If inter-tech is one thing, it’s cheap. And with the A-3411 Creek, they’ve put out another blast. A gaming case with integrated digitally addressable RGB LED stripes in the front, tempered glass side panel and contemporary power supply cover.
As a compact midi tower for mainboards up to ATX format, the case offers some conveniences. This is particularly impressive when the price is taken into account. Because according to the price comparison, there is no cheaper case on the market that combines these features.
You are now asking yourself whether the features have found their way into the case at the expense of the workmanship and material quality? Don’t worry, they haven’t. We were thrilled with the case – you want to know why? Then read on now!
Technical details
| Model: | Inter-Tech A-3411 Creek |
| Housing type: | Midi Tower |
| Dimensions: | 205 mm (W) x 455 mm (H) x 385 mm (D) |
| Weight: | 4.32 kg |
| Material: | Steel, plastic, tempered glass |
| Color: | Black |
| I/O panel: | 1x USB 3.0 type-A, 2x USB 2.0 type-A, reset button, power button, 1x speaker connector, 1x microphone connector, 2x status LEDs |
| Drive bays: | 1x 3.5″ (internal) 3x 2.5″ (internal) |
| Extension slots: | 7x horizontal |
| Form factors: | ATX, mATX, mini-ITX |
| Fan slots: | Front: 3x 120 mm or 2x 140 mm Rear: 1x 120 mm Cover: 2x 120 mm Power supply cover: 2x 120 mm |
| Radiator slots: | Front: 1x 360 / 280 / 240 mm Cover: 1x 240 mm Rear: 1x 120 mm |
| Max. CPU cooler height: | 160 mm |
| Max. graphic card length: | 305 mm |
| Max. Power supply unit length: | 210 mm |
| Place for cable management: | 20 mm |
| Place for front radializer: | max. 60 mm |
| Price: | € 49.16 * |
| Special features: | Dust filter, cable management, digitally addressable RGB light strip in the front, controller for four RGB devices and four 3-pin fans, left side panel made of glass |
Scope of delivery
The Inter-Tech A-3411 Creek is delivered in a plain brown cardboard box. This is only printed in black. So here Inter-Tech has already saved money, and that is a good thing. After all, who needs a case packaging with a high-gloss design?
Packed inside, the case is of course still perfect. Besides the obligatory padding, the side window is also covered on both sides with a protective film to prevent scratches.
The accessories are attached in a bag inside the case. Included are spacers (four are also pre-assembled), screws, cable ties and a speaker. A manual and fan are not included. The accessories are as far as not as exhausting as with high priced cases and also not as nicely packed, but absolutely sufficient. I could even have done without a speaker.
External impression
Except for the RGB LED strip the Inter-Tech A-3411 Creek is kept very simple. Inter-Tech has even dispensed with a logo, with a sticker on the underside only indicating the brand.
The front is made of plastic, as usual with most cases – especially in the price segment. It has a slight wave form and has the RGB LED strip integrated. To the left of it is the I/O panel, which is well equipped with 2x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.0, separate audio connections (input & output), reset & power button and two status LEDs. However, it would be great if there were two USB 3.0 ports. USB-C can’t be expected in this price range.
There are also some ventilation slots on the plastic front, so that the front fans are supplied with fresh air. Unfortunately, these are only found on the right side and seem more closed than open. You’ll also look in vain for a dust filter here and the I/O panel’s cables aren’t connected to contacts – so you’ll always have to pay attention to the cables when removing the front. We didn’t expect this in this price range, but we wanted to mention it anyway.
It looks better on the top and bottom. Here you can find large mesh openings, which are also protected by dust filters. On the upper side, this is magnetic and thus especially easy to remove. It looks different on the underside, where the dust filter is held by retaining lugs and additionally screwed down with the screws of the hard disk cage. Thus, it must always be unscrewed if one wants to remove the dust filter at the bottom. The four plastic feet, on which the case stands, are decoupled with rubber strips, in order not to transmit any vibrations to the floor or desk and to be non-slip at the same time.
On the left side of the case is a large tempered glass side panel, which is held by four knurled screws that can be easily loosened by hand. Of course, the glass rests on rubber pads to prevent it from scratching.
Although the weight of 4.32 kg including the tempered glass pane is very low, the case is cleanly finished and dimensionally stable. At this price, one might expect a wobbly case made of thin sheet steel, but this is not the case. From the outside, the Inter-Tech A-3411 Creek therefore already makes a very good impression, despite its low price.
Internal impression
Inside you will find the typical two-chamber design of today. The power supply and hard disk cage are separated from the rest of the hardware by a cover. Practically the power supply cover is provided with a large opening directly at the front so that even long radiators can be mounted in the front. In addition to two large cable openings, it is also provided with numerous openings for better ventilation. Furthermore, a view of the power supply unit can be caught through the side.
The power supply unit, which can be mounted under the power supply cover, is decoupled by rubber buffers to prevent vibrations from being transmitted to the housing. Behind it is the hard disk cage, which can accommodate one 2.5″ and one 3.5″ drive. Unfortunately without decoupling. Even with hard disk capable there is actually enough space for cables, since the hard disk cage has only half the height. But if you don’t need it, you can simply unscrew it from the bottom.
In the main chamber there is room for mainboards in mini-ITX, mATX and ATX format. Inter-Tech has also pre-assembled four spacers, others are included. To the right of the mainboard there are further cable management openings (without rubber protection) as well as two mounting places for SSDs. Here, you might have to pay attention to the width of fans or radiators or screw them to the back of the tray, if necessary.
Inter-Tech has provided more space for cooling. Three 120 mm or two 140 mm fans plus the corresponding radiator fit into the front. In the lid there are two 120 millimetre fans and a 240 millimetre radiator fits here as well. Thanks to the shifting of the mounting holes, there should be no compatibility problems here. The 120 millimetre rear fan is a matter of course, but the two 120 millimetre fans on the power supply cover are different. A radiator will certainly also find room here, if you like. Despite the small dimensions, the case thus has numerous cooling options to offer. Because relatively little fresh air comes through the front, it is recommended to make use of this, though.
The back of the mainboard tray is relatively unspectacular. There are still numerous retaining lugs for cable ties for cable routing. The space is also sufficiently dimensioned with a height of 20 millimeters. Surprising, however, is the controller that is included. It allows the control of up to six RGB products as well as four 3-pin fans. The controller is controlled either by a reset button on the I/O panel or via compatible mainboards with digitally addressable RGB lighting (3-pin, 5 Volt).
The only point of criticism that the case has to put up with are the breakable slot bezels. Apart from that, the case’s workmanship is great and the material thickness is also pleasing.
System construction at the Inter-Tech A-3411 Creek
- MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon
- Intel i7-8700K @ 5.2 GHz
- 32 GB Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB RAM
- ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Strix
- Samsung SSD 960 EVO 500 GB
- be quiet! Shadow Rock 3
The installation of the components was quick and easy. Especially helpful were the well-positioned and dimensioned cable management openings and the 20 millimetre deep storage space behind the mainboard tray. This allows cables to be laid neatly and creates a tidy appearance. If you use a large air cooler, as we did, you should however take care to connect the CPU power cable before installing the mainboard, otherwise it is difficult to install it afterwards. This is because the cover cannot be removed (without drilling out the rivets).
The data carrier mounting is not done without tools and also the 3.5 inch hard disk is unfortunately not decoupled.
As can be seen on our build at the Inter-Tech A-3411 Creek, you should be aware of the size limitations of the CPU cooler and graphics card. In our case we couldn’t close the left side due to the too high CPU cooler. However, this was foreseeable, as Inter-Tech states the maximum height to be 160 millimeters and the be quiet! shadow rock we used is 3 163 millimeters high. Our graphics card is 29.8 centimeters long and therefore just barely fits in, but then it gets tight with front fans, let alone a water cooling system with radiator and fan. If you want to install something like this, you should therefore go for a shorter graphics card.
Another striking feature of the Inter-Tech A-3411 Creek is that no fans are pre-installed. However, Inter-Tech couldn’t have supplied proper fans at the offered price anyway, so it’s a sensible consequence to do without them. However, up to eight fans can easily be installed later.
As a small note on the case’s workmanship, which we noticed during the assembly: A thread for fixing the graphic card is unfortunately directly screwed through. Since the graphic card is fixed on two screws, this isn’t tragic, but it should be mentioned anyway.
Conclusion of the Inter-Tech A-3411 Creek Review
Of course we found a few points of criticism on the case. But that was also to be expected. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have cost 35 euro, but several hundred, like some other cases. Nevertheless, we are more than satisfied with the Inter-Tech A-3411 Creek. It is comparatively well made for its price range, offers modern features like RGB LED lighting, tempered glass and a power supply cover.
If you’re looking for an affordable case with exactly these features, you won’t go wrong with the A-3411 Creek, as long as the hardware fits in. After all, it is a rather small midi tower.
Inter-Tech A-3411 Creek
Workmanship
Structure
Features
Dampening
Cooling
Value for money
92/100
The Inter-Tech A-3411 Creek case receives our absolute price-performance recommendation - a great case at a very low price!
