Introduction
Whenever a new graphics card releases on the market, the first question that we often end up asking is “do I need to buy a new case”. As the market becomes saturated with more options, we’ll see a number of new cards pushing the clearance boundaries even further, resulting in consumers having to rethink their component choices.
As we’ve seen with NVIDIA’s RTX 4000 range of graphics cards, many of the new market alternatives are rather large, which can cause clearance problems, or at the worst, installation issues. And this raises the question, are AMD’s brand new Radeon 7000 cards going to cause the same issues? And if so, what case should I choose? In this roundup we’ll be answering these very questions with a roundup of the best cases for the Radeon RX 7700 XT. We’ll also be following this up with a buyers guide of the best cases for the 7800 XT too.
Best Case for the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT: Cooler Master TD500 Mesh V2
📸 View the Cooler Master TD500 Mesh V2 gallery.
We’ve picked out the TD500 Mesh V2 for the case to house the RX 7700 XT. This case is by far one of the best options when it comes to usability, and it is incredibly feature-rich. Consumers can install a massive variety of different components without any clearance issues, and all for a pretty reasonable price point.
Features: 4.5/5
Design: 4.6/5
Value for Money: 4.6/5
Our Verdict: 4.6/5
Skip to the full testing, gallery and where to buy the Cooler Master TD500 Mesh V2. ⬇️
Suggested Article: AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT Review – Sapphire Pulse Edition
All PC Cases in our Roundup
1. Montech Air 100 Lite
Best Budget
Micro-ATX
Case Size
Up To M-ATX
Board Support
330mm
GPU Clearance
8 x 120mm
Max Fan Support
First up is the Air 100 Lite from Montech. A budget case that comes in black and white, geared towards price conscious consumers. The Air 100 Lite is equipped with a mesh front, a tempered glass side panel, and a modern set of IO. This case doesn’t have an insane set of features, but this is likely down to the price that this chassis comes in at. Whilst there are better options on the market when it comes to clearance, airflow, and design, the price of the Air 100 Lite is difficult to argue with, making it an awesome budget option.
This chassis offers plenty of internal space, sporting a max GPU length of 330mm. As long as you haven’t crammed in a range of other massive components, you shouldn’t have any issues installing your new 7700 XT.
Although the Montech Air 100 Lite is a solid budget option, that’s all it really is. There’s no support for E-ATX motherboards, or 360mm radiators. What’s more, there’s also not a GPU support bracket, or many cable channels, so be aware that this case is lacklustre due to the lower price point.
Unfortunately, to add to the list of unsupported components, the Air 100 Lite only has space for Mini-ITX and Micro-ATX motherboards. If you’ve got an ATX board, you’ll probably want to rethink your case option.
Pros
- Extremely cheap.
- Mostly modern IO.
- Nice minimalist design.
Cons
- Lack of modern features.
- Doesn't support ATX boards.
Our Ratings:
Features: 3.8/5
Design: 4.3/5
Value for Money: 4.2/5
Our Verdict: 4.1/5
Where to Buy
Buy the Montech Air 100 Lite on:
2. Corsair 4000D Airflow
Best for Airflow
Mid-Tower
Case Size
Up To ATX
Board Support
360mm
GPU Clearance
6 x 120mm
Max Fan Support
Next up is the Corsair 4000D Airflow, one of the strongest and popular cases on the market right now. The 4000D Airflow is a case that we’ve looked at a mass of different times because it is plainly awesome. Corsair have maximised airflow by utilising a mesh front panel, so all of your components should stay nice and cool. There’s a mass of room larger parts, including 360mm radiators. You’ve got access to 360mm of GPU clearance, which is more than enough for the 7700 XT. And this chassis also supports E-ATX boards, so if you’re building more of a top-end system, there’s ample space for large and feature-rich motherboards.
Although this is a case we absolutely adore, the 4000D Airflow has been around for quite some time. It is likely Corsair are gearing up to either revise this case, or bring out an entirely new model.
The 5000D Airflow is the younger sibling of the 4000D, but it is effectively a larger and slightly updated version. If you’ve picked up an AIB model, you might need to secure a larger chassis, and this is where the 5000D thrives.
Pros
- Ample space for modern components.
- Massive focus on airflow and thermals.Massive focus on airflow and thermals.
- Competitively priced.
Cons
- 5000D Airflow has more space.
- 4000D is an older case, likely to be EOL.
Our Ratings:
Features: 4.2/5
Design: 4.3/5
Value for Money: 4.4/5
Our Verdict: 4.3/5
Where to Buy
Buy the Corsair 4000D Airflow on:
3. NZXT H5 Flow
Best Compact
Mid-Tower
Case Size
Up To E-ATX
Board Support
395mm
GPU Clearance
5 x 120mm
Max Fan Support
Our third case recommendation is the H5 Flow. NZXT have started to significantly improve their cases in recent months, with many of the new options offering better airflow and thermal capability, contrasting to their older, and much hotter cases. The H5 Flow is a particularly solid option based on its lower price, and excellent component support. NZXT always offer very well designed cases that provide a sophisticated minimalist aesthetic, and the H5 Flow is no exception. This compact mid-tower case is an excellent option for a number of consumers.
NZXT are also pretty well renowned for creating cases that are easy to build in, and the H5 Flow shares a similar story. This case is pretty easy to build in, there’s plenty of cable channels and management options, so there shouldn’t be much hassle getting your system put together.
I fully understand what NZXT were trying to do here, but the execution was a bit poor. The ‘toilet bowl’ looking fan at the bottom of the case doesn’t really do much for airflow, beyond creating more noise in your case. So if you’d prefer silence, we recommend removing it or looking at another chassis.
NZXT have done their best here to include a modern set of IO, and its nice to see USB 3.2 options. However, there’s just two ports here. I feel NZXT could have included a couple of extra USB 2.0 options to provide consumers with more connectivity.
Pros
- Well priced.
- Very easy to build in.
- Sophisticated minimalist aesthetic.
Cons
- The bottom fan is pointless.
- Front IO needs improvement.
Our Ratings:
Features: 4.2/5
Design: 4.5/5
Value for Money: 4.3/5
Our Verdict: 4.3/5
Where to Buy
Buy the NZXT H5 Flow on:
4. Cooler Master TD500 Mesh V2
Best Overall
Mid-Tower
Case Size
Up To E-ATX
Board Support
410mm
GPU Clearance
7 x 120mm
Max Fan Support
The final case of this roundup is the TD500 Mesh V2 from Cooler Master. We’ve taken a look at this case in a full review before, along with the older and smaller sibling of this particular chassis. The original TD500 Mesh is one of our favourite cases, and when Cooler Master revised this chassis, we were overly excited. Overall the TD500 Mesh V2 hasn’t changed much versus its predecessor, but there’s been some solid versatility and usability changes that makes this case worth considering, such as the removable top panel, USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C support, removable PSU shroud, and stronger hardware compatibility.
This case has some nice usability features which should make building much easier, such as the removable top panel, tool-less side panel, and included ARGB/Fan hub.
Although the V2 version of the TD500 Mesh is a solid option, not much has been changed versus the original version. If you’ve got a V1 of the TD500 Mesh, it probably won’t be worth upgrading to the V2.
The removable PSU cover on the TD500 Mesh only serves as a feature to enhance the aesthetic. PSUs don’t really add much when it comes to design, so having a cover to “look” at your power supply seems redundant.
Pros
- Very well priced.
- Extremely easy to build in.
- Support for large radiators and motherboards.
Cons
- The PSU cover is effectively pointless.
- Doesn't provide much of an upgrade versus the V1 chassis.
Our Ratings:
Features: 4.5/5
Design: 4.6/5
Value for Money: 4.6/5
Our Verdict: 4.6/5
Where to Buy
Buy the Cooler Master TD500 Mesh V2 on:
How Does the 7700 XT Perform?
The 7700 XT is one of AMD’s brand new graphics cards, catering to the 1440p gaming side of the market. In this second we’ll be briefly delving into some gaming benchmarks to give you an idea of how the new cards perform.
Starfield @ 1440p
The first game that we decided to run was Bethesda’s brand new space-based RPG title – Starfield. Unfortunately, as you’ll see from our data, performance is generally weaker on average versus other games that we’ve tested. This isn’t really down to the hardware of the cards, but more down to how unoptimised Starfield is. Regardless of this, the 7700 XT pushed through and remained strong, offering an average framerate of 74FPS, which we were pretty happy to see.
Hogwarts Legacy @ 1080p
First off in Hogwarts Legacy, the Radeon RX 7700 XT sits at the front of the pack with an average framerate of 111FPS at 1080p. Although 1080p gaming is primarily CPU bound, its nice to see that this new card can easily outperform new GPUs like the 4060 Ti and 4070 without any problems.
@ 1440p
At 1440p we’re seeing a similar situation, with an average framerate of 92FPS. This isn’t quite the advertised ‘high refresh rate’ benchmark that AMD has advertised, but I’d say that 92 frames is still more than reasonable. Hogwarts Legacy isn’t a particularly fast-paced game, so ensuring you can enjoy smoothness isn’t that much of a priority here.
Overwatch 2 @ 1440p
Next up is Overwatch 2 at 1440p. This game isn’t that GPU intensive, due to the visual fidelity of this title. For this reason, the 7700 XT copes extremely well versus all of the other modern and old-gen options we’ve benchmarked in this title. We saw an average framerate of 270FPS which is awesome, consumers can enjoy buttery smooth gameplay, with minimal stutters and hindrances.
The 7700 XT does unfortunately get beat out by an older-gen option, the RTX 3080 Ti, which goes to show how capable RTX 3000 options are. But regardless of this, the 7700 XT easily copes with this game at 1440p, and is a definitive winner for Esports titles.
How We Tested the Best Cases for the 7700 XT
In order to test and evaluate the best cases for the 7700 XT, there are a number of factors that we take into account, these are:
- Airflow
- GPU Clearance
- Versatility and Usability
- Aesthetic
- Value for Money
Frequently Asked Questions
How Much Clearance Do I Need for the 7700 XT?
The reference model card comes in at 266mm, which means that the majority of AIBs will be 300mm or bigger. You’ll want to aim for around 50-100mm more than the reference card, to ensure there’s no installation problems.
Is the 7700 XT Good?
Yes it is. The 7700XT comes in at a pretty reasonable price point and is capable of handling 1440p and 4K gaming. It easily beats out the RTX 4070 in most titles, which is awesome.
Will an AIB Card Fit in these Cases?
Yes most AIB cards shouldn’t pose any issue. The Sapphire Nitro+ AIB card for instance is 320mm long, so even the Montech Air 100 Lite technically has enough clearance without any front fans installed.
