Best open air PC case 2024 – our top picks

After an open PC case? Let's take a look at the best.

Table of Contents Table of Contents

Looking to give your components plenty of fresh air, then the best open air PC case is what you’re after. Although it might have its drawbacks they have its own aesthetic and benefits. Less common and popular, it might be some of the best PC cases out there when it comes to showing off your PC.

If you’re planning on an air cooler or an AIO cooling solution, then you can find yourself a good chassis for the job with this list. Even water cooling is a great option to choose from, giving you a more unique solution to choose from. We keep the page updated with new options making sure you can find the best options for your needs in that case you can get the best choice for you. For those in a rush, our top picks are the Thermaltake Core P5, InWin D-Frame, and the Thermaltake Core P1.

---

Best open air PC cases

Thermaltake’s Core P5 is one of their ATX open-air PC cases, which can also be wall-mounted. The Core P5 is one of Thermaltake’s most popular open-air case options, piping the expensive P7 to the post.

The Core P5 is sometimes referred to as the coffee table, with its huge tempered glass side panel being a great place for your beverage (don’t try this at home!). This open-air case supports ATX motherboards and can easily house an impressive system, with plenty of water-cooling room. The case is big enough to deal with the largest of GPU sizes and can fit a CPU cooler as tall as 7″.

The P5 supports radiators up to 480mm and is awash with modular features perfect for a custom loop builder. The case comes with four tempered glass windows that can be removed and almost close the case off entirely! The Thermaltake P5 is available in black and white options and features a riser cable for vertical GPU mounting. Overall, the Core P5  is one of the best open-air PC cases on the market, and if you can afford it, you are going to be making some seriously cool custom loops.

If you’re after some wings for your setup, the Cooler Master MasterFrame 700 brings just that, with a large wingspan to the open-air case. You can change the way it looks by either having it stand up, lying down, covered in glass, or not. There is plenty of flexibility to it, including at what angle you want the wings to be, if not stuck in place with glass.

It has very impressive support for any type of component, in fact, anything will be able to be used. As you can get any motherboard size ranging from SSI EEB, and EATX to mini ITX. Plus with eight expansion slots, you can fit quite a range of expansion cards for testing or use in your system. That also applies to the storage with plenty of bays to utilize, including up to 4 2.5″/3.5″ combo bays on the PSU cover, and three standalone 2.5″, allowing you up to seven SSDs alone.

I/O provides you with two USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-As, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C, and one 3.5mm headset jack. Fan and radiator support is limited to the wings and doesn’t come with any preinstalled. However, you can fit in three 120mm or two 140mm fans on either the right or left side, while the radiators fitted can be 360/420mm on top and 280/360mm on the right or left side. Clearance also is great with a CPU cooler allowing up to 158mm, PSU gets 210mm, and graphics cards can reach up to 450mm for maximum compatibility.

The whole case provides you with a great new option to go for. Although it comes at a hefty weight, if you plan to use it as an open bench, like us, it’s not exactly moveable. But it does provide a great platform for it, with so much cooling potential available.

There are some seriously unique-looking PC cases in the open-air category, and Thermaltake has a good one here. The Core P90, with its angular concept, brings a fun new way to build into the mix. Part of the “P” range from Thermaltake, this open-air case is unique in its own right, and despite its size, it can be wall-mounted too!

The Core P90 gets its name from the 90-degree angle at which the case’s design sits, and it is easily one of the heaviest cases on the list (17.2 kg). With this type of case design, you can get some really interesting angled custom loops and make your build stand out.

The Core P90 can only accommodate graphics cards as long as 12.6″. However, vertical mounting is an option in this case, thanks to the included riser cable. CPU coolers as tall as 7″ are good in this case also, with adequate amounts of clearance.

The Thermaltake P90 has radiator support for up to 480mm, and its modular design is finished superbly with two 5mm thick glass panels. If this case’s unique design doesn’t put you off, experienced systems builders can create something incredible with the P90 and its 90-degree angle.

---

What disadvantages do open air cases have?

As you can imagine with an open-air case, you are getting less protection for your components. In a normal case, dust follows the flow of air and goes through your intake fan (unless you have large gaps in your case and negative pressure).

With open-air cases, there is no need for air intake as your components are all fairly chilled. While this is great news for your temps, it will require some extra care and attention on the dust front. Regular dusting of your open-air PC is a must, as it will simply be too easy for it to accumulate in this type of case.

Dust build-up is a killer for components but remember, if your case is open, there are several other threats to consider. Beware of pets going near an open-air system (for obvious reasons) and take extra care with liquids as there will be little to stop any spillages.

---

Do I have to cable manage an open air case?

Cable management is important with all PC builds but is often swept aside. Cable management is usually great for reducing heat and dust build-up in a system, but with an open-air case, it’s a little different.

As everything is on show in an open-air case, it can be quite difficult to leave cables without them ruining the entire design of your system. While there will be routing options on these cases we recommend, it is going to be much harder managing your cables when compared to your standard PC cases.

It is essential with an open-air PC case to plan your build-out a little bit more than usual, as there will be many aesthetic challenges along the way. Now, without any further ado, let’s see what the best open-air cases have to offer.

---

Other useful pages

• Best PC case
• Best MATX cases
• Best full tower PC cases
• Best PC cases under $100
• Best Mini ITX cases

---

Final Word

Selecting the best open-air PC case for your needs is highly important. This case is going to house your expensive components and protect them (albeit not as much in this category).

The best open-air PC cases offer a unique level of design you just don’t get from any other cases, and they are excellent for a custom-loop system. All of our recommendations will give you a seriously stylish build but make sure you have a little extra in the budget. Have you recently purchased an open-air case? Let us know about your building experiences with one of these.