I got the CMT260 in a few months ago from FSP, since they’re trying their hand in the consumer market. They typically make power supplies and power supply accessories, which are white labeled and were founded in 1993. Lately though, they’ve pushed into the consumer market with cases, power supplies, processor coolers and more under their own label.
It’s a pretty straight forward ATX case, in fact it’s one of the smallest ATX cases I’ve worked with. It’s so small in fact it can easily be mistaken as an mATX case, with it being about 18 inches long, and 15 inches tall. With some work, you can fit a EATX motherboard in it, but it’s not officially supported. The case is light, I honestly should have weighed it before assembly but it was light enough to pick up with a finger. But lightness is both a blessing and a curse, because it means you’re giving up strength for weight reduction. There’s more on that below.
As I said above, I’ve had it for a few months, not in use but in storage; on the workbench, in standby.. It seems because of material and it’s production (whether it’s thin, not strengthened enough, etc.) It doesn’t take weight or bumps that well. Normally when storing cases, I expect dirt/dust, paint chips, etc but it’s got dings, buckling sections, and bent pieces. The heaviest thing that was on it was a monitor for setting up the internals. Damage to the side panel “hooks” happened on two different units during shipping. First one FSP asked back to review what happened, second one they said it’s fine and just ignore it basically. They said one of the first units they actually bent the hook back into place, but I thought to myself that no consumer should need to do that to get something visually pleasing or functional.
This case has a spot for 1x 120mm in back, 2x 120mm on top (space for a 240mm AIO watercooler), and 3x 120mm in front. But for the front, it won’t fit a 360mm AIO or radiator for custom cooling. I am pretty disappointed in that fact. I tried a Gamdias 360mm AIO, but because of how slim the basement cutout is, It can’t be positioned into it. With more and more components requiring all-in-one watercooling, this is a downfall in my opinion. While you could just use fans in the front, I think it might affect the overall build.
While I see a lot of potential in the case because of the compact size and tempered glass. It’s being held back by some material choices and poor packaging. I wish the front area was completely usable for 360mm AIO watercooling. The case retails for 79.99 on most retailers after shipping or with shipping included. For that price point, I would have other recommendations.
Final Score?
Plausible status.
Could use a revision to bring the product more in line with hopes.
Thanks for the critical review of a budget case. It’s rare to see. Everyone is eager to review the expensive cases but the budget ones seem to not get much attention.