Introduction

Phanteks was founded from a group of engineers with a total of 20 years of international experience in thermal solutions. They paired up with a Dutch design team and established Phanteks in 2007. Phanteks venture into the CPU cooling industry with two goals in mind, “High-end quality and innovative products in thermal solutions.”

Today we are taking a look at the Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ATX. The Evolv ATX l has long list of features that enthusiasts look for in an ATX case. There are multiple drive mounting points that support both 2.5 and 2.5 drives. There is support for up to 5 fans and dual radiators. The top radiator mount slides out for easy installation. Phanteks even includes a water pump mounting bracket. Rubber cable grommets and Phanteks' hook-and-loop cable management make building tint he case frustration free. Top that off, the Enthoo EVOLV ATX is available satin black and a rather unique anthracite gray finish.

Phanteks' take on the Enthoo EVOLV ATX

The EVOLV ATX, a premium all-aluminum mid-tower chassis based on the original EVOLV design. Like the Enthoo EVOLV, the EVOLV ATX has a minimalistic design with an all-aluminum exterior but without sacrificing on features. The EVOLV ATX features Phanteks’ quick release side panels, innovative top radiator bracket, and the new HDD mounting system. Unleash unlimited possibilities with the Enthoo EVOLV ATX.

Features:

Enthoo Evolv ATX includes 2 x 140mm fans in front and 1 x 140mm fan in the rear. Ability to upgrade to additional fans is possible. All fans included are Phanteks’ new redesigned and better performing SP series fans.

Appearance:

• -Aluminum body (3mm thick)
• Clean interior - Hidden PSU and HDD’s
• Power LED - Changeable to 4 different colors

Cooling:

• Optimal airflow - Direct airflow to CPU / GPU
• Comes with 3 Phanteks premium fans
• 2x PH-F140SP in front (140mm)
• 1x PH-F140SP in rear (140mm)
• -Phanteks’ PWM hub included
• 3 different installation areas for radiators
• (120mm or 140mm form factor).
• Reservoir mounting locations
• Pump Bracket with vibration dampers

Functionality:

• 2x Drop-N-Lock SSD brackets included
• 3x Modular HDD Brackets
• Removable HDD cage for installation of long PSU’s (>180mm) / waterpump
• Equiped with removable dustfilters (1x front, 1x bottom, top integrated)
• Clean cable management using Phanteks' preinstalled Hoop-N-Loop cable ties
• Quick release panels for easy acces to fans and dustfilters
• Toolless sidepanel with swing door

Packaging and Specifications

The Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ATX comes in a brown cardboard box with black graphics. The front shows outline of the case itself.

Once the box was opened, we were greeted by another box. This box is a full color glossy version of the plain brown outer box.

The rear of the box contains a visual representation of the main features of the case. A blown away view of the Enthoo EVOLV ATX.

One side of the box there is a list of the specifications.

Some basic information is provided on the other.

The case is wrapped in a protective plastic bag. Two Styrofoam end caps keep the case safe during transport.

Specifications

Up next, a closer look

Closer Look

Now out of the packaging, we get a look at the Enthoo EVOLV ATX.  The case features an aluminum outer shell with a unique Anthracite Gray paint that is stunning. I tried many times to capture the true beauty of the paint, but pictures just do not do it justice.  The side window has a mild smoke tint and adds a touch of class to the overall cosmetics.

Both side doors are hinged and easily removable by simply lifting op on them while they are open.

The panel has 2 USB 3.0 ports, a headphone port, and a microphone port.

The power button is located on the top of the case just behind the front bezel. There are mesh ventilation slots along each side on the top of the case.

The front bezel hides two filtered 140mm fans. The filter is easy to remove for cleaning and is made from a fine mesh. The plastic snaps that hold it in place appear durable and should provide years of trouble free use. Optionally, up to three 120mm fans cans be used in place of the supplied 140mm fans.

The front panel LED is mounted to the lower right front of the case. A blue LED is mounted by default, but can be changed for other colors. More on that later.

The front bezel of the Enthoo EVOLV ATX has the same Anthracite Gray finish. The front panel easily pop off, yet is held firmly in place.

There is a large CPU cutout in the motherboard tray. The motherboard standoffs are preinstalled. A 140mm fan is installed in the rear of the Entoo EVOLV ATX by default.

One of the most unique features on the Enthoo EVOLV ATX is this slide out fan mounting bracket. It allows for easy fan or radiator installation. Up to three 120mm fans or two 140mm fans are supported. Alternately, a 3x120mm or 2x140mm radiator can be installed as well.

The forward section of the motherboard tray features mounting positions for optional hard drive mounting brackets.

A power supply cover is standard. Ample venting keeps heat from being trapped in the lower section of the case, allowing multiple video card solutions to run cooler.. The lower front features and optional SSD mount that can be see through the side window.

A removable cover above the hard drive cage allows for clearance for a front mounted radiator.

A Closer Look continued on next page

A Closer Look Continued

Four rubber feet provide cushion for the case and reduce the possibility of the case scratching whatever surface it is set on.

The power supply filter is made of the same fine mesh that the front fan filter is made of. It simply slides out the back for easy maintenance.

The backside of the motherboard tray is quite open for an ATX case. The CPU cutout is extremely large. The power supply and drives are both accessed from this side.

Hook and loop straps with the Phanteks logo provide easy cable management. They are adjustable enough for the most unruly cable bundle to be tamed.

Dual 2.5 drive mounts are installed in the mid rear section.

A 6 port PWM hub is included.

A reverse shot of the optional hard drive bracket mounting location.

A two bay hard drive cage is mounted by default.  The cage must be removed if a radiator is used in this location.

Drive installation is completely tool free for 3.5 drives. 2.5 drives do require mounting via screws.

All the cables are black for a stealthy installation and are the proper length for the case.

A large box of accessories is included with the Enthoo EVOLV ATX.

The accessories box contains the Quick Installation Guide. The guide is full color and easy to read.

A re-sealable bag contains optional green and red front panel LED’s and quite a few zip ties.

A handy clear plastic utility box contains just about every screw needed to fully assemble the case.

Three optional HDD brackets are also included. These are the brackets that install in the forward section of the case.

The pump bracket box contains just that, a pump bracket. Design to except a wide variety of water pumps, that rubber isolated bracket may come in handy for those who chose water cooling with the Enthoo EVOLV ATX.

Now to the build

THE BUILD

System components used:

• Gigabyte X99-UD5 WiFi Motherboard
• Intel Core i7 5820K Processor
• Kingston HyperX Predator 16GB 3000MHz DDR4 Memory
• PowerColor PCS+ 290X Graphics Card
• OCZ ZT Series 550w Silver Power Supply
• Kingston HyperX Savage 240GB Solid State Drive
• Kingston E50 240GB Solid State Drive
• EKWB Supremacy EVO CPU Waterblock
• Primochill Phase II Reservoir
• Liang D5 Pump
• XSPC RS360 Radiator
• 3x BitFenix Spectre Pro 120mm Blue LED Fans (on radiator)

The build went smoothly and all the parts fit in the case without a hitch. The finished build has a somewhat simply yet elegant feel to it.

Wire management was no issue. Even though wire ties were included, I found no need for them, for the most part. All the wiring cleared without interfering with the side panel. Only 2 3.5/2.5 drive bays were used. The motherboard CPU cutout is plenty large enough to allow for just about any CPU placement.

A Kingston HyperX Savage 240GB SSD was mounted in the lower front.

There was no issue installing the 360mm radiator in the front.

The offset built into the upper fan mount allowed the two 140mm Phanteks fans that were installed in the front to be installed in the top with ease.

All the wiring tucked away nicely. The PowerColor PCS+ 290X graphics card is the longest one I have on hand and clears with room to spare.

Around back, the wiring is nice and neat, thanks to Phanteks’ hook and loop wire management. There was plenty of room to install the power supply and the case never felt cramps to work with.

Let's wrap this review up on the next page.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

I was quite impressed with the Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ITX when we reviewed it a while ago. It was my first opportunity working with a Phanteks case and I finally got to see what all the buzz was about. I was left rather impressed. The Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ATX is everything the ITX version is, but bigger and in many ways even better.

The aluminum outer shell with that unique Anthracite Gray paint is stunning. I tried many times to capture the true beauty of the paint, but pictures just do not do it justice. It has an iridescent quality that gives off shades of purple and green to it when the light hits it just right. At times I found myself just staring at the case, in awe of the paint.

Not a single detail seems to have been overlooked. In fact, it seems as Phanteks went out of their way to include many details that most case manufactures would not have even thought of. From the hook and loop cable management to the included water pump mount; flexibility is the key here. The case was easy to build in as well. During assembly, I never felt fatigued or frustrated.

The Enthoo EVOLV ATX retails for $179.99. This price puts it head to head with some very noteworthy competitors. I think it holds its own well though. There is enough unique attributes to allow it to stand out from the rest of the field.

Likes

• Aluminum Exterior Panels
• Solid Construction
• Good Looks
• Good Ventilation
• Support Full Water Cooling with Dual Radiators
• Easy to Work with
• Unique Slide Out Upper Fan Mount

Dislikes

• None

Introduction

I’ve been a PC hardware reviewer for long enough that I can remember when PC cases were still mostly utilitarian and very little thought was put into aesthetics. Fast forward a little over a decade and now the two worlds of form and functionality have finally found a happy medium where both ends of the spectrum are almost perfectly balanced. 

In this review I am taking at look at the first mini-ITX chassis that I truly like the look of. The Xigmatek Nebula C is a true mini-ITX chassis, but still retains the ability to utilize medium-sized graphics cards and full ATX power supplies. Furthermore, the Nebula C is just large enough to not limit available cooling options. 

Let’s move on and take a quick look at the features and specifications.

Features and Specifications

• Includes pre-installed high performance silent (black with black blades) Xigmatek XOF fan with FCB (Fluid Circulative Bearing) for optimal exhaust capabilities.
• I/ O panel includes 2 x Super-Speed USB 3.0, HD Audio In/Out jacks, Power/Reset.
• Capable of mounting Mini-ITX Motherboard.
• Innovative 2 X 3.5” HDD can be converted to 2.5” SSD for easy mix and match.
• Included 1 additional 2.5” SSD mounting holes inside chassis
• All 3 side panels are tool-less and designed with quick release mechanism for easy hardware mounting.
• Can install full sized power supply
• Innovative Intake system from base of the tower.
• Motherboard tray perforated with holes for free flow air into chassis and option for cable tie-down
• Can mount up to 230mm Gaming Graphic card
• Angled power/HDD light giving visual depth.
• Polycarbonate side panels for alternative feel.
• Baseless construct for sleek compact appearance.

* Specifications are subject to change without notice. * The product picture(s) is only for your reference, it may differ from the actual product.

With all of the formalities taken care of, I think it’s time to get the Nebula C out of its packaging and dig into the meat of this review.

Unboxing 

The Xigmatek Nebula C ships in a very non descript brown cardboard box with plain black screen printed logos and text. I actually wish more products would ship in such simple packaging as it really makes it easy to recycle the packaging. 

Like most Xigmatek products, the Nebula C’s packaging features a list of the products features in several languages on one side panel. 

Opposite of the front logo side, the packaging features the Nebula C logo and a few highlighted key features of the chassis. 

The final side features a brief summary of what Xigmatek feels makes the Nebula C unique along with a features and specifications list. 

Xigmatek has encompassed the Nebula C in two large form-fitting blocks of high density styrofoam to protect the case from hard impacts during shipping. 

With the Nebula C removed from its box, we can see that the styrofoam provides about an inch and a half of protection from anything that might impact or breach the box walls. You might also note that the chassis is wrapped in a thin (2-mil) plastic bag to prevent debris from scratching the chassis’ exterior. 

Just one more angle of the Nebula C’s protective styrofoam and plastic bag. Note the very thin user manual on top of the styrofoam.

Its a little tough to see in this photo, but the Nebula C’s top is polished to a mirror finish, and Xigmatek has taken extra protective measures and covered the top in a thin plastic adhesive sheet. This worked quite well to protect the finish as my sample unit’s top was flawless. 

With the Nebula C unboxed and all of its protective coverings removed, lets take a closer look at the chassis! 

Closer Look

So far I am quite impressed with the Nebula C. I have been a large PC case guy for as long as I can remember, but this case is starting to make me look at small form factor PC’s in a completely different light! 

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Xigmatek Nebula C mini-ITX chassis. This case really takes the concept of minimalist, cube style computers to the next level. From this angle, I really love the mix of crisp and soft lines, and the shaved bottom left corner really compliments the design.  

The right side of the case features two USB 3.0 ports and the obligatory 3.5mm headphone and microphone jacks. From this angle you can also see the power button. There is no separate reset button present, but I do not see that as a flaw as I rarely use the reset button on my PCs. 

The back of the case is surprisingly black. I really like this contrast actually, and since this is a case that is designed to be admired from the front, I do not see it as being an aesthetic issue.

The left side of the case is plain white with its only unique feature being the shaved bottom right corner. 

A profile shot really reveals the shaved corner that is towered by a very soft edge. Xigmatek’s designers really nailed the perfect balance of hard and soft lines with this case. 

Remember that mirror finished top I spoke of earlier… Well here it is! This really continues Xigmatek’s theme of hard and soft elements on this case. The mat-finished sides really contrast with this highly polished top. You can’t really make it out in the photo, but you can see the actual RGB elements inside each LED element in the strips above my workbench. My vehicle is not this polished! 

The power switch design used on the Nebula C honestly gives the whole case a feeling of elegance, quality, and modernism. The orange power led indicating trim ring ties in the shaved corner perfectly, while the chamfered edge of the top allows for quick and easy acquisition when searching for it in a dark office. 

Here I moved in for a closer look at the Nebula C’s shaved corner that doubles as a power and HDD status LED. The orange is the perfect pair with the cases mat-white finish, and while I really wish an RGB LED with clear lens would have been used here, this really works almost perfect as it is. I will cover this area in a bit more detail later in the review. 

Again, Xigmatek really hit the nail on the head with the minimalist approach on this case. The clean silver on white logo ties the front of the case in with the power switch. The logo is just about perfect in size too, and does not overpower the rest of the chassis’ features. 

I really like how Xigmatek chose to simply recess the front I/O into the side of the case instead of placing it in a over-the-top raised area that would have killed the look and feel of this case. 

Moving on to the back of the case, we can see the PSU mounting hole as well as the only fan that ships with this case. 

Panning down to the bottom rear of the case we can see the rear I/O cutout as well as the PCI expansion slots and a pair of grommeted holes for liquid cooling or to pass wires through. 

A closer look at the PCI expansion slots shows that they are held captive by a sliding latch that must be unscrewed before the slots can be removed. 

Turning the case onto its side we can get a closer look at its bottom. There is not much to mention here except for the rubber feet, and the fully perforated bottom panel. This should provide ample airflow to aid in cooling the motherboard and the rest of the case’s interrior.  

One thing you might not have noticed was that the rear panel of the PC did not feature any mounting screws that held the sides on. This is because the three white panels are held on by some simple but effective clips. Here you can see one of the female clips. 

The white panels have the male clips mounted to them using screws. I was a little skeptical of this panel securing method, but was quite surprised at their ability to stay firm and crisp even after removal a few dozen times. 

Here you can see how the clips mate together. A lot of thought went into this system, and it really does show. The tolerances on things like this have to be super precise or the side panels would feel loose and cheap, but these fasten together so securely that the panels are almost hard to remove. Xigmatek definitely did not cut any corners when designing this mounting solution. 

Closer Look Continued

Let’s take a closer look at the shaved corner status LED. The fit of the plastic lens to the housing is a little less than perfect with some noticeable gaps around its edges. I really wish this feature would have included a brighter LED, and the whole assembly potted in one full resin pour, but that would have added considerable expense to this case. With the side panels on you don’t notice the gaps making this an ok flaw. 

Looking at the back of the corner we can see that it has several wires exiting it, and that the front orange lens continues across the bottom. 

The front I/O panel is simply screwed to one of the front uprights. I am a little disappointed that they used right angle connectors on the USB ports, it would have made more sense to use straight connectors here. In this configuration, extra stress is applied to the cables when bending them 180 degrees to attach to the motherboard.

A closer look at the front I/O cables. The obligatory HD audio, Power, HDD, and Power LED cables. Also pictured is the dual USB 3.0 Female header mount cable. 

Here is a shot of the top of the perforated bottom. With a single chassis fan in exhaust orientation, the airflow this will provide will be welcome. 

Just a quick shot of the case with its side panels off, and completely empty. 

As I mentioned before the Xigmatek Nebula C only sports one case fan. The fan is located at the rear of the case and is oriented to perform as an exhaust fan. Note that it’s directly behind the drive cages. This prevents the use of AiO coolers with thick radiators from being used. You could use a slim radiator AiO, and mount the fan on the outside of the case if you desired though. 

You can see that the rear fan port is perforated to the edges of the 120mm fan blade’s edges. This will help keep CFMs and pressure up at respectable levels. 

A closer look at the fan reveals that it’s of Xigmatek make, and is actually one of the companies XOF models that features a fluid circulative bearing for extremely silent operation.  

The front of the case fan reveals an aggressive blade design with highly-pitched blades. This fan moves a good bit of air, and I attribute it to this blade design. 

The case fan is surprisingly quiet, and taking a look at a profile shot of the fan reveals why. This fans cage has slots designed into it. These slots help stifle a few DB of noise when paired up with the fluid circulative bearing. 

Every case I have ever reviewed really dropped the ball when it comes to accessory packaging and how it’s secured to the case for shipping… Until now that is. Instead of using a few feet of twist tie wire to secure the accessory box to the chassis, Xigmatek simply popped the HDD rails into the side of the box, and slid it in the drive cage! Points to whoever made the call to do it this way! 

Here we can see the accessories that came with the Nebula C. A single set of HDD rails, a USB 3.0 to USB 2.0 adapter, a small assortment of case screws, and five zip-ties. Not pictured is a single 3.5-inch drive to 2.5-inch drive / SSD adapter. 

Just a quick shot showing the side panels off of the case. I apologize for the lack of a white background here, but it was almost impossible to expose the inside of the case and the side panels at the same time. 

The Build

Components used:

• Motherboard: BIOSTAR NM70I-847 with Intel Celeron 847 1.1GHz mini-ITX
• RAM: G.SKILL Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM 
• PSU: Xigmatek Maverick S 500W
• Wireless Card: Gigabyte PCIe 1X Wifi / Bluetooth card
• HDD: Western Digital Blue 500GB

Just a quick shot of the heart and brains of this build. This may be the most simple build I have ever completed.

The BIOSTAR NM70I-847 with integrated Intel Celeron CPU. Note the uber-tiny CPU heatsink and fan! 

It almost felt criminal to place a bright shiney silver I/O plate in this case, but it will rarely ever be seen. 

The motherboard mounted up quite nicely, and there is enough room on the bottom of the case for some good cable management. 

Another shot of the rear I/O panel. The silver is really not working well with the beautiful two-tone contrasting appearance of this case, but I will have to deal with it. 

You can see the PSU mounted in the side of the case. I mounted it in this orientation as I felt it would have better airflow with the fan facing left. 

Another shot of the motherboard and PSU mounted up. I did a quick cable management job, but definitely could have taken more time to clean it up better. 

As you can see, full-sized GPU’s do not fit in the Nebula C, but Xigmatek does say that 230mm long GPUs will work just fine. So keep that in mind when selecting a GPU. Additionally the case has enough room to fit an 80mm tall CPU cooler. This was not an issue here though. 

In lieu of a GPU I opted to mount a spare WiFi / Bluetooth card to the motherboard since this PC is going to serve as my workbench / workroom PC. Honestly though, who is going to game on a Celeron anyway? With the ability to fit a 230mm GPU, the Nebula C could make an excellent gaming case though. 

The Nebula C has the ability to mount a single 3.5-inch HDD and a single SSD, but you could fit an extra SSD if you got creative with double-sided mounting tape. 

Tool-less drive mounting rails have been the standard on any case worth its salt for about the last decade, so installing the HDD was quick and easy. 

With the HDD slid fully into place, I tucked the wires in the SSD mounting bay as it was not being used. 

A shot of the rear of the case with it fully populated. The total weight of this build was around ten pounds which would make it an excellent LAN box with some better hardware. Even if you added a large cooler, higher end motherboard, and somehow modded in a second fan, the build would struggle to exceed fifteen pounds, making this ideal for a PC that might be portable from time to time. 

That’s it! The review of the first mini-ITX chassis that I have ever came close to liking is over and I am honestly extremely impressed. Head over to the final page to find out my full thoughts on the Xigmatek Nebula C. 

Conclusion

Xigmatek has designed what I consider to be one of the best mini-ITX chassis on the market today. This case is simply a thing of beauty. It’s very minimalistic in design, and the contrast between the mat finish on the sides and the mirror polish on the top just ooze elegance. The whole exterior is aesthetically pleasing, and the small design elements such as the sliced corner status light, or the machined aluminum power switch give the Nebula C a very modern and even futuristic feel. 

The removable side panels are a huge engineering win, and their ease of removal and installation make this chassis even more valuable in my opinion. During this review, I must have removed the panels 45-50 times and the latching hardware has remained as crisp and solid as they were the first time I removed them from the frame. The decision to utilize these over a screw-based fastening method is something I would like to see more of in the PC chassis world. 

Cable Management was a breeze with tie-down points being liberally placed throughout the chassis. There were not many rubber grommets utilized in the frame, but with an open cube frame design, there is not any need for them. The ability to mount two full sized 3.5-inch hard drives as well as 1-2 SSDs (Depending on your mounting methods) is very nice in such a small chassis.  Some would view the lack of a 5.35-inch bay as a con, but let’s be honest, who actually uses an optical drive anymore? 

Finally, I love the ability to mount a standard ATX PSU. This gives users the option to utilize high-power CPU and GPUs in the system without having to hack the chassis up. As you saw in the photos, the Xigmatek Maverick S 500W PSU fit into the Nebula C with plenty of room to spare, and I would be willing to guess that with some crafty cable management, you could fit a 1000W unit in this chassis. 

Overall I am thoroughly impressed with the Nebula C. It is quite honestly one of the most beautiful chassis I have ever reviewed, and that's saying something as my chassis review number is over 55 at this point. Internally the Nebula C is on equal grounds with the case’s beauty. It’s form is perfect for a small desktop PC, and it would fit in with any high-end home theater setup. At about $80 USD the Nebula C is on the affordable end of the pricing range for a chassis that is this nice. Normally I package cases back up and add them to my storage collection, but the Nebula C is going to find a permanent place in my home as it is just too beautiful to hide away. 

Pros

• Sleek and stylish minimalistic design
• Perfect balance of hard and soft lines
• Quite a spacious interior after fully built
• Room for 2 storage drives
• Light weight 
• Quality Construction
• Affordable at about $80 USD
• Simply Beautiful inside and out

Cons

• Very little documentation (But there is not much to document really)
• Front LED corner could be higher quality
• Front I/O USB 3.0 Connectors oriented 180 degrees opposite of what they should be 

NZXT Noctis450 Mid-Tower Chassis Review

Introduction

Today we will be taking a look at the new NZXT Noctis 450 mid-tower chassis. When paired together with the NZXT X61 closed loop CPU cooler, both products make a good combination for any gamer and give you that extra edge on the playing field . It doesn’t matter if you're using an X99 motherboard with 16 GBs of DDR4 memory and 5930K chip or a Z97 motherboard with a 16GB DDR3 memory kit and an overclocked 4790K, the Noctis 450 can handle such setups with ease.

We will be taking an in-depth look at the NZXT Noctis 450 Chassis, its cooling and lighting options as well its ability to impress anyone of what this mid-tower chassis can house like a high-end system with triple SLI or triple Crossfire X graphics card setup. The NZXT Kraken X61 CPU Cooler will be installed in the Noctis 450 chassis, and we will find out if the X61 was easy to install and if was able to keep our Intel 5930K nice and cool.

ProClockers would like to thank NZXT for sending us the Noctis N450 chassis and the new Kraken X61 CPU Cooler for review. Check out the short clip of the Noctis N450 below.

Let's move on to the next page for the packaging.

Content and Packaging

The NZXT Noctis 450 chassis comes in a black colored box with a slogan on the bottom-left saying "BOLD IS BACK". We'll see what that means later on.

Our sample came in a decent condition. Regardless of the handling done to it, it seems to have survived the journey and made it into our hands so the packaging served its purpose I guess. Thanks to the foam packaging NZXT used on our Noctis 450 sample, it was able to arrive safe and sound.

Specifications

• Model Number: CA-N450W-M1 (Black)
• Drive Bays
  
  • External 5.25": 0
  • Internal 3.5"/2.5": 6+2
• Cooling System
  
  • Front: 2x 140/3x120mm (3 x 120mm FN V2 Fans Included)
  • Top: 2x 140/3x120mm
  • Rear: 1x 140/120mm (1 x 140mm FN V2 Fan Included)
• Filters
  
  • Front: (Included)
  • Bottom Rear: (Included)
• Radiator Support
  
  • Front: 2 x 140 or 3 x 120mm
  • Top: 2 x 140 or 3 x 120mm
  • Rear: 1 x 140/120mm
• Clearance
  
  • GPU Clearance with HDD Cage: 294mm
  • GPU Clearance without HDD Cage: 406.2mm
  • CPU Cooler: 180mm
• Cable Management
  
  • Lowest Point: - 17.7mm
  • Highest Point: 32.5mm
• Dimensions: 220mm x 567mm x 544mm
• Material: SECC Steel, ABS Plastic
• Motherboard Support: Mini-ITX, microATX, ATX
• Expansion Slots                : 7
• External Electronics: 1 x Audio/Mic
• I/O Panel and Lighting System LED: On/Off
• Fan Model
  
  • FN V2 140 (Case Version)
  • Speed: 1,000 RPM
  • Airflow: 50 CFM
  • Noise: 21 dBA
  • FN V2 120 (Case Version)
  • Speed: 1,200 RPM
  • Airflow: 45 CFM
  • Noise: 21 dBA
• Product Weight: 9.5 kg
• UPC: 815671012418 (Black)
• EAN: 5060301692705 (Black)
• USB 3.0 Ports: 2
• USB 2.0 Ports: 2
• Warranty: 2 Years

Move on to the next page for the features of the NZXT Noctis N450.

Features

One of the main features of the Noctis 450 is the popular and award winning NZXT power supply shroud. The NZXT power supply shroud makes it easy to hide ugly and extra-long power supply cables.

If you’re an advance system builder or even first time builder, the NZXT power supply shroud should help you cut the time for cable routing in half making it a breeze to do a nice and clean looking build giving you more time in other areas of your system install. Let’s take a look at the NZXT award winning power supply shroud.

Another great feature is being able to mount two SSDs on top of the power supply shroud. NZXT included two mounting brackets which are easily removable so you can install your prized SSD’s and get to actually see them once your builds completed.

If you need more room for storage, NZXT included five steel modular hard drive cages with removable HDD trays in the front section of the Noctis 450, which you can easily access by removing the two thumb screws on the back of the right side panel.

If you’re not a fan of owning a black chassis the Noctis 450 also comes in white. The only difference between the two is that the black chassis comes with red undercarriage lighting as well as the NZXT logo on the PSU shroud, the only difference with the white Noctis 450 chassis is that the LED lighting rails on the bottom of the chassis as well as the NZXT logo on the power supply shroud is blue as shown in the photo below.

We will be talking more about the lighting features later in this review, but for now we will leave you a photo showing both the white and black Noctis 450 chassis and lighting options. I’ll be talking more about the lighting features later in this review.

Let's move on to taking a closer look at the exteriors of the Noctis 450 on the next page.

Closer Look - Exterior

Let’s take a look at the exterior of the NZXT Noctis 450 chassis. We’ll start by showing a photo the left side of the chassis. The windowed side panel of the Noctis 450 is easily removed by turning the two thumb screws located on the rear of the chassis. I’m not a fan of the shape of the window that NZXT chose, but it’s clear and it lets people get a good look at your prized hardware and if your system is powered on you’ll see the red glow from the NZXT logo on the power supply shroud.

Moving on to the top of the chassis, we find the front I/O as well as two vented areas which provide enough air to the fans on the X61 CPU cooler to keep the coolant and our 5930K nice and cool.

Let's take a look at two more photos showing left and right angles of the Noctis 450 sitting on out test bench.

In this photo we take a look at the accessories package that comes with the Noctis 450 which includes an NZXT badge, cable ties and a wide assortment of screws, also a small booklet showing other NZXT products.

The right side panel is kind odd and plain-looking. However, it gives you a rather large area to work with if your thinking about adding some artwork to the Noctis 450 which would make an already great looking chassis look awesome!

Now let's take a look at the rear panel, on the left we have the cut out for the rear I/O shield which the cuitout also has the popular LED lighting installed. Above the I/O cutout and to the left we find the lighting switch which has been updated and now allows different lighting configurations.

Over to the right of the I/O we find the grill for the 140mm rear fan, below the fan and to the right we see two holes for tubing which comes with pre-installed rubber grommets . Over to the left you can see seven expansion slots with vented covers, and at the bottom the power supply bay.

Here’s a close up of the Noctis 450 power supply bay.

In the next image, we see the bottom of the Noctis 450 which has two LED light rails, one on each side of the chassis which throw off a pleasant looking red glow on your table top or desk. There’s also a removable and washable filter for the power supply that slides out the rear of the chassis for easy cleaning.

The four rubber feet at each corner of the chassis does a great job making sure the chassis does not move. We tested it on wood, metal and even a glass table top and the chassis always stayed in place and was even hard to try to get it to slide.

With the system powered on you can see awesome looking red glow coming from the bottom LED rails. Talk about adding a little class which would make anyone owning a Noctis 450 chassis feel proud.

I have to admit that NZXT hit the ball out of the park with the bottom red LED light rails. Congrats on a job well done!

Let's take a look at inside the Noctis 450 on the next page.

Closer Look - Exterior

With the top panel removed you can see a mounting area large enough for a 360mm radiator or something smaller like a 280mm or 240mm radiator for a custom water cooling setup or an All-In-One closed loop CPU cooler like the NZXT Kraken X61 which I’ll be installing as part of our build.

With the top panel removed we can now take a look at the top I/O panel. The white plastic piece over to the left is actually part of your power switch and power LED. Over to the right of the power switch you can see your audio and microphone jacks, then two USB3.0 as well as two USB 2.0 ports.

With the Noctis 450 front panel and the magnetic filter removed you can see three 120mm intake fans. If you were to remove all three fans you would have enough room to mount a second 360mm, 280mm or 240mm radiator.

Let's take a look at what’s behind the left windowed side panel and see what other surprises NZXT has in store for us.

In this photo you can see mounting trays for two SSD’s and behind each tray two cutouts for running SATA cables to your SSDs. If you plan on running either a dual or triple graphics card setup configured for SLI or Crossfire, the cables running to your SSDs will never be seen which is another big plus for the NZXT Noctis 450.

As you can see in our next photo, NZXT has included an extra-large cutout on the motherboard tray of the Noctis 450. This extra-large cutout is for installing CPU cooler back plates.

By going with an extra-large cutout, NZXT made sure you never have to worry about not having to enough room to install your coolers back plate.

Earlier in this review we talked about talked about the five steel modular hard drive cages with removable trays, so let’s take a look at a close up of the five hard drive cages.

After removing the right side panel, we get a better look at the five modular HDD bays. Over to the right the extra-large cutout we mentioned earlier for installation.

With the right side panel removed, you get a better look at the five drive bays, cable routing holes as well as the extra-large cut out for your cooler back plate. There are a total of eight holes for cable routing. However, for some reason NZXT chose to only use rubber grommets on three of the eight routing holes, so if I had one complaint it would be to see rubber grommets installed on every routing hole. To help with cooling, NZXT installed a PWM Fan Hub below and to the left of the cutout in the motherboard tray. The PWM Fan Hub can support up to eight fans, making the hub a welcomed addition to the chassis.

Let’s go back and take another look at the top panel with the 280mm radiator from the Kraken X61 installed. As you can see it’s a perfect fit!

Now let's move on to the build and installation on the next page.

System Build and Installation

For the NZXT Noctis 450 build, the following hardware below are installed:

• Processor: Intel: 5930K
• Motherboard: MSI X99 Gaming 7
• HDDs: Two Kingston HyperX Savage SATA III 960GB SSDs
• CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61
• Memory: G.Skill DDR4 Ripjaws 2133MHz 4GBs X 8 (32GB Kit)
• Graphics: 3 X EVGA GTX 980Ti ACX 2.0+ (SLI)
• Power Supply: Seasonic X Series 1250
• Chassis: NZXT Noctis 450 Mid-Tower

I would like to start out by saying that the NZXT Noctis 450 chassis was a real pleasure to work with. The 280mm Radiator from Kraken X61 CPU cooler fit like a glove in the top section of the chassis and the rest of the high-end build hardware was installed in 18 minutes making the Noctis 450 a breeze to build in even if you have large hands like I do.

Next we will be taking a look at one awesome chassis with a killer looking high-end build pumping out an overclock of 5GHz and the three EVGA GTX 980 Ti cards with triple-SLI enabled. Clearly, the NZXT Noctis 450 is spacious enough to house all these hardware even with it being a mid-tower chassis only. The pleasure of working with the NZXT Noctis 450 mid tower chassis was great!

It’s amazing how much hardware the Noctis 450 can hold and still look so awesome when it’s finished. As you can see in the next four photos the Noctis 450 is a dream come true for a lot of system builders.

Let's wrap up this review on the next page.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

First, let me start out by saying that NZXT has done a really great job with the Noctis 450 chassis. The overall build quality is excellent and the black matte finish is great. I handled this chassis a lot for the photos and the build and never once did I have to stop to wipe off fingerprints.

Cable management is great, in most part thanks to the award winning PSU shroud, which ends up cutting your normal cable routing time in half. Another great feature about the PSU shroud is being able to mount two SSDs on top of it

While a lot of people keep saying that the Noctis 450 is an update to the H440, I like to think of the Noctis as a different and unique breed of its own. It has more appeal than the H440 and that’s a big plus. The dual LED light rails on the bottom of the chassis that give off an awesome red glow from the bottom of the chassis as well as the NZXT logo on the side of the power supply shroud.

Some people might find the SRP of $139.00 a little too expensive for a mid-tower but you do get what you pay for. Awesome appeal, great build quality as well as the ability to mount two 360mm radiators if you decide to go with custom water cooling. And let’s not forget about how easy it is to do your cable routing, and not having to wipe down finger prints every time you move the chassis or do an upgrade to your system.

With everything we mentioned as well as looking at the great high-end build we installed and still have room for future upgrades, what more could you ask for. The Noctis 450 is a great buy for $139.00 at Amazon and at the NZXT Store so if you’re thinking about upgrading or buying your first enthusiast chassis, the NZXT Noctis 450 should be first on your list.

Likes

• PSU shroud the hides cables
• Cool bottom LED lighting trails
• Great water cooling capabilities
• Good built quality and matte finish

Dislikes

• Not all routing holes have rubber grommets

Silverstone PS11-Q and PS11-W Chassis Review

The case is the centerpiece in any rig. It needs to house everything you plan to install, have good cooling and acoustic dampening as well as looking good. There are a lot of brands offering computer cases today but one of the prominent brands. Today is Silverstone and today we will be looking at their latest models under the Precision Series, the PS11-W and PS11-Q. The Silverstone SST-PS11 cases address the two major classification of builders present today. The PS11-W marketed for enthusiast builders which highlights looks and performance while the PS11-Q targets the builders looking for silence and performance. Join us today as we take a look at these two cases and what these has to offer.

Silverstone's take on the PS11 Chassis

To meet enthusiasts’ expectations for a versatile entry-level case, SilverStone created the Precision PS11 ATX tower case with no compromise in style or in quality. By adopting the bottom-PSU-mount design, the PS11 has flexible storage options and a wide range of support for nearly all components. Despite affordable prices, it still retains outstanding and practical features such as Superspeed USB 3.0 ports, space for high performance graphics cards, and support for various cooling configurations. The PS11 comes in two versions, one with side window and a mesh front panel for high cooling performance, while the other one has sound absorbing foam and indirect front-side intake vents for quiet operation.

Let us check out the features and specifications of the PS11 cases on the next page.

Features

• Quick access filters for easy cleaning
• Motherboard back plate opening for quick CPU cooler assembly
• Mesh front panel intake maximizes airflow with side window for viewing system innards (PS11-W)
• Front-side intake vents with foam padded side panels to minimize noise (PS11-Q)
• All black painted interior for stylish look
• Supports graphics cards up to 16.2 inches

Specifications

Model No

• SST-PS11B-W (performance)
• SST-PS11B-Q (silence)

Material

• Mesh front panel, steel body (SST-PS11B-W)
• Plastic front panel, steel body (SST-PS11B-Q)

Motherboard

• ATX
• Micro-ATX

Drive Bays

• External: 5.25” x 2
• Internal                : 3.5" x 3 , 2.5” x 2

Cooling System

• Front: 2 x 120mm/140mm fan slot (1 x 120mm intake fan included)
• Rear: 1 x 120mm fan slot
• Top: 2 x 120mm fan slot (SST-PS11B-W)
• Bottom: 1 x 120mm fan slot

Expansion Slot: 7

Front I/O Port

• USB 3.0 x 2
• Audio x 1
• MIC x 1

Power Supply: 1 x optional standard PS2(ATX)

Expansion Card

• lengths up to 16.2”
• width restriction - 6.1”

Limitation of CPU cooler: 161mm

Limitation of PSU: 225mm

Net Weight:  4.825KG

Dimension: 215.3mm (W) x 426.5mm (H) x 481.5mm (D), 44 liters

Let's move on to the next page to take a closer look at the PS11 cases.

Content and Packaging

The Silverstone SST-PS11 cases come in a plain box packaging. The front features the two models side by side. The back features a helpful diagram of the chassis and its parts.

Both the SST-PS11-W and SST-PS11-Q have the same set of accessories. Same set of screws and four cable ties which I wish were more.

A Silverstone badge comes with the SST-PS11-W which is for you to place in the front panel mesh or wherever you want to put it which is a smart idea.

Now let's take a look at both cases starting with the PS11-Q.

Then here's the PS11-W below with its generously huge windowed side panel and front mesh.

Let's take a closer look at the exteriors of both cases on the next pages.

Closer Look - Exterior (PS11-Q)

Here's a look at the PS11-Q again.

The front has a Silverstone branding in a shiny mirror-like material which I really like. Don't touch it because it really attracts fingerprints very well.

On the side of the front panel are ventilation holes where the intake air goes into the chassis.

You can clearly see the ventilation holes on this photo above. Behind it are two fan slots which can accommodate either two 120mm fans or two 140mm fans. There's one 120mm fan preinstalled with the chassis.

As for the front panel cover, the back portion is padded with noise dampening material to contain the noise produced inside the chassis.

Here's a closer look at the preinstalled fan to the PS11-Q which doesn't look like a typical chassis fan with its fan blades optimized for silence.

Going back to the front panel, here's the I/O ports which include 2 USB 3.0 ports, a 3.5mm audio ports for microphone and headphones, a power button on the left, a tiny reset button on the right with 2 LED lights for the HDD LED and Power LED. There are two things I would like to point out here. The power button is hard to press, it is not a spring-loaded switch and if you notice that isn't a button itself but part of the front panel. The reset switch is also difficult to use. Either you have long nails or grab a pen to press it. Not really that bad about the PS11 cases but the usual easy-to-press switches would be better of course.

Both sides are identical. Notice the side panels aren't flat and that adds precious amounts of space inside for cabling. Later you'll understand the importance of the side panel design.

With the PS11-Q, both the side panels also have noise dampening foam material on it.

Moving on to the top of the PS11-Q, the top panel is plain which is another difference between the two models since the PS11-W has a slot for 2 120mm fans which you'll see on the next page.

Here's a look at the rear of the PS11-Q which is identical with the PS11-W. There are 7 expansion slots, 2 tubing holes for water cooling, a 120mm fan slot on top and a standard ATX PSU slot at the bottom.

The bottom of the PS11 cases are the same. The feet are plastic and there's a fan filter for the single 120mm fan slot as well as for the PSU bay.

Now let's take a closer look at the PS11-W on the next page.

Closer Look - Exterior (PS11-W)

Here's another look at the SST-PS11-W. The differences about the case's exteriors include the top panel, left-face side panel and top panel. The rest are literally the same.

Here's a look at the front panel of the PS11-W. Aside from the difference in the front panel cover, the fan is also different.

Here's a closer look at the front panel mesh of the PS11-W with the Silverstone decal placed. You can actually stick it elsewhere in the case but let's put it there as designed.

Here's a look at the top panel of the PS11-W with its two 120mm fan slots. The fan slots aren't in the middle of the panel but closer to the left-face portion of the chassis which is good so if ever you want to install a radiator, it would be as far away as possible from the motherboard.

The left-face side panel of the PS11-W has a huge window. I have to say the quality of Silverstone cases is simply superb. If you read the specifications well, notice that this is a very lightweight cases at only around 4 kilograms. For comparison, a 14-inch laptop tends to be around 2.5 kilograms. You'd expect a thin acrylic window but with the PS11-W, the acrylic window is lavishly thick and sturdy. It doesn't flex easily.

The bottom and rear part of the PS11-W is the same with the PS11-Q.

Now let's move on to the next page to take a closer look at the interiors.

Closer Look - Interior

The layout of the PS11-Q and PS11-W is the same except for the addition of two 120mm fan slots on the top panel of the PS11-W and also the different fans included with the cases.

PS11-Q

PS11-W

Also another difference is the presence of the noise dampening foam material on the PS11-Q which the PS11-W doesn't have. Both cases doesn't have any rubber grommets on the cable routing holes. Personally I wouldn't expect any coming from an entry-level chassis but for flagship cases like Silverstone's RAVEN chassis, it would really be a surprise if it doesn't have those. For the PS11 cases, it would just be a bonus if they do have it.

Here's a look at the huge motherboard cutout which lets you access the back of your motherboard with ease for easy installation of any CPU cooler back plate.

At the power supply bay, there are three small rubber footrests for the power supply to sit on. The bottom is lavishly littered with ventilation holes. Depending on the length of your power supply, you may or may not have access to the 120mm fan slot in front of it.

Here's a look at the removable drive cage and yes you read that right, it is removable. Later I will show you how to remove the drive cage. The drive cage can house three 3.5-inch hard drives.

On top of the drive cage is a 2.5-inch drive slot which is also removable. It is secured by the single thumb screw you can see on the image above.

Beneath the ODD drive cage is also another 2.5-inch drive slot which is also secured by a single thumb screw. So if you do want the bottom HDD drive cage removed, you can still have this for a 2.5-inch SSD.

The top of PS11-W has a fan filter inside for the two 120mm fans you can install.

As for the top of the PS11-Q, it too has noise dampening material.

Here's a look at the back of the PS11 chassis, both the PS11-W and PS11-Q has the same layout.

Here's the very reason why the side panels are convex outwards to add more space because you only have around a centimeter of space to manage without it. Note that the PS11-Q's side panel has noise dampening on the side panel's interior thus giving less space but enough to do cabling properly given that you have the patience and wit to do so. All I can say is 'Challenge Accepted!'. The back does have a total of 2.5 centimeters or an inch of space for cabling which is enough for me.

Lastly, here are the front I/O panel cable headers. Each header is labeled

Now let's move on to the next page and see how you can remove the drive cage.

Closer Look Continued

Removing Drive Cage

Here's a look at the HDD drive cage again on the PS11 cases. It may look like it is not possible to remove it without using a drill and some power tool. The fact is this is not riveted into the case, it is also screwed and removing these screws will release the entire drive cage.

Locate four screws at the bottom of the PS11, I'm unscrewing one on the image above.

Remove the front panel and you'll find another four set of screws to remove.

Here's the HDD drive cage removed from the chassis.

With the drive cage removed, you can have space for water cooling parts if desired like the pump and/or reservoir.

Now here's the look at the interior of the PS11 without the drive cage. Certainly makes it more spacious. You can place a 240mm radiator up front and the chassis does have screw holes for that.

Now let's move on to the build and installation on the next page.

Build and Installation

The build will have the following hardware below. I will be using the same setup for both models so that there will be a good comparison for acoustics and temperature. By that we should see the difference between the performance PS11-W case and the silence of the PS11-Q case.

System Configuration

• Processor: Intel Core i5-4670K (3.8 Ghz stock clocks)
• Motherboard: MSI Z97 Gaming 5
• Memory: Kingston HyperX Beast 2400Mhz DDR3 16GB
• Graphics Card: Gigabyte GTX 770 2GB OC
• Boot Drive: Patriot Ignite 480GB M.2 SSD
• Storage Drives: 2 X 1TB Western Digital Caviar Blue
• Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA P2 1200W
• CPU Cooler: Cryorig H5
• Cooling Fans: 2 x Thermaltake Riing 12 White LED Fans (Front), 1 x Stock Silverstone Fan (Rear)

For this build, I will try to replicate a normal system unit build would be including two hard disk drives since these also produce heat and noise which are installed in the front. I went with an aircooling CPU cooler with a single fan and only three chassis fans installed, 2 at front and 1 at the rear for a positive air pressure on the case.

Here you can see the two Thermaltake Riing fans in front of the case.

There are no hard drive racks for you to install the 3.5-inch hard drive before placing it into the drive cage. You will have to place it into the drive cage directly.

Now this is one of the trickiest part of the installation. The cable routing hole on top of both PS11 cases is rather hard to reach particularly if you have a tower CPU cooler preinstalled on the motherboard. I recommend attaching the 8-pin or 4-pin ATX motherboard power cable before securing the motherboard with cooler on the case. The noise dampening material would actually be an obstacle particularly if the ATX motherboard power cable is thick. You just need to push it hard or tear away a bit of the foam for it to fit.

Here's a look at the finished build. Since the window of the Silverstone PS11-W is rather huge, you could really see the majority of the hardware inside. If you did a neat job in installing the hardware and hiding all the cables, it would really be a huge plus for your build.

Cable management is hard but doable. However, I did need more than the provided four cable ties. Unfortunately the USB 3.0 cable has to pass by the open area since that's where the MSI Z97 Gaming 5's USB 3.0 header is but there's really nowhere around it but having all black cables really help in keeping it looking neat.

And here's a look at the rear of the PS11 with all the hardware installed.

Overall Look

Here's a look at the PS11-W and PS11-Q from the outside. Let's start with the PS11-Q since it doesn't look much different with or without hardware installed.

PS11-Q

PS11-W

Now let us look at the acoustic and temperature difference between the two models on the next page.

Acoustics

The Thermaltake Riing 12 fans are rated at 1500 RPM and will be running at full for this test. The stock Silverstone PS11-Q fan runs at 1200 RPM. Readings will be tested at IDLE and in LOAD since the fans in the graphics card and CPU cooler would then be running at higher RPMs at load.

Testing Software

• MSI Afterburner
• Prime95 64bit
• Sound Meter

Sound meter was placed 10 inches in front of the PS11 cases being that if your setup is having the chassis on top of a desk near you, it would be the typical distance away from the user.

I used Prime95 to load the processor and max out the CPU cooler fan then manually turn the graphics card fans to 100% RPM with MSI Afterburner. With the Gigabyte GTX 770 Windforce card's triple fan cooler, it squeals a high pitch noise at maximum RPM. The noise dampening material and closed front panel design really makes a difference with noise reduction.

Temperatures

Monitoring temperatures is important. High temperatures affects performance and lifespan of the hardware. Let's see how the PS11 cases perform in my simple test. Room temperature is around 26°C during the test.

Testing Software

• MSI Afterburner
• MSI Kombustor 3
• Prime95 64bit

I will be running both Prime95 and MSI Kombutor 3 simultaneously to fully load the processor and graphics processor which should produce a lot of heat inside the chassis along with the rest of the hardware. Temperature will be monitored by MSI afterburner. The test will run for 20 minutes, see the results below.

By the end of the run, the GPU temperatures have a difference of 5°C. The GTX 770 reached a peak temperature of 60°C inside the PS11-Q while having only at 55°C inside the PS11-W.

The difference is even more evident in the CPU temperatures. Test started with CPU at 37°C. After the run, the i5-4670k peaked at 74°C in the PS11-W chassis and from the graph you can tell that it is pretty much stabled. In the PS11-Q, the processor reached up to 85°C and still climbing as represented by the blue line in the graph.

Note that I used an identical set of hardware for the two cases for this comparison. Although the PS11-W has two 120mm fan slot on the top the chassis which should improve cooling and pull down temperatures further, this result clearly concludes the 'performance' capabilities of the PS11-W. You can pack it with higher end hardware with matching overclocked settings and it will do just fine.

Even just the allocation of the top fan mounts with mesh holes is enough to make a significant difference. Probing my hand over it during the test, I can feel hot air coming out of the ventilation holes thus helping in lowering the temperatures inside the PS11-W. The test reveals that the noise dampening foam material in the PS11-Q doesn't only suppress noise but also trap heat inside the chassis which is the downside of having it.

Now let's wrap up this review on the last page.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

Silverstone's Precision Series' PS11-Q and PS11-W cases are both good entry-level cases for builders that look for either excellent performance or excellent silence. I'm glad that Silverstone recognizes these two different demands from consumers and addressed it by having two different models that specialized in addressing such concerns.

We are looking at two cases that has a standard retail price of $49.99 and for that you can have a very flexible chassis packed with smart features. Flexible in a sense that it offers a lot of options, not pertaining to the material. The structure of both the PS11-W and PS11-Q is good! Comparing it to Xigmatek, NZXT and Coolermaster cases which I've handled before, Silverstone's quality I have to say is higher for its price range. It is lightweight without sacrificing rigidity of the structure.

Appearance is more of a personal preference and if you like having a huge window, the PS11-W has like some of the largest clear window panel you can find on cases around this price range today. That does come with its advantage and disadvantage. If you're good in creating neat cabling and got the cash for color matching hardware, the window will truly be handy in showing off what's inside. Elsewhere, it would be displaying the mess inside very well.

Performance of the cases were laid out well in the previous page. Depending on what you need, the PS11 cases will very likely hit what you are looking for. Moving on to features I like about the cases. I certainly like the removable hard drive cage. It might take more effort that what flagship cases offer but it is an option open to the owner. The two 2.5-inch drive bays are also a plus. The removable front panel cover makes it easy to clean and access the front fans which is also something I like.

The front panel finish is made to imitate brushed aluminum which is a miss in my opinion because it certainly has this plastic look on it. It looks different but far from a genuine brushed aluminum look. If there are things to rethink about the PS11 cases, it would be the power and reset switches. Other than these, I feel that the rest of the parts are reasonable for its price. As of this writing, you can find the Silverstone PS11-Qand Silverstone PS11-W at Amazon for $54.99, Newegg at $49.99 and Tiger Direct at $47.99. Around this price range, the only chassis that's near as featured packed and stylish as the PS11 cases is Corsair's Carbide Series SPEC-02 which has a very similar layout which gives me a reason to think these cases came from the same OEM maker. However, Corsair's SPEC-02 doesn't have the two removable 2.5-inch drive bays. With this, I could say the PS11 cases is the best value case for this price range.

Likes

• Removable front panel cover
• Removable drive cage
• Silence or performance options
• Huge clear window panel (PS11-W)
• Lightweight yet sturdy structure

Dislikes

• Power and reset buttons

Introduction

A couple of weeks ago, we had the pleasure of reviewing the NZXT Noctis 450 which left us amazed at how much high end hardware we could install in a mid-tower chassis and still have the system running cool. The Noctis 450 also gave you the option of installing two radiators up to 360mm in the top section and front sections of the Noctis 450.

Today we will be taking a look at another NXZT mid-tower chassis, the new S340 Razer Edition. Let’s take an in depth look at the S340 and see how it matches up against the Noctis 450 and what kind of cooling options the S340 has to offer. We would like to thank NZXT for sending the S340 to ProClockers for review.

Content and Packaging

The NZXT S340 Razer Edition retail box is mostly black with the exception of NZXT. S340 in bold white letters and numbers located top left front.

Under NZXT you can see the green Razer badge and the words Designed By Razer. Dead center of the box a photo of the S340 Razer Edition with the Razer emblem and the LED light rails on the bottom of the chassis emitting an awesome green glow

The back side of the S340 box also shows NZXT S340 and Designed By Razer in the same location as the front. The photo of the S340 is smaller and over to the left hand side.

There are three more photos on the right side, with the first showing the award winning NZXT power supply shroud and the words “All Steel Construction “ in bold green lettering.

The second photo shows the top front I/O with the words “Everything You Need “ The third and last photo shows the only HDD cage and one of the LED light rails glowing green.

In our next photo you can see that NZXT used the exact same foam packaging to protect the S340 from getting damage during shipping. The foam packaging did an excellent job protecting our Noctis 450 sample as well as the S340

S340 Specifications

Case Specs

• Dimensions: W: 200mm H: 445mm D: 432mm
• Materials: Steel & Plastic
• Total Weight: 7.29 KG
• Motherboard Support: ITX, microATX, ATX
• External Features: 1x HD Audio/Mic, 2x USB 3.0
• Bays & Expansion
  
  • Internal 3.5” 2 + 1
  • Internal 2.5” 2 + 1
• PCI Expansion Slots: 7

Cooling

• Front: 2 x 120mm or 140mm
• Top: 1 x 120mm or 1400 [120mm included]
• Rear: 1 x 120mm [120mm included]

Clearance

• CPU Cooler: 161mm
• Front Radiator: 58mm
• Rear Radiator: 75mm
• GPU: 364mm / 334mm [Without Radiator]

Warranty Term: 2 Years

Features

• NZXT Award Winning Power Supply Shroud which also supports dual SSDs
• Cable Management Bar
• Water Cooling support for 120mm Rear. 240mm & 280mm front
• LED Lighting for under carriage LED light rails
• LED lighting for front Razer emblem
• Removable Magnetic Front Filter helps keep dust out of your system, and makes it easy to remove and clean. Filter is also washable.
• Support for 364mm long GPUs or 334mm with front radiator installed

Accessories Package

The included S340 accessories package is a little sparse to say the least

• One package of 21 / 6-32 x 5mm screws
• One package of 12 / M3 x 5mm screws
• One package of 8 / KB5 x 10mm screws
• One motherboard standoff 6-32 x 6.5+4mm
• Motherboard Standoff Wrench
• One package / 10 Cable Ties
• NZXT S340 Mid Tower Manual
• Two Razer Emblem Decals

Let us move on to taking a look at the exteriors of the S340 on the next page.

Closer Look - Exterior

Let’s take a look at NZXT S340 Razer Edition chassis exterior by starting with the right side. There’s a vent at the top and bottom of the front panel to allow cool air to be drawn in by the 140mm fans we installed.

The front of the S340 has the Razer emblem which lights up once your system has been powered on, the same goes for the LED light rails on the bottom of the chassis.

The top panel has the air vent we talked about earlier which provides air to our 140mm fans which our installed on the NZXT Kraken X61 CPU Cooler

The power switch is located to the right front I/O next we have two USB 3.0 ports, HD audio output & Mic input, last the power LED

Here’s an angle shot of the front panel and the windowed side panel

As you can see the right side panel has a lot of space, more like an open canvas waiting for you to add some custom paint, or apply some vinyl with graphics from your favorite game

In the next three photos we will take a look at what’s happening on the rear of the chassis. Over to the left, the rear I/O an on the right the grill for the rear 120mm fan. Below the fan grill we see seven thumb screws for securing your PCI devices in place and seven expansion slots with vented covers. The very bottom of the rear is the power supply bay.

In our next photo a close up of the N340 power supply bay which runs almost the entire length of the chassis

As we mentioned earlier, the photo below shows the seven thumb screws for locking down your PCI devices, as well as the seven expansion slots with vented covers.

Let’s move on to the bottom of the S340 Razer Edition and see what’s going on. The green LEDs are located behind the white strips on both sides of the case and the four rubber feet do a decent job preventing the chassis from moving . There's a filter on bottom of the power supply bay to stop dust and animal hairs from entering the chassis.

Closer Look - Interior

Starting with the left side, there’s an extra large cut out for installing CPU cooler back plates. You may have noticed the lack of cable routing holes, this is due to NZXT replacing them with the cable management bar which is located on the right side on the motherboard tray. I have to admit that it does a great job with your cables, which you will get a chance to see in the build section of our review

NZXT provided a removable magnetic fan filer for the front panel, however the S340 does not come with any fans, so the 140mm fans you see in the next couple of photos are from the installed Kraken X61 CPU cooler.

Here’s another photo on the front panel with the filter removed.

In our next photo you can see just how large the cut out actually is , as well as a better view of the cable management bar. There’s a couple of cable routing holes in the top of the power supply shroud. The two in the rear are used to run SATA cables to each of the SSDs the last hole on the side of the SSD tray is used to run PCIe cables to your video cards.

The SSD mounting for the S340 is located on the top of the power supply shroud which makes it easy to display your prized SSDs and also very easy to remove each tray .

With the trays removed, I can easily install my Kingston HyperX Savage 960GB SSDs and reinstall the each tray on top of the power supply shroud.

==================

Build and Installation

System Specifications

• Gigabyte Z97X-UD5 Black Edition Motherboard
• Intel i7-4790K Overclocked to 4.8GHz
• NZXT Kraken X61 AIO CPU Cooler
• Kingston HyperX Savage 2400MHz 32GB Memory
• OCZ RevoDrive 350 480GB PCIe SSD Boot Drive
• Two Kingston Savage 960GB SSDs for storage
• Two PowerColor R9 270X OC Devil Video Cards with Crossfire enabled
• OCZ Fatal1ty 1000 watt power supply with black sleeved cables
• NZXT S350 Razer Edition Chassis

Installing our Z97 Crossfire build in the S340 was a breeze, I didn’t run into a single issue throughout the whole build. At first I thought the Kraken X61 was going to be difficult to install due to cable management bar but it ended up being an easy install with close to a half inch left between the cable management bar and the Krakens 280mm Radiator

Next, a photo of our completed Z97 water cooled Crossfire build.

Cleaning up the cables was fast and easy leaving us with a clean looking build, I wish other company’s would pay attention and realize that no one likes a messy looking build.

Let's move on to the next page for the conclusion.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

NZXT has done a great job with the S340 Razer Edition Mid Tower Chassis, the overall build quality is good, and the black finish does not leave fingerprints, and believe me I handled this case a lot throughout the photo shoot and the build.

Cable management is excellent mainly in part to the new NZXT cable management bar, which made cable routing very easy and left us with a nice clean looking build. The LED rails on the bottom of the chassis throw off an awesome green glow on any type of table top, and you have to love the way the Razer emblem light up on the front panel. The green LED lighting looks cool as you turn on the system, certainly a huge plus for Razer fans out there looking for a green themed build.

I can’t say enough about the award winning NZXT cable shroud, except that every case company should design their own power supply shroud. And let's not forget how easy and fast it is to install a couple of SSDs on top of the shroud. If I had to complain about something, it would be the top panel, NZXT should have made it possible to install a second 240mm or 280mm radiator.

Now let's talk about the price, at $99 you do get your money's worth but with the lack of being able to install a second radiator up top and the fact that the S340 does not come with 140mm fans up front makes me feel that $79.00 would be a better price for the NZXT S340 Razer Edition. You can pre-order the S340 Razer Editor at the NZXT Armory Store on this link.

Introduction

Phanteks was founded from a group of engineers with a total of 20 years of international experience in thermal solutions. They paired up with a Dutch design team and established Phanteks in 2007. Phanteks venture into the CPU cooling industry with two goals in mind, “High-end quality and innovative products in thermal solutions.”

Today we are taking a look at the Phanteks Enthoo Pro M. The Enthoo Pro M has long list of features that enthusiasts look for in an ATX case and is design to be a cost effective alternitite to the much more expensive Enthoo Primo. There are multiple drive mounting points that support both 2.5 and 2.5 drives. There is support for up to 5 fans and dual radiators. The top radiator mount slides out for easy installation. Phanteks even includes a water pump mounting bracket. Rubber cable grommets and Phanteks' hook-and-loop cable management make building in the case frustration free. Top that off, the Enthoo Pro M is available in black and titanium green.

Phanteks' take on the Enthoo Pro M

The ENTHOO PRO M focuses on delivering great design without compromising price. Water-cooling builds will be a simple task with the help of our innovative radiator bracket and pump mounting locations. Whether you are a system builder or water-cooling enthusiast, the PRO M will give you unlimited possibilities.
Features:

Enthoo Pro M includes 1 x 140mm fan in the rear. Ability to upgrade to additional fans is possible. All fans included are Phanteks’ new redesigned and better performing SP series fans.

Appearance:

-Brushed aluminum look
Clean interior - Hidden PSU and HDD’s
Cooling:

- Optimal airflow - Direct airflow to CPU / GPU
- Comes with 1 Phanteks premium fans
1x PH-F140SP in rear (140mm)
- 3 different installation areas for radiators
(120mm or 140mm form factor).
- Reservoir mounting locations

Functionality:

- 1x Drop-N-Lock SSD brackets included
- Removable HDD cage for installation of long PSU’s (>180mm) / waterpump
- Equiped with removable dustfilters (1x front, 1x bottom, 1x top magnetic)
- Clean cable management using Phanteks' preinstalled Hoop-N-Loop cable ties
- Removable optical drive cage
- Optional 5x HDD bracket for 3.5”/2.5 HDD upgrade

Packaging and Specifications

The Phanteks Enthoo Pro M comes in a brown cardboard box with black graphics. The front shows outline of the case itself..

One side of the box there is a list of the specifications.

The case is wrapped in a protective plastic bag. Two Styrofoam end caps keep the case safe during transport.

Specifications

A Closer Look

Now out of the packaging, we get a look at the Enthoo Pro M.  The case is painted in Phanteks’ satin black textured finish. The side window takes up most of the side panel.

The front panel has 2 USB 3.0 ports, a headphone port, and a microphone port located on the left side

The power button is located on the top of the case just behind the front bezel. The top of the case has a removal mesh filter that is heals in place magnetically.

There are no included fans in the front of the Enthoo Pro M. A fine mesh filter is integrated into the front cover and the front cover is easily removable for cleaning. Optionally, up to three 120mm fans or two 140mm fans can be installed in the front.

The interior is very open and has only one 5 1/4 drive bay.

A power supply cover is standard. Ample venting keeps heat from being trapped in the lower section of the case, allowing multiple video card solutions to run cooler. The lower front features and optional SSD mount that can be see through the side window.

A removable cover above the hard drive cage allows for clearance for a front mounted radiator.

The front of the motherboard tray has mounting points so 3.5/2.5 drives via brackets.

There is a large CPU cutout in the motherboard tray. The motherboard standoffs are preinstalled. A 140mm fan is installed in the rear of the Enthoo Pro M by default.

One of the most unique features on the Enthoo Pro M is this slide out fan mounting bracket. It allows for easy fan or radiator installation. Up to three 120mm fans or two 140mm fans are supported. Alternately, a 3x120mm or 2x140mm radiator can be installed as well.

A Closer Look continued on next page

A Closer Look Continued

Four rubber feet provide cushion for the case and reduce the possibility of the case scratching whatever surface it is set on.

The power supply filter is made of the same fine mesh that the front fan filter is made of. It simply slides out the back for easy maintenance.

The backside of the motherboard tray is quite open for an ATX case. The CPU cutout is extremely large. The power supply and drives are both accessed from this side.

Hook and loop straps with the Phanteks logo provide easy cable management. They are adjustable enough for the most unruly cable bundle to be tamed.

A single 2.5 drive mount is installed in the mid rear section. Additional mounts can be purchased for those needing to install more drives.

A reverse shot of the optional hard drive bracket mounting location.

A two bay hard drive cage is mounted by default.  The cage must be removed if a radiator is used in this location.

Drive installation is completely tool free for 3.5 drives. 2.5 drives do require mounting via screws.

All the cables are black for a stealthy installation and are the proper length for the case.

A large box of accessories is included with the Enthoo Pro M.

The accessories box contains the Quick Installation Guide, all the needed screws, and several zip ties.

An optional HDD bracket are also included. It can be installed in the forward section of the case. Additional brackets can be purchased for those needing to install more drives. The case allows for a total of three to be installed.

Now to the build

The Build

System components used:

• Biostar Gaming Z170X Motherboard
• Intel Core i7 6700K Processor
• Crucial Ballistix Elite 16GB 2666MHz DDR4 Memory
• PowerColor PCS+ 290X Graphics Card
• OCZ ZT Series 550w Silver Power Supply
• Kingston HyperX Savage 240GB Solid State Drive
• Samsung 1TB Hard Drive
• Be quiet! Shadow Rock Slim CPU Cooler
• 3x Phanteks SP 140mm Case Fans (2 additional)

The build went smoothly and all the parts fit in the case without a hitch. The finished build has a somewhat simply yet elegant feel to it.

Wire management was no issue. Even though wire ties were included, I found no need for them, for the most part. All the wiring cleared without interfering with the side panel. Only 2 3.5/2.5 drive bays were used. The motherboard CPU cutout is plenty large enough to allow for just about any CPU placement.

A Kingston HyperX Savage 240GB SSD was mounted in the lower front. All the wiring tucked away nicely. The PowerColor PCS+ 290X graphics card is the longest one I have on hand and clears with room to spare.

Two additional Phanteks 140mm fans were installed in the front.

The default rear 140mm fans was left in-place. The tall be quiet! CPU cooler clears without issue.

Around back, the wiring is nice and neat, thanks to Phanteks’ hook and loop wire management. There was plenty of room to install the power supply and the case never felt cramps to work with.

The Enthoo Pro M uses the same base chassis as the Enthoo EVOLV ATX that wee review a little while ago. I’ve included that build here as well to show the water cooling potential. You can read that whole section here.

Let's wrap this review up on the next page.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

I was quite impressed with the Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ATX when we reviewed it. The Phanteks Enthoo Pro M is no less impressive. Much of what I liked about the Enthoo EVOLV ATX, I like about the Enthoo Pro M. This makes quite a bit of sense given that they both share the same base chassis.

Not a single detail seems to have been overlooked. In fact, it seems as Phanteks went out of their way to include many details that most case manufactures would not have even thought of. From the hook and loop cable management to the included water pump mount; flexibility is the key here. The case was easy to build in as well. During assembly, I never felt fatigued or frustrated.

With the Enthoo Pro M you do give up the extra drive mounting points, the water pump mount, and a couple of other small niceties. The outer aluminum skin is not there either. You save quite a large sum when it comes to pricing. The Enthoo Pro M will be avaiable for $79.99 That is a full $100 cheaper than the EVOLV ATX. That makes it quite the bargain.

Likes

• Solid Construction
• Good Looks
• Good Ventilation
• Support Full Water Cooling with Dual Radiators
• Easy to Work with
• Unique Slide Out Upper Fan Mount

Dislikes

• None

Introduction

It seems like every year In Win finds unexpected ways to impress the public, if it’s not with world class chassis designs that no other case manufacture would even dare to think of designing, it’s being the first company to make the move to tempered glass side panels, this may be why In Win is number one in creative ideas.

One thing for sure is that you can’t say that In Win is predictable, you never know what kind of designs they are coming out with from one year to the next’ but you know it’s always going to be something amazing that’s going to blow your mind.

Some of you may scratching your head and saying to yourself “I’ve seen this design somewhere else but let me assure you that you haven’t, what seems familiar is the tempered glass side panels which In Win used on their 904 mid tower and again on the 901 Mini ITX chassis.

This time around In Win went a step further and introduced a tempered glass front panel which I believe is the first of its kind, and just one more reason why In Win is years ahead of other case manufacture’s

Let’s take an in-depth look at the 805 and see what kind of surprises In Win has in store for us. I would like to thank In Win for sending Pro Clockers the new 805 Mid Tower Chassis for review.

Packaging

The In Win 805 chassis arrived in a plain brown box with the In Win logo in red on the side of the box and in black on the top of the box.

On the opposite side a round sticker letting you know that In Win included one of their iEAR Headphone Hangers for free!

As we open the shipping box you can see that In Win took every precaution to make sure the 805 chassis never had a chance to move around while being shipped to Pro Clockers and arrived in excellent condition.

Once the 805 was pulled from the shipping box, it was nice to see that In Win took extra care of protecting the chassis buy covering it in a black cloth bag to prevent scratching to the chassis.

Features

• Unparalleled Panel Design
• Dynamic Visual Effects
• Unique In Win LED Logo: White LED lighting with Gold & Black Versions, and Red LED lighting with Red Version
• Super Speed USB3.1 Type-C
• New Form of Aesthetic Simplicity
• Exquisite Aluminum Hairline Craftsmanship
• Tempered Glass Front Cover and Both Side Panels
• Versatile HDD Mounting Positions for OptimizedFunctionality
• Excellent Liquid Cooling Support at the Front & Rear of the 805
• Supports High-End Graphic Cards up to 320mm / 12.6”

Specifications

Exterior

Let me start out by saying that the tempered glass panels make the 805 a very hard chassis to photograph due to reflections, but it’s a small price to pay for such a classy looking chassis. Here we see the left side tempered glass panel as well as the front panel which is also made from tempered glass.

The right front and side of the 805 is just as exquisites the left side, making the 805 a very sexy chassis that anyone would be proud to own and show off to their friends and family.

The rear of the 805 is kind of plain looking; you have the rear I/O on the left side and a 120mm fan grill on the right. Below the rear I/O we find 8 expansion slots and the power supply bay.

Here’s a close up of the PSU bay, the opening extends all the way through to the front HDD cage. Below the PSU bay, you can also see the rear support legs which has two rubber pads for feet. Between the front and the rear supports all 4 rubber pads hold the 805 firmly in place.

Moving on to the bottom of the 805, in the next two photos you can see the four rubber pads that I mentioned as well as a magnetic filter that’s easily removed for cleaning.

Let’s take a look at the 805 accessories package that comes with the free In Win iEar Headset holder, the805 manual and various mounting screws & washers. In Win also included 5 stick on cable clamps, 10 cable ties and a special cloth for cleaning the tempered glass panels, which has a bad habit of collecting finger prints every time you touch them, but once again it’s a small price to pay for owning such an exquisite chassis.

The In Win 805 comes with some special color options, you can choose from Red, Black or Gold for your front I/O panel.

The In Win Logo also comes with different LED lighting options, such as White LED lighting for the Black and Gold versions, and Red LED lighting for the805 Red version.

Last, Super Speed Transmission from USB 3.1 Type-C port for ultimate data speed transfers up to 10Gb/s which is twice as fast as USB 3.0. Actual data transfer speeds will depend on your motherboards specifications.

Let’s move on to the interior photo section of our review.

Interior

To remove the left and right side panels, you must first remove the four screws located at the top and bottom of the tempered glass panels as shown in the photo below.

Next we see the left side interior of In Win 805, which includes a good size cut out for installing CPU cooler back plates. If In Win had made this cut out at least an inch wider it would have been the perfect size. There are also a total of 8 cable routing holes; I know it looks like there’s more but 3 of the holes are where the SSD mounting brackets are located.

In our next photo we take a look at the inside front of the 805 and particularly the front radiator bracket which can hole a 240mm or 280mm radiator or two 120mm or 140mm fans. We also have the HDD cage located at the bottom front which also includes mounting for a single SSD on the top of the cage.

To remove the radiator support bracket, you must first remove 2 thumb screws. One is located at the bottom front of the radiator support and the other one at the top front. Both thumb screws can be easily removed with your fingers.

Here’s a photo of the radiator support once it’s been removed. Mounting holes are clearly marked by being stamped into the support bracket, so it’s very easy to mount a 240mm or 280mm radiator, or perhaps two 120mm or 140mm fans.

Moving on to the inside rear of the 805, we can see the PSU bay located at the bottom with a white sticker that shows you the correct way to mount your power supply. 8 expansion slots as well as a 120mm exhaust fan and the rear I/O can also be seen.

In the next two photos I’ll be showing you two other mounting possibilities for the HDD cage. These positions can be used as long as you’re not planning on running a 240mm or 280mm radiator up front. Here we see the HDD cage moved to the top position.

In the next photo the HDD cage has been mounted towards the bottom front of the 805 chassis:

In our next photo we take a look at the HDD trays as well as the SSD mounting bracket from the top of the HDD cage.

Here’s a close up of the SSD mounting, there are 3 more of these brackets located on the right side of the chassis giving you the option to mount a total of 4 SSDs, which we did for this review.

With the right side panel removed, you can see that In Win has given you the option of installing 3 more SSDs on the rear of motherboard tray. Up top and towards the middle we find mounting for a 2nd SSD and if you look down at the lower right you will find the option to mount a 3rd and 4th SSD. The SSD mounting brackets can be removed by unscrewing a single thumb screw.

Build and Installation

Time to move on to the 805 system install. For the 805 review I decided to use the following hardware:

• ASRock X99 - OC Formula Motherboard
• Intel 5930K CPU
• NZXT Kraken X61 CPU cooler
• 32GBs of Kingston Predator DDR4 2133MHz
• 3 X EVGA GTX980 Ti in Triple-SLI
• EVGA 3 Way SLI Bridge
• Kingston Savage 960GB SSD as our boot drive
• 3 Crucial 1TB SSDs for superfast storage
• OCZ Fatal1ty 1000W power supply with factory sleeved cables to power our high-end X99 system

Let’s start out with a photo of our high-end build which was taken from the left side of the In Win 805 Chassis.

Here’s our X99 TRI-SLI beast in all its glory. You have to admit it looks pretty sweet installed in the 805 chassis. It’s not cramped at all and plenty of room for the components to run nice and cool seeing as the 805 is a mid-tower chassis.

Here’s another shot of our In Win 805 build taken at a left to front angle

In our next two photos I would like to show you the rear of the motherboard tray with three Crucial 1TB SSDs installed.

Finally, a photo of the 805 rear panel, now filled out with our X99 TRI-SLI system

Let's wrap up this review on the last page

Conclusion

Once again In Win left us impressed with the 805 chassis, it’s everything they said it would be, it’s one beautiful chassis that’s also very well made.

On the plus side, having both side panels as well as the front panel made from tempered glass is outstanding, I wish more case manufactures would do this. In regards to cooling options, being able to mount either a 240mm or 280mm radiator in the front section of the 805 and a 120mm radiator or AIO CPU Cooler in the rear of the 805 shows us that In Win is finally on board with the water cooling community, so let's hope to see a new chassis from In Win with mounting for a 360mm Rad or possibly a 480mm Rad by the time the next CES rolls around !

Another plus is having mounting hardware installed in the 805 for a total of 4SSDs as well as a couple of platter drives. An/d that the HDD cage can be moved to 3 different positions to fit your build as long as you do not plan on using a front mounted radiator

Let's not forget about 805 front I/O having USB 3.1 Type-C port for massive transfer speed or being able to choose the color of your front I/O panel.

 If you do not like Black, you also have the option of choosing Gold or Red. And last the LED lighting on the In Win Logo, Black and Gold I/O panels come with White LED lighting and the Red I/O panel comes with Red LED lighting.

At the time that this review was published, the In Win 805 chassis could be found at Newegg for $199.99 Yes the 805 is kind of expensive for a mid tower chassis, and it may not be for everyone, but you do get a beautiful looking chassis that can hold a high-end build and at the same time keep it cool.

Introduction

Looking for a budget case that can house a good gaming setup? Today we would be looking at a chassis that fits that criteria. One of Xigmatek's new offerings is up for review, the Soundwave A ATX chassis. Read on and see how well this chassis fit hardware as we check it out today.

Xigmatek's Take on the Soundwave A

The Advanced comes with a new exterior design which is stylish and elegant while still supporting dual optical disc drives and front and back fan installation.

Like the Soundwave, the Soundwave Advanced supports VGA cards up to a massive 390mm and CPU coolers as tall as 165mm.

With more drive bays and fans than the average user needs and being able to support larger PSUs, Graphics Card and CPU coolers, the Soundwave Advanced is perfect for all kinds of users.

Features

• Stylish, sophisticated design with quality finish.
• Large rubber foot-stands for reduced vibration/noise and greater underside heat dissipation.
• Supports dual external 5.25” drives.
• Drive bays support 3*3.5” and 4*2.5” hard drives.
• Can house larger sized PSUs.
• CPU cooler clearance 165mm.
• Maximum graphics card length a massive 390mm
• 7* add-on card slots.
• Cable management options.
• Back of motherboard cutout for easy cooler installation.
• Manufactured with sturdy but light materials
• PSU placement at rear base for stability and thermal efficiency.

Let's take a look at the Soundwave A on the next page.

Specifications and Packaging

• Product Name: Soundwave - A
• Material: SECC with black coating, Plastic ABS, Steel mesh
• Dimension: 465 mm (L) x 200 mm (W) x 450 mm (H)
• Drive Bay: 5.25" External x 2 ,Internal x 1 / 3.5" Internal x 3 / 2.5" Internal x 4
• Expansion Slot: 7 slots, tool free PCI slot covers
• Motherboard Support: ATX, Micro-ATX, ITX
• Power Supply: Standard PS/2 ATX or EPS
• Cooling System:
  
  • Front Fan : Optional 2 x 120mm.
  • Rear Fan: Preinstalled 1 x 120mm XOF black/Black fan .
  • Side fan : Optional2 x 120mm
• I/O Panel: USB3.0*2 and downward USB2.0 support by internal 19pin, HD Audio in/out jacks
• CPU Cooler: 165 mm height support
• Max GPU length: 390mm (Max GPU length 300/390mm with removal of 2.5" drive bay.
• Weight: 3.78kg

The Xigmatek Soundwave A comes in a carton packaging. Features and specifications are found written on the sides of the box.

Inside the chassis is a user's manual along with a bag of screws and cable ties.

Let's take a closer look on the next page.

Closer Look

If you read our review of the Silverstone PS11 cases, the Xigmatek Soundwave A has a similar side panel design but instead of a plain or windowed panel, this has two 120mm fan mounting holes on the side panel. The Xigmatek Soundwave A however is certainly smaller and lighter.

At the front, you can find two 5.25-inch bays, a USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 port along with the power and reset buttons. At the rear, you can find 7 PCIe expansion slots and a single 120mm fan ventilation hole. Note that only the top PCIe expansion slot has a removable shield and the rest are not returnable once removed unless you use duct tape or glue.

The top of the Soundwave A is just a plain panel. At the bottom you can find a filter on the PSU bay ventilation hole then the four plastic feet of the chassis.

The front panel hides two 120mm fan mounts at the front for intake. The ventilation on the front panel are on the sides with an indirect airflow access for silence and less dust accumulation inside the chassis.

Here's a look at the interior of the Soundwave A. PSU bay is at the bottom. Bottom drive cage can house three 3.5-inch hard drives and the middle drive cage can house 4 2.5-inch drives. The drive cage is directly behind the front 120mm fan mounts so the drives get fresh airflow from these fans.

Here's a look at the rear of the Soundwave A. There's isn't really much space for cable management but thanks to the side panel design not being flat, it gives additional space for bulky power supply cables.

There's a single 120mm fan included with the Soundwave A then there's a huge motherboard cutout hole for easy access on CPU cooler mounting plates. You can also see a small hole on the upper-left where you can route the motherboard ATX power cables.

The power supply would be sitting on four small rubber feet on the base of the Soundwave A.

Let's move on to the installation on the next page.

Build and Installation

Installing the drives in the drive cages is easy. Mounting the 3.5-inch hard drive is tool less but as for the 2.5-inch drives, you need to screw the drive to secure it.

The front of the Soundwave A can accommodate two 120mm fans but there are only 4 screws included in the chassis so unless you can live with just a pair of screws on each fan, you would need to find 4 additional tall screws.

For the full build, I used the following hardware below:

• Processor: AMD FX-8370 8-core processor
• Motherboard: MSI 970 Gaming
• Memory: Kingston HyperX T1 2400Mhz 8GB Kit
• Cooler: Cryorig H7 CPU Cooler
• Graphics Card: Gigabyte GTX 770 2GB OC
• Drives: Kingston 2.5-inch 120GB SSD, Western Digital 1TB 3.5-inch HDD
• Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA P2 1200 with Primochill Single Braid Maxcord Cable Set
• Chassis: Xigmatek Soundwave A
• Cooling: 1 x stock fan (rear), 2 x Thermaltake Riing 120mm fans (front)

Installing the parts inside the Xigmatek Soundwave A was pretty much the typical experience. I didn't find any part or function of the chassis that would seem odd or difficult to use.

Cable management is challenging but with the right power supply and modular cables, it would be a breeze. You can see the huge motherboard cutout exposing the entire backplate of the Cryorig cooler so if ever you want the cooler removed or replaced, you can do so without removing the motherboard and much of the hardware inside. You can also notice how the motherboard ATX power cable is routed to the small routing hole on the upper-right of the chassis.

Fully built, you can have a glimpse of the hardware inside through the ventilation holes on side panel and at the rear of the chassis.

Let's wrap up this review on the next page.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

The Xigmatek Soundwave A is a good entry-level gaming chassis. It has good ventilation and fan mounting options. It may not have fan mounts on top of the case but it does have two on the side panel which is directly on the hardware. I think the indirect airflow intake on the front of the case was a smart idea for noise reduction and less dust accumulation inside the chassis.

Layout is okay. I cannot expect more from a budget case anyway. It's good that it has build-it drive cages for 2.5-inch drives for those that uses SSDs. I can't really find anything lacking with the Soundwave A.

Likes

• Tool-less 3.5-inch drive bays
• Available 2.5-inch drive bays
• Indirect airflow intake at front

Dislikes

• Non-replaceable PCIe slot covers

Introduction

Gaming PCs are getting faster and smaller nowadays. Gaming PCs used to be dominated by tall tower cases but today you can see so many form factors available from those that are in a cube form to those that you can hang on walls and others in between. If you like it small and compact, the small form factor gaming PC is for you. Looking for a mini-ITX chassis can be quite challenging which I've personally experienced. A smaller chassis would also mean less supported hardware wherein size constraints limits your options. Cougar would like to improve that notion and provide and small yet very capable chassis which we will be looking at today. Follow us as we check out the Cougar QBX mini-ITX chassis.

Cougar's Take on the QBX

Enjoy full gaming and media capabilities wherever you want.

The QBX’s elegant, hairline surface front panel is the face of an ultra-compact case with one of the most stylish designs a pc case has ever seen. With the ability to house a full powered gaming computer with the latest technology, it allows the user to install up to 7 fans , thus providing the absolute best cooling on the market for a case of its kind.

SIZE MATTERS

A full, pro-level computer, including support for high-end graphic cards, up to 4 SSD, 7 fans with water cooling and much more, all in a compact case. QBX can fit almost anywhere you could want to put a computer in.

SUPERIOR EXPANDABILITY

See and believe. The ultra-compact design of the QBX can host the best gaming technology of the market and keep it well cooled

• Support for up to 350mm Graphic Cards: Run everything on the market, and do it smoothly.
• Supports PS2 ATX Power Supply Units (depth up to 140mm): All the fuel you need.
• Supports Mini-ITX Motherboards: Full Capabilities, Minimum Space.
• USB 3.0 (two ports): Enjoy the full power of new generation peripherals.
• 1 Slim Optical Disc Drive Bay (Slim ODD) / SSD bay: Enjoy disc media formats or add more storage
• Space for a 3.5”HDD + Up to four 2.5” SSD or HDD: A world of High Speed Storage.

 SUPERIOR COOLING

• Up to 7 fans with Water Cooling.
• Pro-Cooling design: the openings and fan placements are located to ensure a constant fresh air flow.
• Independent Power Supply Airflow: The air does not even get into the case, it cools your PSU and gets out again.
• Compatible with Water Cooling Systems (Radiators up to 240mm with a single 120mm fan)

The image above is a size comparison between the Cougar QBX and an EVGA SuperNOVA P2 1200-watt power supply. It is a bit larger than the ID-Cooling T60-SFX mini-ITX chassis I've previously reviewed but still a very compact case I could carry very easily.

Move on to the next page for the specifications and packaging.

Specifications

Before proceeding, Cougar made a warning with regards to power supplies compatible with the QBX chassis. Although the QBX supports standard ATX power supplies, one must be keen with the input socket orientation. Pay attention to a power supply unit's AC socket and plug's orientation and confirm it corresponds to one of the formats defined in the pictures below.

• Case Type: Mini ITX Case
• Motherboard Type: Mini ITX
• Dimension (WxHxD): 7.01 x 11.46 x 15.12 (inch) / 178 x 291 x 384 (mm)
• Optical Disk Drive (ODD) Type: Supports ONLY Slot Loading Slim ODD
• 3.5" Internal Drive Bay (HDD): 1
• 2.5" Drive Bay (HDD/SSD): 4
• Expansion Slots: 2
• I/O Panel: 2 x USB3.0 / HD audio
• Cooling System: Maximum of 7 Fans
  
  • Front: 80mm Fan x 1 (optional)
  • Top: 120mm Fans x 2 (optional)
  • Rear: 90mm Fan x 1 (pre-installed)
  • Bottom: 120mm Fans x 2 (optional)
  • Left Side: 120mm Fan x 1 or 240mm radiator with a single 120mm fan or 120mm radiator with a 120mm fan
• Cable management system: Cable feed through on the motherboard tray for easily routing and hiding cables.
• Fan Filter (Cleanable):
  
  • 1 x Bottom Filter (pre-installed and removable)
  • 1 x Front Filter (included, installed by the user)
• Water cooling support
  
  • Left Side：240mm radiator with a single 120mm fan or Left Side：120mm radiator with a 120mm fan
• Max. Graphic card Length: 350mm
• Max. CPU cooler height: 105mm
• PSU: PS2 ATX Type (up to 140mm long)

About the written specifications, I did find out a few things you can do with the chassis that's not written above as I explored the potential of the chassis such as the maximum CPU cooler height and the ODD bay which is said to be for slot-loading ONLY. We will tackle that later in this review.

Packaging

The Cougar QBX comes in a colored box and based on my experience, colored boxes tend to mean a flagship chassis or premium quality. Let's just say my expectations went up a notch higher just seeing the packaging of the QBX.

The packaging made it through an overseas shipment from Taiwan so we could say Cougar's packaging on the QBX worked really well.

Accessories included with the Cougar QBX chassis is a pack of screws with only two cable ties which I thought was not enough, a user's manual, another pack of smaller screws for the ODD drive installation, then a 80mm fan filter for the front 80mm fan mount if you do plan to install a fan there.

Now let's take a closer look on the next page.

Closer Look - Exterior

Both sides of the Cougar QBX chassis have identical panels which is majority composed of aluminum mesh. This gives you a glimpse of what's inside at the same time provide cooling unlike sealed panels with acrylic windows.

The front has a the 'hairline surface' which really feels and looks like brushed aluminum. Great job Cougar! Other brands tried to immitate brushed aluminum with their cases and failed but this certainly looks appealing. 

Next thing I noticed about the front panel are the I/O ports. Aside from the two USB 3.0 ports, the audio ports are metal sockets contrary to the cheaper plastic sockets in green and light red colors, keeping up with the premium quality in materials.

Here's a look at the front and rear of the QBX chassis.

The top panel may look like a plain and flat top panel but there are fan mounting holes at the top with ventilation.

The top panel slides to reveal the hidden ODD bay which I think is very cool.

At the bottom, the case feet are quite high which gives the Cougar QBX case quite a good distance from the surface. The holes on the feet are for the screw placements of 120mm fans. You can install two 120mm fans at the bottom which we will also see later on this review.

The bottom also has a removable fan filter and it isn't an ordinary wire mesh.

At the four corners at the bottom are rubber feet for the case to have a firm hold of any surface.

Let's move on to the next page for the interiors.

Closer Look - Interior

The interior of the Cougar QBX chassis is quite amazing I have to say. The parts of the case is mostly modular where you can remove it, add hardware and put it back in the case. I also find the layout very smart which makes it compact yet capable of storing more hardware than what I've expected. Let me try to explain as much detail into each part of the case's interior below.

Left Side

This is the left side of the QBX where you will be greeted with an interior panel once you've removed the side panel.

This interior panel is screwed and can be removed as shown in the image above.

This interior panel has screw holes for a 120mm fan and a drive cage for a single 3.5-inch hard drive and two 2.5-inch hard drives.

The drive cage module on this interior panel can be removed.

Cougar says you can install a 240mm radiator on this panel but can only mount a single 120mm fan on it. Obviously, a 120mm radiator will also fit just fine.

Right Side

Here's a look at the right side of the chassis. There's a huge cutout hole on the motherboard area for easy access on the motherboard's back for cooler installation.

At the bottom behind the motherboard area is a 2.5-inch drive bay for SSDs. I did find this useful but there's an issue about it we will talk about later.

Here's a look at the Cougar QBX without the side panels and interior panel. It already looks open and accessible enough to install your hardware but it even gets better.

Top

The top panel is screwed securely by two screws at the rear of the chassis.

Once unscrewed, you can remove the top panel for an even better access inside the QBX for a much easier installation of hardware.

The top panel has two slots for 120mm fans.

However, I was only able to install a single 120mm fan at the rear fan slot since the other slot has the power supply beneath it and the power cable is an obstacle for a typical 120mm fan with 25mm thickness. If you do want to install a fan there, it will have to be a slimmer one.

Removing the side panels and top panel will give you a bare skeleton of the chassis shown above. Let's move on to the build and installation for you to find out if it was easy to build with the Cougar QBX mini-ITX chassis.

Build and Installation

Before we start with the build and installation, some parts of the QBX chassis is really smart and tricky so I'm going to maximize our build by using every possible hardware we can install inside the QBX. I've used the following hardware below for this review:

System Specifications

• Processor: Intel i5-4670k
• Motherboard: ECS Z97i-DRONE mini-ITX
• CPU Coolers: Cryorig H7 / ID-Cooling IS-40 SFX
• Memory: Kingston HyperX 10-Year Anniversary Edition 2X4GB 1866Mhz
• Graphics Card: Gigabyte GTX 770 OC Windforce
• Drives: Kingston HyperX SSD, SuperSSpeed S304 SSD, Seagate Momentus 5400 RPM 2.5-inch HDD, Western Digital 500GB HDD
• Power Supply: Silverstone ST45SF-G SFX PSU
• Power Supply Cables: Silverstone PP05-E Flat PSU Cable Set
• Cooling Fans: NZXT FN120 V2, Thermaltake Riing 12
• Chassis: Cougar QBX Mini-ITX
• ODD: Slim Tray-loading Internal Bluray disk drive

Hidden Front Drive Bay and ODD Bay

At the front of the chassis, behind the front panel is a module for the slim slot-loading ODD and a single 2.5-inch drive. Since I will be demonstrating how to use the ODD bay, might as well utilize the hidden 2.5-inch drive bay.

This is the module removed from the QBX chassis. You do need to remove it if you want to install an ODD and a drive on it.

When you install the ODD and 2.5-inch drive, make sure the ports are all at the bottom just like in the picture shown above.

Install the module back to the QBX chassis.

Although Cougar noted you can only use a slim slot-loading ODD, a typical tray-loading ODD can also work but one must note the thickness of the ODD's front tray shield which should be also as slim as the ODD. Anything wider will not fit the slot.

Power Supply

Here's the power supply bay of the QBX which is located in behind the front panel and closer to the right side of the chassis. The power supply is mounted vertically with the rear and input power socket facing the top of the QBX.

I've chosen to use a SFX power supply to give me more space inside the chassis for cable management and better airflow. A standard ATX PSU can also fit the power supply bay but do note that it needs to be shorter than 140mm or 14cm. Notice the power cable plug extends outward which is the obstacle if you plan to add a 120mm fan directly above it. As far as a standard 120mm fan with 25mm thickness, the cable will be an obstacle.

Based on the orientation, the power supply would be getting fresh air from the side of the chassis blowing hot air upwards.

Let's continue with our build and installation on the next page.

Build and Installation Continued

Motherboard and Cooler

I will feature two setups for the Cougar QBX wherein on maximizes the CPU cooler height limit.

For this review, I've used an ECS Z97i-DRONE mini-ITX motherboard and this board has a challenging layout for its SATA ports but this will have to do.

For the cooler, I've used a Cryorig H7 cooler without the shroud and this cooler has a height of 145mm, 40mm taller than what Cougar recommended. So yes the QBX can fit a much taller CPU cooler of up to 145mm but that would disable you from installing the inner side panel.

With a cooler this tall, there's just enough space for you to put back the outer side panel as shown above which looks cool if you have a shiny CPU cooler.

Here's the other setup with a SFX CPU cooler so that the inner side panel can still fit.

The inner side panel can hold a 120mm fan or load the drive bays with one 3.5-inch hard drive and two 2.5-inch drives or have everything on the panel.

With the outer side panel, this is how the Cougar QBX would look like.

Drives

There are many drive bays in the QBX chassis and they are in three separate locations. One that we already covered is the hidden front drive bay with the ODD bay.

The other 2.5-inch drive bay is behind the motherboard tray. I did find an issue with this bay since an 8mm SSD drive would have troubles fitting into it.

 I did fit a SSD on it which is a SuperSSpeed S304 thinner.

On the inner side panel is a drive bay module.

The outer bays can hold two 2.5-inch drives.

The inner part of the bay holds a 3.5-inch hard drive.

Bottom Cooling Fans

Screws for the 120mm fans at the bottom of the Cougar QBX will have to go through the feet of the chassis as shown above.

Here are two 120mm fans installed at the bottom of the case. There are Thermaltake Riing 12 fans.

With the Gigabyte GTX 770 OC Windforce graphics card installed, the fans of the graphics card can still spin but it really is a tight fit that I wouldn't recommend. If you do plan to install fans at the bottom of the case and still be able to fit a 2-PCIe thick graphics card, you should look for a slim 120mm fan. As far as installing a 240mm radiator at the bottom of the chassis, the screw holes aren't aligned to fit a 240mm radiator since the two fan slots have a small gap in between.

Let's wrap up this review on the last page.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

There are a lot of things about the Cougar QBX mini-ITX chassis that I really find impressive. Let us begin with the appeal and design of the chassis because it is important to create a good and solid first impression. The hairline surface front panel that looks and feels like brushed aluminum is very impressive. Even the photos capture that perfectly.

The size of the Cougar QBX is perfect for a mini-ITX chassis. It may not have a handle but it is certainly easy to pick up and carry it along to let's say a LAN party. The layout of the QBX chassis is what impressed me the most. Of all the mini-ITX cases I've reviewed so far, this is the most capable chassis where it can store the most hardware particularly drives and fans. If I had slim 120mm fans, I could probably install four, two at the bottom and two at the top.

The structure of the Cougar QBX is sturdy, worthy to be called a premium quality chassis. Ventilation and cooling capability of the QBX is also very good considering that there's ventilation holes all over the chassis and the multiple fan mounting options I mentioned above. There's really nothing in the QBX that I could find substandard, even the bottom fan filter and chrome audio ports has a touch of class.

With all these great features mentioned above, another great thing about the QBX is the value. You can get the Cougar QBX mini-ITX chassis for only $54.99 at Newegg. With that, we will give the Cougar QBX our Editor's Choice and Best Value award.

Likes

• Compact with smart layout
• Brushed aluminum-like finish (hairline surface)
• Four 2.5-inch drive bays
• Ventilation and cooling performance

Dislikes

• None

Introduction

Today we have the Raidmax Viper GX II – a direct descendant of the original Viper GX. With a color scheme that is begging for a Gigabyte SOC Force motherboard, the orange pops from the moment you open the box. With an aggressive styled front, top, and side panels – this is any gamers dream case. The beauty is more than skin deep. Raidmax has made sure all the bases are covered. A full compliment of external and intenal expansion bays are included and there is also a 2.5 hot swap bay located predominatley on the front.

About Raidmax

Raidmax was originally founded in the late 1980’s, with a founding mission of providing the best solutions for computer hardware, and meeting requirements for innovative designs, excellent performance, and quality products. In the early 2000’s, Raidmax started releasing cutting edge designed computer cases, taking the gaming community by storm, and causing people to instantly fall in love with their designs. More than a decade after they started designing their own unique product lines, Raidmax is synonymous to afforable gaming cases.

Packaging and Specifications

The front of the box shows the case, and a rather striking Viper logo. The make and model is clearly written out.

The side of the box has a few select specifications listed out.

The rear has even more features specified, including some diagrams.

When the top of the box opens we see the interior packaging. The styrofoam is actually a bit too loose for our liking, and easily comes out of the box; a bit too easy our opinion.

Included accessories aside from the manual are rails for drives, typical screws, a speaker, and then some Velcro straps which are a nice touch.

Specifications

External Drive Bays: 3 x 5.25” Optical Drive Slots, 1 x 2.5” SSD/HDD Hot Swap

Internal Drive Bays: 4 x 2.5” SSD/HDD, and 3 x 3.5” HDD

Motherboard Compatibility: ATX/ Micro ATX / Mini ITX

Expansion Slots: 7

I/O Ports: 2 x USB 3.0, 2 x HD Audio

Dimensions: 539 x 240 x 507 mm

Cooling System: 2 x 120mm LED fan (One included), 1 x 120mm rear, 2 x 120mm top fan (optional), 1 x 120mm bottom fan (optional)

Colors: Black with Orange Accents (and Orange LED)

HDD Rack: Modular with removal for 415mm of clearance

A Closer Look

Pulling the Viper GX II out of its box we finally see the orange color scheme in all of its glory. With rather striking accents, and a side panel that looks like it belongs in a Halo game, this could get interesting.

Moving around to the front of the case, we see the two orange fangs jutting out of the front; ready to sink its teeth into anyone who attempts to build in it.

At the other side of the case we see an almost mirrored panel; minus the window of course.

Going towards the top of the case, we see the ventilated scales, which should allow plenty of air flow through, especially if you’re using static pressure optimized fans.

The rather large power and reset buttons have a satisfying click to them.

The other side has two USB 3.0 ports, and then 2 ports for audio also.

Between those ports we have a 2.5” hot swap bay.

Moving down the front we see the Raidmax logo and accents.

Below the logo we see the front grill, which has the 120mm Orange LED behind it.

Moving around the back, we see the side panel is held on by thumbscrews, and has grommets for external mounting of radiators.

Here we can see the expansion slots, each one individually reminding you what case you own; joking aside, it’s a nice touch. They’re also reusable, so removing one will not break it.

A Closer Look Continued

After removing the side panel, we can see that the handles are able to fold down when not in use.

Taking a look internally, we see a rather well thought out layout, although I do wish the 3.5” HDD cage was easily removable.

The 2.5” HDD cage is easily removed with two thumbscrews, which then gives additional room for graphics cards.

Here we see the cage removed.

At even this angle we can see a lot of potential room for cable management behind the motherboard tray.

At the bottom of the case we see a removable dust filter for the power supply.

With the top panel of the case removed, we see a large sunken area for a 240mm radiator, or two fans in the top.

Here we can see the hot swap bay underneath the panel.

With the front panel now removed, we can see the case down to its bare components.

Here we can see even more of the room that is available for cable management.

The Build

• Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Soc Force Motherboard
• Intel Core i7-4770K Processor
• Kingston HyperX Fury 16GB 1866MHz DDR3 Memory
• EVGA Nvidia GTX 760 ACX Graphics Card
• Corsair AX750 w/ Sleeved Cables
• Samsung 850 Evo Solid State Drive
• Corsair H100i CPU Cooler

Here is the completed system build, however there are a few issues that I thought I would bring to light first.

One thing that was an annoyance, only one cutout for the CPU cables. This means that any fans, SATA, CPU, and any other cable needs to be routed through this one location. Keep this in mind when building.

The power supply fit beautifully, and very snuggly. It sounds weird, but it was very satisfying installing it.

One thing to keep in mind, if you’re installing a liquid cooler like the Corsair H100i; the clearance is a bit of an issue. We would advise you to loop the CPU power through the one cutout, leave it dangle – install the radiator and fans, and then plug in the power next. This way you can bypass the hardship of trying to cram it between the metal of the case, and the wires of the cable.

The back of the case, with the front and the top panels installed once again. Cable management mostly done.

The cables do slightly bulge out the rear, but the side panel went on easily.

Front LED fan.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

The Raidmax Viper GX II was overall a good experience, aside from the tight fit involved with the radiator; it went great. There was absolutely no chassis flex, even with the case stripped down fully with all removable parts gone. The accessories work as intended; however the HDD rails can be a little difficult to remove once they are put on, so keep that in mind.

Make sure to check the clearance of your motherboards heat sinks, CPU power location, and thickness of radiator if you’re using a liquid cooler; might need some tweaking there in future versions. Another thing we would have liked to have seen, would have been a spot to rear mount an SSD or two.

Despite these minor difficulties, and things we would add – it’s a solid design; with a rigid body, thumbscrews everywhere, reusable expansion slot covers, tons of cable management room, and foldable handles for side panels. With these kind of features (that Raidmax doesn’t even advertise), it’s hard to go wrong if you’re looking for an aggressive case for your gaming needs.

The Raidmax Viper GX II can be found on Newegg for $79.99 currently.

Likes

• Rigid construction
• Thumbscrews for side panels and HDD cage
• Foldable handles on side panels
• Tons of cable management room
• Aggressive styling
• Reusable expansion slot covers
• Additional cooling supported (front and top)

Dislikes

• Packaging was loose
• Only one cutout for CPU power and fan headers
• No rear SSD mounts
• HDD rails are hard to remove

Introduction

Today we take a look at a home theater computer case, one with several key innovative features. The F12C by Streacom is designed to be for the high-end market for these kind of cases, and with its all metal construction – it does not disappoint. With support for motherboards ranging from Mini-ITX all the way up to full-sized ATX boards; and an exterior constructed from thick 4mm premium grade extruded and sandblasted aluminum panels, it creates a simple but timeless design. With a unique hardware mounting system, and an equally innovative top panel release mechanism; this case is guaranteed to be an attractive spectacle for anyone interested in the design aspect of computer cases.

Streacom’s take on the F12C

“The F12C is our first case designed to accept all standard ATX hardware, but of course being Streacom, the design is anything but standard. The ultra-minimalist exterior is made from 4mm thick premium grade extruded aluminium panels which are sandblast finished to create this simple but timeless design.

The unique design isn’t just skin deep, we have developed a new drive and fan mounting system that does away with traditional fixed location bays, making this case incredibly adaptable and configurable. Drives and fans can be mounted anywhere along both sides of the case and at virtually any orientation. This allows you to mix, match and perfectly position drives and fans for optimal cooling and hardware compatibility.

There is an additional upper mounting rail which is designed for fans and water cooling radiators, and combined with side panel venting, provides incredible amounts of cooling potential. Fan grills have been specially chosen to filter dust whilst maximising airflow and can all be externally removed for easy cleaning.

The open internal structure and flexible design allows for oversized PSU’s, 310mm long expansion cards, and 140mm + 2x120mm water cooling whilst still maintaining a footprint of just 420x320x184mm, making it perfectly suited for the high end home entertainment system.”

Packaging and Specifications

The front of the box is minimalistic in nature, just like the case itself. With the company name clearly in the upper right corner, and then the model and description in the opposite corner down below.

Turning the box slightly, we can see that the black is merely a cover over the top of a cardboard box.

One neat thing about the packaging, is the handle that is included for carrying it at the top.

Specifications

Chassis Material: Premium Grade (6063) All Aluminium, 4mm Thick Extruded Panels

Available Colours: Silver / Black – Sandblast Finish

Motherboard Support: Full ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX

Drive Capacity: MAX 24 x 2.5″ or 12 x 3.5″ (with ITX), MIN 2 x 2.5″ + 5 x 3.5″

Front Ports: None

Expansion Slot: 7 x Full Height Expansion Cards (MAX 310mm)

GPU Support: Full Height, 2nd slot or above when using Upper Fan Rails

Cooling: Multiple 80, 92, 120 & 140 Fans (Not Included)

Max CPU Cooler Height: 135mm

External Dimensions: 440 x 320 x 184mm (W x D x H, Including Feet)

Internal Dimensions: 432 x 310 x 168mm (W x D x H)

Power Supply: Full ATX, no Length Restrictions(Not Included)

Remote Control: FLirc or IRRC Solution (Not Included)

Net Weight: 4.4KG

Closer Look

Once we get the case out of the box, we can see the front panel. You’ll notice a few things here, the sleek curves, simple feet, lack of front I/O ports, a lone power button and power LED on the left, and on the right is an infrared sensor window.

If we slightly rotate the case, we can see the top; with three separate grills for airflow spanning nearly the full length of the chassis.

Moving around to the left and the right sides of the case, we see two smaller airflow grills on both sides; and you can see a further close-up of the curves.

Included with the case are your standard screw sets, and a manual. One thing we noticed lacking was zip ties, which typically you see included with cases. This means that any and all case management is up to the builder.

Here we have up close views of the grills themselves.

Pulling the grills off the side of the case, we can see they are actually made up of two components, a fine wire mesh that is then secured with a magnetic metal ring around it.

Here we can see the power button and the LED up close. The feel is solid and what you’d expect from a quality case manufacturer.

Here is the IR window on the right side. (No receiver is included, however the option is nice)

Moving towards the back of the case we see on the left a slot for a full-sized ATX power supply, the rear I/O plate, and then up to seven expansion slots available.

The expansion slots are gorgeous, and the finish is fantastic.

Here we can see the ‘thumbscrews’ you use to open the top panel. Both sides turn towards the left in order to unlock.

Once you twist both of them, the top panel comes off (with some effort we might add). Here we see the side with the screw.

Here is the nut that is located on the top panel itself.

Before we head inside the case for a look, let’s take a look at the bottom. There are ventilation holes around where the motherboard would be located, providing some extra exhaust for the hot air assuming you have maintained a positive pressure inside the case.

Heading towards the interior of the case, we first start with the adjustable rails located here in the center of the case. These rails can be slid back and forth to allow for mounting of various sized radiators, be it all in one solutions, or custom watercooling loops.

Here we see the other side of the bracket. On the right hand side we see long and slender black metal pieces – those are the unique and innovative pieces that allow for such a modular configuration inside of the F12C. We’ll get to those more later.

Around the back side of the case, we see what the inside of the expansion slots look like. Easily removed and reusable metal slots cover each hole in the rear of the case.

Here are shots of the front left side of the case, the power and LED buttons.

Here we have a diagram of the modular bracket and the retention clips. Installing hardware into them is easy, however getting the clips to secure to the case can be tricky. For more information on this system, here is the link for the product manual: http://www.streacom.com/downloads/ug/f12c_150407.pdf

Here we can see multiple 2.5” HDD’s attached to the universal brackets.

The brackets are not called universal without due diligence. Here we have a 140mm fan attached to them, ready to be secured into the case.

The Build

System Components Used

• ASRock FM2A88X-ITX+ Motherboard
• AMD A10-7850K Processor
• AMD Radeon R9 8GB 2133MHz DDR3 Memory
• EVGA Nvidia GTX 760 ACX Graphics Card
• Corsair AX750 w/ Sleeved Cables
• Samsung mSATA SSD
• Western Digital Blue Hard Drive
• Noctua NH-L9a CPU Cooler

Here is the completed build. Aside from having a hard time getting the retention clips to seat correctly, the build went by without a single snag or issue. The case is extremely roomy, and easy to work in.

Here we see a 3.5” WD HDD secured in a vertical position using just one of the brackets, rather than two brackets to secure up to 3-6 drives as shown previously.

With zero cable management built into the case, you’re left to do your own thing when it comes to how they’re seated. Zip ties here could rapidly become your best friend, however as stated previously – none are included.

Another thing about the build, is that the motherboard did not fully secure against the I/O backplate, something that hasn’t happened in another case before. Not a practical issue at all, just something that we noticed.

If you were content with less physical storage, you could also use this entire bottom for a 240mm radiator, thus filling up more space internally.

Bonus Gallery

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

The Streacom F12C is clearly an HTPC case designed for the future, with fantastic minimalistic design principles, and a supremely modular interior layout. It’s amazing sandblasted finish, entirely metal construction, and versatility will clearly give it an edge in comparison to the competition. With the included ability to support full length graphics cards, an IR receiver, and 240mm radiators – I can’t think of a case that typically sees these kind of options together. 

Overall the case is very well thought out, and aside from the sometimes hard to use retention clips, lack of zip ties included, and lack of cable management options – it’s hard to find fault with it at all. While I do believe the universal mounting system could still be refined in a few ways, as long as you’re not trying to constantly change the internal layout of your build – it’s well worth the effort for the modularity that the design brings to the table.

The lack of USB ports on the front is a bit disconcerting, however with the ability to support 24 2.5” HDD’s, I don’t think you’ll need to worry about storage space, providing you have the money upfront to take care of your storage needs.

I would have a hard time not recommending this case to people who like a minimalistic design, and are looking for ‘the’ media case to finish off their entertainment center. This case has already found a home; and soon will have a remote pointing at it daily. The Streacom F12C can be found at Newegg for $275.00. The price is steep, but the quality is there to justify the price.

Pros

• Full sized GPU support
• Amazing finish
• All metal construction
• Optional IR receiver
• Extremely modular interior
• Minimalistic design
• Long motherboard standoffs
• Innovative panel release
• Innovative universal mounting
• Easily removed grills for cleaning
• Radiator support
• Supports full sized ATX power supply

Cons

• Lack of front USB ports
• Lack of cable management options
• No zip ties included
• Retention clips are hard to use

Introduction

Thermaltake recently released their Core series of computer cases with user-friendly features in mind. Things like modularity, stackability and more were built into these cases to bring a whole new level to the enthusiast PC case market. The case we'll be looking at today is their Core X1. It's a feature-packed modular mini ITX case that is designed for use with water cooling. With ITX builds all the rage these days let's see how the Core X1 stacks up.

About the Thermaltake Core X1

"Thermaltake Core X1 ITX Cube Chassis: Core X1, the first ITX chassis of Core X Series presented by Thermaltake, is a cube case offering endless stackable capacity and expandability for enthusiasts to create massive liquid cooling systems, utilize as a file server as well as accommodate dual systems. Users can customize the chassis for the best viewing presentation with an interchangeable window and I/O panel design. The Core X1 delivers outstanding cooling performance with compatibility for extensive DIY/AIO LCS and overclocking components, further enhancing the reputation that the air-cooling units of this series has become renowned for. It is guaranteed to be an immensely powerful system!"

Let's check out the features and specifications for the Core X1 now.

Features and Specifications

Stackable for Enthusiasts
With its endless stacking design, the Core X1 is in a class above the rest. Virtually limitless utility is possible; it offers an expandable system allowing enthusiasts to incorporate externally-modular upgrades. Stacked together, the chassis opens up space to expand the liquid cooling system, the storage solutions, or even create dual systems, thereby enabling a dedicated top/bottom set-up for pure cooling. When stacked, the maximum radiator length supported is 540mm on the front side.

Remarkable Expansion
Designed for high-end gaming system compatibility, the Core X1’s modular drive racks allow gamers to easily install up to six data storage devices with triple PCI configuration space. VGA of up to 400mm in length, and a tower CPU cooler as high as 200mm. Even with a high-wattage PSU stretching to 220mm in length, it still leaves plenty of space for cable management.

Excellent Ventilation
The Core X1’s unparalleled cooling ability offers fan brackets with various mounting points to support any type of gaming system that can be accommodated, including DIY/AIO liquid-cooling systems and air-cooling units. Two 120mm fan are preinstalled on the front and rear to reassure and guarantee the flow of aeration. The fan brackets can either be adjusted for 120mm, 140mm, or 200mm fans on the top panel.

Chambers Concept
Optimized for space management, the Core X1 is divided into two main chambers: the upper chamber is made for cooling performance and better efficiency, while the lower one is made for PSU and drive bays. Thanks to the removable 2.5”/3.5” drive device racks, there is plenty of flexibility to gain the maximum interior space when needed for advanced cooling performance or liquid systems build.

Fully Modular Design
A “2+4” drive bay concept design for storage devices makes setup super easy and flexible. In addition, a customizable 5.25” & 3.5” drive bay feature enables users to freely interchange the 3.5” hard-drive cages to suit their particular needs.

Interchangeable Window and I/O Panel
Users can customize the chassis for the best viewing presentation with an interchangeable window and I/O panel design.

Tt LCS Certified is a Thermaltake exclusive certification applied to only products that pass the design and hardcore enthusiasts standards that a true LCS chassis should be held to. The Tt LCS certification was created so that we at Thermaltake can designate to all power users which chassis have been tested to be best compatible with extreme liquid cooling configurations to ensure you get the best performance from the best features and fitment.

P/N: CA-1D6-00S1WN-00
Case Type: ITX Cube Case
Dimension (H x W x D): 426 x 280 x 471 mm; (16.8 x 11 x 18.5 inch)
Net Weight: 9 kg / 19.9 lb
Side Panel: Transparent Window
Color Exterior & Interior: Black
Material: SPCC
Cooling System:
Front (intake): 120 x 120 x 25 mm Turbo fan (1000rpm, 16dBA)
Rear (exhaust): 120 x 120 x 25 mm Turbo fan (1000rpm, 16dBA)
Drive Bays:
-Accessible: 2 x 5.25’’
-Hidden: 3 x 3.5’’ or 2.5’’ (HDD Cage), 1 x 2.5’’ (M/B Tray)
Expansion Slots: 3
Motherboards: 6.7” x 6.7” (Mini ITX)
I/O Ports: USB 3.0 x 2, HD Audio x 1
PSU: Standard PS2 PSU (optional)
LCS Upgradable: Supports 1/2”、3/8”、1/4” water tube
Fan Support:
Front: 3 x 120mm; 2 x 140mm; 1 x 200mm
Top: 3 x 120mm; 2 x 140mm; 2 x 200mm
Rear: 1 x 120mm or 1 x 140mm
Bottom: 1 x 120mm
Radiator Support:
Front: 1 x 120mm or 1 x 240mm; 1 x 140mm or 1 x 280mm
Top: 1 x 120mm or 1 x 240mm or 1 x 360mm; 1 x 140mm or 1 x 280mm
Rear: 1 x 120mm or or 1 x 140mm
Clearance:
CPU cooler height limitation: 200mm
VGA length limitation: 280mm(with ODD Cage); 400mm(without ODD Cage)
PSU length limitation: 220mm (With Bottom Fan)
* Specifications are subject to change without notice. 
* The product picture(s) is only for your reference, it may differ from the actual product.

Let's move on and unbox the Core X1 now.

Packaging and Unboxing

The Core X1 comes packaged in a plain black and tan cardboard box which has been the norm from Thermaltake lately. The front shows a drawing of the exploded view of the case and its parts.

Both end panels list the Core X1's specifications.

The opposite side panel shows a drawing of the assembled case along with its name and the Tt LCS Certified logo.

Inside the box the case itself resides in a clear plastic bag nestled into a pair of styrofoam endcaps. 

When shed of its packaging we can see two final protective coverings - one on either side of the side panel window.

The Core X1 comes with additional hardware, a whopping four zip ties, an instruction manual and two 120/140mm mounting plates to replace the two front drive bays - more on that later.

Let's move on and take a closer look at the exteriror of the Core X1 now.

A Closer Look - External

Looking at the case as it came out of the box you'll see a large square clear window on the left side (looking from the front). You can also see the power/rest buttons, mic/headphone jacks and two USB 3.0 ports on the side of the front panel.

The front of the Core X1 has preforated steel mesh with the Tt logo and a pair of 5.25" drive bay covers. 

The back of the case features a pre-isntalled 120mm exhaust fan with mounting options for 120 and 140mm fans. There's a rubber grommet at the top right side and three expansion slots which is something you don't see with ITX cases. As the bottom is the PSU mounting location. You can see all four of the panels (top, bottom and both sides) have rubber-coated thumb screws for ease of use.

The right side of the case comes with the same preforated steel mesh as the front panel. Interestingly with the Core X1 the left and right panels are interchangeable to suit your preference. The front i/o ports also move to the other side (more on that in a bit).

The top panel features the same mesh and styling as the side.

The bottom panel features four plastic feet with a rubber pad and two intake filters - one for the PSU area and one for the optional intake fan area. You can also see here the notch for removing the front panel.

The front i/o features a large power button, small reset button, two USB 3.0 ports, a mic and headphone jack and power and HDD activity LED's.

Let's take a look at the inside of the Core X1 now.

A Closer Look - Interior

Under the front panel you'll find a plastic mesh covering the intake fan and top vent areas and foam filters in the 5.25" bay covers. There are no wires attached to the front panel so it simply pulls off and snaps back on very easily.

The front panel of the case features a pre-installed 120mm intake fan with more mounting options than you can shake a stick at, from 200mm fans to 280mm, 140mm and even 360mm radiators.

The two 5.25" bays are hels in with rubber-coated thumbscrews. You install one, both or none into any of three positions. Note that the bottom two positions are for external mountings only, the tray can be placed in the top spot but you won't have any external access. In place of tehse two drive bays you can install the mounting plates we looked at in the unboxing section to provide additional mounting areas for 120/140mm sized items.

The top mounting position has a cover plate that can be removed. However this requires some tin snips rather than the typical twist-until-the-tabs-break method.

Both drive trays feature Thermaltake's tried and true tol-free mounting system. Sumply slide the drive in and it snaps into place.Push the release lever to remove the drive. These clips are easily removed for securing things like fan controllers as well.

The front i/o panel is held onto the front panel with two screws. You can swap the i/o panel with the blank plate on the opposite side to suit your needs.

There is a single 2.5" drive mount under the motherboard tray and three more mount sin a removable cage on the bottom next to the PSU compartment. The lower trays will hold either 3.5" or 2.5" drives.

On the top of the case you'll find four brackets held in with more rubber-coated thumbscrews. You'll also notice that there are a plethora of mounting holes built into the top rails. This allows you to configure the top rails in any configuration you need for your build.

You can see here that I was easily able to fit an XSPC AX360 radiator into the top mounting area with room for the preinstalled 120mm exhaust fan. There's also side to side options so you don't need to have the radiator or fans mounted in the center of the case.

Both the top panel and mesh side panel have removable magnetic filters installed. This makes cleaning a breeze.

Now for the fun part!Let's build a system in the Core X1 chassis!

System Build

Here are the specs for the system I built into the Core X1:

Gigabyte F2A85XN-WIFI
8GB (2x4GB) Avexir Core DDR3 White LED
AMD A10-5800k
Diamond R9-270X w/EK Thermosphere CPU block
Thermaltake RL240 radiator
Thermaltake W2 CPU block
4x Thermaltake 120mm Riing fans red LED
2x XSPC 120mm radiators
Lamptron CW611 Controller
Thermaltake DPS-G 750W PSU
WD Caviar Black 500GB 2.5" HDD
EK Compression Fittings
Primochill LRT Advaned tubing
Thermaltake Coolant 1000 Red
Thermaltake Pacific PT20 pump/res combo unit

Building in the Core X1 was simply awesome. The sheer amount of room makes installing everything a breeze. I ended up installing two 120mm radiators on their side in the front instead of a 240mm radiator because the end cap on the 240 got in the way of the 5.25" bay I needed for the Lamptron CW611 controller. The only real issue I had was the pump mounting as there really is no good place to mount a combo unit like this one. I opted to mount it in the bottom intake fan area. The tricky part is cable management. Being so open it was hard to get everything neat and tidy. I ended up routing most of the PSU cables between the PSU itself and the motherboard tray while keeping the upper cabling run over the radiator brackets. All in all it turned out pretty nice and looks clean from the window side while the solid side will hide most of the cabling. In one aspect I think that the sheer amount of options for mounting made it take longer than a typical build as I would mount things and then find out there was interference later on or remember that I could move things slightly and get better fitment, like the top radiator. I have it mounted to the right of center (looking at the front of the case) to provide clearance for the GPU waterblock.

The power LED is blue and the HDD activity LED is red. The thing I love about them though is they're not overpoweringly bright. When it's dark they're not annoying like most tend to be.

Let's wrap up this review with some final thoughts.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

Overall the Thermaltake Core X1 is amazing. It's definitely one of the biggest ITX cases I've seen but if you're going to build a high-end ITX water-cooled rig look no further. With three expansion slots this case can handle the biggest GPU's out there and still fit in enough radiators to keep everything cool. This tiny R9-270X and ITX motherboard look so small in this case.

I love the insane amount of options Thermaltake packed into the Core X1. From 360mm radiators to the ability to stack cases together to removable drive cages for both HDD/SSD's and 5.25" drives they really thought of everything. Well everything except a good reservoir and pump mounting system. If you use one of Thermaltake's stand-up D5 combo units you can mount it in the same location as I mounted this unit or even mount the pump of your choice to the bottom but that leaves you trying to figure out where to mount a tube style reservoir. A baymount res might work provided the single 5.25" tray could hold the weight as you can only use a single tray.

Overall the case was a joy to build in with plenty of room for everything and plenty of options for getting everything to fit nicely. The Core X1 has an MSRP of $99.99 but you can find it over at Amazon for just $93.99 shipped at the time of this writing.

I'm happy to give the Thermaltake Core X1 our Highly Recommended award.

Introduction

Today we’re going to be looking at the BitFenix Nova – a budget oriented case that is aimed at evolving the definition of inexpensive design. Having a closed off front panel, with only one optical drive, it retains a sleek look, that continues along the top of the case as well. A large side window allows you to view your creation, and is not typically seen on most budget oriented cases. With support for Mini-ITX, Micro ATX, and full sized ATX boards – the diversity of motherboard options in this case is not bad either.

The Nova comes in either a black or a white variant, the latter of which we’ll be looking at today. With the main chassis made from standard steel, and the front panel from plastic; they were able to keep this case at a low price and yet provide a very pleasing overall feel to it. Let’s go ahead and see what this case has to offer us.

BitFenix’s take on the Nova

“Bitfenix Nova delivers style, performance and silence at an incredibly competitive price. Whether you plan to build a basic office, home or gaming system, Nova’s simplistic design, aluminum badge, color options and optional window side panel mean it will blend in perfectly. Long air vents running along the sides of its front, hidden behind sleek mesh strips, provide plenty of airflow to cool the system. And as a result allowed us to keep Novas Top and Front panel completely closed to block fan-noise from escaping the enclosure, and dust from building up inside.”

Packaging and Specifications

The BitFenix Nova comes in a standard cardboard box, with the company and product name displayed prominently.

On the side of the box we see the front of the case, and a few specifications listed off.

Moving to the rear of the box, we can see some of the key features BitFenix wants you to particularly know about.

Specifications

• Colors: Black or White
• Motherboard: ATX, Micro ATX, Mini-ITX (7 expansion slots)
• CPU Cooler: Up to 160mm tall
• GPU: Up to 3200mm long, and up to 140mm tall
• PSU: Up to 220mm long
• 5.25” ODD Slots: 1
• 3.5” HDD Slots: 4
• 2.5” SSD Slots: 2
• Dust Filter: Slide-out PSU
• Cooling Front: 120mm x 2 (optional, not included)
• Cooling Rear: 120mm x 1 (included)
• Radiator Support: 120mm on rear
• I/O: USB 3.0 x 1, USB 2.0 x 1, HD Audio Microphone & Headphone, Power LED (white), HDD LED (red)
• Dimensions: 183 x 437 x 465 mm
• Materials: Steel, Plastic
• Weight: 10.6 lbs (4.8Kg)
• Special Features: Closed front panel to block noise, front panel side vents for good airflow, large window side panel, pre-installed motherboard stand-offs, rubberized anti-slip case feet, PSU dust filter

Closer Look

Taking the case out of the box, we see a plastic sheet over the window to protect it, and the overall sleek design of this budget oriented case. The weight of the case is surprisingly very light, would make for an ideal LAN case if you had a weight concern, and yet needed a larger tower for some reason.

Turning the case to its side completely, we can see the large window, and black interior.

The front of the case has two USB ports, audio ports, standard buttons you’d find, a single optical drive slot, and the BitFenix logo.

The other side of the case is practically identical to the windowed side, just without the window.

Here is a better look at the optical drive slot, and then the front panel I/O.

Here we can see both sides of the intake on the front panel.

Let’s start to take a look at the finer details of the Nova. Thumbscrews secure both sides of the side panels to the case, and you can see the rear 120mm in this shot as well.

The top of the case is secured with rivets, meaning this will not be easily removed.

Moving to the interior of the case, we can see the front panel connectors, and a small bag of screws that BitFenix included as well.

Here we can see the large CPU cutout, and the 120mm fan (3-pin fan header and molex capable). Due to the top of the case having no fans, you are limited to only a 120mm radiator if you plan to use one at all. 7 expansion slots can also be seen. Another thing to note is the lack of holes for CPU power, or fan headers.

Towards the front of the case we see the optical drive bays, 1 of which has an easy to use securing mechanism for your convenience. The other internal spots can be used for additional HDD storage if required.

Towards the bottom of the front there are 3.5” HDD bays, a total of 4 internal spots are available on this cage.

Towards the back of the motherboard tray, we see a very small amount of cable management room, as well as a lack of options in that department. However, seeing as this is a budget oriented case, this can easily be looked over.

The Build

System components used:

• MSI Z87-GD45 Motherboard
• Intel Core i7-4770K Processor
• Kingston HyperX Fury 16GB 1866MHz DDR3 Memory
• EVGA Nvidia GTX 760 ACX Graphics Card
• Corsair AX750 w/ Sleeved Cables
• Samsung 850 Evo Solid State Drive

Here is the completed system build.

When building the system, one thing that bugged me was the lack of CPU power, this was relatively easily solved with sleeved cables however, as they are able to be flattened enough to be brought behind the motherboard and through the CPU cutout.

The lack of cable management room that I thought would be a problem, really didn’t hinder the build at all. The cables easily were able to be routed where they needed to go, and the back panel went on with ease.

With the graphics card installed, the small panel that BitFenix had atop the expansion slots, would no longer fit. Therefore a little gap ended up being in the rear. The PCI-e slot covers are non-replaceable.

Above the 3.5” HDD cage is a handy location for a SSD, here we have mounted a Samsung 850 Evo.

Here we have an overview of the entire build in the system.

With the side panel on, the HDD cage and optical drives are all but hidden, leaving you with a nice look inside of the case, directed right at your core components.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

The BitFenix Nova was overall easy to work on, aside from the need to fold the CPU power behind the motherboard tray in order to have a tidy interior. With just enough room behind the motherboard tray for cable management, and the ability to support larger modular power supplies, it is something that is rarely seen in a full-sized tower in this price bracket.

With 134 small air holes for intake, a flat front and top panel with minimalistic design principles, and the ability for two front intake fans (ideally static pressure fans, due to restricted airflow), this case offers optimal cooling for the budget oriented gamer.

Combine the aforementioned with its overall weight, I can see this possibly being seen at LAN parties all around the world. Even though the case is light, it does not suffer from drastic chassis flex. With a solid feel to the case with just a few components installed, it does inspire confidence in keeping your hardware safe.

The overall layout of the case is what you’d expect to see these days, with a bottom mounted power supply (with dust filter), an optional optical drive bay (only 1, as the industry leads away from physical media), multiple 3.5” and 2.5” HDD mounting locations, and some cable management options in the rear. We’ve seen far less features available on cases in this price range, you can currently find the BitFenix Nova Non-Windowed Version on Amazon for $74.14 while the BitFenix Nova Windowed Version at $89.00

Pros

• Prominent side window
• Nice thumbscrews
• Low chassis flex
• Lightweight
• Sleek, minimalistic exterior
• Good value
• PSU dust filter

Cons

• Non-replaceable PCI-e covers
• Minimal options for cable management
• No 8-pin CPU cutout
• HDD cage not removable
• Minimal radiator support

Introduction

Today we’re taking a look at the Corsair Carbide Series Air 240. A compact PC case made for flexibility in cooling. Capable of housing either a Micro-ATX, or Mini-ITX motherboard, and following the tradition of the ‘Carbide Air’ cases with split compartment design – it truly is a striking case. With the aggressive front fascia that we’ve come to know in the series, and an overall reduction in size of 40% from the Air 540 – it is a remarkable and extraordinary small form factor computer case.

The full sized window provides a fantastic overview of all of the core components in your system, showing off your building skills right from the get-go. Don’t let the size of the system fool you either, while still maintaining the small form factor, they’ve allowed this case to support a variety of full sized components, and still allow for easy installation, access, and cleaning of those components.

Let’s go ahead and take a closer look, and see what Corsair has for us today.

Corsair’s take on the Carbide Series Air 240

“Meet the Carbide Series Air 240 – an extraordinary small form factor PC case for Mini-ITX and MicroATX computers. The eye-catching cube design – complete with a full size window – hosts an internal layout optimized for maximum airflow or advanced water-cooling configurations (including a 240mm radiator or two). Don’t let the compact size fool you – this little one handles full size components while still offering roomy installation space.”

Packaging and Specifications

The front of the Air 240 case has its name, some feature text, and then an example of what the case looks like.

Moving to the sides - they both give us some more information about the case, features, specifications, and also some idea of the overall internal layout.

Moving around to the rear of the box and we can see that it’s a more thorough breakdown of the case, showing you all of the removable panels. (Including magnetic dust filters)

Specifications and Features

Warranty: Two years

Weight: 5.6kg

Color: Black

Case Form Factor: Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX

Dimensions 397 x 260 x 320mm

Maximum GPU Length: 290mm

Maximum CPU Cooler Height: 120mm

Maximum PSU Length: 240mm

Expansion Slots: 4

HDD Bays: 3.5” x 3, 2.5” x 3

Material: Steel

Power Supply: ATX

External Connectors: USB 3.0 x 2, Microphone, Headphone

Fan Mount Locations: Front 120mm x 2, Top 120mm x 2, Rear 80mm x 2, Bottom 120mm x 2, Side 120mm x 1

Fans Included: Front 120mm x2, Top 120mm x1

Radiator Mount Locations: Front 240mm, Bottom 240mm

Compatible Corsair Liquid Coolers: H55, H60, H75, H80i, H100i, H105

Direct Airflow Path Cooling

The unusual interior design is optimized to allow the intake fans to deliver cool air directly to your components that generate the most heat.

Easy Installation and Upgrades

Tool-free 3.5” drive, 2.5” drive, and side panel removal means that builds and upgrades can be performed without reaching for a screwdriver. The CPU backplate cutout allows you to upgrade your CPU cooler without taking out the motherboard.

Flexible Installation

The flexibility goes beyond dual Mini-ITX and MicroATX compatibility. The included rubber feet can be places on any of three surfaces, so you can customize the orientation of the chassis: as a standard tower, an inverted tower, or as a desktop.

Mini-ITX and MicroATX support in a Compact Size

Although it’s the same size as many Mini-ITX cases, the Air 240 supports MicroATX motherboards. This gives you the option of installing dual GPUs.

Outstanding Liquid Cooling Radiator Support

The Air 240 has pre-spaced holes for 240mm radiators on the top, bottom, and front. If you’re using a Mini-ITX motherboard, you can add both front and bottom 240mm radiators. If you’re using a MicroATX motherboard with dual GPU’s, you can install a front 240mm radiator.

Full Size Panel Window

The panoramic window allows you to admire your work.

Closer Look

Here we can see the overall view of the Carbide Air 240. It’s rugged and aggressive front panel, and then the full sized side window as well.

Here we can see the front in more detail, and the two 120mm fans that are mounted behind the front grill.

Moving in for a closer up view of the logo.

Here we can from left to right, the reset button, the HDD LED indicator, the power button, microphone and headset jack, and then two USB 3.0 ports. The power and reset buttons both feel fantastic, and are solid.

Moving slightly more towards the rear of the case, we can see the side opposite of the front window.

On this side is a removable magnetic dust filter, one that has some surprising grip to it.

Here we have some more views of the two side panels.

At the rear of the case we have a removable panel in the upper left, slot for the motherboard backplate, two locations for 80mm fans, 4 expansion slots, and then room for the full sized ATX power supply.

One nice thing that Corsair has continued with this case, is the ample use of thumbscrews everywhere. Not just side panels, but also other compartments, top panel removal, and even the HDD cage is removed with a thumbscrew.

The 4 expansion slots that are on the case come with a really nice mounting system, one which swings open when needed, and doesn’t require screws to mount your cards.

Closer Look Continued

The grill from the front continues along the top of the case, seamlessly allowing for fantastic airflow, while also giving it an aggressive stance.

The side panels are easily removed, and the thumbscrews stay with the panels when they’re removed.

Looking at the inside of the case finally, we see some nice quality grommets we’ve come to expect from Corsair. We also see the included 120mm fans (2x front, 1x Top) – and then the instruction manual and typical box of screws you’d expect to get with a case. One thing to note however, is that the 3.5” HDD cage covers up the 8-pin CPU power cutout in the upper left corner. It would have been nice to have seen a hole in the HDD cage as well.

Here we have the grommets up close.

Taking the top panel off of the case, we are greeted with a few treats. A more modular top mounting system, which gives you the ability to install fans on rails, rather than in very specific slots. Also towards the right side of the top we can see a HDD cage with 3 bays for 2.5” hard disks.

Pulling one of the flexible bays out, we can see that it has pins that hold the drives in place; thus allowing for a tool free design. The flexible material really stiffens up once a drive is installed.

Here we see up close the modular rail system that was talked about earlier.

The rear compartment of the case shows the 2.5” and 3.5” HDD cages, and towards the lower right – the mounting location for the power supply.

At the back of the case, we see a thumbscrew – which once unscrewed, opens up and allows us to view the HDD cage that supports up to three 3.5” hard disks.

Here is the larger HDD caddy, and the removed bracket.

Removing the front grill, we get a good look at the two front fans, and then the front panel connectors.

Here is a closer up view of the board for the front panel connectors. With everything else being black on the case, I’m really excited to see the aesthetics continued here.

The Build

System components used:

• Gigabyte Z97MX Gaming 5 Motherboard
• Intel Core i7-4770K Processor
• Corsair H100i CPU Cooler
• Kingston HyperX Fury 16GB 1866MHz DDR3 Memory
• EVGA Nvidia GTX 760 ACX Graphics Card
• Corsair AX750 w/ Sleeved Cables
• Samsung 850 Evo Solid State Drive

The completed system build. The overall build went along very smoothly, however as we mentioned earlier – the CPU power cutout is blocked by the HDD cage. Due to the sleeved cables, we were able to route the cable where it needed to go – but with standard cables it might be harder. This might be something Corsair should look at revising if they plan to make changes to the case. The HDD cage easily fit back into position once we had routed the cable.

Cable management in the rear compartment isn’t really much of an issue, there are some zip tie mounts – but most people won’t find themselves using it. One of the advantages of this build layout, is that you don’t really need to be concerned with 100% tidy runs in the back.

With the split compartment design, the I/O ports for all of your devices are actually relatively close to you, which makes plugging in your system relatively easy.

Here we have a picture of the case before we put the panels back on. The entire front of the case is consumed by fans, and it’s very clear why they call this case the ‘Air 240’ – with maximum air flow available to all components, at all times.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

The Corsair Carbide Air 240 was a pleasure to work in, its big brother, the Air 540 – is one of the most fun to build in cases that I’ve experienced; this one lived up to its name. With the split compartment design, large side window, easy cable management, unique expansion slot setup, and many other advanced features – it is one of the best Micro ATX cases that I’ve had the pleasure of working with recently.

The aggressive front grill, overall minimalistic side panel, and simplicity of tear down due to a tool-less design and thumbscrews, make this case something to be proud of. It has everything that you’d expect from one of Corsairs larger cases. The solid and rigid chassis design is evident the moment you take it out of the box, and even the few plastic components that it comes with feel solid, and the quality of components you’d look for in a higher end case.

Something to note with this case, is that there is no optical drive. Personally that is not an issue, and it’s not something taken into account as a negative. However, if you still rely on physical disks as a medium – it’s something to keep in mind. It’s also strange to me that none of the HDD cages have a hot swap plate like the Air 540 does; however, since this case is cheaper, I suppose they had to do away with a few things. The added benefit of it however I feel would justify a few extra dollars; since getting the cables plugged in when using multiple HDD’s can be tricky at times in this case.

Overall the design of the Air 240 was fantastic, easy to build in, aesthetically pleasing, and was an enjoyable time. The added benefits of the tool-less design, the magnetic fan filter, the optional case feet – make this clearly a case that you’d expect to even come at a higher premium than they’re asking. The Corsair Carbide Series Air 240 is currently available on Newegg and Amazon for $89.99. It is with no surprise that we would recommend this case to anyone who is looking for a smaller form factor build, especially with gaming in mind.

Pros

• Tool-less expansion slot system
• Easy HDD installation
• External magnetic fan filter for PSU
• Feet come included as optional extra, orientation very modular
• Rigid construction
• Quality grommets
• Very large side window
• Satisfying power and reset buttons
• Easily removed side, top, and front panels
• No front optical bay to maintain sleek appearance
• All thumbscrew design for panels and cages
• Aggressive, yet elegant design

Cons

• No room in the roof for fans and a radiator
• CPU power cutout missing from HDD cage

Introduction

Thermaltake released their Suppressor series of cases with a stress on sound reduction and the ability for increased cooling options. Supporting all types of platforms from Mini-ITX to even E-ATX motherboards, it is incredibly dynamic. The case has an innovative optical drive and HDD cage tool-free design, which is inspired from more enterprise solutions. The optical and HDD cages are both modular in this case, and can be removed. The Suppressor F51 is also equipped with magnetic dust filters everywhere, along the top, front, and bottom of the case.

Thermaltake’s Take on the Suppressor F51

“The Suppressor F51 window mid-tower chassis is the latest series to the Thermaltake case line. Featuring leading-edge sound reduction panels on all sides, expand your cooling options with removable panels for the perfect balance in silent operation and cooling performance. Supporting a range of motherboard platforms from Mini ITX to E-ATX solutions, unrivaled liquid cooling expansion and expandability for all high-end GPU solutions users can expect an enthusiast built design they can trust.”

Video – Thermaltake Product Animation

Video – Thermaltake LCS Certified Quick Look

Tt LCS Certified

Tt LCS Certified is a Thermaltake exclusive certification applied to only products that pass the design and hardcore enthusiasts standards that a true LCS chassis should be held to. The Tt LCS certification was created so that we at Thermaltake can designate to all power users which chassis have been tested to be best compatible with extreme liquid cooling configurations to ensure you get the best performance from the best features and fitment.

Tool-Free Installation

Innovative 5.25” and 3.5” tool-free drive bay design minimizes installation/removal with hidden drive bays on the back panel to provide a clean look and improved expansion for liquid cooling components. The “2 + 6” drive bay with modular drive racks allows multiple SSD/HDD devices for improved storage capacity.

Fully Modular Design

With removable “2 + 6” drive racks, gain more for custom cooling components to freely interchange SSD/HDD cage sections for maximum interior space. Take advantage to include high-end, maximum capacity, cooling allotment without the reduction of GPU length limitations when incorporating liquid cooling expansion for the ultimate in cooling performance.

Dust Reduction

Super fine fan filters with excellent protection and reduction against dirt and dust on the top, inside the front panel, and at the bottom. Magnetic fan filter on the top simply attach the filter for dust filtration.

Modular Sound-damping Design

Built-in sound-damping panels incorporated the top, front, and side panels of the Suppressor F51 chassis to reinforce noise reduction for silent operation. Optimizing cooling performance with removable mounted top panels to expand cooling configurations for both air and liquid cooling solutions. Design and build a custom leading-edge silent operation PC with options for 120/140/200mm cooling fans and liquid cooling support for single, dual and triple radiator applications.

Optimized Silent Operation For acoustic test, Suppressor F51 was tested in a semi-anechoic chamber which includes anti-vibration, sound-proof, and sound-absorbing effect. Preinstalled sound-damping foams of Suppressor F51 reduce noise and acoustic levels within the entire chassis for extreme silent purpose.

Optimized Cooling Performance

Thermal imaging camera was applied for the temperature test of the chassis. After the removal of all sound-damping covers from the top panel, Suppressor F51 dissipates heat more efficiently. The temperature decreases 2.6°C/36.38°F without any sound damping covers.

Outstanding Ventilation

The Suppressor F51 delivers advanced cooling performance for DIY/AIO liquid cooling and air cooling systems. With wide top-to-bottom side ventilation grills, air intake is maximized with a single 200mm front fan built-in and includes options for up to (3) 120mm or 140mm front fans with the provided ODD bridge (optional) combined with (2) bottom mount 120mm fan locations for maximum fan space selection. Dissipate heat properly with (1) rear built-in 140mm fan and (3) sectional top mounts to manage proper air flow in and out.

High-End Complete Solution

The Thermaltake Suppressor F51 Window enables users to build a complete high-end system that supports up to triple 120/140mm liquid cooling radiators or up to 200mm case fans. With extended graphic card support (up to 465mm), the Suppressor F51 simultaneously protects the hardware and increases the CPU’s overclocking potential for users looking to get the most out of their hardware. Most importantly, the Suppressor F51 delivers outstanding cooling efficiency, reduced exterior noise and dust signatures for ideal silent operation.

Specifications and Packaging

Specifications

Model: Suppressor F51

P/N: CA-1E1-00M1WN-00

Case Type: Mid Tower

Dimensions: 525 x 230 x 577mm

Net Weight: 11.8kg / 26lb

Side Panel: Window

Color: Black

Material: SPCC

Cooling System: 200mm (Front), 140mm (Rear)

Drive Bays: Optical x 2, HDD x 6

Expansion Slots: 8

Motherboards: Mini-ITX, Micro ATX, ATX, Extended ATX

I/O Ports: USB 3.0 x 2, USB 2.0 x 2, HD Audio x 1

LCS Upgradable: Supports ½”, 3/8”, ¼” water tube

Fan Support:

• Front: 3 x 120mm, 2 x 140mm, 1 x 200mm
• Top: 3 x 120mm, 3 x 140mm, 2 x 200mm
• Rear: 1 x 120mm, 1 x 140mm
• Side: 1 x 120mm, 1 x 140mm
• Bottom: 2 x 120mm

Radiator Support:

• Front: 1 x 360mm, 1 x 420mm
• Top: 1 x 360mm, 1 x 420mm
• Rear: 1 x 120mm
• Bottom: 1 x 240mm

Clearances:

• CPU Cooler: 185mm
• VGA Length: 310mm (w/ HDD Rack), 465mm (w/o HDD Rack)
• PSU Length: 220mm (w/ Bottom Fan)

Packaging

The Suppressor F51 comes in a typical brown cardboard box, with a clear indication of what the case looks like – while also proudly declaring its name. You also get the Thermaltake LCS Certified badge.

On the side of the box there are more specifications that we went over earlier.

On the back of the box you can see the case torn down in detail.

Closer Look

Pulling the case out of the box, we can see a protective film over the large window.

Here it is without the protective film.

Moving to the front of the case, we can see an amazingly minimalistic and sleek view of this impressive case.

Zooming in closer, we can see the textured front fascia.

The rear side panel of the case is also sleek, with no markings or added features.

Here we can see the 8 expansion slots at the rear.

At the top of the case, there are fan speed controls, audio jacks, power and reset, 2 USB 3.0 ports, and 2 USB 2.0 ports. The rest of the top is filled with a long, durable magnetic dust filter, which is easily removed. The power and reset buttons both feel solid.

With the dust filter lifted up, and then removed – we can see the sound deadening panels that Thermaltake has positioned along the top. These are 3 individual panels, easily removed and replaced with a fan if you wish.

Moving to the front of the case, we open the panel – and can see even more sound deadening foam, two optical drive slots, and then another removable panel for access to yet another filter.

Right below the optical bay is the release for the front filters.

Here we have removed the first panel, to see the filter.

After we remove the filter, we can see the 200mm fan that is included with the Suppressor F51.

Thermaltake included a little rubber tab at the bottom of the front, to ensure that it would not swing open during transport. Very small, yet incredibly nice detail.

The rubber tab pulls down, and then you can swing the door closed; and secure it.

Here the panel is secured.

A better shot of the sound deadening material location at the front of the case.

The front of the case can easily be removed by pulling at the bottom; and gently pulling away. Let’s take a look at the bottom of the case.

Here we can see the two bottom filters.

The filters are easily pulled out, and easily replaced just as quickly.

Removing the side panel we can finally see the interior layout a bit better. With the two optical drive slots, and then two modular HDD cages below it.

Closer Look Continued

In the upper left of the photo we can see the 140mm included fan, and then a motherboard tray to the right, which supports between Mini-ITX, all the way up to E-ATX. Rubber grommets come standard, and they’re of the quality you’d expect from Thermaltake.

At the bottom we can see an adjustable bar for the power supply, and then another vantage point of the fan filter below it. Also visible are the USB 3.0 header, and front panel connectors.

Towards the front of the case we can see some of the grooves in the front for air flow to the front fan, as well as the slot for opening the panel.

The HDD bays each have the Thermaltake logo on them, and are easily removable.

The HDD bays come undone with a light touch, although snap back in place very securely.

The trays themselves feel solid, drives are easily installed – and easily removed. Tool free is always a plus.

Looking at the top of the case, we can see plenty of room for a radiator once the sound dampening panels have been removed.

The dampening panels themselves are sturdy, and should cut down drastically on sound levels if you are not planning on mounting a radiator in the top of the case.

Another really cool feature that Thermaltake included for the gamer in all of us – is a lock for USB devices. Simply thread your peripherals through this section, and you can rest easy at a LAN party.

Both HDD cages are removed with 4 thumbscrews. Once these cages are removed, two of the bays can be positioned in the back of the case – for either 2.5” or 3.5” mounting.

System Build

Components

• MSI Z87-GD65 Motherboard
• Intel Core i7-4770K Processor
• Corsair H100i CPU Cooler
• Kingston HyperX Fury 16GB 1866MHz Memory
• EVGA GTX 760 Graphics Card
• Corsair AX750 Power Supply w/ Sleeved Cables
• Samsung 850 EVO 500GB Solid State Drive
• 2 x WD Red 3TB Hard Drives
• Swiftech 8-way PWM Fan Controller

With ample room of cable management in the rear, and the option for mounting both of the drives in the rear – it does make cable management really simple. Lots of cable tie downs are available throughout the back. There were no issues getting the back panel on. One odd thing was that the included fan controller was powered by Molex, rather than through a SATA power connection.

Completed build with the side panel on. One thing to note however, is the side panel is really easy to scratch.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

The Thermaltake Suppressor F51 is a sleek and minimalistic case with several key features that most manufacturers miss. With the internal modular layout, massive cooling potential, added security features, sound deadening, and cable management features – the case does really feel like they crammed nearly every option available into a single product.

While building in this system, you really do forget that it is classified as a Mid-Tower, because it does feel like a full sized case. The sound deadening does add some weight to the case, as it is 26 pounds without any components in it. However, the added benefit due to the material used does offset this, just be aware of it when you purchase.

The temperatures inside the case felt a little bit warmer than I would have liked with the panel closed, both fan filters in place, and the HDD cages installed. Ideally I would have replaced the front fan with several smaller, more static pressure oriented fans; even if I wasn’t going to front mount a radiator in the case. Luckily the HDD cages are easily removed as well, and that did help with the airflow a lot in the completed build. The ability to then mount two of the HDD bays in the back of the system, and then hiding an SSD somewhere – really does allow you to keep massive amounts of storage, without hampering the potential cooling performance of your machine.

At just $84.99 on Newegg and Amazon both right now, it’s a solid choice – even if you did have to pay full retail of $119.99. You normally do not see cases with some of these features in it, at this price point.

Pros:

• Easy cable management
• Modular HDD cages
• Plethora of cooling options
• USB security option on rear of chassis
• Plastic nub to hold door closed during transport
• Quiet due to sound deadening
• Chassis is very rigid
• Thumbscrews in use everywhere
• Solid feeling power and reset buttons

Cons:

• Case is rather heavy
• Side panel is easy to scratch

Introduction

Whether you want to simply illuminate your components with natural looking white light or give your system a cool color theme with either red, blue, green, UV, or RGB LED strips, or illuminate the bottom of your case to give it a cool bottom glow, there’s no faster and easier way to make your system look like a lean mean gaming machine. CableMod was kind enough to provide us with two kits of their Blue Magnetic 60cm LED’s to take a look at.

Let’s take a closer look!!

Features and Specifications

WideBeam LED Strips

CableMod brings the same care and attention to detail from their cables the world of LED lighting. They’ve rethought virtually every part of the LED strip – from the adhesive to the power connector, all the way to the LEDs themselves.

WideBeam™ Technology

Utilizing a unique transparent LED housing, CableMod WideBeam LED’s deliver a much wider beam angle – over 50% greater than traditional LEDs. Bright and vibrant with a much more even lighting effect, WideBeam LEDs look different because they are different.

Magnetic Mounting

The WideBeam Magnetic Series features multiple rare-earth magnets for a secure fit, and can be easily repositioned or moved to alternate builds.

Vibrant Color Options

CableMod WideBeam LED Strips not only come in classic colors like red, blue, green, and white, but also in UV. These strips are also available in RGB, complete with convenient remote control and IR receiver which allow you to run a variety of colors and light modes.

SATA Power Connector

Easier to connect and more secure, CableMod WideBeam LED Strips come with a SATA power connector, perfect for today’s power supplies that come with many more SATA connectors than the traditional 4 pin Molex.

Fully Chainable

Have a large case and need more length? No problem – both the WideBeam Magnetic and WideBeam Foam Series are fully chainable, which means you can connect multiple LED strips together for an extra-long lighting solution

ASUS® AURA Compatible

CableMod RGB LED Strips come equipped with a special adapter that allows them to work perfectly with ASUS® motherboards that feature an RGB header, like the ROG Maximus VIII Formula.

Package:

• 60cm Magnetic LED Strip
• 2x 4 Pin LED Jumpers
• SATA Power Cable

Packaging and Unboxing

The kit comes in a clear plastic package that is simply stapled shut. The front has the CableMod logo and you can see the actual product itself.

The rear of the package gives you some details about the specific item you have, such as length, color, and adhesive option.

Here we have all the contents laid out.

A Closer Look

Here you can see the actual LED’s, which based off of the part number on top, are SMD5050 LEDs which are the best for PC lighting that I have seen, as well as being super reliable. You can also see the Magnets sitting in between the LEDs.

Here is the LED strip with a ruler showing the distance between the LEDs and magnets.

CableMod stands themselves apart from almost all other LED strips, with this one feature… These LED Strips are powered via your standard SATA power connector, and actually is a pass-through so that you don’t need a separate connector just for your LEDs.

CableMod also includes two jumpers to allow you to connect to additional LED strips without having to run another power to them.

Let’s take a look at how these LED’s actually look!

DEMO RIG

Test Rig with no LEDs.

Test Rig with one 60cm Magnetic Strip.

Test Rig with both 60cm Magnetic Strips.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

Overall, the CableMod Magnetic LED Kits are a great setup that I was honestly really impressed with. The new WideBeam technology really makes a difference as they are seriously bright, and really light up the biggest rigs, being as this is tested in a Corsair 900D.

The magnets on these strips are very strong, and I had absolutely no troubles with them falling off or sagging. Also, what I really think sets these apart from the other kits, is the capability to be powered over your standard SATA power connecter, instead if the older now pretty much defunct Molex. You can find the CableMod WideBeam Magnetic LED strips at Newegg for $19.99

A huge thanks to our friends over at CableMod for providing these LED strips for review!

Introduction

Whether you want to simply illuminate your components with natural looking white light or give your system a cool color theme with either red, blue, green, UV, or RGB LED strips, or illuminate the bottom of your case to give it a cool bottom glow, there’s no faster and easier way to make your system look like a lean mean gaming machine.

CableMod was kind enough to provide us with two kits of their White Foam Adhesive 60cm LED’s to take a look at! Let’s take a closer look!

Features and Specification

WideBeam LED Strips

CableMod brings the same care and attention to detail from their cables the world of LED lighting. They’ve rethought virtually every part of the LED strip – from the adhesive to the power connector, all the way to the LEDs themselves.

WideBeam™ Technology

Utilizing a unique transparent LED housing, CableMod WideBeam LED’s deliver a much wider beam angle – over 50% greater than traditional LEDs. Bright and vibrant with a much more even lighting effect, WideBeam LEDs look different because they are different.

Adhesive Mounting

Those with aluminum or non-magnetic cases can choose the WideBeam Foam Series for a foam adhesive that is over 200% stronger than typical LED strips.

Vibrant Color Options

CableMod WideBeam LED Strips not only come in classic colors like red, blue, green, and white, but also in UV. These strips are also available in RGB, complete with convenient remote control and IR receiver which allow you to run a variety of colors and light modes.

SATA Power Connector

Easier to connect and more secure, CableMod WideBeam LED Strips come with a SATA power connector, perfect for today’s power supplies that come with many more SATA connectors than the traditional 4 pin Molex.

Fully Chainable

Have a large case and need more length? No problem – both the WideBeam Magnetic and WideBeam Foam Series are fully chainable, which means you can connect multiple LED strips together for an extra-long lighting solution

ASUS® AURA Compatible

CableMod RGB LED Strips come equipped with a special adapter that allows them to work perfectly with ASUS® motherboards that feature an RGB header, like the ROG Maximus VIII Formula.

Package:

• 60cm Foam Adhesive LED Strip
• 2x 4 Pin LED Jumpers
• SATA Power Cable

Packaging and Unboxing

The kit comes in a clear plastic package that is simply stapled shut. The front has the CableMod logo and you can see the actual product itself.

The rear of the package gives you some details about the specific item you have, such as length, color, and adhesive option.

Here we have all the contents laid out.

A Closer Look

Here you can see the actual LED’s, which based off of the part number on top, are SMD5050 LEDs which are the best for PC lighting that I have seen, as well as being super reliable.

Here is the LED strip showing the backing with the 3M Foam Adhesive, which is one of the best and strongest on the market for this use.

CableMod stands themselves apart from almost all other LED strips, with this one feature… These LED Strips are powered via your standard SATA power connector, and actually is a pass-through so that you don’t need a separate connector just for your LEDs.

CableMod also includes two jumpers to allow you to connect to additional LED strips without having to run another power to them. Let’s take a look at how these LED’s actually look!

Demo Rig

Test Rig with no LEDs.

Test Rig with one 60cm Foam Adhesive Strip.

Test Rig with both 60cm Foam Adhesive Strips.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

Overall, the CableMod Foam Adhesive LED Kits are a great setup that I was honestly really impressed with. The new WideBeam technology really makes a difference as they are seriously bright, and really light up the biggest rigs, being as this is tested in a Corsair 900D. The 3M foam adhesive on these strips are very strong, and I had absolutely no troubles with them falling off or sagging. Also, what I really think sets these apart from the other kits, is the capability to be powered over your standard SATA power connecter, instead if the older now pretty much defunct Molex. A huge thanks to our friends over at CableMod for providing these LED strips for review!

Introduction

All I can say about the new NZXT Manta Mini ITX Chassis is that NZXT has once again taken a diamond in the rough and turned it into one of the best Mini ITX chassis that's sure to turn a lot of heads whenever the Manta is shown.

Back on August 4th and again on August 25th 2015, ProClockers had the privilege of reviewing the new NZXT Noctis 450 as well as the S340 Razer Edition chassis, and to before I knew it both NZXT cases had changed the way I felt about mid towers chassis. Both were able to spaciously hold the same amount of hardware as my Corsair 780T full tower without any heat issues or installation problems

Lets fast forward to March 2016 and the newly released NZXT Manta Mini ITX chassis and see what NZXT has in store for us. I know I have some questions, and I'm pretty sure most of the people reading this review have a fair amount of questions also, so let's get started on Pro Clockers review of the NZXT Manta chassis and see if all of our questions can be answered. I would like to thank NZXT for sending their new Manta Mini ITX chassis to ProClockers for review. 

NZXT's Take on the Manta

FLUID LINES

The first case built with an innovative new manufacturing process that allows for the creation of curved steel panels. Each panel is created with structurally reinforced steel to ensure uncompromising build quality.

DOUBLE DOWN

Curved side panels offer 2X the cable management space of traditional ITX designs. The spacious interior allows for the installation of the largest power supplies on the market with even more space available for cable routing.

UNRIVALED PERFORMANCE

Supports dual Kraken X61 280mm radiators to conquer heating challenges from even the toughest of builds. With industry leading support for a total of three radiators, Manta offers the best water cooling performance possible for mini-ITX.

EPIC VIEWS

Ensures the beauty of your build never goes unseen with the largest windowed panel in ITX history. Manta is also available with a closed side panel for users that prefer a stealth approach to their build.

EFFORTLESS BUILD

An expansive interior combined with easy to remove filters and side panels make for an effortless build experience. With the absence of typical obstructions such as 5.25" bays and HDD cages, installing components and routing cables in the Manta is seamless.

Check out a short clip featuring the NZXT Manta chassis.

Specifications

• Model Number - CA-MANTW-M2 [Matte Black/Red
• Motherboard Support - Mini - ITX
• Dimensions - W: 245 x H: 426 x D: 450 mm
• Weight: 7.2kg
• Clearance: CPU Clearance: 160 mm,
  
  •  GPU Clearance: 363 mm
  •  PSU Length: 363 mm
• Cooling System:
  
  • Front: 2 x 140/120 mm[2 x 120mm included]
  • Top: 2 x 140 / 120mm
  • Rear: 1 x 120mm
• Radiator Support:
  
  • Front: Up to 280 mm
  • Top: Up to 280 mm
  • Rear: Up to 120 mm
• Drive Bays:
  
  • Internal 3.5" x 2
  • Internal 2.5" x 3
• External Electronics: I/O Panel LED On/Off, 1 x Audio/Mic, USB 3.0
• Expansion Slots: Two [ 2 ]
• Power Supply Support: ATX

Packaging

The NZXT Manta Mini ITX sample arrived in a simple brown cardboard box. With the box open you can see that NZXT has taken steps to make sure your Manta arrives without a scratch or dent, thanks to the Styrofoam inserts to protect the top & bottom of the chassis, NZXT also as the chassis inside a plastic bag to make sure your Manta arrives free of dust.

Features

Fluid Lines. The Manta Mini ITX is the first case built with an innovative new manufacturing process that allows for the creation of curved steel panels. Each Panel is created with structurally reinforced steel to ensure uncompromising build quality.

Curved side panels offer two times the space for cable management compared to other Mini ITX chassis, and let's not forget that the Mantas spacious interior allows you to install the largest power supply's on the market today with even more space for cable routing.

The Manta Mini ITX chassis supports dual NZXT Kraken X61 280mm radiators to conquer today's heating challengers from even the toughest builds. With support for 3 radiators, the NZXT Manta gives you the best water cooling performance possible for a Mini ITX Chassis.

With the largest windowed side panel in ITX history, the Manta ensures that the beauty of your build never goes un-noticed, and for those of you looking that stealth look for your build, NZXT also offers non-window side panel edition, giving you the best of both worlds.

With a spacious interior and easy to remove filters and side panels, including the absence of obstructions like 5.25" bays and HDD cages, makes the installation of components and routing cables in the Manta seamless. The NZXT Manta gives you the ultimate build experience of any Mini ITX chassis on the market today.

Closer Look - Exterior

The Manta is one sweet looking chassis no matter what angle you look at. the large window on the left side panel as well as the red trim on both side panels which makes the Manta stand out from other Mini ITX chassis's

Front panel, with the panel removed you will notice that NZXT provided a removable fan filter to catch dust trying to enter the inside of the Manta. With the filter being removable makes it very easy to clean.

With the filter removed I had a chance to take a look at the front two NZXT 140mm intake fans. Besides the inside top section, the front is also an ideal spot to mount either a 240mm or 280mm radiator for either custom water cooling or a AIO CPU Cooler

Moving along to the back of the Manta Mini ITX chassis, the grill for the rear 140mm fan can be found on the right hand side, with the rear I/O cut out on the left of the 140,m fan grill. The Manta chassis only provides two expansion slots with vented removable covers.

Looking further down the rtear of the Manta Mini ITX chassis is the cut out to mount your PSU, and below that another removable and washable fan filter, shown in the photo below.

Taking a look at the bottom of the chassis, you will notice the 4 removable feet with two rubber strips on each side to prevent the chassis from moving. We also get another look at the removable power supply air filter that stops dust and debris from getting to PSU.

Let's take a closer look on the interior of the NZXT Manta on the next page.

Closer Look - Interior

With the right side panel removed, you can see just how far the power supply bay extends, leaving plenty of room to hide the PSU cables as well as the front I/O panel cables. As you can see, below the cutout for installing the CPU cooler or CPU water block back plate, NZXT decided to mount the fan controller hub

Here's a close up of the NZXT Manta fan controller hub which can control up to eight fans which comes in handy if your running a push pull setup on your 280 radiator.

Here's a close up on the LED control panel which works with the rear LED push botton control shown in our next page of this review.

The LED contol button is located on the left hand side of the rear I/O

Lets remove the top panel and see what NZXT has going on for us. Here's a photo of the top I/O showing dual USB 3.1 ports as wsell as the headset and mic jacks.

Movimng over to the top left front of the Manta we find the power switch which can be easly removed and replaced if needed

With the top panel removed I decided to install our NZXT X61 CPU cooler, which was a very eash install and fit like a hand in a glove.

Here's one more photo showing the X61 installed inside the NZXT Manta Mini ITX chassis.

Let's move on to mounting a couple of SSD's in the Manta Mini ITX chassis. Due to only having enough room to install two SSDs, we might as well make the best of it and use dual 960GB SSD's giving us a total of 1920GBs or close to 2TBs of very fast storage space.

Seeing as we can only mount two SSD's without having to mod the chassis, we decided to use the very fast Kingston Savage 960GB SSD's shown in the next two photos. Lets start with removing the SSD trays.

Here's a photo showing both sides of our Kingston Savage 960GB SSD's before installing the drives in their trays.

19

Now with both Kingston Savage 960GB SSDs installed in the Mantas SSD trays, we can get ready to reinstall the trays in the Manta chassis.

With this being my first Mini ITX build, I was surprised at how small the motherboard tray was.

Build and Installation

For the Manta Mini ITX chassis build, we will be using the following hardware.

• ASRock: Fatal1ty Z170 Mini ITX motherboard
• Intel: Skylake 6700K unlocked chip
• NZXT X61 AIO CPU Cooler
• G.Skill: 16GB DDR4 Dual Channel Memory Kit, 8GB x 2
• Kingston: Dual HyperX Savage 960GB SSD's
• Gigabyte: GTX980Ti Xtreme Gaming
• Cooler Master: V1200 PSU
• Primochill: Custom Sleeved Cable Kit for the V1200 PSU
• NZXT: Manta Mini ITX chassis

Installing the hardware in the Manta Mini ITX chassis was not what I was expecting. As I mentioned earlier, this was my first Mini ITX build and I had a feeling that I was going to run into a lot of clearence issues, but I was wrong, not once did my hands or fingers feel cramped while installing any of the hardware I used.

To be completely honest, building a system in the NZXT Manta Mini ITX chassis was a breeze, In fact took longer to install the OS and drivers, than doing the complete build. When I took a look at my watch I noticed that the Manta Mini ITX chassis Z170 build only took me 60 minutes to complete, but in all fairness I've been building computers for for over 18 years, so for some one doing their first or second build it would take longer to install the same hardware.

The hardest part was installing the X61 back plate by myself, it wasn't as easy as instaling the X61 in a X79 or X99 build which does not need a back plate. Even the long Gigabyte GTX980Ti Xtreme Gaming GPU had pleanty of room and that was with the extra 6Pin power cable that connects to the rear of the card. Besides the 6pin you also need to have two 8pin PCIe cables to power the card which are located the the side of the GTX980Ti Xtreme Gaming.

Once the GPU was installed, I'm happy to say that we still had a good 3 inches of clearence left between the rear on the GTX980Ti and the bottom 120mm front fan.

If I had to complain about anything it would be the thumb screws for each side panel, which gave me trouble trying to screw them back into the chassis.

Lets take a look at a couple of photos of the finished NZXT Manta Mini ITX Z170 build.

Here's another photo showing the Z170 6700K build.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

NZXT started out trying to make one of the best looking Mini ITX chassis to date, and they did accomplish that and so much more. The curved side panels look amazing and are very strong. The window on the right side panel is the largest window to even be seen on a mini ITX chassis, and gives you a chance to show off all the hardware you used in your mini ITX build. The Manta also has outstanding cooling options for a Mini ITX chassis, giving you the option to mount a 280mm radiator inside top and front, and also up to a 140mm radiator in the rear section. To power your high-end system, NZXT went a step beyond by allowing you to install a full size ATX power supply. Let's not forget that after installing one of the largest GTX980 Ti GPUs that we still had over 3 inches of clearance between the rear of the card and the bottom front 120mm fan housing. With no drive cages, we were still able to install two Kingston HyperX Savage 960GB SSDs, giving us close to 2TBs of very fast storage space.

With the best looks of any current Mini ITX chassis, including the largest windowed side panel and at the same time having the cooling options for up to 3 radiators and a low price of $139.99 at Amazon and other online stores which makes the NZXT Manta Mini ITX chassis something that should be on everyone's short list that's thinking about building a Mini ITX system.

ProClockers proudly gives the NZXT Manta Mini ITX chassis our Editors Choice Award!

Introduction

The SilverStone RAVEN signature series is perhaps the most popular chassis series from SilverStone. Given that it is SilverStone's signature cases, they do come with a heftier price tag being an enthusiast-grade chassis after all. Fortunately, SilverStone made a more budget-friendly entry-level RAVEN chassis, the RVX01. SilverStone gladly gave us a sample to review so follow us today and see what the RVX01 offers.

SilverStone's Take on the RVX01

After completing the evolutionary RAVEN RV05 with 5.25” drive bay design completely removed, the RAVEN team created another forward thinking line of cases with the introduction of the “RAVEN X” subcategory. This line will not only retain the essence of what made the original RAVEN series great with features such as signature aggressive styling and 90 degree rotated layout, but also cater to enthusiasts looking for more exciting designs in an entry-level price point. With the smallest ever footprint for a ATX RAVEN tower case, the RVX01 has remarkably accommodating interior that can easily fit large ATX motherboards up to 12” x 11”, full size graphics card, four 2.5”/3.5” drives, and spaces for up to three radiators. From the factory, the case will come fully equipped with three of SilverStone’s famed Air Penetrator fans for class-leading thermal performance and easy to reach filter for easy maintenance. If you are looking to build an attractive, relatively compact and powerful PC on a budget, the RVX01’s combination of high affordability, top-level cooling ability, and flexible layout will fulfill the task beautifully.

Move on to the next page for the features and specifications.

Features and Specifications

• Signature RAVEN styling touches
• 90 degree motherboard mounting from legendary RAVEN RV01
• Three 120mm Air Penetrator fans included for sublime vertical air cooling
• Positive pressure design for excellent cooling/quietness and dust-prevention
• Quick access filter for convenient maintenance
• Support up to three sets of liquid cooling radiators

Model No.

• SST-RVX01BR (black with red trim)
• SST-RVX01BR-W (black with red trim + window)
• SST-RVX01BA-W (black with blue trim + window)
• SST-RVX01BV-W (black with green trim + window)

Material

• Plastic outer shell, steel body

Motherboard

• ATX (up to 12” x 11”), Micro-ATX

Drive Bay

• External: None
• Internal: 2.5”x 4 or 3.5”x 4

Cooling System

• Front: 120mm fan slot x 1
• Top: 120mm fan slot x 1
• Bottom: 120mm Air Penetrator x 3, 1200±10% rpm, 19.7dBA

Expansion Slot

• 7

Front I/O Port

• USB 3.0 x 2
• audio x 1
• MIC x 1

Power Supply

• Optional PS2(ATX)

Expansion Card

• Compatible up to 13.7”, width restriction * - 4.92”~5.91”

Limitation of CPU Cooler

• 162mm or 159mm (window)

Dimension

• 215mm (W) x 485mm (H) x 500mm (D) , 52.1 liters

Let's move on to the next page for the unboxing and closer look.

Unboxing and Closer Look

The RVX01 comes in a typical packaging, not colored unlike the other RAVEN cases.

Upon opening the packaging, the RVX01 is wrapped in plastic and protected by foam cushions. You will also be greeted by the top panel with its gorgeous design.

The accessories included are two drive mounting plates, a pack of screws and a user's guide.

Here's the SilverStone RVX01 chassis. The front panel is plain and without cutouts for front bay drives.

On the front of the RVX01, there's a SilverStone RAVEN logo etched on it.

Here's the LED lighted portion of the front panel.

Note that the RVX01's window is on the right side of the chassis. Like the other RAVEN cases, the RVX01 also follow a horizontal motherboard layout wherein the rear I/O ports of the motherboard would be located on the top of the chassis.

Here's a look at the front panel of the RVX01. There are no front bay slots, just a plain panel with its RAVEN styling with two LED lights in red for this model.

The rear is unlike typical tower cases. There's a plain sheet of aluminum as the rear with ventilation holes for the power supply on the top area.

The top opening does look like a handle for this isn't really made for such purpose. Although you can grab the chassis there when it is still empty but when loaded with hardware, I do not recommend lifting the RVX01 holding on to that since that 'handle' is made of plastic and is only held with two screws.

The top panel of the RVX01 is certainly a focal point of the chassis with its red mesh and the signature RAVEN outline shows.

On the right side of the top panel is a SilverStone branding which is common to RAVEN cases I believe.

On the front of the top panel is where the switches and the front I/O ports are located. You can find two USB 3.0 ports and the set of audio ports.

At the bottom of the RVX01 is a red base with four rubber feet.

There's a removable fan filter at the bottom.

Once the fan filter is removed, the three 120mm SilverStone Penetrator fans can be accessed.

Now let's move on to having a closer look at the interior.

Closer Look - Interior

Removing the top panel, you'll find what seems to be the rear of a typical tower chassis. Given that the RVX01 uses a horizontal motherboard layout, the rear I/O ports of the motherboard and graphics card will be found at the top of the chassis along with the plug for the power supply.

The window side of the RVX01 is on the right side to the motherboard would be mounted on the left side of the chassis. Here's a view of the chassis on the right. The bottom portion of the chassis is hidden from view once the side panel is on and this is where a the drives can be mounted either on the 2-slot 3.5" drive bays on the rear of on the drive mounting slots on the panel itself.

This is the rear of the motherboard area. Although there's a cutout at the bottom area, it's nearly impossible to route any cable behind the chassis with less than a centimeter of space to spare. With that, all the cables will have to be routed in the front and will just have to be hidden with the help of the drive panel at the bottom of the chassis. Plus, the window doesn't go all the way down either so it will still be hidden from plain sight.

Installation

Installing hardware on the SilverStone RVX01 chassis is quite tricky. As I've found out, following the typical sequence of installing hardware would not be recommended particularly if you are maximizing the length limits of the power supply, motherboard and cooler which will be discussed further as we go on with this review. Also, I would like to feature a typical air-cooling setup and a custom watercooling setup to see what this case has to offer. Here's our setup below.

• Processor: AMD FX 8370
• Motherboard: MSI 970 Gaming
• Graphics Cards: Palit GTX 660TI / Gigabyte GTX 770 OC
• Memory: Kingston HyperX T1 Dual Kit 2400mhz
• Boot Drive: Innodisk Satadom MV-3ME 64GB
• Storage Drive: 1TB Western Digital Caviar Blue
• Cooling:
  • Air-cooling: Cryorig H7 CPU Cooler / Noiseblocker
  • Custom Watercooling

This might sound odd but this is my recommended sequence of installation below:

1. Hard drives
2. Power supply
3. Motherboard with memory and CPU
4. CPU cooler or custom water cooling

Hard Drives

The hard drives go first particularly if you want to screw it secure in the drive cage. Not having it screwed on the drive cage will also work since the drive mount does offer good resistance for it not to move inside the cage.

First you need to mount the hard drive in the mounting plate which goes for both 3.5" and 2.5" drives. Next you can slip the hard drive and mounting module into one of the drive cage slots.

With the SATA cable and power cable on the hard drives, it would be best to route them inside the chassis and not through the panel even though there seems to be routing holes available. The rear has only 0.50 cm of space spare or else the cable would hit the side panel and produce a bulge.

Power Supply

As you can see from the image above, if you use a fairly large power supply you'd have some trouble with the cables particularly if you are using a modular power supply. With that in mind, it would be advisable to plug the cables first before installing the power supply into the chassis unless you plan to remove the hard drive cage which is riveted on the RVX01.

Motherboard

Typical mid-tower cases would allow you to pre-install the CPU cooler on the motherboard before installing the entire thing to the chassis. With the RVX01, that might be a little tricky as shown in the image above particularly if you are planning to use a fairly large CPU cooler like the Noctua NH-C14S I used on this review.

For this case, install the processor, memory modules and the CPU cooler's mounting brackets only then install it on the chassis. Once installed, you can install the CPU cooler.

Air-cooling Setup and Build Images

Setup

• Processor: AMD FX-8370
• Motherboard: MSI 970 Gaming
• Graphics Card: Gigabyte GTX 770 OC
• Memory: Kingston HyperX T1 Dual Kit 2400Mhz 8GB
• PSU: Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 850w
• Boot Drive: Innodisk SATADOM MV-3ME
• Chassis: SilverStone RVX01
• Cooler: Noctua NH-C14S

Here's a look at the business side of the RVX01. There's actually a lot of power supply cables hidden beneath the cases with is unseen from plain view thanks to the panel that goes across at the bottom.

The rear is very clean considering that none of the cables are routed there because it isn't possible anyway given how thick the stock cables of the Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 850w power supply are. Custom sleeved modular cables might fit in the tiny 0.50 cm space at the back but best not to route anything there.

Here's our air-cooling setup with the side panel and top panels on. I did try using a Noctua NH-D15S to copy another tech site's review using a NH-D15. Although the NH-D15S is slightly different from the D15, the height of the cooler are the same. On their review, the side panel fits with the NH-D15 and so with the NH-D15S. However, the edge of heat pipes does hit the acrylic window of the side panel. Although it fits by force, technically the NH-D15S is too tall for the case which other reviews also confirms. If you don't mind adding unnecessary force on the processor and motherboard, sure a Noctua NH-D15S or D15 can fit by force.

Water-cooling Setup and Build Images

Setup

• Processor: AMD FX-8370
• Motherboard: MSI 970 Gaming
• Graphics Card: Palit GTX 660TI
• Memory: Kingston HyperX T1 Dual Kit 2400Mhz 8GB
• PSU: Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 850w
• Boot Drive: Innodisk SATADOM MV-3ME
• Chassis: SilverStone RVX01
• Cooling: Custom Watercooling
  
  • Radiator: Thermaltake Pacific RL240 Radiator
  • Pump: EKWB DCP 2.2
  • Reservoir: Barrow 140mm Cylindrical Water Tank
  • Waterblock: IceCrown Universal AMD/Intel waterblock

While most novice builders would likely back off to the idea of installing custom watercooling on the SilverStone RVX01 due to the unusual orientation and limited space of this particular chassis, it is possible although I have to admit it is very tricky. To even make it more challenging, I will be using a thick radiator, the Thermaltake Pacific RL240 radiator which is 64mm thick!

The radiator does fit at the floor of the chassis with easy and given that the RVX01 already have three included fans, you can have a push configuration immediately. A push-pull fan configuration on this already-thick radiator is possible but it would really give you a harder cable management seeing that the 24-pin power cable socket is already close to the radiator and it would also shorten the graphics card length supported by the system.

I mounted the reservoir at the middle closest to the waterblock to keep the loop short. I could mount it in front of the case if I were to include the graphics card with the loop. A reservoir mount clamp holds the cylindrical water tank and pump module. Since the internal side panel of the RVX01 has screw holes for drive mounts, there's no need to bore new holes into the chassis. Note that the entire build is 100% modification free meaning there are no holes drilled or parts removed from the chassis which I have to say was something I thought is not possible at the beginning.

Here's a look at the finished custom watercooling build with and without the side panel on.

Adding a red LED lighting module at the bottom of the chassis along with the red LED lighted CPU waterblock, here's our entire watercooling setup with the system powered on.

Now let's wrap up this review on the last page.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

Building with the SilverStone RVX01 is one great adventure I have to say. It has some thrills, challenges and things you really need to consider before getting one. Let us break it down to certain things most would be looking at when buying a case.

Aesthetics

The SilverStone RVX01 does have the signature design and layout of the RAVEN series but given that this is a budget RAVEN case, some of the fancy stuff were replaced with something else like the ventilation holes on the top panel are now colored mesh which is cheaper to make than some custom CNC-drilled holes like those of the RV05. However, the RVX01 offers color options unlike other RAVEN cases with is a plus. I got the windowed with red trim variant, there's also the blue trim and green trim version available. Overall, I'd give the RVX01's aesthetics a 9 out of 10.

Build Quality

The panels of the RVX01 are thinner and lighter compared to other RAVEN cases given that I reviewed the RVZ01 before. Some of the PCIe shields are non-replaceable too but that can't be seen anyway. Indeed this is a budget edition of the premium RAVEN cases but I do find the structural integrity of the case to be good. While it's tempting to hold the case on the seemingly handle looking plastic mount on the rear, I wouldn't recommend lifting the case fully equipped with hardware holding on to that. Better lift it from the base.

The huge hole on top would be where the cables of your peripherals, monitor, power supply and others routed with. Again, that is not a handle as shown on the image above.

Hardware Support and Installation

Building with the RVX01 is on the difficult level of PC building. The tight spaces and inexistence of cabling space at the back of the case really makes it challenging even for a reviewer like me who handled numerous cases in the past. However, as shown in both our air-cooling and custom watercooling setups, the SilverStone RVX01 can pretty much handle an entry-level to high-end level gaming setups even with dual graphics cards with complete custom water cooling. Just take note of the length limitations for the power supply, CPU cooler and graphics cards which is shorter than what most mid-tower cases offer. Also, I have to say the orientation comes with an advantage for watercooling in case of leakage since there's nothing below that would short so a catastrophic watercooling leakage that could brick multiple hardware is less likely is such orientation. Only the memory modules are vulnerable if ever the CPU waterblock leaks. As for ventilation and cooling, the airflow path intended for the case is very efficient. It is also very quiet given that the majority of the fans are all at the bottom.

Well, there are several disadvantages that are obvious with the SilverStone RVX01. For one, there's no ODD bay which is rather common in new RAVEN cases by now. Also, the USB ports on the rear of the motherboard are inaccessible unless you use a cable extension.

The SilverStone RVX01 models can be found at Amazon for $75.99 bundled with three 120mm SilverStone Penetrator fans. This budget RAVEN case does resemble the other more expensive RAVEN models. The RVX01 offers the signature RAVEN looks for a cheaper price tag along with the typical RAVEN layout and orientation. We are happy to give it our highly recommended award.

Likes

• Signature RAVEN aesthetics and layout
• Trim color options
• Package bundling

Dislikes

• Hardware installation and cable management difficulty

Introduction

Most of us can remember when picking out a case for your next build was a relatively easy thing to do, but during the last 3-4 years there are so many new companies as well as different style and size chassis to choose from, that picking a new case is no longer somethingthat’s easy do.

We have super towers, full towers, mid towers, ITX, and Mini ITX cases, so how do you get started? Thankfully Corsair is here to help you make the right choice, seeing as they have every size and style available for you to choose from.

Today we will be taking a look at the new Corsair Carbide Series Clear 400C mid-tower chassis, so let’s see what Corsair has in store for us.

Corsairs take on the 400C: Easy to build, hard to beat:

With a one touch side panel, tool-free drive installation, and three point dust filter access. The 400C is easy to build and even easier to clean. You’ll spend less time on setup and maintenance and more time enjoying your PC.

Hinged and latched full side panel window:

Easily access your components with a single touch-and when it’s closed, enjoy viewing every part of your build through the full side panel window.

Clean, modern lines with an all steel exterior:

Get rid of those plastic cases-the 400C has steel front and top panels for extra durability and gorgeous good looks.

Direct Airflow Path:

One way to reduce noise is to make sure your fans do not work harder than they have to. By removing the drive cages behind the intake fans, we provide a more efficient direct airflow path to your hottest components, the CPU and GPU. It’s just a smarter design.

Compact design, full size capabilities:

Don't let the compact dimensions of the 400C fool you, It can house a full size ATX motherboard and multiple GPUs

Liquid cooling capable:

With room for up to a 360mm radiator in front, a 240m radiator up top and a 120mm radiator in the rear, you can choose to quiet down your CPU & GPU with liquid cooling just about whereever you want to.

Two included AF series fans:

Great airflow does not have to be noisy, the AF120L and the AF140L fans can push good amounts of air across your hottest components without that annoying hum, and the direct airflow design of the 400C provides an excellent path for cold air to reach your hottest parts.

PSU and 3.5” Bay Cover”

Clean up the inside of your case by tucking all those cables and less attractive drives behind two modular, clean, and refined PSU and 3.5” bay covers, or remove them for assembly, it’s up to you.

Easy to clean:

Easily access dust filters on front, top, and bottom means you’ll never spend more than a minute getting dust out of your system.

Contents and Specifications

Package Contents:

• Carbide Series Clear 400C Compact Mid-Tower Case
• Accessories Kit
• Warranty and Support Information

Technical Specifications:

• Dimensions [L x W x H ] 425 x 215 x 464mm
• Maximum GPU Length: 370mm
• Maximum CPU Cooler Height: 170mm
• Maximum PSU Length : 190mm
• 5.25” Drive Bays: 0
• 3.5” Hard Drive Bays: 2
• 2.5” Drive Bays: 3
• Fans Included: 1x 140mm 1x 120mm

Compatibility:

• Motherboard: EATX 12´x 10.6, ATX, Micro ATX, Mini ITX

Cooling Layout:

• Front: 3 x 120mm or 2 x 140mm, 1 x 140mm included
• Top: 2 x 120mm / 140mm
• Rear: 1 x 120mm included

Radiator Compatibility:

• 360mm Front only
• 280mm Front only
• 240mm Front or Top
• 120mm Front, Top, or Rear
• Dust Filters on all sides
• Front I/O Panel includes 2 x USB 3.0 ports, Headphone and Microphone jacks. Power on and Reset buttons

Packaging:

Our Corsair 400C sample arrived in a brown box, it seems to be that a lot of companies are doing this now it’s a way to save them money and pass that savings on to its customers by lowering the price on new cases.

Here’s a couple of more photos showing the rear and sides of the 400C package.

Like other companies Corsair also covers each new chassis with a plastic bag to help keep their products free from dust.

Closer Look - Exterior

Let’s move on to the exterior of the Corsair Carbide Series Clear 400C chassis. The front panel is plain and simple, compared to other cases we have seen from Corsair, but it gets the job done.

The top of the 400C has a magnetic fan filter which is very easy to remove for cleaning as seen in photo 2.

As you can see the magnetic filter is very easily removed for either cleaning or installing a radiator inside top.

The front top I/O panel consists of a power and reset buttons, HDD activity light , Headset and Mic jacks, as well as two USB3.0 ports.

Moving on to our next photo, the Corsair Carbide Series Clear 400C chassis gives us a striking stance showing us just how great looking this chassis truly is.

Let’s move on to the right side and rear panel of the 400C, as you can see there’s more than enough room on the right side panel to add your favorite graphics. The very large venting holes on the side of the front panel is more than enough to draw in cold air for either your system or your 360mm radiator.

Let’s take a look at the rear panel and also the bottom of the chassis. on the left side we see the rear I/O panel cut out and to the right of the I/O cut out the grill for the included Corsair AF120L fan. We also see a total of 7 expansion slots, and at the bottom the power supply bay.

In our next photo the bottom of the Corsair Carbide Clear 400C is shown. Corsair add four tall feet with rubber mounted to the bottom if each foot, and I have to admit that it does a fine job of keeping the case from sliding around.

Towards the rear of the bottom, you will notice the removable fan filter which helps keep your PSU free from dust and pet hairs. In the last of our exterior photos you can see that the feet that Corsair used on the 400C chassis provide 1 ½ inches of clearance from your table top to the bottom of the chassis.

Before moving on to the interior photos, let’s take a quick look at the accessories package for the Corsair Carbide Clear 400C chassis and see what’s included.

Your looking at a very small accessories package, but it does have the bare essencials to help get your build started.

Closer Look - Interior

Moving on to the interior of the 400C, let’s remove the front panel and take a look at what’s going around back there.

To remove the front filter you must push down on the tab that’s located dead center top of the filter. Behind the filter we the included Corsair AF140L intake fan.

Let’s remove the left full windowed panel and see what’s going on up front. In this photo you can see how large the AF140L fan actually looks.

Moving on to the new Corsair two piece PSU and HDD cage cover, as you can see Corsair did an excellent job designing this two piece cover that actully works very well and can be easily removed to install your PSU and hide unsightly cables.

Moving on to the top of the chassis you can see exactly how much room you have to mount either a 240mm or 280mm radiator or ALO CPU cooler.

Here we see the AF120L fan, rear I/O cut out as well as a huge cutout on the back of the motherboard tray for installing back plates for air cooling or CPU water blocks.

After removing the right side panel we can to take a look at the three cable routing holes with rubber grommets. Just under the back plate cutout we find mounting for three SSDs and two more routing holes without rubber grommets.

Bottom front of the right side has a hard drive cage with two removing trays for mounting drives of your choice.

Here’s a photo of the removable SSD cage from the rear of the motherboard tray. For this review we will be mounting 3 Kingston HyperX Savage 960GB SSD’s.

Let’s install a full size ATX Z170X motherboard and get our build started.

Build and Installation

For the 400C build we will be using the following components.

• Gigabyte Z170X-Gaming 6 motherboard
• Intel 6700K
• 32GBs Crucial Sport 8GBs x 4
• Dual EVGA GTX980Ti cards in SLI
• Three Kingston HyperX Savage 960GB SSDs
• Corsair H110i GT AIO CPU Cooler
• Cooler Master V 1200 with custom sleeved cables

Although the Carbide Series Clear 400C looks like a small chassis, it was very easy to work with, and better still it was able to hold everything we installed, so I can actually say that building this system in the 400C was a breeze. Everything fit perfectly, and not once did my hands get cramped up. Better still our overclocked Z170X 6700K build was overclocked to 5GHz and still ran cool.

Let’s take a look at a couple of photos of our build in the 400C

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

I understand that for a mid-tower the Carbide Series Clear 400C is a little on the small side, but you do get what you pay for and for $99.99 you actually get a lot for your money. Let’s go back and take a look at the cooling options, you can mount up to a 360mm radiator in the front section, and up to a 280mm radiator up top, then you have the rear that can hold a 120mm radiator, now that’s not too shabby for a small mid tower. Let’s not forget that you also have the option of mounting 3 SSDs on the back side of the motherboard tray, and man did they look great mounted there. The full clear windowed side panel is another great option, and lets you view your expensive hardware with ease.

With the new Corsair PSU and drive cage cover, those ugly HDD cages can no longer be seen, and it doesn’t stop there, your PSU cables are also hidden from view, so I guess that $99.99 price tag is sounding pretty good right now, and don’t forget about the three removable fan filters which cuts down time on cleaning your system to a bare minimum which leaves you more time for gaming. If you’re looking for a new chassis that’s on the small side, look no further, Corsair has everything you need in the Carbide Series Clear 400C. This is one case that your friends will envy. The Corsair Carbide Clear 400C gets our Highly Recommended Award! You can find the Corsair Carbide Clear 400C at Amazon for $95.20 at the time of this writing.