PC case and cooling firm Montech isn’t essentially the most well-known element model within the US. However the firm has been churning out merchandise since 2016, incessantly utilizing the tagline “With good worth!” And at $99 with a hinged glass aspect panel, mesh entrance and RGB, the Skye One Lite case seems to dwell as much as that slogan.
However as we’ll see in our testing and options walkthrough under, there are higher choices on the market, making it arduous to suggest for a spot on our Finest PC Instances record. That stated, in the event you dwell close to a Micro Middle, the place the Sky One Lite sells for a considerably decrease $69.99, it might be value contemplating in the event you like this case’s seems.
Specs of the Montech Sky One Lite
| Kind | ATX Mid-Tower |
| Motherboard Help | Mini-ITX, Micro ATX, ATX |
| Dimensions (HxWxD) | 19.3 x 8.67 x 16.4-inches |
| Max GPU Size | 13.7-inches |
| CPU Cooler Peak | 6.69-inches |
| Exterior Bays | X |
| Inside Bays | 6x 2.5-inch or 4x 2.5 and 2x 3.5-inch |
| Enlargement Slots | 7 |
| Entrance I/O | Energy, Reset, RGB management, 2x USB 3.0, 1x USB Kind-C (10 Gbps), 1x audio and 1x microphone jack. |
| Different | Tempered Glass Aspect Panel |
| Entrance Followers | 2x 120mm followers |
| Rear Followers | 1x 120mm fan |
| Prime Followers | None |
| Backside Followers | None |
| Weight | 16.9 kilos (7.67kg) |
| Guarantee | 1 yr |
Options of the Montech Sky One Lite
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he Montech Sky One Lite takes design queues from among the best-performing chassis available on the market, with a mesh entrance and a hinged tempered glass aspect panel. The Sky One Lite makes use of an precise door deal with and hinges on the again, reasonably than screws or magnets to carry its glass panel on. This works properly, however seems a little bit misplaced and old school. Nonetheless, I want it over thumbscrews.
As to be anticipated from a finances case, the rear aspect panel is secured by two captive thumb screws, however the steel feels very skinny and appears like an incoming thunderstorm when shaken.
The entrance panel is mesh, which doubles as a mud filter, and every pore is 1.5mm (in response to Montech, we didn’t escape our calipers) identical to on the Lian Li Lancool III). Whereas that sounds cool, the efficiency says in any other case, as we’ll see later in our testing. The entrance panel additionally contains a lengthy addressable RGB (ARGB) strip, which connects to the case’s emblem on the prime.
The RGB may be adjusted by way of the case’s entrance IO and, basically, the case seems like one thing that’s solely designed for pre-built rigs. Don’t get me unsuitable, the Sky One Lite isn’t an unsightly case, however the design is a bit boring.
The Sky One Lite comes with three non-lit 120mm, 3-pin followers. And if the case market weren’t as aggressive as it’s now, I’d say these spinners are superb. Nonetheless, for a similar value, you should buy the Phanteks Eclipse G360A, outfitted with three ARGB PWM followers.
It’s not unusual anymore for case corporations to daisy chain the included followers to 1 header, which is clear within the NZXT H7 Circulation. Nonetheless, these followers have been dead-silent. The identical can’t be stated with these followers, as we’ll see in a while throughout testing.
The Sky One Lite’s IO is respectable: two USB 3.1 (5 Gbps), one Kind-C connector, energy, reset, RGB configuration, microphone and headphone jack.
Inside Structure
The Montech Sky One Lite stands at 19.3 x 8.67 x 16.4-inches (HWD), which is a bit taller than the typical ATX chassis. For instance, it is taller than the Fractal Meshify Compact. However the case additionally isn’t that deep, so, don’t mount radiators to the entrance in the event you’re operating an extended graphics card. However then placing a radiator on the entrance is all the time a foul thought until there’s no approach to keep away from it.
Should you’re new to system constructing or don’t like problems, the Ske One Lite is essentially the most simple case to construct in, thanks largely to its inside roominess. I moved my {hardware} from our earlier case to the Sky One Lite in simply 20 minutes, together with the ability provide.
Like many chassis, the Sky One Lite comes with three pre-installed velcro cable ties, which do an honest job of taming the cables.
The pre-installed cables are funky, because the Sky One Lite comes with a translucent inexperienced clip that’s used to bridge all the entrance IO cables, reasonably than coping with tiny pin headers. I want I noticed this function on extra instances, however the coloration may use bettering–fundamental black is okay.
The development of random-colored cables continues with the 3-pin fan splitter connector, which is white. Which may appear much less misplaced within the white mannequin (though the wires are black), however we examined the black model of the case.
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Alongside the cables are two 2.5-inch SSD mounts behind the motherboard tray and a tough drive cage that may home two 2.5 or 3.5-inch drives. Oh, and two extra SSDs may be saved subsequent to the motherboard tray, so Montech didn’t skimp out on storage on this chassis.
Montech Sky One Lite Cooling Choices
The Montech Sky One Lite’s cooling functionality is pretty conventional, and there’s nothing expressly unsuitable with it. On the prime of the case, there’s room for 280mm or smaller followers or radiators. And you may truly go greater right here, as the ability provide shroud has a cut-out, which elongates the supported radiator or fan area to 360mm. Whereas there’s extra cooling assist than meets the attention, the rear of the chassis can solely match a single 120mm, which is pretty commonplace.
Most giant graphics playing cards and tower coolers ought to match within the Sky One Lite. You get 170mm (6.69-inches) of clearance for CPU coolers and 350mm (13.78-inch) for graphics playing cards. So in the event you aren’t utilizing probably the greatest AIO coolers, you should definitely examine the peak of the air cooler you need to use if it’s a giant beast.
Testing {Hardware}
Our testing {hardware} makes use of Intel’s 12 Gen “Alder Lake” platform, which has shaken up the desktop panorama (and brought distinguished spots on our greatest CPUs for gaming record). We’re now utilizing a Core i7-12700KF, which is being cooled by a Noctua U12s air cooler. Our graphics card is a Gigabyte RTX 3070 Ti Gaming OC.
Our motherboard is the MSI Professional Z690-A WIFI. The Aorus Z690 Elite we have been utilizing for earlier opinions died throughout testing of a earlier case, so we needed to swap it out.
Acoustic Outcomes for the Montech Sky One Lite
Our acoustic check consists of three situations: We run the CPU at full load, the CPU and GPU at full load, and an optimized mode. The CPU full load check runs the CPU and case followers at their most pace. For the CPU and GPU full load acoustic check, we additionally stress the Gigabyte RTX 3070 Ti Gaming OC and set the followers at 75% pace, as a result of in gaming, the followers by no means run at 100% and are far too loud once they do.
For the optimized mode, we run the GPU fan pace at 30 % and the CPU and included case followers on the lowest pace they are going to spin.
The acoustic check outcomes for the Sky One Lite have been flatly unhealthy. There’s no different approach to put it. The Sky One Lite was louder in our checks than even the Corsair iCUE 5000T. However the three included followers in that case are far superior in high quality and cooled our elements much better than most different chassis we’ve examined lately.
Thermal Outcomes for the Montech Sky One Lite
For the thermal checks, all case and CPU fan speeds are set to 100%. The Core i7-12700K is ready at a 4.7GHz clock at 1.3v on all efficiency cores to make sure constant energy consumption throughout check situations. Letting the GPU run at 75% fan pace allows it to take care of its energy goal whereas sticking to 1 set cheap fan pace, in order that the temperature is the one variable.
One thing that’s turn into more and more apparent as I check instances is that, usually talking, the GPU and its followers can usually deal with itself with regards to cooling. Inside airflow is way extra essential to the CPU. A such, the Montech Sky One Lite does a reasonably stable job protecting our triple-fan RTX 3070 Ti cool sufficient, however the case sits in final place on our thermal testing chart–ignoring the Fractal Design Pop Silent, since that’s a silence-focused case, particularly.
The outcomes from our thermal check are a bit regarding, as this case and the Lian Li Lancool III function the identical diameter of holes within the mesh entrance panel, however the LanCool III manages to maintain our CPU six levels Celcius decrease. And I used to be barely upset by the thermal outcomes from the Lancool III throughout our CPU stress check. Granted, the 80 levels C outcome we noticed within the Sky One Lite testing isn’t near the CPU’s max temp (100 levels C earlier than throttling). However I used to be shocked to see a case with 4 140mm followers not protecting the CPU temps decrease. The Montech case got here again to earth throughout our GPU check and was only a diploma behind the H7 Circulation in thermals there.
Backside Line
The Montech Sky One Lite’s largest disadvantage is its price ticket, which is $99 at most on-line shops. If we had examined the case a yr in the past, I’d give it a greater rating, however there are such a lot of choices, a few of them nice, for about the identical value. I’m taking a look at you, Phanteks G360A. With that stated, the Sky One Lite isn’t a foul case; the cooling compatibility is shocking and storage assist is definitely spectacular. So in the event you’re going so as to add some critical cooling and storage in your construct, it might maintain some extra enchantment.
As a result of the Sky One Lite is an airflow-focused case, I’m in a position to forgive its loud acoustic check outcomes, to a level. Nonetheless, the tradeoff for a loud chassis needs to be good cooling, and the CPU thermals in our testing have been surprisingly heat, regardless of the mesh entrance and three followers. For about $100, there are lots of better-performing, better-looking instances, though in the event you can choose the Montech Skye One Lite up at your native Micro Middle for its present value of $69.99–or much less–it’s arguably a bit extra interesting.
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