Supermicro Gaming S5 ATX Case Review

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Supermicro isn't typically associated with gaming products. However, the company's Gaming S5 ATX is riding a reputation for solid construction in the server business, hoping to attract enthusiast customers as well.

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Exterior Tour

A splash of color and the sheen of brushed aluminum separates its Gaming S5 from Supermicro’s traditional products. You're also looking at a sub-20” depth measurement. Given the company's traditions, we were expecting at least two feet. This might be the first Supermicro desktop component we’ve tested that actually fits atop most desks. Of course, you could also shove it under the desk. But then I’d wonder why you want to hide it. Either way, the pair of USB 3.0 ports, headphone and microphone jacks are lined up along the top of the front panel to ease access from either location.

A pop-out panel at the bottom of the front face features mesh backing to catch large dust particles. Two 120mm intake fans behind the filter can be upgraded to your choice of 120 or 140mm replacements.

Supermicro includes (but does not install) the two grommets for its rear-panel coolant line passages, instead leaving round knock-outs in their place. Extra space for radiator mounting is highlighted by a row of vents above the motherboard’s I/O panel, leaving the presence of only seven expansion slots as the S5’s most obvious externally-visible limitation. That is to say it won't take a full complement of graphics cards; an eighth slot is required to place a double-space graphics card into an ATX motherboard’s bottom slot.

A glance at the dimensions uncovers a few additional restrictions, such as the 11.2” maximum graphics card length in some slots when all drive cages are installed. But a look inside will reveal configuration options for users of longer cards. So, let’s take a peek!

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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.
16 Comments Comment from the forums
  • someguynamedmatt
    It makes me happy to see SuperMicro getting into the consumer chassis market! I'm a huge fan of their other hardware, and this has some potential... let's hope to see some more refined updates in the future! First-gen products are always with their issues.

    Thoughts:
    Paint the interior black instead of zinc'ing it (this isn't a server or a Dell from 2004), sleeve the front panel connections or at least make them black, widen the access holes, offer other colors for the front bezel other than red (silver/maybe gunmetal). Cut the top drive cage in half and engineer up some way to include a 2x2.5" drive cage under the 5.25" bays for an SSD/HDD when all of the cages are removed for watercooling; it would easily fit with those two 120mm fans being used. Maybe add a windowed side panel option or at least a better mounting mechanism on those thin panels. Maybe put sound dampening material in a few locations? The right panel isn't typically a serious offender, but thin-gauge sheets are really going to be prone to passing through any noise. These are all just a few things I think could be done to make this a better product; not saying they SHOULD be done, but it's just an idea. Constructive criticism!
    Reply
  • Crashman
    15751713 said:
    It makes me happy to see SuperMicro getting into the consumer chassis market! I'm a huge fan of their other hardware, and this has some potential... let's hope to see some more refined updates in the future! First-gen products are always with their issues.

    Thoughts:
    Paint the interior black instead of zinc'ing it (this isn't a server or a Dell from 2004), sleeve the front panel connections or at least make them black, widen the access holes, offer other colors for the front bezel other than red (silver/maybe gunmetal)...Constructive criticism!
    LOL, I love bright interiors because they let me see what I'm doing more easily. I love color-coded cables because they let me see what I'm doing more easily. Practicality says that everyone in the case modding community is wrong because they are :p

    We see the same thing in the car community with tires that have such short sidewalls that the wheels hop at every bump, and smash the rims at any medium-sized pothole. A "performance enthusiast" would say no, if he really were a "performance enthusiast" :D

    Cable sleeves work though, since they let me see the color at the end of the cable. People used to say that sleeves were necessary to keep the wires from flopping around loosely and getting snagged on things, but those same people now demand individually-sleeved wires because (drumrole please) they're wrong. Having said that, I'd accept an arctic white interior and a single white sleeve over each cable bunch to match the interior, as long as the little bit of cable sticking out of the end is still properly color-coded :)

    Perhaps I'm being too practical.
    Reply
  • shrapnel_indie
    Maybe you won’t put a $400 board in a sub-$100 case, but I’m sure someone will try.

    Talk about resellers up pricing products from MSRP.... Sub $100 case? the provided Amazon links (as of when I type this) show a price practically double that "sub" mark. ($199.99)

    Oh yeah... makes it look like you get a bigger discount when they do drop the prices a Jefferson, Lincoln, Hamilton, or Jackson below MSRP as a "sale" price.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    15751819 said:
    Maybe you won’t put a $400 board in a sub-$100 case, but I’m sure someone will try.

    Talk about resellers up pricing products from MSRP.... Sub $100 case? the provided Amazon links (as of when I type this) show a price practically double that "sub" mark. ($199.99)

    Oh yeah... makes it look like you get a bigger discount when they do drop the prices a Jefferson, Lincoln, Hamilton, or Jackson below MSRP as a "sale" price.
    Our link system isn't always practical is it? I found this one for $94 at Newegg.
    Reply
  • synphul
    The $200 pricetag is way over the top. Even at $94, that puts it right in line with the enthoo pro at $99. That's the first thing I thought of when I saw this case, right down to the included 'extras' box and hdd sleds which look almost identical. Except the enthoo is painted inside and out, comes with a psu cover (windowed version), comes with nicer dust filters etc. I agree, granted it's not a windowed case so less of an issue but no paint inside it looks like something from dell circa 1990's. At $94 it might be for some folks, at $200 they get blown out of the water by a lot of nicer cases.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    15752298 said:
    The $200 pricetag is way over the top. Even at $94, that puts it right in line with the enthoo pro at $99.
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811152588Now at $95. I can't talk about the Enthoo anything because they never sent one.
    Reply
  • jimmysmitty
    15751734 said:
    15751713 said:
    It makes me happy to see SuperMicro getting into the consumer chassis market! I'm a huge fan of their other hardware, and this has some potential... let's hope to see some more refined updates in the future! First-gen products are always with their issues.

    Thoughts:
    Paint the interior black instead of zinc'ing it (this isn't a server or a Dell from 2004), sleeve the front panel connections or at least make them black, widen the access holes, offer other colors for the front bezel other than red (silver/maybe gunmetal)...Constructive criticism!
    LOL, I love bright interiors because they let me see what I'm doing more easily. I love color-coded cables because they let me see what I'm doing more easily. Practicality says that everyone in the case modding community is wrong because they are :p

    We see the same thing in the car community with tires that have such short sidewalls that the wheels hop at every bump, and smash the rims at any medium-sized pothole. A "performance enthusiast" would say no, if he really were a "performance enthusiast" :D

    Cable sleeves work though, since they let me see the color at the end of the cable. People used to say that sleeves were necessary to keep the wires from flopping around loosely and getting snagged on things, but those same people now demand individually-sleeved wires because (drumrole please) they're wrong. Having said that, I'd accept an arctic white interior and a single white sleeve over each cable bunch to match the interior, as long as the little bit of cable sticking out of the end is still properly color-coded :)

    Perhaps I'm being too practical.

    Everyone has a preference. I personally cannot do a case without a black interior because it just doesn't look as clean to me in the end.

    I have also come to notice that even when black, the front panel connectors are the same layout. If the writing is on the front it will face downwards.

    I guess I just love my 500R. It is probably the best case I have ever bought. I just hope they make a 500R V2 with a few improvements to layout.
    Reply
  • Dark Lord of Tech
    Nice case , real basic looks , very appealing,
    Reply
  • firefoxx04
    " Now at $95. I can't talk about the Enthoo anything because they never sent one.'

    You dont have to talk about it, everyone else already covered it.. and it smokes all cases at $100... At least when it comes to almost full tower size.
    Reply
  • Dark Lord of Tech
    I own the Enthoo Pro , got mine from newegg for $89.00 when they were first released , fantastic value.
    Reply