Phanteks Eclipse P300 Case Review

By Steven Lynch
published

Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Cooling & Test Configuration

In total, you can outfit this chassis with up to four 120mm fans and three 140mm fans or a combination thereof. The mounting locations in the front and top of the case can accommodate both sizes, while the rear exhaust fan location supports 120mm fans.

The two mounting locations in the front of the case can be fitted with a variety of 120, 240, and 280mm all-in-one coolers and radiators. Depending on the length of your graphics card(s), some coolers may be limited to a single fan configuration.

Even though all-in-one coolers can be mounted in the front of the case, most can't reach the CPU socket because of the fixed-length tubing. However, these locations are ideal for mounting radiators for water-cooled graphics cards. The rear exhaust fan location behind the CPU socket area supports 120mm radiators and all-in-one coolers in single and dual fan configurations.

Cable routing is surprisingly easy thanks in large part to the 1.5"-deep cable management channel behind the motherboard tray.

According to the listed specifications, this chassis can accommodate PSUs up to 160mm (6.3"). We tested power supplies as long as 190mm (7.5") without issue but, because of the location and orientation of the hard drive rack, you may be limited to using a modular power supply.

The Phanteks Eclipse P300 can be outfitted with coolers up to 160mm (6.3") tall. We were able to install a variety of air coolers, ranging from the NZXT Havik 140 to our standard test cooler, the Cooler Master Hyper T4. Working around the CPU socket area is easy enough, but it can get a bit tight if you're installing larger dual fan coolers.

Comparison Products
BitFenix Nova TG
Enermax Ostrog Lite

Test Configuration

MORE: Best Cases

MORE: All Case Content

Steven Lynch
8 Comments Comment from the forums
  • ark.4264
    This is the best case at low price <3
    Reply
  • g-unit1111
    Nice! Good to have some competition for the NZXT S340!
    Reply
  • jhanschu
    Although it would add a significant amount of testing, I would think that adding an intake fan to give users a better idea of the performance capabilities of this case. I understand out of the box testing, but also testing all cases configured similarly. For example, a single fan for intake and exhaust.
    Reply
  • JackNaylorPE
    One of the things that would have made this article a bit better is "apples and apples". When I look at CPU cooler reviews. I think, well didn't they go a bit overboard because the manufacturer did decide to supply this cooler with the fans they did, and it's unreasonable to make a consumer buy a cooler but to get it to work right, they need to replace the fans.

    On the other hand, a case manufacturer may supply a case to hit a certain target price point ... but, as in this case, they also provided (4) additional fan mounts. So, in order for me to evaluate the viability of this case, when you choose too compare it with two other cases, both of which have (2) fans installed, I'm left typing "Eclipse P300 Case Review " in the web search window looking for a review that is relevant and comes the cases on equal footing.

    Yes, out of the box testing is relevant, but w/o a standardized platform (2 intakes / 1 exhaust) for apples and apples comparisons, it doesn't tell me anything I need to know. And yes, we want more inatkes than exhaust because w/o that, the resistance from the air inlet filters will mean less air in that out. And that means not only dust carrying in dust but that dust will most likely be carried in by PSI and GFX card exhaust thru the rear case grilles.
    Reply
  • wifiburger
    i like my kingwin aluminium, 3 window case, it's about 15years old I refuse to trow it out :-)
    Reply
  • Xajel
    No Type-C now in 3Q17 !!, it should be already there in early 2017 not to mention now with both Ryzen and Intel's 8th gen natively support USB 3.1 g2..
    Reply
  • machinegunkenny
    I purchased a phanteks enthoo pro for my last build a couple years back and fell in love with it immediately. Phanteks makes a clean build easy to do and I was able to fit everything with room to spare. Went with a MSI z97 gaming 5 mobo, i5-4690k OC'ed that is air-cooled with an master cooler 212 EVO, MSI GTX 970 and 16gb 1866mhz RAM. I also put a red LED strip on bottom and added 2 red LED phanteks 140mm fans to the top. Everyone who sees it compliments me.
    Will most likely purchase phanteks cases from here on out.

    My one and only complaint is with the power button design. It is very common for it to get stuck when pressed and cause boot errors. This is because it is elongated and if you push off center, it can catch. I have to always press it with both index and middle finger to ensure it goes down evenly. This entry level tower looks to have the same button design. Don't let that deter you though...just be aware. The MANY pros out-weigh the one con.
    Reply
  • sandraa9513
    Not listed in the best PC cases?? That's easily the best case for 60$ ! And who really wants those ugly pre-installed fans anyway?..
    Also, since when is i5 a budget CPU? C'mon...
    Reply