BitFenix Nova TG Case Review

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By Thomas Soderstrom
published

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Benchmarks & Final Analysis

The Nova TG’s thermal results were a little shocking, and a stroke of luck was the only thing that allowed the test to complete: A recent cold-snap (of weather) at this test location brought ambient temperature down to 12°C, and the motherboard is set to thermal throttle the CPU at 115°C.

On the plus side, the Nova TG did a sufficient job of keeping the noise of our internal components…internal. Glass side panels are generally good for that, as are fascias that lack forward-facing vents.

High temperatures force a significant loss in our temperature-to-noise comparison. Cold weather was necessary to complete the Nova TG’s thermal evaluation.

The Nova TG’s low price makes it appear a good value in our performance-to-price comparison, in spite of its failing thermal performance.

Since our test hardware far exceeds the thermal maximums of most entry-level systems, we can’t completely recommend against the Nova TG to entry-level system builders. Yet the “entry level” wording should tell you something: BitFenix failed to disprove my observations of a glass side panel adding approximately $30 to a retail price. Instead, the Nova TG appears to be a $30 case with a $30 upgrade.

You may call that brutal, but the glass panel weighs two pounds more than the steel panel on the other side. And if someone were selling you an 11.4-pound, sheet-metal, mid-tower case, you’d certainly label that entry level. But perhaps the biggest indicator of this being a $30 case with a $30 upgrade is its lack of replacement slot covers for the included knock-outs: If you’re building a low-budget system for, say, gaming, by the time you’re ready to upgrade the motherboard you’re probably going to realize the graphics card needs an upgrade as well. And then you might as well leave the system as-is, dedicated to becoming someone else’s hand-me down. Slot cover problem solved.


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Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
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6 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Crashman
    One thing that I didn't get to in the review was that the SSD cage side that I had to remove was manufactured with two sets of holes, one set drilled and the other pierced and threaded. The drilled holes were for blind rivets, the threaded holes for screws.

    Lacking anything that resembled a dentist drill, I couldn't get access to the rivets without destroying the cage panel I removed. It would have been ridiculously easy for the manufacturer to use screws instead of rivets, since the machining was already done.

    Had they used screws for that panel instead of rivets, and had they included a couple slot covers, they might have found me a little more flexible in the final analysis.
    Reply
  • SirNathan
    Why the heck would they include 2x internal 5.25" drive bays? It seems pointless. Either make all 5.25" bays external, or use the extra space for 3.5" bays. What are people going to use internal 5.25" bays for, a couple Quantum Bigfoot hard drives?
    Reply
  • Crashman
    20053136 said:
    Why the heck would they include 2x internal 5.25" drive bays? It seems pointless. Either make all 5.25" bays external, or use the extra space for 3.5" bays. What are people going to use internal 5.25" bays for, a couple Quantum Bigfoot hard drives?
    This is a low-cost way of modernizing the look of a low-cost 90's chassis. The original chassis was for a case that had three external bays. Putting the front-panel connectors on top of the revised face panel put the squeeze on the top bay, and they only wanted one bay, so...the two empty bays are left to do nothing. But you can put a 3.5" drive adapter in them, or if you're tricky maybe even a multi-SSD adapter.

    Reply
  • Kennyy Evony
    make the entire case acrylic with glass panels for additional glossy look and stability. call it Ice slab
    Reply
  • Kennyy Evony
    oh, and have multiple acrylic layers that can be attached to outer case that would double up as a waterfall and as a reservoir for liquid cooling on outside of the case to dissipate heat even faster with thick wire frame against damage and white led lighting built in in such a way that the entire acrylic parts would absorb led light into a contemporary glow effect.
    Reply
  • Kennyy Evony
    or just call it thinking outside the box
    Reply