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. The Xigmatek Soundwave A chassis have a SRP of $31.99.

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.

Introduction

It seems more and more people these days a steering clear of, or moving away from full tower cases. On forums and on YouTube, I see more small form factor builds every day. However, there are some of us who would like a smaller form factor case, but need the features that AXT motherboards and full towers offer. Well, Anidees has us covered with their stunning AI7 Cube Case. Can a case that measures 288x380x380mmfit the hardware from say a Corsair 760T? That’s exactly what I attempted to do. Both myself and Proclockers would like to than Anidees for making this review possible. Now let’s see if I can cram the hardware of a full tower into this dual chamber cube and discover if smaller form factor cases can still work for a high end gaming rig or workstation.

About Anidees

“We bring a personal and effective approach to every project we work on, where ideas came from you.”

The story of Brand name anidees was from English first " an idea " but they play it to plural and it turns to " an ideas" but since the most ideas we collected for our product are from Europe. So they change idea to idee (German, Dutch, France), with plural form it turns to " anidees” Anidees is a design company. Their main focus is on product design and provide value add items to customers. Our slogan is " Ideas from you". Anidees aim is to be a brand and or company who listen to users and make " simple,elegant, and quality " products to their customers.

Specifications and Features

• AVAILABLE COLOR
  
  • Black
• MATERIAL
  
  • Steel (0.7mm) / Plastic + Mesh bezel
• DIMENSION (W / H / D)
  
  • 288*380*380mm
• WEIGHT
  
  • Weight: 6.35 kg / 14 lbs
• MOTHERBOARD TYPE
  
  • M-ITX,M-ATX,ATX
• 5.25” DRIVE BAY       
  
  • 1         
• Dive Bays
  
  • 4 - 3.5”/2.5”
  • 1 - 2.5”
• FRONT I/O PANEL
  
  • USB3.0 x 2
  • USB2.0 x 2
  • Audio x 1
  • Mic x 1
• EXPANSION
  
  • 7
• RADIATOR/FAN SUPPORT
  
  • Front:120mm blue led fan *4 (included) or 140mm fan*2 (optional) or 200mm fan*1 (optional)
  • Rear:120mm *1 (included), 90mm*1 (optional)
  • Top:140/120mm * 2 (optional)
  • BottomL:120mm fan*1(optional)
• POWER SUPPLY
  
  • Standard ATX PS2 up to 200mm (optional)
• MAXIMUM COMPATIBILITY
  
  • Graphics Card Length:348mm          
  • CPU Cooler Height:174mm
  • Cable routing behind MB tray:95mm
• MODEL & EAN CODE
  
  • Standard Black version: AI-07BW
• EAN Code:6952093600343
• UPC Code:848043000348

Features

The AI7 from Anidees is a full ATX, compact chassis that focuses on cooling performance. Its dual chamber design divides hot running components, one chamber delivers cooler air to MB, CPU, GPU, another one for HDD and PSU. The AI7 comes with 4 blue LED fans in the front and has room for up to 4 more. The front panel can also support a 200mm fans instead of the 4 120mm fans. There are several ways to set up a custom water cooling loop in the AI7. This full ATC chassis has support for up to 3 240mm radiators and a single 120mm radiator. For air cooling, the AI7 supports 8 120mm fans and a single 90 mm fan. The AI7 has a single 5.25” bay, a single 2.5”, ands 4 3.5/2.5” drive bays. Underneath the 5.25” bay is the front IO. The front IO has 2 3.5mm jacks, 1 audio and 1 mic. It also has 2 USB 3.0 and 2 USB 2.0. There and mesh panel on the top and the front and air filters on the front panel, bottom and solid side panel, near the power supply. All unit shipped after 3/15/2015 were shipped with a fan hub and fan control switch.

Packaging and Closer Look

This is the box the AI7 comes packed in.

The AI7 comes packed in hard foam and wrapped in plastic

The hard foam helps to prevent damage while being shipped

Either side of the window comes with protective plastic

The AI7 comes is a very sturdy, black and silver box with the Anidees name and AI7 printed on the front and rear of the box. On the side is where you’ll find the complete list of specifications and convenient cut outs for carrying the rather compact box. When opened, you see the AI7 comes wrapped in plastic, and packed in hard foam on either side. The first thing I always look for with hard foam, is if it’s still intact. Usually, when hard foam is broken, it means the package could have been mishandled or even dropped. Hard foam is designed to take the brunt of the damage from impact. In this case, the hard foam wasn’t damaged, nor was the stunning, German designed chassis. Once out of the plastic and foam, you see that the side panel window has protective plastic on both the inside and outside. This helps prevent scratches in the case the box is damaged during shipping. Once the panel is removed, you’ll find the manual and motherboard screws in a plastic bag, attached to the front IO cables. However, there’s much more to a chassis than the packaging. Let’s take a closer look at the AI7, both inside and out.

Aside for the chassis, there’s not too much that comes packed in the box

A Closer Look - Exterior

The AI7 with the LED fans all lit up

The top down view of the AI7

The front IO panel, with 5.25” bay

The AI7 from Anidees is constructed from steel and plastic. Measuring 380mm x 288mm x 380mm, and weighing in at 5.9kgs (13lbs.) , it’s by far, the most compact, full size ATX case. The front panel of the AI7 has a single 5.25” bay directly above its front IO. The front IO of the AI7 consists of 2 x 3.5 mm jacks. One for a mic, and the other for audio. There are also 2 USB 2.0. One is on the far left, the other on the far right directly below the 5.25” bay. On the inside of each USB 2.0, are 2 USB 3.0 posts. Below the front IO is a very large mesh panel. This allows for air to be drawn in through the front by either 1 x 200mm fan, or up to 4 x 120 mm fans. The Top of the case also has a mesh panel. This panel can be removed for cleaning. Its main purpose is to act as a kind of dust filter. When removed, it exposes a spot for 2 additional 120mm fans. On either side of the chassis, there is a removable steel panel, one having a plastic window. Each panel measures 336mm x 368mm, or about 13.25” x 14.5”. One panel has a small vented section where the power supply is. Where the other has a plastic window so you can see inside of the case. The underside of the case has a small, removable dust filter underneath a spot for a 120mm fan on the inside of the chassis. There are also 4 round, plastic feet on the underside of the chassis. These feet make pulling out the dust filter very simple. Due to the fact that’s it’s a cube case, the rear of the case isn’t your average ATX case layout. The IO shield for the motherboard id near the middle and top of the rear panel. The rear panel has support for both a 120mm fan on the motherboard side, and a 90mm fan on the power supply side. The power supply in installed on its side, opposed to being either fan up or fan down. Although you could technically install it with the fan facing either in or out, its assumed and highly recommended to install it with the fan facing out. This way, the vented section lines up with the fan on the power supply, and you can utilize the magnetic dust screen. Over all, I’d say the AI7 is a great looking case on the outside. However, as PC builders and Enthusiasts alike, we know its what’s on the inside that matters. So now let’s get into the AI7.

The right side panel has a vented spot above the power supply

The rear of the case as it looks empty

This is the latch that locks the top mesh panel in place

This is the top view with the mesh panel removed

Here we see the see the front panel removed to expose the dust filter.

Here are the front view, rear view and the top view.

A Closer Look - Interior

The inside of the motherboards chamber

This is the top down view with the top mesh panel removed. You can install 2 x 120mm fans, 2 x 140mm fans or, with the hard drive sleds removed, a 240mm radiator.

The inside view from the back left corner shows off the inside of the front panel

Here we see the hard drive sleds above the motherboard tray

The rear exhaust can support either a 120mm fan or radiator

Like with all cases, I started by removing all the panels that can be removed. Once removed, the front panel reveals the massive, full cover dust filter covering the 4, 120 mm, blue LED fans that come preinstalled. The motherboard chamber does come with rubber grommets for cable management. However, in my build, they were covered up by the full size ATX motherboard. That being said, there is still ample room for cable management in this case. I do feel that this case was more designed with MITX or MATX boards in mind. I do love the fact that you’re able to fit a full ATX board in such a compact case. Above the motherboard tray are 2 x 3.5/2.5” drive bays. You can put 3.5” hard drives, 2.5” SSDs or hard drives, or remove them and install a 240mm radiator. The front panel has support for 2 x 240mm radiators, and the rear can support a single 120mm radiator. On the floor of the front, or motherboard chamber, there is also support for a single 120mm fan. However, I feel as if I could cram a single 120mm radiator in there too.

Now, we take a look behind the motherboard tray, or the rear chamber. The first thing I noticed was the way the power supply gets installed. In this case, it’s not fan up, or fan down. In the AI7, you install the power supply on its side, with the fan facing out. The right side panel even has a small vent with a magnetic dust filter that is right over the placement of the fan. Directly above the power supply is a hard drive cage. It holds a 2.5” drive on the outside of the cage and up to 2 x 3.5” or 2.5” drives inside of the cage. This cage also has a nice feature. It’s on hinges, and can swing open once a single thumb screw is removed. This is a great feature. The idea is to be able to access the rear of the motherboard. However, the cage just doesn’t open far enough. None the less, a great idea. Right behind the hard drive cage, there is a spot for a 90mm fan. In theory, this could help to cool down the hard drives.Another great feature, that not enough companies implement, are the cable management loops on the rear of the motherboard. These little loops can make or break the aesthetic of a build. I feel they are necessary to a clean build. On the floor of the rear chamber, there is a fan hub, controlled by a 3 speed switch on the rear of the case near the 90mm fan slot, 5, 7, and 12 volts. This fan hub holds 6 fans and came in very handy. Especially since my board only had 4 fan headers and the case has 8 fans installed. With the front panel having all 4 fans drawing air in, then the top, bottom and rear exhausting air, this case has perfect airflow with plenty of fresh air to the graphics card.

This is what the rear, or power supply chamber looks like with the panel removed

Here is the hard drive cage on the rear of the motherboard tray.

Here we see the hard drive caddies and the fan hub in the rear chamber

Build and Installation

For my build in the AI7, these are the components I used

• Asus Z97-A/USB 3.1 Motherboard
• Intel I7 4790k at 4.8ghz @ 1.372 volts
• Lepa EXllusion 240 AIO Cooler w/ Corsair SP120s
• 32gbs of Corsair Vengeance DDR3 4 x 8gb
• RM850 with white sleeved cables
• EVGA GTX Titan X SC

Even with the AI7 being a rather compact case, the 8 120mm case fans help to promote excellent airflow and great temperatures. My 4790k, running at 4.8 ghz @ 1.372 volts idles at 24°c. Even at 100% load, never went over 67°c, cooled by my Lepa EXllusion 240 AIO cooler.That’s 3°c cooler on the ambient temp and 2°c cooler on the load temp than in my 760 T. The extra room in the rear chamber made cable management a breeze. Especially with the sleeved cables, I was able to route and pack all the cable in the rear chamber and still be able to make them neat and clean. I would however, likes the front IO cables to have been a bit longer. But honestly, that’s just nit picking. While building in the AI7, you can tell that a great amount of though and attention to detail when into the engineering of the case. For example, there is a small area where the CPU cable can be routed and nothing gets in its way, nor does it get in any other wires ways. Its little things like that that stand out and are appreciated by builders and enthusiasts a like. Nothing is worse than having to run cable where they’re not meant to be. They can prevent panels from closing correctly as well as other issues.

The view with the side window panel off

Even though the board went to the floor, there was more than enough room to work

The 240mm AIO first perfect in the front of the chassis and still looked good.

Even with the radiator in the front, I was able to fit a Titan X with room to spare.

There is plenty of room for cable management in the AI7

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

If I learned one thing reviewing this case, it’s that you no longer need a full tower chassis to fit a large amount of hardware. When shopping for cases, I’ve always looked into full cases that support EATX motherboards. However, the AI7 from Anidees has shown me that it’s not necessary. I was actually able to achieve better temperatures in the AI7 than I did in my 760 T. With mora and more people downsizing these days, the Anidees AI7 is a great deal, especially at the price of only $99.99 on Newegg. The combination of the price, quality, beauty and ease of building in the AI7, I award the Anidees AI7, the Proclockers “Best Value” award. I have personally ever built such a clean, organized build in such a small case. I’m very proud to have the AI7 now sitting on my desk. If you’re looking for a smaller case that sacrifices nothing but desk space, do yourself a favor and pick up an AI7 from Anidees.

Likes

• Excellent Airflow
• Beautiful Design
• Easy to Work With
• Great for Cable Management
• Plenty of Radiator Support

Dislikes

• None

Introduction

It seems that we are now in the era of small form factor builds. More and more people are swaying away from full and even mid tower cases. This is evident in the number of MATX and Mini ITX cases hitting the market as of late. However, what about those of us who like to put full, custom loops in our system. There are also many enthusiasts and gamers alike that can’t use the small form factor motherboards due to the lack of features that many smaller boards have to offer. For me, it’s an EATX motherboard all the way. For many of us in the community, a full tower chassis is just the way to go. If you also fall into this category, then Anideé has us covered with their AI8 Full Tower Chassis. Some of you may have read my AI7 Cube Chassis review. If so, then you’ll know how I praised Anideé for its excellent German design and engineering of the AI7. Being that this is a different case all together, will it hold up to the standards I’ve personally come to hold Anideé to? As always, we here at Proclockers would like to thank the people at Anideé for making this review possible. Let’s take a look and see how well the AI8 holds up to the competition. But first, allow me to tell you a little bit about Anideé.

About Anideé

The story of Brand name anidees was from English first " an idea " but they play it to plural and it turns to " an ideas" but since the most ideas we collected for our product are from Europe. So they change idea to idee (German, Dutch, France), with plural form it turns to " anidees” Anidees is a design company. Their main focus is on product design and provide value add items to customers. Our slogan is " Ideas from you". Anidees aim is to be a brand and or company who listen to users and make " simple, elegant, and quality " products to their customers.

Specifications and Features

• AVAILABLE COLOR          
  
  • Black
• MATERIAL          
  
  • Steel body / Plastic + Mesh bezel
• DIMENSION (D / W /H )440*230*530mm
• WEIGHT Net Weight
  
  • 8.5 kg / 18.7 lbs
• MOTHERBOARD TYPE
  
  • M-ITX, M-ATX, ATX, E-ATX(12"x13" EEB)
• 5.25” DRIVE BAY
  
  • 2             
  • 3.5” HIDDEN
  • 4
  • 3.5” EXPOSED
  • 1 (converted from one 5.25’’Drive Bay)
  • 2.5” DRIVE BAY
  • 4 (2 from 2.5” HDD Cage)
• I/O PANEL
  
  • USB3.0 *2, USB2.0 *3, Fan Controller, Audio* 1, Mic *1
• EXPANSION
  
  • 8
• FAN CONTROL
  
  • H Mode=12V, S mode=0V, L Mode=5V
• COOLING SYSTEM
  
  • Front:120mm Blue Led fan * 3,1100RPM (Included), 2x140mm
  • Rear:140mm x 1 (included)
  • Top:140/120mm x 2 (optional)
• POWER SUPPLY
  
  • Standard ATX PS2 / EPS (optional)
• MAXIMUM COMPATIBILITY
  
  • Graphics Card Length: 355mm (Remove HDD Cage)
  • CPU Cooler Height: 175mm
• Water Cooling:
  
  • 120/140/240/280mm Rad with on the top (Optional)
  • 240/280/360 mm Rad in the front (Optional)
  • 120/140 mm Rad in the rear (Optional)
• MODEL & EAN CODE
  
  • Standard version: AI-08B
• EAN Code:6952093600268
• UPC Code:848043000263

Features and Specifications

The AI8 from Anideé is an extremely spacious chassis with support for E-ATX (12"x13" EEB), XL-ATX, ATX, m-ATX, mini-ITX motherboards. Along with that, the top supports up to a 280mm radiator and the front up to a 360mm radiator, or a 280. The AI8 also has a removable 5.25” bay to allow for more room. The front IO sports 3.5mm audio and mic jacks, 2 USB 3.0 and 3 USB 2.0. A 3 step fan controller on the front IO connects to an integrated 5 fan control hub on the rear on the of the case. Also in the rear of the motherboard try sits 2 SSD trays. My favorite feature of the AI8 has to be the dual PSU design. There are spots to mount power supplies on either the top or the bottom of the case. This is an excellent feature that not nearly enough cases offer.

Packaging

The outside of the AI8 packaging

The AI8 comes packed in a plain looking, large brown box. Like the AI7, it’s wrapped in plastic and packed in hard foam. This helps to prevent any damage to the actual case while shipping.

This is how the AI8 will come packed

You can always tell if the package was handled properly. When it’s opened, if the hard foam is cracked at all, that’s a sign of mishandling. However, if the foam is all in one piece, usually the item is as well. As for this case the foam is all intact and no damage to the cased at all. Aside from the case itself, you’ll also find a bag of screws, washers, zip ties and a few extra standoffs. Lastly, was the user manual that packed inside the case with the bag of screw.

Here we see the AI8 unpacked in all its glory

Here are how the accessories come packed in the AI8

A Closer Look (exterior)

The AI8 comes with 3 120mm blue LED fans installed in the front of the case

Once unpacked, you can truly appreciate the German engineering and design. It’s a stunning chassis.  Standing 440 x 230 x 530 mm, and constructed out of steel and plastic, the AI8 is a massive case. The front panel IO has a 3 speed fan controller which also controls the brightness of the LED fans. Also in the front IO are the standard 3.5mm Mic and Headphone jacks. The AI8 also has plenty of USB connectivity with 3 USB 2.0 and 2 USB 3.0. Of course you also have the power and reset buttons as well. Directly behind the front IO is a mesh panel covering the top of the case. This mesh panel is slightly raised all around the top to allow air to be drawn in or expelled. When removed, you see there is room for up to a 280mm radiator or 2 140mm fans. One the front of the case, there are 2 5.25” bays right about a massive mesh panel covering the 3 120mm blue LEDs that come preinstalled in the AI8. Under the front mesh panel, you see there is room for up to either a 360 mm radiator or a 280mm radiator. The side panel is sporting the Anideé logo on the bottom right corner as well as a plastic window. The windowed side panel is held on by 4, not 2 thumb screws. A feature I personally love. In my opinion, you can’t have enough thumb screws.

The front IO of the AI8

These small ports go all around the top mesh panel to allow for air flow.

Hear you can see the top of the AI8 with the top panel removed.

The front panel can support up to a 360mm or a 280mm radiator

On the rear of the case, you see the 8 horizontal expansion bays and one vertical expansion bay. The one vertical bay is great for a USB expansion that plugs into a USB header or some kind of blower style exhaust fan to expel some additional heat.  The AI8 comes with a 140mm exhaust fan preinstalled. The stock fans from Anideé are actually relatively quiet and move a fair amount of air. Directly above the 140mm fan is a spot that at first glance, I thought was for a 90mm fan. Which does fit by the way. However, after a closer look, I noticed that it’s a removable plate. It then dawned on me that this is a dual power supply case. You have 3 options, the average bottom mounted power supply, you can top mount the power supply, or if you need it for whatever reason, you can run two power supplies in the AI8 chassis and still have room for an EATX motherboard. Next to the top plate, there are 2 holes with rubber grommets. These holes are for if you wanted to mount a 120mm radiator on the outside of the case. The holes allow you to run tubing for the inside out and back in again. We now make our way around to the rear of the AI8 and we see a solid rear panel. Like the windowed panel, this one is too held on by 4 thumb screws. When flipped over, you see the four feet to elevate the AI8 off whatever surface you sit it on. There’s also the dust filter for the power supply and 3 additional thumb screws, used for removing the 3.5” hard drive bays.

This is a view of the solid side panel.

Bottom panel with PSU fan filter

This is a shot of the Front, Top and Rear of the AI8

A Closer Look (Interior)

The AI8 is very spacious and easy to work in.

Once the side panels were removed, the true beauty of the AI8 started to shine through.  It’s a very solid case with almost no flex with the side panels removed. The amount of headroom inside the chassis was the first thing I noticed. Granted this is due to the fact that you can top mount the power supply. Where most people bottom mount the power supply, this makes it so the AI8 could have some amazing radiator support. Also at the top are 2, removable 5.25” bays. The inside of the AI8 is an absolute dream for cable management.  With a total of 8 spots to route cables, there’s almost no way to not make a build in this case look clean, even with the worst cables. On the floor of the AI8 is a hard drive cage that holds 2 3.5” hard drives. On the top of this hard drive cage, you can mount an ssd or even a 2.5” hard drive.     

The AI8 has removable 3.5” hard drive bays

Here we see the massive amount of room in the top of this case

The large cut out allows for easy access to the rear of the motherboard.

This rear facing shot shows off the mounting bracket to top mount a power supply

Here’s a closer look at the power supply mounting bracket to top mount a power supply

As you can see here, the AI8 has ample space for cable management behind the motherboard tray.

You can install 2 SSDs behind the motherboard tray

This is a close up of the fan controller hub

On the rear of the case, behind the motherboard tray, we find ample room for cable management. Yet another great feature of the AI8 is the rather large cut out behind the motherboard. This may not seem like that big of a deal. However, someone such as myself, who upgrades and review coolers quite a bit will appreciate this. Due to the size of the cut out, it’s not necessary to remove the motherboard every time you need to switch out the cooler. For someone like me, this will save me a lot of time when dealing with coolers.   Just below the cut out are two hidden SSD sleds. This gives you a total of 3 spots dedicated to SSDs. The AI8 has something any builder would love to see, cable management loops for zip ties. Every case should have them.  They add to the aesthetic, and to the perceived value of a case as well as.   Up near the top left, we see the fan hub for the 3 speed switch on the front IO. You can attach and control up to 5 fans using this hub. Yet again another feature that Anideé adds in that makes this case that much more appealing to the perspective buyer. 

The AI8 has a number of zip tie loops to assist with cable management

The Build

Test System

• I7 6700k @ 4.5 ghz and 1.30 volts
• EVGA GTX 1080 SC ACX 3.0
• Corsair H115i
• Asus Z170-AR
• 16gb of Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR4 2400 mhz
• Corsair RM850

Once the system and windows were both installed, I overclocked the 6700k to 4.5 ghz at 1.30 volts. The Corsair H115i was able to idle at 31°c and at load, never went over 73°c while under load with an ambient temperature of about 21°c. Much like building in the AI7, the AI8 was an absolute pleasure to build in, even without sleeved cables. The amount of head room allowed the H115i to be installed with no issues at all. If I had them, I could have added an additional 2 fans to the radiator for a push pull configuration.  Even with a full sized ATX motherboard, all of the cable management grommets are still exposed leaving tons of room to route cables.  I chose to mount the power supply on the floor of the case for better cable management.

The Z170-AR installed in the AI8

As you can see, even with the H115i installed, there is still plenty of room in the top of the case.

The amount of cable management grommets made keeping this build clean very easy,

Even with a full length GTX 1080 installed, there is still a ton of room in the front of the case as well

The 5.25” bays can be removed for additional room

Here you see an 850 Evo from Samsung installed in one of the SSD sleds on the rear on the motherboard tray

On the rear of the motherboard tray, the SSD was installed in one of the SSD sleds near the bottom right of the rear of the case. I was forced to use the stock cable that came with the RM850. Since this was a new build, the sleeved cables weren’t in just yet. With that being said, the excellent layout of the AI8 allowed for good cable management even using stock cables. This says a lot to me about this case. There are very few cases once can achieve decent or even good cable management with stock cables in. Just another check in the win column for the AI8.

The complete build from the back

The complete build from the front

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

Although cases are a very subjective component in every build, as enthusiasts, I think we can all appreciate a great case when we see one. However, a case isn’t all about aesthetics. It’s about the entire experience as a whole. The ease of building in the case, the amount of hardware one can fit into a case and how the system performs in the case. I’m happy to say, the AI8 from Anideé has it all. The system performed flawlessly in this case and looked great to boot. Personally, I had expected this case to ring in at $150 or even higher. Imagine my surprise when I found it on Newegg for only $109.99* The combination of the price, quality and pure beauty of the AI8 for Anideé has won them the Proclockers “Editor’s Choice” award. This is the second case from Anideé that I’ve reviewed and the second case from Anideé that I’ve fallen in love with. If you’re looking for a full tower for an amazing price, look no more.

Pros

• Beautiful Design
• Plenty of room for cable management
• Very easy to build in
• Solid construction
• Fan Hub and Controller
• Excellent Price for a Full Tower

Cons

• None

Introduction

Looking for a good gaming case that can house your gaming hardware, got good ventilation, aesthetics and doesn't break the bank? Cougar got a case for you! Coming in at $59, the Cougar MX310 chassis will house your gaming hardware and cool it with style. Follow us today as we check it out.

ProClockers would like to thank Cougar for sending us the MX310 chassis to review.

About Cougar

Real Gear for Real Gamers

Created in 2007 by a group of engineers, COUGAR has been devoted since its first day to a single objective: to endow every single product with a superb quality, a rich functionality and a distinctive design. This aspiration moved us during our first years in the PC case, PSU and fan market. Our efforts bore their fruits in the form of user satisfaction, many praising reviews and prestigious design awards such as the 2010 design & innovation award, organized by iF at Computex Taipei 2010.

COUGAR has grown from its birthplace in Germany to become one of the global leaders in gaming hardware, managing to become a success in markets like the USA, Russia, Australia, Thailand, Korea, Japan, Brazil and many more, and bringing great value gamers all around the world. We won’t stop until COUGAR products become the new standard for gaming gear, never forgetting that we do real gear for real gamers.

Features and Specifications

Super Functional Gaming Mid-Tower Case

MX310 is a case for those who want a courageous, attractive design that does not fall into extravagance, for those who want to build a full powered gaming pc without giving lots of space to a massive case, for those who enjoy practical functionality at affordable prices. MX310 is, in short, a case for SMART gamers. A case for YOU.

Gaming-inspired inner design with dual color black-orange coating.

With its frontal fascia inspired in gaming themes and a highly energetic internal orange/black design, MX310 manages to provide a out of the ordinary gaming design that will look great anywhere.

Manual fine-tuning of fan speed for two fan groups (up to 4 fans)

This will allow you to control fan speed directly from the game, without needing to get out of it and open any software. For even more accurate adjustment, we have divided the fans in two separate groups, which will allow you to enjoy a very high level of control of your computer's internal airflow.

Support for 5 fans

Front 120mm fans x 2 (optional)

Top 120mm fans x 2 (optional)

Rear 120mm fan x 1 (pre-installed)

Advanced USB3.0 ports for maximum data transfer speed.

High Speed Device Charger

MX310's top panel includes a 2.1 A USB device charger, perfect for recharging your smartphone or tablet device! Apart from this, its design allows you to place many of those devices directly on the case while they charge, and thus avoids their getting in the way while you game!

Acrylic transparent side cover design.

See the internal components of your computer in action!

Support for longer high-end graphics cards up to 310mm.

Enjoy the latest games in their full power

Screw-less drive bays for 5.25" devices x 3.

Expand your computer's capabilities

2.5" HDD/SSD x 3 ; 3.5" HDD trays x 3.

Extended storage: Games, work and whatever you need can fit into MX310

Highly Cleanable Design

Easily cleanable and detachable air filters on the front & bottom cover allow you to keep your computer clean and protected from dust.

Smart and Flexible Design

7 PCI vented slots provide flexibility and ventilation performance for multiple graphics cards solutions.

Cables Under Control

Cable feed-through on the motherboard tray for easy routing and hiding of cables.

Support for Water Cooling

Two openings on the rear panel allow you to install water cooling solutions (with rubber protection)

Easy Change of CPU Cooler

The installation opening on the motherboard tray allows you to easily upgrade the CPU cooler.

Cooling and Airflow Diagram

Specifications

Unboxing and Closer Look

The Cougar MX310 case comes in a typical box packaging.

The accessories and user's guide are in a separate box inside the chassis.

Included accessories are a pack of screws, a PCIe slot shield, a 3.5-inch to 2.5-inch drive adapter, a 2.5-inch front bay cover and five cable ties.

Here's a look at the Cougar MX310 chassis from the sides. On the left side boasts an acrylic window panel for you to view the inside of the case. The acrylic is not clear but has a smoke color which I will discuss further on this review later. On the right side is a typical plain side panel but with a convex design which provides additional space behind the motherboard tray for cables.

Here's a look at the front and rear of the MX310 chassis. The front features a mesh-filled panel which can house two 120mm fans behind it. It also has three 5.25-inch bay slots for those that still use ODD drives and fan controllers. This case happens to have its own fan controller as well; two channels,  two fans per channel. The fan controller perfectly accommodates the two 120mm fans you can mount on top and on the front of the chassis if you do plan to populate them.

The bottom of the case is quite elevate from the surface. There's a removable filter beneath the PSU bay as well. The case feet are plastic given that this is a budget case.

The top has a mesh ventilation hole wherein you can mount two 120mm fans for exhaust. There's a bay for you to place devices to charge using the USB charging port near the front. Note that this charging port is directly plugged into the system power supply and not on the motherboard so there's no worry about overloading your motherboard's USB controller. However, the charging port will be feeding 12v and 5v line from the power supply. The reset and power buttons shown in the photo above are spring-loaded switches and there's the two power and HDD read blue LED indicators.

Before we take a look at the internals of the MX310, let me compile my observations about the case's externals and material. I have to say for a case on this price range, Cougar really poured the best components to maintain quality. The spring-loaded switch might be a small thing but I've seen other brands using cheaper switches for their cases on this price range. The removable fan filters are also those that you can see in cases priced around $100 and up. The added fan controller along with the top charging port and bay is also a huge plus. The Cougar MX310 offers a lot of functions indeed! Now let's see if this case will continue to impress us as we take a look at the internals.

Closer Look - Internal

Here's a glance at the internals of the Cougar MX310. What's strikingly noticeable about it is the orange colored motherboard tray area. Typical cases have an all black internal but not with the MX310. Although majority of the orange panel would be covered with other hardware, it does look good I have to say. Find out later on our build and installation part.

Here's the front of the MX310 with the front mesh panel removed. You can directly install the two 120mm fans from there without removing the entire front panel.

Here are the two 120mm fan mounts on top of the MX310 chassis. I decided to install the fan on the exterior part of the case to give more room inside. The fan does fit perfectly on this orientation even with the top panel.

Here's a look at the drive cages and drive mounting brackets. The drives doesn't have to be screwed into the brackets, it has a tool-less design that holds the drives secure.

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

Build and Installation

I will be using the following hardware below for this review.

• Processor: AMD FX-8370 8-Core Processor *see at amazon
• Motherboard: MSI 970 Gaming *see at amazon
• Memory: Kingston HyperX Beast 2400Mhz 2x8GB Kit *see at amazon
• Graphics Card: Palit GTX 660TI
• PSU: Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 850W 
• Hard Drives: 2 X 1TB Western Digital Caviar Blue *see at amazon
• Cooling:
  • CPU: Cryorig H7 *see at amazon
  • Fans: 2 x Noiseblocker NB-Multiframe *see at amazon
  •          2 x NZXT FN V2 *see at amazon
• Case: Cougar MX310 *see at amazon

The Cougar MX310 can pretty much house a mid-end to a higher end setup given the amount of space it offers. It might not have the necessary space and mounting slots for a custom watercooling setup without modifying the case, the top can house a 240mm radiator of an all-in-one watercooling. The backend of the case has good space for cable management. The main routing hole is slightly concaved to accommodate more cables. Sadly, the 8-pin ATX motherboard power cable was too thick to pass through the rear and the routing hole on the upper-rear behind the case so it was routed in front. The 4-pin molex connectors of the case are three; two for the two channels of the fan controller and one for the USB charging port that goes on top of the case. They are quite huge when plugged together but the case does have enough space at the back for them. It might look bad at the rear but these are not seen in front through the acrylic window anyway.

Here's a look at our finished build with the Cougar MX310 chassis with all the panels in place. Notice the smoke acrylic window which does have some advantages and disadvantages I have to say. Since the smoke acrylic window is not clear, details inside the case is somewhat hidden behind the shadows. Going for an entry-level system build, it's unlikely to have the best aesthetically appealing additions such as sleeves cables, LED lighted motherboards and graphics cards which tend to be limited to the mid-end and high-end tier. Basically, entry-level setups aren't the best when it comes to aesthetics and the building might want to hide the non-modular cabling of the power supply and SATA cables inside.

Even modular power supplies doesn't have the nicest stock cables and the MX310's smoke acrylic window hides it perfectly while the red LED lighting on the MSI 970 Gaming motherboard gives a nice accent on the build.

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

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

There are a lot of impressive things I found with the Cougar MX310. While it may not be the cheapest gaming case there is, for its price, it really offers a lot! The quality of the components in the Cougar MX310 is found to be very good. The switches, fan filters, USB charging port and bay as well as the addition of the 2-channel fan controller really gives good value to your money.

The case also offers excellent ventilation with a total of five 120mm fan mounting slots and the front mesh panel really helps deliver good cooling for the components inside. However, the noise levels and dust accumulation for this case isn't favorable due to its very generous cooling.

The smoke acrylic window is also a good addition in my opinion particularly for builders on a budgets and doesn't really have the coolest hardware to use. Using LED lighted hardware inside would really look cool while hiding the messy cables. You can find the Cougar MX310 case from Amazon and Newegg for $59. Having very useful features and good quality components, we will give the MX310 our Best Value award! We thank Cougar for giving us the MX310 to review.

Likes

• Feature-packed
• Good ventilation options
• Smoke acrylic window
• Quality components (switches, fan filters)

Dislikes

• None

Introduction

If you’ve been in the computer world any length of time at all, odds are you have probably heard the name In Win. It’s hard to think of the name without bringing images to mind of some of the most beautiful and innovate, and iconic products ever made. Legendary enclosures such as the one piece aluminum S-Frame, or the open air tubular skeleton of the D-Frame showcase In Win’s ability to break the status quo and deliver Innovative, beautiful and functional works of art, year after year.

More than a few of In Win’s cases are big, bold, ‘out of the box’ designs that may not fit everyone’s style, so how do you get a little more down to earth, but keep that unmistakable elegance and flair that only In Win can provide? By choosing the In Win 303 of course! Today we will be taking a look at this elegant combination of steel and tempered glass. The dual chamber and water-cooling friendly mid tower, with its clean and modest design, is equally at home on your office desk or your gaming station.

In Win’s highlights of the 303 Chassis:

Exquisitely Modest Aesthetic Design

The IN WIN team presents the 303, a simple, yet elegant computer chassis crafted from steel and tempered glass. The distinctively clean front panel is complemented with a bright LED design to balance the overall appearance.

Radiant Luminosity

The IN WIN logo is highlighted “Neon” as well as the lucent stripped I/O front panel. These gorgeous LEDs also have the purpose of indicating when the PC is activated.

Accelerated Tool-less Design

In Win has set a standard for being an innovative computer hardware company. Mission accomplished with the 303 since it has perfected a tool-less design by being able to remove the beautiful 3mm tempered glass side panel by just pressing the handle.

User Friendly Dust Filter

This easily accessible dust filter has an embedded design for quick removal. It’s conveniently located on the bottom, and removing dust has never been easier.

Versatile Cooling Options

Overall, the 303 can accommodate two radiators (top and rear) and three fans at the bottom providing users with a well-cooled rig. The cool air intakes from the bottom creates efficient air flow for quick heat dissipation.

In Win's Attention to Detail

The 303 is constructed with 1.2mm SECC, supports 2.5”and3.5” drive bays, and its separate PSU chamber provides an ideal climate without interfering with the motherboard and graphics card area. The specialized GPU holder can provide extra support to graphics cards. Yet another detail IN WIN oversees and manufactures to make PC building much easier.

We would like to thank In Win for sending Pro Clockers the 303 Mid Tower Chassis for review. This case boasts a very impressive feature set for a chassis in this price range, so let’s dive in and see what secrets the 303 has in store for us!

Head over to the next page for the packaging and what’s in the box.

Content and Packaging

The 303 arrived in a plain brown box with “In Win” in large black letters on a top flap, the distinctive In Win logo on one side and a blue and black “303” on the other.  The ends of the box are much more detailed and give a quick rundown of key specifications and features, as well as some indicators for the shipping carrier to warn of the fragile nature of the tempered glass contents. The box is fully taped up on every seam, so there is very little chance of the box accidently coming open during transport.

Opening the box up, we find that the case is well protected, fully wrapped in a black cloth bag to protect from dust, dirt and scratches, and the entire assembly is floating centered in the middle of the box. Custom Styrofoam supports on all 8 corners keep the case spaced away from the side of the box a good distance to prevent any bumps and bangs from causing damage to the case.

Inside the box, we also find a very nice, clear, reusable zipper style bag that contains the user manual and case hardware. Included is the screws for all of the drives you can possibly install, the standoffs and motherboard mounting screws, the GPU support bracket (more on that later), a small mountain of fan screws, in case your fans don’t come with them, and a handful of zip ties for cable management. All of the individual baggies are clearly labeled as to the contents and use of each type of hardware. The user manual has all of the information you need in several different languages to assemble and use this chassis.

Specifications and Features

Features

The 303 boasts a surprisingly large list of features that set it apart from its competition, many of which cost quite a bit more.  We’ll go over our own list of highlights here and then look at them a bit closer over the next few pages.

• A One Piece Tempered Glass Side Panel

Gone are the days where a simple steel side panel with plastic covered hole will please enthusiasts, In Win’s 303 features a striking, one piece 3mm thick tempered glass side as one of its most prominent features. Smooth rounded edges, a smoky tint and minimal viewing obstruction from the mounting mechanisms showcase nearly all of your build with an elegance plastic can only dream of.

• Tool-less design

Both the Tempered glass left side panel with its easy, one touch handle, and the vented steel right side panel with its captive thumb screws can be removed quickly with no tools giving you quick and easy access to your internals.  The two 2.5” drive trays in the front, and the two 2.5”/3.5” combination drive trays in the rear of the case can also be easily removed with no tools allowing rapid installation or replacement of all of your drives.

• GPU support bracket

Modern GPU’s are large and powerful devices that require sophisticated cooling solutions that often weigh a good deal. With all of the heat pipes, fans, and cooling fins required to keep them operating at a safe temperature, and liquid cooling solutions that can weigh even more, users often find themselves with a sagging video card.  With a GPU only being supported by the screws in one corner, this places an incredible amount of strain on the motherboard socket and PCI-e edge connector, and while a sagging GPU can not only look bad, it can cause irreversible damage to your hardware. In Win has thoughtfully included an adjustable GPU support mechanism into this case to transfer the strain of your GPU to the steel chassis and away from your components.

• Lighted Front IO Panel

On the front of the case you can find In Win’s logo that lights up a bright neon blue, as well as a unique illuminated front IO Panel.  In Win dubs this their “lucent stripped I/O front panel” and the dual USB 2.0 ports, dual USB 3.0 type-A ports, and 3.5mm headphone and microphone ports are all outlined in the same LED lit neon blue as the logo. While beautiful, this is also functional and serves as the power indicator in place of a traditional single led.  The glow effect is noticeable in daylight, but the effect is really a star when the lights are dimmed.

• Fan Filter

An easily removable and reusable fan filter is seamlessly integrated into the lower intake of the case to provide a dust free and worry free experience.

• Dual bay design

A separate top chamber for your power supply and up to a 360mm radiator keeps a large amount of heat separated from your sensitive components below.

• High Air flow

Up to 3x 120mm fan spaces in the bottom of the case, 3x 120mm fan spaces in the top chamber, and 1x 120mm fan on the rear of case provide the ability to move a massive amount of air through this chassis to provide extreme cooling. This thoughtful design works well with the natural tendency of warm air to rise and creates an efficient path for heat to quickly leave the case, keeping your components nice and cool.

Closer Look – Exterior

Let’s start with a tour of the exterior of the case.  The entire left side of the case is a monolithic pane of tempered glass. There is no frame, only a narrow bar at the bottom that has tabs that lock into the bottom of the chassis, and the narrow band at the top that contains the latching mechanism along with the low profile exterior handle. The entire side can be released and removed by simply depressing the button on the top inside of the handle, tilting the panel outwards a bit, and lifting it clear of the chassis. Closing it is even easier, simply set the tabs on the door bottom into the slots on the case, and tilt it closed until you hear it latch. No more wrestling with getting the top and bottom aligned at the same time, no more case screws in holes that never quite line up right, no more headaches. If you are someone who gets into your machine frequently, you will really love this setup!

Next, we’ll move around to the rear of the case. Here you can find the usual ATX I/O areas including the motherboard I/O and 7 card expansion slots. Just to the outside of the motherboard opening, you can find a 120mm fan space that can also be used for a single 120mm radiator, such as what hybrid GPU’s and some ‘All in One’ coolers use. At the top, we see the ATX Power supply area that can handle even the longest and largest power supplies thanks to the innovative dual chamber design that runs the length of the case.

One thing to note is that the power supply can only be mounted in one direction. On most power supplies, this will leave the main intake fan facing the windowed side of the case rather than the grill on the right side. If you water cool, this could leave your PSU sucking in the already warm exhaust of your radiator. While many high end power supplies boast temperature tolerances fit for an industrial environment, this could put extra strain on a heavily taxed power supply, so keep that in mind. I did find while mounting the power supply, that the PSU is designed to rest fully on the bottom of this compartment rather than only hanging from the screws. Those with heavy, high wattage power supplies will probably like this, but it did make the mounting screw holes a bit more snug than usual.

Another thing to notice is the Motherboard I/O shield is only held on the two longer sides, allowing it to slide several millimeters up and down after installation. This allows the shield to adjust a bit for perfect alignment, but relies on audio or video ports, Wifi antenna jacks, or something similar on your motherboard protruding through the shield to keep it in place over its own springy mounting. Having run across cases with I/O shields that don’t line up 100% myself, I kind of like it, but I’ll leave this up to you to decide if it’s a good thing or not.

The last thing to point out, the expansion card area is covered only by the removable blanks. There are no strips between them like most cases, so if you remove the blanks, you can open this entire area up. This keeps the normal strips of metal from partially obscuring recessed ports such as HDMI and Display Port on your GPU.

 Moving on around to the right side, we find a smooth door with a rather unique stamped honeycomb grill design for the main case exhaust, and two low profile captive thumb screws to secure it. It installs and removes nearly the same way as the glass panel, and in fact can be mounted on the left side of the case in place of the glass panel, however, the class door cannot be installed on this side, although I’m really not sure why you would want to anyway.

Moving around one last time, we get a good view of the sleek front of the case.  The front is adorned only with the power button, small reset button, a hard drive activity led, and one of the other neat features of this case. The In Win logo and front I/O ports are all illuminated while the system is powered on in a pleasing neon blue color. The front ports consist of two USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 (Type A) ports, and the standard 3.5mm headphone and microphone jacks. The industry has been trending away from optical drives in favor of digital downloads and flash based media, so you will not find a 5.25” or even a 3.5” drive bay. If you require an external bay for a drive, or any another front bay device, you’ll have to come up with another solution.

Now let’s take a look at the inside.

Closer Look – Interior

Pulling both doors off allows easy access to every single corner in the case for installation and maintenance and In Win really didn’t overlook a single detail here.  The front (left side) of the interior space gives us the motherboard mounting area, which can handle boards form mini-ITX up to ATX. There is a large cutout behind the CPU area of the board space so that you can access any cooler mounting hardware located on the back of the board, very handy if you move from air to water cooling in the future as you won’t have to entirely disassemble your entire rig to do so. Next to the motherboard is a raised and slotted area for the GPU support bracket, giving you plenty of options to find a mounting position that works with your combination of hardware.

Following on the exterior tool free design, all 4 drive sleds can all be installed and removed quickly with only a captive thumbscrew securing them to the chassis. You will need a screw driver to attach your drives to the sleds initially, but the required screws are included in the hardware packet. The rear drive sleds can support either a 2.5” or a 3.5” drive, while the front facing sleds only support 2.5” drives. The front drive sleds can be mounted vertically towards the front of the case as shown above, or side by side as shown below, depending on the needs of your build.

The rear interior of the case gives us the Power supply bay up top, with plenty of cable routing holes in strategic locations for good wire management.  There is plenty of room to hide a mountain of wiring for semi and non-modular power supplies, as well as fan and lighting controllers, and about anything else you could find to stuff in here.

 The rear of the chassis internals is also where you can spy some of the little details In Win included that will make your life easier. The first one is the low Profile USB 3.0 header cable, it’s actually not much larger than the USB 2.0 header. These can be very large and obnoxious to deal with some times, but In Win made sure that won’t be the case here as you can see from the picture below. In addition to the small plug, the USB 3.0 cables are also flat and streamlined, which makes for easy routing.  The Power indicator for the front panel also comes with 2 pin and 3 pin spaced connectors and the wires are sleeved in a black tube to help it blend in.

Another VERY nice feature here, and probably one of my favorite details of this chassis, In Win designed all of the front panel cables, sans the USB 3.0 cables, with low profile plugs on the front panel side as well. The cables can all be removed for easy routing, if not needed, or to be sleeved easily. You can see this below with the USB 2.0 cable disconnected from the front panel.

One great idea made possible by this design is to remove your front I/O panel cables before you start building, and connect them to the motherboard while outside of your case where you can still see them, and get to the usually inconveniently placed headers quite easily. Once you install your motherboard, you simply route the cables back to the front of the case, and plug them in. Having to get the power switch, hard drive activity lights, and all of the other tiny connectors plugged in correctly in a dark, cramped corner has long been the bane of system builders and has turned more than one builders vocabulary into something even a proverbial sailor would cringe at. On behalf of builders everywhere, let me say, Thank you In Win!

Now let’s see what it’s like to build a complete system in this case!

System Build and Installation

For the In Win 303, the following hardware was installed:

• Intel: Core i5-4690K
• Gigabyte G1.Sniper 5
• Two Samsung 840 Evo SATA III 1TB SSDs and 2x Corsair Force GT 240GB SSD’s
• EK Supremacy Evo Water block
• 16GB G.Skill Sniper 1866Mhz Ram.
• 2X EVGA GTX 680 SC with XSPC Waterblocks in 2 way SLI
• EVGA SuperNOVA 850 G2 with EVGA single Sleeved Cable set.
• In Win 303 Mid-Tower
• Swiftech Micro Res II
• EK Vario D5 pump in a Monsoon MMRS standalone pump housing.

 For a mid-ATX tower, building in the 303 was a breeze, there is plenty of room to maneuver, and every fastener is easy to get to. It had plenty of room to place a full system with dual GPU’s and a custom ‘hardline’ water cooling loop in, without getting too cramped to be able to work on. The dual chamber design and attention to detail by In Win let me build and wire the entire system in a bit over an hour, with well most of that used bending the rigid acrylic tubing and filling the loop. Since this case has such high airflow with only a few good fans, I chose to forgo one of the bottom 120mm fans in place of mounting the pump. I REALLY enjoyed being able to remove the front panel I/O Wiring and get all of the cables connected before installing the motherboard into the case, and I certainly hope this becomes a common feature.
 

With the aid of the included GPU support bracket supporting the top GPU, you can see how it remains level and straight, while the lower GPU sags slightly under the weight of the heavy copper water block.

The back of the case contains the separate power supply bay, occupied here by an 850W unit from EVGA, two more solid state drives, and more than enough room for good cable management.

Since this case will likely be used with the case doors installed, rather than laying off to the side, here is a shot with the system closed up and powered on. You can see how elegant a little bit of lighting looks behind the smoky tempered glass door.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

In Win clearly wanted to bring its well-known style and attention to detail down to a price point that most can afford, and I have to say, by and large, they squarely hit their mark with this one. The first impression while unboxing was in no way diminished as the review progressed while exploring and building in this chassis. Despite being listed as a ‘gaming chassis’ on In Win’s website, The clean exterior and tinted glass window make this case fit just as comfortably into other roles as an office PC case under an executives desk, a front counter point-of-sale terminal, or on a folding table at your local LAN party. The overall quality is there, and the case feels very sturdy and well designed. The chassis does not bend or flex at all while picking up and moving the chassis around, even when loaded with a complete water cooled system.

My only nitpick, and this is kind of a stretch as it is, is this: With ample room available inside for multi-GPU setups, and the overwhelming majority of users having 2 video cards at most, I would have loved to see In Win include a second support bracket with this case to cover the majority of possible configurations. The mounting locations are available, and the design would permit more than one bracket used at a time if needed.

Running the system for a little while, the coolant was running about 2 to 5 degrees Celsius warmer than ambient from idle to load respectively with the ThermalTake Riing 12 RGB fans set to their minimum speed, and the Corsair fans controlled automatically by the motherboard. CPU and GPU temps stayed nice and cool with the 360mm radiator, even with the 4690K running at 4.6 GHz and the GPU’s bumped +200Mhz Core and +300Mhz memory. I wasn’t pushing for maximum overclock here, but putting a modest overclock on everything while only running one 360mm radiator with 3 fans and being able to keep temperatures well below anything dangerous is proof enough for me of the good air flow path of this case.

 The In Win 303 case, white and black models both, are or will soon be available through your usual vendors, and I feel this case is a great value for the money. Price as of this writing: NewEgg - $89.99

Introduction

Power. Innovation. Design.
Three simple words, yet a powerful mantra that perfectly sums up the spirit of Enermax. Since its inception in 1990, Enermax has grown from designing and producing power supplies and cases, to a worldwide brand with a broad portfolio of products ranging from audio devices to peripherals to advanced air and liquid cooling solutions. Even with all of these categories of products to work on, Enermax still puts the R & D time into its cases, one of which we will be looking at today.

Originally demoed as a prototype at the 2015 Taipei Computex, The Enermax Ostrog Advance chassis kept fans clamoring for a final version until it was finally released more than 6 months later at the 2016 CES Convention in Las Vegas. Sporting a staggering 262 LED’s, two matching Enermax T.B. Vegas fans (included) that work together through 6 different lighting effects, and 3 different matching color interior paint jobs, The Ostrog Advance is sure to turn heads no matter where you are.

Check out a quick Clip from the premier at CES:

We would like to thank Enermax for sending us a sample of this eye catching case to review!

Packaging and Specifications

The Ostrog Advance arrives in full color box showing all 3 currently available color options of this case, and the Ostrog Advance ‘LED Gaming Fortress’ logo front and center of the box.

The back side of the box gives you a detailed run down of all of the features of this case such as the removable drive trays, Liquid cooling support, the onboard fan and lighting controller, and even the various lighting modes this case is capable of right out of the box.

The sides of the box give a quick rundown of the specifications below.
 

• Dimensions: Depth:493mm Width:215mm Height:516mm
• M/B Support: ATX, Micro ATX, Mini ITX
• I/O: USB 3.0 x2, USB 2.0 x2, 3.5mm HD Audio, Fan Controller
• Vegas LED Modes: All on/Dimmed/Flash/Sparkle/Vegas/Off
• LEDs, M/B Tray and PCI Slot Cover Color: Blue (ECA3380AS-BL), Red (ECA3380AS-R), Green (ECA3380AS-GN)
• Drive Bays:
  • 5.25” x3
  • 3.5” x6 (hidden)
  • 2.5” x6 (hidden, converted from 3.5” trays)

• Expansion Slots: 7
• Fan Slots:
  • Front: 2x 120mm, 2x Enermax Vegas LED fans pre-installed
  • Rear: 1x 120mm, 1x Enerflo fan pre-installed
  • Top: 2x 120/140mm
  • Bottom: 1x 120mm
• Liquid Cooling:
  • Top: 240/280mm radiator (60mm max height clearance)
  • Rear: 120mm radiator
• PSU: Standard ATX PS2 (Optional)
• Maximum Compatibility:
  • VGA card length: 414mm
  • CPU Cooler Height: 174mm

Our box came with a rip in the cardboard front and some roughed up edges, but as you can see, the case inside is very well protected for shipping. Wrapped in a heavy plastic bag, and fully enclosed top and bottom in heavy molded Styrofoam, it could have survived much worse than it received with little worry. Even with all of that, it was nice to find the chassis window on the left side was covered in scratch protective film outside AND inside! It’s the little details that count.

Closer Look – Outside

The first thing you will probably notice when taking your Ostrog Advance out of the box is the boldly painted motherboard tray through the window. Our particular sample is a bold red, but blue and green are also available to match your personal preference. The left side panel window also extends out from the case about 2cm like a bay window and has nice beveled edges

Moving around the back of the case, we find the I/O slot covers are a contrasting mesh, painted to perfectly match the interior of the case, it’s kind of a shame we have to remove them to install our expansion cards.  Here we can see the power supply is mounted on the bottom of the case, and has mounting holes so that it can be installed with the fan up or down, depending on your needs.  We also find the 120mm rear fan location, occupied by the included Enerflow fan, the two grommet protected pass through holes for external water cooling gear, and the 6 thumbscrews, 2 for each door, and 2 for the removable top panel cover. We also find a fold out handle for making removing and installing the windowed door a little easier.

The bottom of the case hides the large lower fan filter that protects the Power supply and lower 120mm fan from taking in dust. There are also large non-slip rubber pads on each foot of the case.

The Right side of the case has as smooth, removable panel that is stamped into the same shape as the window, giving the case symmetry.

The Front of the case is where the magic happens. The entire front is a mesh, with the 3x 5.25” drive bay covers coming off easily by squeezing the tabs inward. The front 120mm Enermax TB Vegas LED fans are covered by a filtered mesh panel that can be removed with one press of the two quick-release ‘eject’ buttons. The entire front is ringed with the translucent front lens of the LED lighting effect that gives this chassis its signature look.

Last, but certainly not least stop on the exterior tour is the top of the case. Housing all of the front panel I/O, 2x USB 3.0 Type-A ports, 2x USB 2.0 ports, 3.5mm headphone and Microphone jacks, power and reset buttons, it also has the lighting controls and 3 speed fan controller.

Closer Look – Interior

One of the hardest things about building in mid tower cases is finding room to just work and build. A fully loaded system with multiple GPU’s, a pile of storage drives, and high end cooling systems can fill up a case in a hurry, but Enermax has you covered, you can almost entirely disassemble this case with nothing more than your bare hands, giving you easy access to anything and everything. The 5.25” drive bays have tool free mounting mechanisms, which are great, but often don’t work well for things besides optical drives. No worries here, you can still use good old fashioned screws for those tricky bay reservoirs and front panel audio/VR devices if needed.

The six 3.5/2.5” drive sleds can be pulled right out of the cages with no tools, and if you have large video cards, you can pull half of the drive cage completely out of the case with 3 thumb screws to make more room. While not officially supported, those of you with hybrid cooled cards will be happy to note that this also gives you an additional 120mm space to mount a radiator if needed if you have too large of a power supply to use the lower 120mm mount.  If the quick release covers are not enough access for you, the top cover pops right off after removing two thumb screws from the rear of the case, and the entire front can be removed with a firm pull from the bottom. The usual motherboard standoff’s are preinstalled, and are removable if not needed. Extras are included as well.

Inside we also find a small brown box with the manual in a hand full of languages, a baggie of extra standoffs and screws as well as speaker for beep codes if your motherboard doesn’t already have one, zip-ties, and some nice, matching reusable cable wraps.

With the amount of lighting, fans and front panel I/O ports, it’s no surprise we find a large bundle of wiring on the back side of the motherboard tray. There are rubber cable glands in convenient areas for easy cable routing to the front, plenty of access to the rear side of the hard drive sleds, and a large area cut out of the motherboard tray for access to the back of the motherboard behind the CPU socket for cooler mounting. There are also several points built into the motherboard tray to secure wiring for good cable management.

The Front Panel Wiring consists of the usual USB 2.0 and 3.0 headers, Audio header cable, power and reset switches, and power and activity LED connetions. You can also find 2 Sata power connections, one for the LED lighting system, and one for the fan controller, as well as connections for the front fans, and an extra 3 pin fan conncection for the included rear fan. Sadly, there does not appear to be any way to expand the Vegas lighting beyond what is already included with the case if you already have more Enermax TB Vegas Fans.

System Build

Components used in this build:
Motherboard: Gigabyte G1.Sniper 5

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690k
Ram: Corsair Dominator GT 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3-2133Mhz
SSD’s:  Corsair Force GT 240GB x 2
GPUs: EVGA GTX 980 SC x3

PSU: Corsair RM1000
Fittings: assorted Monsoon
Pump: EK D5 Vario in Monsoon MMRS housing.

This case was entertaining to build in, being able to nearly fully disassemble it quickly made it much easier to build in than it would have been otherwise.  The motherboard I used is just slightly wider than standard ATX by about a 1 centimeter, it ended up blocking a good portion of the right side cable grommets so I had to run the 24 pin power cable and SATA cables through before I mounted the motherboard.

With a full system with triple video cards, I had a huge pile of wiring to deal with and I ended up stuffing most of the extra into the lowest hard drive tray. I was initially worried about the seemingly small space behind the motherboard tray to hide cables, but after I got done, I had forgotten the door on this side has the stamped area that matches the bay window on the other side, it provides quite a bit of room actually, so my fears were unfounded. I used zip ties here, choosing to keep the bundled Velcro style wraps for use on the cables to the back of the machine. They will fit through the stamped cable management points in the motherboard tray if you choose to use them inside, they are far too nice to hide behind the motherboard tray though.

Just out of curiosity, I tried a few different combinations of radiators in the Ostrog Adv. While not officially supported, I was able to place a single 120mm radiator in the front of the case in place of the removable hard drive cage. I was also able to place a thin/low profile 360mm radiator in the top of the case without modding, however, I was unable to place a fan on the bottom of the front most slot due to the ‘roof’ of the 5.25” bay, so this would provide little benefit without active air flow. If you don’t use much in the way of 5.25 bay devices and are a handy modder, this could be a possibility.