Early Verdict
In the grand scheme of things, the Phanteks Eclipse P300 is decent enough chassis for the price. However, the addition of an intake fan or two would remedy the poor thermal performance, and updated drive caddies would also be a welcome improvement. At less than the price of an average AAA video game, it's still worth considering as an entry-level chassis with a tempered-glass side panel, but there are better performing choices in this price class.
Pros
- +
Tempered Glass Side Panel
- +
Low noise
Cons
- -
Poor Thermal Performance
- -
Backwards HDD Caddies
- -
Confusing specs
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Features and Specifications
Priced at just $60, Phanteks' latest entry-level chassis features a steel, plastic, and tempered glass construction and is painted black inside and out. This is a mid-tower case, and it weighs just over 13lbs.
Specifications
Exterior
The exterior of the Phanteks Eclipse P300 is fairly basic. There is a fan mounting location in the rear of the top panel that can be fitted with either a 120/140mm fan, radiator, or all-in-one cooler. On the right-hand edge of the top panel you will find two USB 3.0 ports, HD audio jacks, and a reset button. In the center of the top panel is an RGB LED power switch.
The front of the chassis is one large plastic panel with vertical vents for air intake at the top and bottom. The entire front lacks any drive bay openings and is completely devoid of features. It is attached to the chassis via metal push pins, and removing it is a simple matter of grabbing the lower edge and pulling.
This case features a 14” x 13” tinted tempered-glass side panel that lets you show off your system components; it's held in place by rubber-coated locating pins and thumbscrews. The panel on the opposite side of the chassis is solid metal and featureless, and it's held in place by captured thumbscrews. The bottom of the case has four rubber-coated plastic feet that keep the chassis from sliding. There is also a filtered hole for power supply ventilation.
Around back, you will find the standard motherboard I/O area, an opening for a bottom-mounted PSU, seven expansion card slots, and an exhaust fan mounting location that comes with a 120mm fan pre-installed from the factory.
The fan filtration system on the Eclipse P300 is fairly basic, consisting of a single standard nylon screen filter below the PSU. Although the press material shows fan filters covering the top fan mounting location and the vents in the front panel, our review unit arrived with only the PSU filter. We reached out to the company to see if this chassis does in fact come with magnetic filters or if they are an optional item. We'll update once we hear back.
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