Max has given us a chance to revisit its design—and its base-model sibling, the 903 Base, for which we were sent. re-evaluation. Is the cheaper Air 903 base entry-level model better value than the Max, an Editors’ Choice award winner? The big difference between these two cheaper chassis is the lack of an RGB device on the base 903, but the feature set otherwise isn’t all that light for this $64.99 model. If you’re more about utility and more about light, the 903 Base surpasses its $79.99 predecessor as a no-frills low-end case for budget builders still looking to go “big rig.”

Design: Lightness Unlit

In addition to the Max version not having an illuminated fan, the Air 903 base has one less No fan and fan hub. It makes some sense to omit this last part, since the Max Edition hub supports both PWM and ARGB connectors on its ARGB fans. (The wiring is half as complicated as the fans on the Air 903 base.) Also, the base version still gives us the mesh look of its pricier counterpart.

One problem with removing the fan hub is its ARGB hub Also It had its own ARGB mode controller And A mode-selector button. That button (“LED”) becomes vestigial on the base model, though other features like the backlit power button, dual USB 3 Type-A ports, Gen 2×2 Type-C ports, and separate headphone/microphone audio jacks all continue. to function normally. The extra button puts the 903 base in contrast to models that use repurposed reset buttons to serve as manual ARGB controllers.

On the back we see a standard (inset) I/O panel and a 140mm exhaust fan, the latter sitting in a set of screw slots that allow for about an inch of upward adjustment. The inset I/O panel is the part that puts the Montec ahead of many budget-case competitors; The flush panels used by some of its more expensive competitors are cheaper to manufacture but difficult for manufacturers to use.

At the bottom rear edge of the Air 903 base is a slide-out dust filter large enough to serve the power supply inlet, nothing else. The rest of the case uses a mesh panel to trap dust, meaning the front panel will collect quickly if used in a dusty environment. Be ready with a rag.

The Air 903 base is designed to hold 12 motherboard standoffs and fully supports the 13-inch-deep Extended ATX (EATX) motherboard specification, with two bumps on the front of the motherboard tray designed to hold front/center standoffs. such as large size boards. The same area has eight rubber grommet slots for holding 2.5-inch drives, including notebook-sized hard drives and SSDs.

There is a cover over the power supply bay, attached to the bottom edge of the motherboard tray, two 120mm fan mounts, four cable passages and a 60mm-deep front-panel radiator gap. Although radiators up to 460mm in length can be placed vertically behind the front panel fan, the need to tilt the radiator into that hole from under the fixed top panel of the case limits the thickness of such long radiators to about half.

We again see a set of four grommets that line up with 2.5-inch drive mounting holes that flip the case around, but we also see two removable 2.5-inch trays and a 3.5-inch drive cage, the latter filled with a boxed hardware accessory. Pack Although the entire front panel is removable, those looking to remove just the metal insert will find that doing so gives full access to the fan mounts on the front of the case.

A closer look at that 3.5-inch drive cage reveals that it’s drilled to hold an additional drive on top, and it fits into one of two optional mounting locations on the bottom. The top two sets of holes are designed to fit a 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch drive. For the two mounting positions, they provide either 270 mm of power supply space and 35 mm of radiator space, or 240 mm power supply space with 60 mm radiator space. (Go back two paragraphs to see why it’s not just 65mm.)

For those unsatisfied with the front radiator space, the Montec offers enough room on the top panel to hold a 360mm-format radiator (up to 396mm long), or a 280mm-format radiator if you want something shorter and wider. Wider radiators will crowd the board, as the 40mm to 45mm horizontal offset from the motherboard surface is reduced by 20mm when using a 20mm wide fan. And that’s probably going to matter in your build, since the top fan mounts sit just 57mm above the edge of the motherboard.

Some more fitment fun! Users of 420mm front-panel radiators will find that their top panel space is reduced by the thickness of their front-panel radiator, and users of 360mm top-panel radiators will find that their front radiator height must be reduced by the thickness. Both any radiator and any fan on the top panel. Meanwhile, placing a 280mm radiator will probably require you to slide that radiator forward to reach those pesky EPS12V connectors at the top of your board, while front-mounting a 420mm radiator will require you to move that same radiator backwards.

Thus, the largest practical configuration is two 360mm or 280mm format radiators, although a 420mm front/280mm top combo is possible for those with enough skill and patience. Of course, if you’re buying that many radiators and cooling that hard-core rig, you’re probably spending more than $65 in your case. Or should be!

Building with Montec Air 903 base

The Air 903 base includes what most manufacturers will need to fill out their cases, including three additional standoffs for 13-inch-deep motherboards and shoulder screws that allow 2.5-inch drives to be mounted in grommets on the motherboard tray. While we’re used to thinking of 2.5-inch drives on desktops as classic SSDs, those vibration-damping 2.5-inch drive mounts harken back to the days of WD’s high-speed VelociRaptor platter hard drives.

The Air 903 base’s front-panel LED and switch group is divided into a separate group for the illuminated power button and reset switch. The HD Audio jack feeds separate headphone and microphone jacks, a 19-pin USB 3 connector feeds two Type-A ports, a Zen 2×2 (Type-E) connector feeds the top panel’s Type-C port, and a two-fan splitter feeds the two fronts of the cable. Factory connected with fan cable. For ARGB Controller Leads, re-introduce creative ideas that are uniquely yours.

Mounting our radiator on top of the motherboard’s CPU voltage regulator doesn’t seem like an ideal solution for low CPU temperatures, but we found that the voltage-regulator temperature benefits far outweighed the CPU temperature drawbacks. Since this configuration allowed us to test the Air 903 base with its three fans in the factory position, everyone wins. We will do that.

Specified for today’s testing of the Air 903 base is the 3-inch space between the front of PNY’s massive RTX 4070 Ti and the front panel of the case. We’d say it looks pretty good, but we’d rather you be the judge:

And here’s a summary of our standard testing parts loadout…

Testing the Montec Air 903 base: cheap cooler, not so quiet

The Air 903 base’s large front fans provide a big boost in airflow, reducing temperatures in the upper back corner of our motherboard, putting it ahead for both CPU and voltage-regulator cooling performance in this comparison set. It comes in fourth place in GPU cooling, but we understand that air flowing to one part of the case may not be as beneficial to another.

The big cooling provided by those big fans also comes with a big sound number: although the numerical difference isn’t huge, the decibel scale is logarithmic, so that an SPL difference of only 3db represents an audible difference of about 30%.

Verdict: A budget price too big to ignore

Is the 903 base an easy case to pass up if you’re looking at it in isolation, on a shelf full of other chassis? sure Other than the RGB bling of its 903 Max Keen, it’s a pretty nondescript effort in stock form. But look at the price tag, and you may reconsider.

If you’re a function-over-form PC builder, the Air 903 base lets you install liquid-cooling gear on the cheap, freeing up more money for another radiator, better fans, more RAM, or even a flex. Flat-up GPU or CPU. And really, for enthusiasts to get the most out of their DIY dollars, it’s the leveling that counts the most It’s not a sexy glass aquarium case or a sleek aluminum effort, but call the Montec Air 903 Base a budget-strapped enthusiast’s best friend.