Page 4 - Installation and Conclusion
I found the installation process for the FSP CMT260 to be incredibly standard compared to other cases. As someone who has built several computers now, the process was straightforward. FSP included all the necessary supplies inside a small bag zip-tied to the back of the case. This packaging is fairly standard for most retail cases. I took out any necessary screws and got to work. Having a single fan allowed me to route the one cable to its Molex connection on my PSU incredibly easily, but as previously mentioned, this is not an optimal solution with the lack of fan control. The front I/O was simple enough to route to the motherboard and is long enough to be routed through the cutouts on the bottom shroud to create a cleaner appearance. The drive bay was as good as any other drive bay. I unscrewed two screws and pulled out the tray to install a drive into it, then I just pushed the tray back into the bay and screwed it back in. The whole process was super linear, except for the cable management portion.
I know my cable management could be better, but given the back panel is not glass, I thought it would be unnecessary to do a perfect job, haha. The case does come with some zip ties for cable management. Fortunately, there is enough space behind the motherboard for a simple system. There is about 20mm of space between the motherboard tray and panel. The PSU chamber is partially blocked off by the drive bay, which makes hiding cables underneath the shroud a little more difficult, but not anything too hard for the average user. The cutouts alongside the motherboard makes passing through cables from the back of the case to the front of the case very easy, minimizing visible cables seen through the glass side panel assuming there is not too much clutter in the way. With the most minimal amount of parts required to have a functioning computer, I found I had more than enough room to route my cables. It is very likely that you would be able to build a high-end system in this case, but realistically speaking, this case is designed for a more mid-ranged system.
In my opinion, the FSP CMT260 looks great. I think FSP pulled off a decent mix of a gaming and professional look through its simplistic design with the addition of a slightly more aggressive looking front panel. This case sets up having three front intake fans super well by having a great amount of space for airflow while also providing a dust filter, but does not include fans to take advantage of this most likely for budget reasons. You will probably be spending more money on additional fans as this case only comes with a single fan as well as the previously stated issue of fan control. According to the standard APH Networks sound scale, where 0 is silence and 10 is loud, the CMT260 is a very manageable 1.0/10 under full load, which is not surprising given there is only one fan. It is more likely to hear your CPU cooler over the single fan.
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As I was talking about earlier, items are getting quite pricey, making the price range of parts quite expansive. When it comes to picking PC components, they need to be well balanced. For example, it does not make sense to pair a top-of-the-line processor like the super exclusive Intel Core i7-8700K and GTX 1080 with a case that has no glass panel. (In case you did not get the joke, search for "The Verge PC build reupload" on YouTube. - Editor) Moving back to the main topic, there are plenty of positive features to the FSP CMT260. First of all, this case has a great amount of potential for cooling. The CMT260 comes with three dust filters. Some premium cases do not even come with dust filters. Additionally, by simply having a tempered glass side panel, this case already feels a little more feature-rich. Moving on to the installation process, this case was one of the easiest cases I have built inside. I did not have to worry about too much cable management, as there was plenty of space behind the motherboard to route cables. Generally speaking, the FSP CMT260 is a decent case for those who want to proudly display their budget builds through its tempered glass side panel. The reason why I say "budget" is because this is a budget case. If you have more powerful components, I highly recommend you to buy extra case fans, since a single fan will not be enough, not the mention the lone included fan uses a Molex connection. I am okay with FSP including only one fan, but at least make it a fan that you can connect to your motherboard. Another mild issue I had with this case was that the feet did not have any sort of padding. I personally would like padding just to cushion the PC when it is on a table. For about $65 USD at press time, this case is definitely a bang for your buck. If you are looking to build a lower budget system, I would recommend this case to you. You might want to invest in some extra fans for better airflow and maybe even some RGB parts to give this case a little more color down the road.
FSP provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
APH Networks Review Focus Summary:
8/10 means Definitely a very good product with drawbacks that are not likely going to matter to the end user.
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks, but should be considered before purchasing.
-- Final APH Networks Numeric Rating is 7.2/10
Please note that the APH Networks Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other publications.
The FSP CMT260 is a great budget ATX case that has a lot of potential for a budget PC, and if you need better cooling, there is plenty of room for that, too.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
