The mesh-faced version of BitFenix Nova TG that launched last month is available for pre-order with four digitally-addressable RGB LED (aka ARGB) fans, for as little as $5 (or as much as $22) over the non-ARGB version: The higher price refers to BitFenix sales that use Newegg as a proxy.

BitFenix reports that the upgraded fans come from its Spectre A-RGB series and are rated at 22dB(A) per unit. Decibel math says that it would be 25dB for two and 28dB for four, max, without accounting for acoustic phenomena such as beats.

The specs sheet lists support for boards up to 10.7”, which includes most of the enthusiasts' boards that have been called “EATX” by their manufacturers but does not include the full 13” EATX specification. Differences from the original Mesh version are limited to the transition from one RGB and one black fan to four of the newer ARGB model.

BitFenix today announced availability of its Nova TG Mesh, which is a mesh-faced version of its Nova TG, which is a tempered-glass (TG) version of its Nova. To make this conversation more interesting, the firm didn’t announce the newly-released Nova Mesh, which appears to be a non-TG version of the case.

The new front panel uses traditional snap installation to ease removal for cleaning its encapsulated mesh dust filter, while the top features a magnetically attached mesh filter sheet and the bottom a tab-secured mesh filter. The goal here appears to be low-cost effectiveness.

Designed to support a pair of 120mm fans up top and either three 120mm or two 140mm fans in front, the Nova Mesh TG is also said to support radiators in those sizes in both the front and top positions and graphics cards up to 340mm in length. With minimal space above the motherboard, the ability to fit both a fan and a radiator on the top panel will depend on things like ATX12V connector and DIMM placement. Similarly, PC builders must deduct the thickness of any front-mounted fan and radiator stack from the maximum graphics card length.

To get builders started, the Nova TG includes a single 120mm intake and single 120mm exhaust fan. The exhaust fan has RGB lighting and includes a separate 4-pin RGB cable that works with the software and headers of RGB-supporting motherboards.

The Nova Mesh TG is already available for $65 at Newegg, while the glass-free Nova Mesh is a bit cheaper at $52. Both cases are available in the buyer’s choice of black or white finish.

Features and Specifications

Bigger isn't always better when it comes to cases -- especially given that massive three- and four-card  GPU setups have fallen out of favor due to a dwindling game support and hardware limitations from Nvidia. The compact PC case market is booming and Silverstone is hoping to cash in on the craze with its Precision PS15. If nothing else, this case is appealing for its low $60 (£56) price, but can the PS15 beat the competition on more than just price? For those looking for a little more in the way of user-selectable lighting, the Precision PS15 is also available with RGB functionality (PS15B-RGB), but we could only find hat variant for sale on Amazon UK for £77, or about £21 more than the model we’re looking at here.

Specifications

Measuring 15 x 7.56 x 13.82 inches (381 x 192 x 351 mm) and weighing in at just 7.76 lbs (3.52 kg), the Silverstone Precision PS15 is constructed of black steel, plastic, and tempered-glass. As with many cases that mix building materials, the black plastic panels do not visually match the painted metal sections. The result is a glaringly obvious two-tone look.

A perforated metal panel with a large magnetic dust filter covers mounting locations for two 120mm fans or one 140mm spinner up top.

The leading edge of the top panel is home to two USB 3.0 ports, headphone and microphone jacks, a hard drive activity LED, and a power button. Directly behind the mesh front fascia you'll find mounts for two 120 / 140mm intake fans.

The removable front panel is made up primarily of dual-layered metal mesh material that also serves as a filter. A back-lit Silverstone logo sits at the bottom of the plastic front frame.

The full-coverage tempered-glass side panel is darkly tinted and held in place by rubber-coated locating pins and thumbscrews. The opposite side panel is stamped steel and attaches to the case via metal thumbscrews.

Around back, you'll find a standard motherboard I/O area and four expansion slots with punch-out style covers. There’s an opening for a bottom-mounted PSU, as well as an exhaust-fan mount outfitted with a 120mm fan. That location features slotted screw holes that lets you slide the fan up or down to fine-tune airflow or make room for system components.

The bottom of the case has a filtered hole for power-supply ventilation and four round plastic feet that elevate the bottom panel approximately half an inch. The Precision PS15 must be turned completely on its side to access the removable power-supply filter for maintenance and cleaning.

The fan filtration system does a good job preventing dirt and dust particles from entering your system. The filter on the top of the case is attached by magnetic seals around its edge. Dual-layer metal mesh built into the front panel acts as a filter for front fans. There, cleaning is best done with the panel removed.

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Hardware Installation and Test Configuration

A small plastic bag contains most of the PS15 case’s accessories: zip ties and a variety of screws, attached to the motherboard tray with a wire twist tie. The simple paper case manual (if you can call it that) can also be found in the bag.

Test Configuration

Drivers and Settings

Interior

A large hole behind the CPU socket area facilitates heat sink changes without removing the motherboard. The Precision PS15 accommodates CPU coolers up to 154mm tall, and GPUs up to 314mm in length and 151mm wide.

Four pass-through holes with rolled-metal edges in the motherboard tray allow cable management. One of the holes at the upper-left edge of the motherboard tray is specifically designed for routing fan cables and the ATX12V/EPS12V power cable. The interior of this chassis is very open for a compact PC case.

The overall look is extremely clean but, due to the layout, it's immediately apparent that careful component selection will be required for a successful build.

The front drive cage supports a single 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch drive internally and a 2.5-inch drive attached to the top. Two additional 2.5-inch drives can be attached to the back of the motherboard tray.

Cooling

There are mounting locations for up to five 120mm fans: two in the front, two in the top and one in the rear. The Precision PS15 can alternatively be outfitted with up to two 140mm fans in the front and one in the top. The chassis ships by default with a single 120mm exhaust fan in the rear. 

As always, we suggest installing at least one intake fan in any chassis that’s equipped with a single 120mm exhaust fan, as one exhaust fan simply cannot provide enough airflow to keep the components in your system cool. Thankfully the case's low MSRP allows you to add a fan or two to your system without getting close to the $100 mark.

Radiators and all-in-one coolers can only be mounted in the front and rear of this chassis. The rear mount supports 120mm fans, while the front supports radiators up to 240mm. Although fans can be mounted in the top, due to space limitations, radiators will not fit here with fans attached.

We tested power supplies up to 150mm in length without any issues. That said, we recommend using a modular PSU because of the lack of space between the power supply and the 3.5-inch hard drive rack.

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Benchmark Results and Conclusion

We tested the Silverstone Precision PS15 with our Intel Core i9-7900X test platform. For comparison, we brought in the Bitfenix Enso Mesh, the NZXT H500i, Corsair's Carbide 275R, and the Cooler Master MasterBox Q500L to give you an idea of where this case stacks up against competitors of similar size and feature sets.

Registering 63 degrees Celsius over ambient temperature under load, the thermal performance of the Precision PS15 is about what you can expect from a compact chassis equipped with only a single 120mm exhaust fan. The poor thermal performance can easily be remedied as it is a direct result of the lack of an intake fan (or fans).

As you might expect, GPU temperatures were also higher than in competing cases. The lack of airflow in this chassis as shipped had an overall negative impact on its ability to remove the heat generated by our system components.

We recorded sound level readings with two off-the-shelf dB meters from two different angles. The single 120mm exhaust fan was almost inaudible at idle. Under load, sound output increased to 31.1dBA. The acoustic performance of the Precision PS15 was better than the majority of cases tested against, and dead even with the Cooler Master MasterBox Q500L and the NZXT H500i.

Cooling efficiency and noise levels are both ways to measure performance. Determining acoustic efficiency, also referred to as cooling-to-noise ratio, is a matter of averaging all five of our tests to determine a base value. By being significantly quieter, the Silverstone Precision PS15 scores a better ratio than the Bitfenix Enso Mesh

The overall value of this case is affected when the end user adds one or more intake fans to the system build, effectively adding to the cost of the case. But even though the added fan (or fans) will enhance cooling performance, that would introduce more system noise, negatively impacting its acoustic-efficiency rating. A best-case scenario (pardon the pun) would be reusing a 240mm all-in-one cooler you already own from previous build for better cooling performance without adding to the cost of your system build.

Bottom Line

The Silverstone Precision PS15 is a budget-friendly compact PC case that has all the benefits and drawbacks you'd expect to find in a case of this size and price. If desktop real estate is important, the PS15 is a solid choice. The same goes for price. At $60, this chassis (as well as the Cooler Master MasterBox Q500L) are low-price leaders in this class. The low price should leave room in your budget for an intake fan (or fans), but you may also have a solid spinner or two that you can carry over from a previous build. If that’s an option and your budget is tight, this case is easy to recommend.

Image Credits: Tom's Hardware

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Features and Specifications

If this chassis looks and sounds familiar to you, it's because it's essentially a mid-tower version of the Crystal Series 280X. The good news is that Corsair seems to have taken our criticisms of the 280X to heart and addressed many of them with the release of the Crystal Series 680X RGB. A hinged glass panel and USB-C make the case feel more modern and convenient.

Specifications

Exterior

The Corsair Crystal Series 680X RGB measures 16.65 x 13.54 x 19.88 inches (423 x 344 x 505mm) and weighs in at 25.53lbs (11.58kg). Painted white inside and out (also available in black if white isn't your thing), this chassis features steel and plastic construction with tempered glass panels on three of the six sides.

Featuring a true dual-compartment design, two thirds of this chassis is covered by tempered glass panels and the final third with steel. The tinted tempered-glass panels are elevated to allow airflow, using additional spacers and longer screws between the glass panel and the top of the case.

Directly below the top tempered glass panel are mounts for three 120 / 140mm fans. A magnetic filter is included with the accessory bundle for this location. Along the edge of the steel portion closest to the tempered-glass panel, you'll find a pair of USB 3.0 ports, USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C, a headphone / microphone jack, and power and reset buttons.

The smaller Crystal Series 280X lacked rubber-coated locating pins for the full-coverage tinted tempered glass side panel to protect against accidental drops. But Corsair has remedied that situation by adding hinges to the tempered glass side panel of the bigger 680X.

The chassis also employs the use of strong magnetic latches at the front, giving you quick access to the inside of the case. The glass side panel can be removed from the chassis by lifting it up and away from the hinges.

The plain steel panel on the opposite side has a large filtered hole for added ventilation, and is secured with captive thumbscrews.

Around back you'll find ten expansion slots (8 standard, 2 vertical), an opening for a bottom-mounted PSU in the secondary compartment, and an exhaust-fan mounting location fitted with a 120mm fan.

A large plastic mesh filter covers the two main mounting locations on the bottom of the case. This filter is removable from the side, so you won’t have to move your entire system for maintenance and cleaning. The four large, round, rubber-coated feet elevate the case approximately two thirds of an inch from the desk surface to allow for air intake.

Washable filters covering every intake fan mounting location prevent most dirt and dust particles from entering your system. Top, front and side filters attach via magnetic seals at the edges, while the large filter in the bottom is a plastic slide-out filter.

Note that unlike the 280X, the front panel doesn't pop off easily to give you access to the intake filter on the 680X. Instead, you have to remove two thumb screws on the radiator mounting bracket inside the case, and the filter can then be popped out. This is more complicated in general than just being able to remove the filter from the outside, although it does lead to cleaner lines on the front. Whether you value slightly improved aesthetics over convenience is down to personal preference. But if you live in a dusty environment that necessitates cleaning the intake filter regularly, having to pop open the case and remove screws will become tedious.

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Hardware Installation and Test Configuration

A small brown box containing a variety of screws and zip ties comes secured in one of the case's open 3.5-inch drive bays. The case manual and large magnetic dust filter for the top of the case can be found on top of the PSU tunnel.

Test Configuration

Drivers and Settings

Interior

This chassis features a true dual-chamber design that separates heat generating components (motherboard, processor, graphics cards) from cooler components (hard drives and PSU). This type of layout allows for more than enough room for a variety of system builds, all the while maintaining an extremely clean look. 

The interior of the Crystal 680X RGB is painted to match the exterior. There are a total of nine large cable pass-through holes with rubber grommets in the motherboard tray, along with three smaller holes at the bottom edge with rolled-metal edges. The ATX12V/EPS12V power cable and fan cables can be routed through one of the two grommet-lines holes at the top of the motherboard tray.

The eight (plus two vertical) expansion slots will accommodate graphics cards up to 330mm (13 inches), even in multi-GPU configurations. The vertical VGA GPU slots allow builders to install a PCIe x16 riser cable (not included) to show off a fancy GPU by mounting it vertically. You can use CPU air coolers up to 180mm (7,08 inches) tall in this case.

When it comes to storage options, the 680X RGB can accommodate up to three 3.5-inch hard drives and a total of four 2.5-inch SSDs. The SSD drive cage can also be reconfigured for use with one, two, or three SSDs, depending on your needs. All drive bays are located in the secondary compartment and are attached to the back panel of the case.

All drive bays in the 680X RGB are completely tool-free. The three 3.5-inch bays feature plastic drive caddies with pegs that hold the drive in place. Adding an SSD drive is a simply matter of sliding a drive into an open slot until it snaps into place.

Cooling

Corsair includes four 120mm fans; three installed LL120 addressable RGB LED fans in the front and one non-RGB 120mm fan in the rear. The Corsair Lighting Node PRO controls all three included 120mm fans and has enough additional headers to power another three fans, all through the company's proprietary iCUE software.

It was a bit disappointing that Corsair didn’t include a LL120 ARGB exhaust fan given this chassis’ emphasis on RGB lighting (and the fairly high price). Overall the 680X RGB can be equipped with a total of eight 120 or seven 140mm fans.

Corsair employs the use of removable fan / radiator brackets in the top and front of the case that makes installing a radiator or all-in-one (AIO) cooler a breeze. After loosening the two thumbscrews, it's simply a matter of removing the bracket, installing your components and sliding the entire setup back into your system.

Radiators and AIO coolers can be mounted in the top, front, bottom and rear of this chassis. The mounting locations in the front of the chassis support 120, 140, 240, 280 and 360mm radiators. Radiators and AIO coolers up to 140mm can also be installed in the exhaust-fan mounting location. The front, rear and bottom locations all support dual-fan configurations (with the radiator sandwiched between fans in a push-pull configuration) up to 280mm.

Lighting

Each Corsair LL120 RGB fan is equipped with a total of 32 individually addressable LEDs. To control the RGB lighting effects you’ll need to download Corsair’s iCUE software.

Lighting modes such as ARC, Color Warp, Heartbeat, Rainbow Wave and Static are just a few of the profiles. If you aren't into all the “cool” effects, but still want a nice solid color added to your system lighting, a feature called Instant Lighting gives you one-click access to a range of colors including red, orange, yellow, green, white and more.

Although Corsair lists support for power supplies up to 225mm in length, there's actually no real size restriction. The bottom of the secondary compartment is completely open, making it possible to install extremely large PSUs such as the 1600W EVGA SuperNOVA (225mm) without encountering clearance issues. 

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Benchmark Results and Conclusion

All comparison cases were tested using our new Intel Core i9-7900X test platform. We brought in the Lian Li PC-O11 Dynamic, Lian Li Lancool One Digital, and Bitfenix Enso Mesh to give you a good idea where this case stands against other cases that are of similar size and feature sets, although the Corsair chassis is by far the most expensive of this bunch.

With fan speeds manually set at 1,400 RPM, processor temps maxed out at 59 degrees C over the ambient temperature of 25 degrees C. Although only a few degrees lower than the other cases we tested, those are still an improvement.

The triple Corsair LL120 RGB fans mounted in the front of the chassis no doubt helped the the graphics card temperatures stay lower than the rest of the pack at 48 degrees C over-ambient.

We always take sound pressure level readings with two off-the-shelf dB meters from two different angles. The tempered-glass panels on three of the chassis' six sides helped keep sound output reasonably low. At 33.9 dBA with our test system under full load and 30.7 dBA at idle, the 680X RGB generated noise levels that landed it in the middle of the pack. We attribute both the cooler temperatures and the higher sound levels to the added space between the case and the tempered glass side panel.

Cooling efficiency and noise levels are both ways to measure performance. Determining acoustic efficiency, also referred to as cooling-to-noise ratio, is a matter of averaging all five of our tests to determine a base value.

Bottom Line

Overall, Corsair's Crystal Series 680X RGB is a very nice chassis that, even given it's higher-than-average price tag, lands solidly in award territory due to its quality construction and solid feature set. Enthusiasts on a budget would be best served by Lian Li’s Lancool One Digital or the Bitfenix Enso Mesh. Those of you dead-set on the 680X RGB who aren't ready to spend $250 should wait for a sale. Unlike previous offerings, this chassis is not available in a non-RGB version, unless you count the 2016-era Carbide Air 740, which also lacks the glass, opting for an acrylic side window and dropping the price to about $150.

Image Credits: Tom's Hardware

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Features and Specifications

In the market for a sleek and stylish chassis that won't break the bank? Cooler Master’s latest MasterCase NR600 offers great looks, good performance and features galore, all for only $70 (£53). What's the catch? You might want to add a fan, and you’ll have to live without a USB 3.1 Type-C port. But, at this price, it’s hard to complain.

Specifications

Exterior

The flush-mounted tempered-glass side, mesh front panel and minimalistic design give Cooler Master's MasterBox NR600 a sleek and stylish look that would be right at home in almost any environment.

The MasterBox NR600 mid-tower chassis is constructed of steel, plastic, and tempered-glass, weighing-in at just under 15lbs. At 473 x 209 x 478mm (HWD), it's also bit smaller than the average mid-tower ATX case, while still making room for a solid collection of components. This case retails for $70 (£53), and comes with a two-year warranty.

The majority of the top panel is covered by a magnetic metal-mesh filter. Directly under the filter is a perforated area that has mounting locations for two 120mm or 140mm fans. The right-hand edge of the top panel is home to two USB 3.0 ports, a headset-friendly 4 pole audio jack, as well as power and reset buttons.

The plastic front panel is covered entirely by a very fine mesh that also serves as a filter. Directly behind the front face, you’ll find mounting locations for three 120mm or two 140mm intake fans. There’s also a version of this chassis that comes with a single 5.25-inch optical drive bay. The added benefits of a mesh front panel are that it provides good airflow into the chassis, and it allows light to pass through should you chose to install RGB fans.

The tinted tempered-glass side panel covers roughly three quarters of the side of the chassis. Much like the MasterCase H500P and NZXT's H500i, the NR600 does not use rubber-coated locating pins and thumbscrews, opting instead for a tempered glass panel affixed to a thin metal frame. This assembly attaches to the frame via thumbscrews in the rear. The steel panel on the opposite side of the chassis is plain and is also secured with thumbscrews.

In the rear of the chassis, you'll find an opening for a bottom-mounted PSU, seven standard expansion-card slots, and an exhaust-fan mounting location that’s equipped with a 120mm fan. The exhaust-fan mounting location features slotted screw holes that let you adjust the position of the fan to fine-tune airflow or make room for system components.

The four low-profile rubber-coated feet keep the case approximately a half-inch off the floor.

The fan-filtration system on the NR600 is simple yet effective. A small, removable filter covers the opening for the power-supply fan. Servicing this filter requires turning your system on its side. The filter in the top of the case is attached with magnetic seals around its edge. As we mentioned earlier, the entire front panel is covered in a very fine mesh that also acts as a filter. It’s best to simply remove the entire front panel for cleaning and maintenance.

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Hardware Installation and Test Configuration

Accessories for the MasterCase NR600 are located in a plastic bag secured in one of the two 3.5-inch hard drive bays. The bag contains various screws, HDD frame rails, SSD mounting screws, rubber grommets and zip ties. The box also contains a printed manual and warranty information.

Test Configuration

Drivers and Settings

The interior of this chassis is rather large for an ATX mid-tower. At first glance, the NR600 looks similar to other mid-tower cases but, upon closer inspection, we noticed some creative design choices that are not only cost-cutting measures, but also aid in structural rigidity. First of all, the power supply tunnel is non-removable and is riveted to the motherboard tray as well as the front and back of the chassis. This design also makes it possible to use a much smaller tempered-glass side panel than what you’ll often find on similar mid-tower ATX cases.

The seven expansion slots will easily accommodate multi-GPU setups and, for those running long graphics cards, cards up to 410mm (16.1 inches) can be installed in this chassis. You can use CPU air coolers up to 166mm (6.5 inches) tall. Despite the case’s minimalistic design, there’s plenty of space to accommodate a variety of different system builds. A large hole behind the CPU socket area facilitates heatsink changes without removing the motherboard.

The interior of the MasterCase NR600 is painted black to match the exterior. Two large cable passages with rubber grommets live on the motherboard tray, supplemented by two smaller holes in the top of the PSU tunnel to route SSD cables. The hole at the upper-left edge of the motherboard tray is specifically designed for routing fan cables and the ATX12V/EPS12V power cable.

The MasterBox NR600 can accommodate up to four 3.5-inch hard drives in the secondary compartment behind the motherboard tray and under the power supply shroud. Three 2.5-inch SSDs can be mounted on the PSU tunnel and two behind the motherboard tray. All drive mounting locations, including the version of the NR600 with an optical drive, are tool-less.

Cooling duties are handled by a single 120mm front intake fan feeding a 120mm exhaust fan behind the CPU socket area. Upon closer examination, we noticed that the intake fan features Cooler Master's AirBalance blade design and operates at 1,200 rpm, while the exhaust fan is of the AirFlow blade design spinning at 1,000 rpm. In theory, this fan combination should provide a positive air pressure environment inside this case. In total, the NR600 supports up to six 120mm and five 140mm fans.

We recommend installing a second intake fan or, at the very least, a higher-volume 140mm fan in any chassis that is equipped with a single 120mm intake/exhaust fan. Although thermal performance was surprisingly good (more on that later) we still recommend adding an intake fan if you plan on installing higher-end hardware in the NR600.

It should also be noted that the use of a long video card with a blower-style cooler with this fan configuration has a negative impact on the airflow profile of this chassis. Blower-style GPU coolers tend to immediately draw in most of the cool outside air provided by the single 120mm intake fan and force it out the rear of the chassis. While this benefits graphics card temperatures, the rest of the system tends to suffer as a result in our testing.

Radiators and all-in-one coolers can be mounted in the top, front, and rear of this chassis. The mounting location in the front of the chassis can be outfitted with radiators and liquid coolers up to 360mm. Thanks to the 35mm offset, the mounting locations in the top of the chassis can support coolers up to 240mm. The rear exhaust fan mounting location supports 120mm coolers in single and dual-fan configurations.

We tested power supplies up to 180mm (7.1 inches) in length without any issues. That said, because of the fixed nature of the hard drive rack, we recommend the use of a modular power supply.

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Benchmark Results and Conclusion

We tested the MasterCase NR600 with our Intel Core i9-7900X test platform. For comparison, we brought in the Bitfenix Enso Mesh, NZXT H700i, and the Lian Li Lancool One Digital to give you a solid idea of where this case stacks up against competitors with similar sizes and feature sets.

At 61 degrees Celsius, thermal performance of Cooler Master's MasterCase NR600 was on-par with or better than the other cases we used for comparison purposes. The lone exception is the NZXT H700i. We attribute the fact that the NR600 edged out the similarly equipped Enso Mesh chassis (both have mesh front panels and 120mm intake/exhaust fans) to the fact that Cooler Master's intake fan spins 200 RPM higher, providing slightly more airflow at 1,200 rpm. GPU temperatures leveled off at 52 degrees Celsius, putting the MasterCase NR600's performance right in the middle of the pack. 

As always, we took sound level readings with two off-the-shelf dB meters from two different angles. With fan speeds set at default (1,200 / 1,000 rpm), our test system registered a whisper-quiet 28.8dBA at idle. Under load, sound output increased to 32.1dBA, making the NR600 the quietest out of all the other comparison cases.

Cooling efficiency and noise levels are both ways to measure performance. Determining acoustic efficiency, also referred to as cooling-to-noise ratio, is a matter of averaging all five of our tests to determine a base value.

Bottom Line

System builders, gamers, and enthusiasts on a budget will definitely want to put Cooler Master's MasterCase NR600 on their shortlist. This chassis is quiet, looks great in just about any setting and, at just $70 (£53), it's a bargain, even if you end up adding an extra fan.

We’d still like to see a front-panel USB-C port. But boards with the corresponding front-panel connectors are still fairly rare--particularly in the budget space builders are likely to be playing in given the low-cost nature of this case. So if you want that added convenience, you’ll likely have to pay more--both for your case and corresponding components.

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Features and Specifications

Those looking for a new mid-tower chassis with a tempered-glass panel and RGB lighting may find Bitfenix's Enso Mesh appealing. But you'll have to be willing to overlook some design and performance drawbacks, as well as a higher-than-average price for the features it delivers.

Specifications

Exterior

The Bitfenix Enso Mesh is constructed of steel, plastic, and tempered-glass and is painted black inside and out. Unfortunately, the black plastic panels do not visually match the painted metal panels, giving the case an odd two-tone look.

This smaller-than-average mid-tower ATX case measures 452 x 210 x 489 mm (17.8x8.3x19.3" DxWxH) and weighs just under 19lbs. Much of the top panel is covered by a metal-mesh filter, directly under which are mounting locations for two 120mm fans. The company also includes a flexible plastic panel for those who want to completely block off the vents in the top. This chassis is also available with a white finish.

The leading edge of the top panel is home to two USB 3.0 ports, an LED controller, headphone and microphone jacks, a hard drive activity LED, and a reset and power button. Directly behind the mesh front fascia you'll find mounting locations for two 120mm intake fans. 

The removable front panel is made up of dual-layered metal mesh material that also serves as a filter. Four RGB-lit light bars live on the front of the case, one in each corner. 

The full-coverage tempered-glass side panel is darkly tinted and held in place by rubber-coated locating pins and thumbscrews. The opposite side panel is stamped steel and attaches to the case via metal thumbscrews.

The rear of the chassis is pretty standard ATX mid-tower fare. The motherboard I/O area sits directly over the chassis' seven expansion slots. There is an opening for a bottom-mounted PSU, as well as an exhaust-fan mounting location outfitted with a 120mm fan. That location features slotted screw holes that lets you make minor adjustments to the position of the fan to fine-tune airflow or make room for system components.

The bottom of the case has a filtered hole for power-supply ventilation and four large rubber-coated plastic feet that keep the case approximately a half inch off the floor. The removable 6-inch nylon power-supply filter can be removed from the side for quick and easy maintenance and cleaning.

Overall, the fan filtration system on the Bitfenix Enso Mesh does a good job in terms of its ability to prevent dirt and dust particles from entering your system. The filter on the top of the case is attached by magnetic seals around its edge. The large metal mesh front panel also attaches to the frame via magnets. The plastic filter covering the PSU mounting location features a trademarked design called "Sideway-removable," which allows the filter slide in and out from the side of the case.

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Hardware Installation and Test Configuration

A small ziplock bag containing a system speaker, zip ties and a variety of screws is located in one of the open 3.5" drive bays. The case manual and a flexible plastic block-off panel for the top of the case can be found in the PSU area.

Test Configuration

Drivers & Settings

The interior of the Enso Mesh is painted black to match the exterior. There are two large cable pass-through holes with rubber grommets in the motherboard tray and two smaller holes in the top of the PSU tunnel. The hole at the upper left hand edge of the motherboard tray is specifically designed for routing fan cables and the ATX12V/EPS12V power cable.

We found it odd that this chassis has what appears to be two mounting locations for 5.25" optical drives even though there are no openings in the front of the chassis.

The overall look is extremely clean, and there is more than enough room for a variety of different system builds.  This chassis can be equipped with coolers as tall as 160mm. A large hole behind the CPU socket area facilitates heat sink changes without removing the motherboard. The Enso Mesh has a total of seven expansion slots and can accommodate multi-GPU set-ups up to 340mm in length and 150mm wide.

Bitfenix claims the Enso Mesh supports up to EATX motherboards, the truth of the matter is that since a true EATX motherboard measure 13 inches deep by 12 inches tall, there are not enough standoffs to install a motherboard of that size.

As far as storage options go, the Enso Mesh can accommodate up to two 3.5-inch hard drives and a total of three 2.50-inch SSDs in the secondary compartment behind the motherboard tray and under the power supply shroud. 

The Enso Mesh comes with a built in RGB controller located behind the motherboard tray that allows for color change and basic RGB effects such as breathing, fading and pulse, all selectable from the button on the front of the case. For those with ARGB-capable motherboards, the LED-lit RGB fan are natively compatible Asus' Aura Sync lighting software.

There are mounting locations for up to six 120mm fans: three in the front, two in the top and one in the rear. The Enso Mesh also can be outfitted with up to two  140mm fans in the front mounting locations. The chassis ships by default with one 120mm intake fan in the front and a single 120mm exhaust fan in the rear.

We recommend installing a second intake fan or, at the very least, a higher-volume 140mm fan in any chassis that is equipped with a single 120mm intake/exhaust fan. The two factory-installed fans simply do not provide enough airflow to keep the components in our test system cool.

It should also be noted that the use of a video card with a blower-style cooler with this fan configuration has a negative impact on the airflow profile of this chassis. Blower-style GPU coolers tend to immediately draw in most of the cool outside air provided by the single 120mm intake fan and force it out the rear of the chassis. While this benefited graphics card temperatures, the rest of the system suffered as a result in our testing.

Radiators and all-in-one coolers can be mounted in the front and rear of the this chassis. The rear mounting location supports 120mm fans while the front supports radiators and AIO coolers up to 360mm.

Although fans can be mounted in the top of the Enso Mesh, due to space limitations, radiators and all-in-one coolers will not fit here with fans attached.

We tested power supplies up to 180mm in length without any issues. That said, we recommend using a modular PSU because of the lack of space between the power supply and hard drive racks.

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Benchmark Results and Conclusion

We tested the Enso Mesh with our Intel Core i9-7900X test platform. For comparison, we brought in the Cougar Panzer EVO RGB, the NZXT H700i, the be quiet! Dark Base 700 and the Cooler Master MasterCase H500M to give you a solid idea of where this case stacks up against competitors with similar sizes and feature sets.

The Enso Mesh's thermal performance lagged behind all the other cases we used for comparison purposes. This is no doubt due to the fact that, even though it's equipped with a mesh front panel, the chassis' single 120mm intake-fan and 120mm exhaust-fan combination isn't able to provide the airflow needed for adequate cooling.

Determining acoustic efficiency, also referred to as "cooling-to-noise ratio," is a matter of averaging all five of our tests to determine a base value.

By now, most people are aware that tempered-glass side panels tend to reflect sound back into the chassis. That, and the inclusion of only two 120mm fans, leaves you with a chassis that is relatively quiet at idle. Unfortunately, glass panels also lead to higher system temperatures. This can be remedied by the addition of one or more intake fans, but that would almost certainly negatively impact these acoustic results. Once the system was under load, sound levels peaked at 34.5 dBA. Though not by much, the Enso Mesh was louder than all the cases tested against it here, even the cases with dual and triple intake fans. 

Bottom Line

Most people who buy this chassis will undoubtedly want to add at least one or more intake fans to the system build. Unfortunately, that would add to the overall cost of the case. Also, even though the added fans will enhance cooling performance, that would introduce even more system noise, negatively impacting its acoustic-efficiency rating.

The competing Cooler Master MasterBox MB500 TUF Edition costs $20 (15.23 £) less than the Enso Mesh, while performing better and delivering more features for that lesser cost. If you like the looks of the Enso Mesh and aren't put off by its shortcomings, you might want to shop around a bit or wait for this case to go on sale.

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Features & Specifications

BitFenix's Formula Gold power supplies are aimed at builders without a lot of money to spend, but who still want high quality and efficient operation. The entry-level BF450G model sells for about $60. Although it's not the cheapest 450W option out there, we're impressed with its 80 PLUS Gold and ETA-A certifications. Moreover, a LAMBDA-A++ badge from Cybenetics means the BF450G also runs quietly. You can certainly find good PSUs for less money and higher-performance ones for a bit more. But the BitFenix BF450G earns our recommendation for striking a compelling balance in an otherwise cost-sensitive space. It's only a shame that all of this power supply's cables are fixed, complicating cable management a bit.

After reviewing BitFenix's BWG550M and BF650G, and walking away impressed, we thought to turn our attention to the lowest-end Formula Gold model next, since its output is sufficient for a mid-range machine with one graphics card. In order to offer high build quality in a modern platform, BitFenix had to forgo modular cabling. A lot of folks aren't going to like that. However, we'd rather see compromises in cable design rather than the PSU's electronic components, which would undoubtedly affect our reliability and performance benchmarks.

The lack of modular cables is partially compensated for by the BF450G's compact footprint. Given such small dimensions, you won't have a problem installing this PSU in cramped cases. Of course, cable management would be a lot easier with a fully modular power supply. If that's a must-have feature, plan on spending at least $10 more for something from BitFenix's Whisper M line-up.

Specifications

Again, the BF450G features 80 PLUS Gold and ETA-A efficiency certifications, along with an impressive LAMBDA-A++ noise badge. Surprisingly, this is one of the quietest actively-cooled PSUs available (and that's without a semi-passive mode).

All of the protection features you'd expect from a name-brand power supply are accounted for. Of course, such a capable design commands a premium. Its $60 price tag is quite a bit higher than Corsair's $45 CX450 and EVGA's $40 450 BT. Both of those competing PSUs employ lower-efficiency platforms though, and the 450 BT's architecture could be called downright outdated.

Power Specifications

Three +12V rails facilitate up to 450W of combined power output. The minor rails are completely sufficient, while the 5VSB rail can deliver up to 2.5A on paper. In reality, that number is much higher.

Cables & Connectors

The main ATX connector's cable has some extra capacitors to help minimize ripple. There are two 6+2-pin PCIe connectors for graphics cards, and we're satisfied by the number of SATA connectors BitFenix offers. We would, however, like to see at least one more four-pin Molex connector. Lastly, the distance between SATA and peripheral connectors is ideal at 15cm.

Power Distribution

The BF450G's power distribution is optimal, since the PCIe and EPS connectors are powered by dedicated rails.

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Unboxing Video

The following video shows us unboxing the BF450G.

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Teardown & Component Analysis

Before proceeding with this page we strongly encourage you to a look at our PSUs 101 article, which provides valuable information about PSUs and their operation, allowing you to better understand the components we're about to discuss.

The BF450G uses a modified version of CWT's GPS platform that improves upon its performance. A half-bridge topology is utilized on the primary side, along with an LLC resonant converter. On the secondary side we find a synchronous design and a couple of DC-DC converters for the minor rails.

High-quality filtering capacitors are joined by a similarly capable bulk cap. Moreover, there are two supervisor ICs (since this PSU has three +12V rails).

According to Martech, the cooling fan's manufacturer, its DF1202512SEMN utilizes a rifle bearing. Unfortunately, we don't know enough about Martech fans to speculate about their reliability over time. BitFenix has faith in the company though, otherwise it wouldn't cover its Formula Gold models with a five-year warranty.

The following video shows the BF450G’s internals:

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Load Regulation, Hold-Up Time & Inrush Current

To learn more about our PSU tests and methodology, please check out How We Test Power Supply Units. 

Primary Rails And 5VSB Load Regulation

Load Regulation testing is detailed here.

Hold-Up Time

Our hold-up time tests are described in detail here.

Measured hold-up time was over 17ms, while the power-good signal's hold-up time came close to 16ms. Most important, it was accurate.

Inrush Current

For details on our inrush current testing, please click here.

The inrush current was low with 115V and a bit high with 230V input.

Load Regulation And Efficiency Measurements

The first set of tests reveals the stability of the voltage rails and the BF450G’s efficiency. The applied load equals (approximately) 10 to 110 percent of the PSU's maximum load in increments of 10 percentage points.

We conducted two additional tests. During the first, we stressed the two minor rails (5V and 3.3V) with a high load, while the load at +12V was only 0.1A. This test reveals whether a PSU is compatible with Intel's C6/C7 sleep states or not. In the second test, we determined the maximum load the +12V rail could handle with minimal load on the minor rails.

Load regulation on all of the rails was tight, and we like that this PSU features quiet operation even under the taxing conditions of our test bench. It took cranking the load up to 110% of the BF450G's maximum-rated capacity and dialing the temperature beyond 46°C to make this PSU's fan spin at full speed. Even then, noise output remained under 40 dB(A). Although we ran our tests at grueling ambient temperatures, BitFenix's BF450G showed that it deserves its 80 PLUS Gold certification.

As we noted with the BF650G, our power factor readings were a little on the low side. CWT should tune its APFC converter for better performance.

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Efficiency, Temperature & Noise

Efficiency

Our efficiency testing procedure is detailed here.

Using results from the previous page, we plotted a chart showing the BF450G’s efficiency at low loads, and loads from 10 to 110 percent of its maximum-rated capacity.

The BF450G is highly efficient under both light and normal loads.

Efficiency At Low Loads

In the following tests, we measure the BF450G's efficiency at loads significantly lower than 10 percent of its maximum capacity (the lowest load the 80 PLUS standard measures). The loads we dialed were 20, 40, 60, and 80W. This is important for representing when a PC is idle, with power-saving features turned on.

We measured high efficiency levels, simultaneously observing that the BF450G's fan was barely spinning, making it almost inaudible.

5VSB Efficiency

The ATX specification, along with CEC, ErP Lot 3 2014 and ErP Lot 6 2010/2013, states that 5VSB standby supply efficiency should be as high as possible, recommending 75 percent or higher with 550mA, 1A, and 1.5A of load. The PSU should also achieve higher than 75% efficiency at 5VSB under full load, or with 3A if its max current output on this rail is higher than 3A.

We take six measurements: one each at 100, 250, 550, 1000, and 1500mA, and one with the full load the 5VSB rail can handle.   

The 5VSB rail achieved decent efficiency, coming close to competing PSUs with similar capacity.

Power Consumption In Idle And Standby

In the table below, you'll find the power consumption and voltage values of all rails (except -12V) when the PSU is idle (powered on, but without any load on its rails), and the power consumption when the PSU is in standby mode (without any load, at 5VSB).

BitFenix's PSU used very little power in standby mode.

Fan RPM, Delta Temperature, And Output Noise

Our mixed noise testing is described in detail here.

The first chart below illustrates the cooling fan's speed (in RPM), and the delta between input and output temperature. The results were obtained at 37°C (98.6°F) to 46°C (114.8°F) ambient temperature.   

The next chart shows the cooling fan's speed (again, in RPM) and output noise. We measured acoustics from one meter away, inside a hemi-anechoic chamber. Background noise inside the chamber was below 6 dB(A) during testing (it was actually much lower, but our sound meter’s microphone hit its floor), and the results were obtained with the PSU operating at 37°C (98.6°F) to 46°C (114.8°F) ambient temperature. 

The following graph illustrates the fan's output noise over the PSU's operating range. The same conditions of the above graph apply to our measurements, though the ambient temperature was between 30°C (86°F) to 32°C (89.6°F).  

Under normal operating temperatures, the BF450G's fan spun at its lowest speed through almost all of the PSU's operating range.

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Protection Features

Check out our PSUs 101 article to learn more about PSU protection features.  

Our protection features evaluation methodology is described in detail here.

The third 12V rail, which powers the PCIe connectors, has a higher triggering point than the other two.

Over-power protection (OPP) is set pretty high as well. Meanwhile, OTP kicks in at a lower temperature than we expected, although this didn't cause any problems during testing. The power-good signal is accurate, and there is short circuit protection on all rails.

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Cross-Load Tests & Infrared Images

Our cross-load tests are described in detail here.

To generate the following charts, we set our loaders to auto mode through our custom-made software before trying more than 25,000 possible load combinations with the +12V, 5V, and 3.3V rails. The load regulation deviations in each of the charts below were calculated by taking the nominal values of the rails (12V, 5V, and 3.3V) as point zero. The ambient temperature was between at 30°C (86°F) to 32°C (89.6°F).

Load Regulation Charts

Efficiency Chart

The BF450G delivers between 90 to 92% efficiency for a quite large region.

Ripple Charts

Infrared Images

We applied half-load for 10 minutes with the PSU's top cover and cooling fan removed before taking photos with our modified FLIR E4 camera that delivers 320x240 IR resolution (76,800 pixels).

Temperatures inside the BF450G are kept low thanks to reduced energy losses. That's why CWT used a relaxed fan profile and made the BF450G one of the quietest PSUs with active cooling. Only passive PSUs without coil whine issues can offer even quieter operation.

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Transient Response Tests

Advanced Transient Response Tests

For details on our transient response testing, please click here.

Ιn these tests, we monitor the BF450G's response in several scenarios. First, a transient load (10A at +12V, 5A at 5V, 5A at 3.3V, and 0.5A at 5VSB) is applied for 200ms as the PSU works at 20 percent load. In the second scenario, it's hit by the same transient load while operating at 50 percent load.

In the next sets of tests, we increase the transient load on the major rails with a new configuration: 15A at +12V, 6A at 5V, 6A at 3.3V, and 0.5A at 5VSB. We also increase the load-changing repetition rate from 5 Hz (200ms) to 50 Hz (20ms). Again, this runs with the PSU operating at 20 and 50 percent load.

The last tests are even tougher. Although we keep the same loads, the load-changing repetition rate rises to 1 kHz (1ms).

In all of the tests, we use an oscilloscope to measure the voltage drops caused by the transient load. The voltages should remain within the ATX specification's regulation limits.

These tests are crucial because they simulate the transient loads a PSU is likely to handle (such as booting a RAID array or an instant 100 percent load of CPU/GPUs). We call these "Advanced Transient Response Tests," and they are designed to be very tough to master, especially for a PSU with a capacity of less than 500W.  

Advanced Transient Response at 20 Percent – 200ms

Advanced Transient Response at 20 Percent – 20ms

Advanced Transient Response at 20 Percent – 1ms

Advanced Transient Response at 50 Percent – 200ms

Advanced Transient Response at 50 Percent – 20ms

Advanced Transient Response at 50 Percent – 1ms

The BF450G's small capacity doesn't help its performance in these tests. Regardless, the PSU responds well enough at +12V. It's also good on the 5V and 3.3V rails. Although the 5VSB rail lands in last place on our graphs, it's in the same league as the competition.

Here are the oscilloscope screenshots we took during Advanced Transient Response Testing:

Transient Response At 20 Percent Load – 200ms

Transient Response At 20 Percent Load – 20ms

Transient Response At 20 Percent Load – 1ms

Transient Response At 50 Percent Load – 200ms

Transient Response At 50 Percent Load – 20ms

Transient Response At 50 Percent Load – 1ms

Turn-On Transient Tests

In the next set of tests, we measured the BF450G’s response in simpler transient load scenarios—during its power-on phase.

For our first measurement, we turned the BF450G off, dialed in the maximum current the 5VSB rail could output, and switched the PSU back on. In the second test, we dialed the maximum load the +12V rail could handle and started the 450W supply while it was in standby mode. In the last test, while the PSU was completely switched off (we cut off the power or switched the PSU off), we dialed the maximum load the +12V rail could handle before switching it back on from the loader and restoring power. The ATX specification states that recorded spikes on all rails should not exceed 10 percent of their nominal values (+10 percent for 12V is 13.2V, and 5.5 V for 5V).    

The slopes in the first two tests are smooth. In the last one, there's a small step and a tiny wave that are of no importance. All in all, these are great results.

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Ripple Measurements

To learn how we measure ripple, please click here.

The following table includes the ripple levels we measured on the BF450G’s rails. The limits, according to the ATX specification, are 120mV (+12V) and 50mV (5V, 3.3V, and 5VSB).

Ripple suppression was very good on every rail. And strangely enough, the ripple at +12V with 110% load decreased slightly; normally we'd expect the opposite. The 3.3V rail also behaves strangely, registering its peak ripple reading with 90% load. 

Ripple Oscilloscope Screenshots

The following oscilloscope screenshots illustrate the AC ripple and noise registered on the main rails (+12V, 5V, 3.3V and 5VSB). The bigger the fluctuations on the screen, the bigger the ripple/noise. We set 0.01 V/Div (each vertical division/box equals 0.01V) as the standard for all measurements.  

Ripple At Full Load

Ripple At 110-Percent Load

Ripple At Cross-Load 1

Ripple At Cross-Load 2

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EMC Pre-Compliance Testing

EMC, EMI & EMS Acronyms

Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC): The ability of a device to operate properly in its environment without disrupting the operation of other close-by devices.

Electromagnetic Interference (EMI): This represents the electromagnetic energy a device emits, which can cause problems in other close-by devices if it is too high.

Electromagnetic Immunity (EMS): Tolerance to electromagnetic emissions.

Equipment & Standards

To properly measure the EMI that a device emits, you need special equipment defined by the CISPR 16-1-1 specification. To learn more about our EMI testing equipment, please check out How We Test Power Supply Units.

In order to minimize EMI noise, some standards have been established. The corresponding standards for Information Technology products are CISPR 32 and its derivative EN 55032. In the EU, every product featuring the "CE" marking has to comply with EN 55032. Both CISPR 32 and EN 55032 divide devices into two classes, A and B. B-class equipment is for domestic environments, so its allowed EMI emissions are significantly lower than for A-class devices.

EMI Results - Average Detector

Two spikes come close to this test's limit. Everything else is notably lower. What matters most, though, is that the BF450G's EMI filtering stage passes the average detector test successfully.

EMI Results - Peak Detector

The results are much better during our peak detector test.

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Performance, Value, Noise & Efficiency

Performance Rating

The following graph shows the BF450G’s total performance rating, comparing it to other units we have tested. To be more specific, the tested unit is shown as 100 percent, and every other unit's performance is shown relative to it.

The BF450G achieves a high overall performance score. It even lands ahead of BitFenix's own Whisper M model, which features fully modular cabling and costs around $10 more.

Performance Per Dollar

The following chart may be the most interesting to many of you because it depicts the unit's performance-per-dollar score. We looked up the current price of each PSU on popular online shops and used those prices and all relative performance numbers to calculate the index. If the specific unit wasn't available in the United States, we searched for it in popular European Union shops, converting the listed price to USD (without VAT). Note that all of the numbers in the following graph are normalized by the rated power of each PSU.  

To be sure, $60 isn't cheap for a 450W fixed-cable PSU. But thanks to its impressive performance, the BF450G achieves a decent value score.

Noise Rating

The graph below depicts the cooling fan's average noise over the PSU's operating range, with an ambient temperature between 30°C and 32°C (86°F to 89.6°F).

All BitFenix Formula (and Whisper) models are near-silent. Its BF450G sets the standard, though. 

Efficiency Rating

The following graph shows the PSU's average efficiency throughout its operating range, with an ambient temperature close to 30°C.

The BF450G's overall efficiency score is pretty high. Usually, 80 PLUS Gold-rated PSUs land a little above 88% overall efficiency. This one exceeded 89%.

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Final Analysis

The BitFenix BF450G is a very good power supply, no doubt about that. It offers tight load regulation on all of its rails, it is highly efficient, incredibly quiet, and its ripple suppression is pretty good. Although this PSU lacks a semi-passive mode and uses a smaller 120mm fan, it's still one of the quietest models we've ever tested. Channel Well Technology and BitFenix did a very good job designing the BF450G, earning this platform a top place in its efficiency class (80 PLUS Gold and ETA-A).

Some enthusiasts will be disappointed by the lack of modular cables. However, this PSU's compact footprint should simplify installation in enclosures with limited space inside. While cable management may be more difficult, this is still only a 450W power supply. It doesn't feature a ton of cables anyway. Higher-capacity PSUs are where you should start worrying about the difference between modular and non-modular connectivity.

With the shift away from SLI and CrossFire multi-GPU configurations (due to DirectX 12), high-capacity PSUs are rarely necessary these days. That means even a 450W model is ample for a decent gaming PC. Using a lower-capacity power supply facilitates higher efficiency under light and moderate loads, too. This is why we strongly recommend choosing a PSU based on your real needs, with a bit of overhead built in to avoid operating it at full load under demanding tasks.

The 450W category doesn't include many performance-oriented options since many brands start their higher-end lines at the 550W capacity point. As a result, 450W PSUs are typically pretty mainstream. For somewhere between $20 and $40, you can often find an EVGA 450 BT or Corsair CX450 on sale. Meanwhile, BitFenix is asking $60 for its BF450G. Just bear in mind that the BF450G is based on a much better platform. Besides higher performance, it's also a lot quieter than those competing models.

If you find yourself unable to forgive the fixed cables (but are fine with 450W of capacity), check out the BitFenix Whisper 450 M. It features modular cabling and should only cost about $10 more than the BF450G.

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Disclaimer: Aris Mpitziopoulos is Tom's Hardware's PSU reviewer. He is also the Chief Testing Engineer of Cybenetics, and developed the Cybenetics certification methodologies apart from his role on Tom's Hardware. Neither Tom's Hardware nor its parent company, Purch Media, are financially involved with Cybenetics. Aris does not perform the actual certifications for Cybenetics.

Bitfenix already has two very good power supply lines, the Whisper and the Formula Gold. And it seems the company wants to increase that number to three. The new flagship PSU series from Bitfenix is called Vision, and it consists of six members so far, starting from a mid-level 650W capacity up to 1500W, an ideal power level for extreme overclockers or mining setups with multiple graphics cards installed.

The Vision units will be 80 PLUS Titanium certified, while on the Cybenetics scale Bitfenix aims for an ETA-A+ level, which is'nt achievable by a number of 80 PLUS Titanium units. According to Bitfenix's PSU PM Alvin Chan, all Vision PSUs will be as silent as it gets, and the goal is to achieve LAMBDA-A++ levels (<15 dB[A]), for the lower capacity units at least. For the higher-watt models, such a low noise output is way too hard to achieve. Even if it were, it jeopardize the reliability over time, since the fan would have to spin at very low speeds under all cases, allowing for high temperatures inside the PSU. The OEM of the Vision units is Channel Well Technology (CWT), and although the platform is semi-digital, it won't be supported by software. So the user won't be able to monitor or control some of the PSU's functions. We don't have a problem with that, as long as the PSU's circuitry is smart enough to select the optimal settings per usage scenario. Still, it would be nice to be able to configure the fan's profile through software, at least.

Bitfenix allowed us to open the high-end Vision PSU and take some photos of its internals.

We also shot a video, to provide you with a better look of Bitfenix's booth at Computex 2018.

Features & Specifications

With its bold lines and aggressive styling, all wrapped in tempered glass and filled with the company's new vortex LED fans, Cougar's Panzer G chassis might be ideal the case for buyers who are tired of monolithic designs.  With its top-notch cooling performance and rugged good looks, this mid-tower case has a lot to offer, but its $120 price is a little on the high side.

Well known in the enthusiast PC community, Cougar has spent the last decade refining its "Real Gear for Real Gamers" approach across a line of products that includes power supplies, gaming peripherals and computer chassis. The latter is what brings us here today.

Exterior

Cougar’s new Panzer G features tempered glass panels on the left, right, top, and front sides, with a symmetrical frame that resembles metal crossbars. If this design looks familiar, that is because the company has used this aesthetic on several of its Panzer series chassis (if it isn't broke, don't fix it). This industrial design seems to be increasingly popular with other case manufacturers as well. The Cooler Master MasterCase H500P Mesh is a good example of a chassis with a similar crossbar frame design.

Measuring 565 x 208 x 520mm (HWD) and tipping the scales at just under 25lbs, the Panzer G's rather imposing design is constructed of steel, plastic, and tempered glass panels. The black on black paint scheme gives this chassis a bit of an ominous, sinister look. The top panel of this chassis is darkly tinted tempered glass, held in place with four thumbscrews, with mounting locations for two 120mm or 140mm fans and a magnetic mesh filter directly under it.  The area where the top and front panels meet is home to two USB 2.0 ports, a pair of USB 3.0 ports, a large power button, and headphone and microphone jacks.

The left, right, and front panels are tempered glass as well. Like most cases equipped with tempered glass panels, the Panzer G uses rubber-coated locating pins and thumbscrews to secure the panels to the frame. Air intake vents on either side of the top and front panels provide a direct path for fresh air to be drawn into the chassis. The front and top panels have cut-outs along the sides to allow air into the chassis as well. Much like the FSP CMT510, tabs at the bottom of the side panels require tilting them 45° out and away from the chassis before lifting them up and off the frame.

The bottom of the case has two filter-covered holes, one for the power supply, one for an optional 120mm fan, as well as four large, rubber-coated plastic feet.

The rear of the chassis is home to seven card slots, a motherboard I/O area, an opening for a bottom-mounted PSU, and an exhaust-fan mounting location for 120mm fans.

The fan filtration system is fairly robust in terms of its ability to prevent most dirt and dust particles from entering your system. As mentioned earlier, the metal mesh filter on the top of the case is attached by magnetic seals at the edge of the filter. The large filter in the front of the chassis also attaches to the frame via magnets. The weak point in the filtration system would be the filters located in the bottom of the chassis. Cleaning and maintenance requires turning your system complete on its side. A third magnetic filter in this location would be a better solution.

Specifications

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Hardware Installation & Test Configuration

Interior

Accessories come in a brown box zip-tied to the back of the chassis. Inside, you will find various screws, motherboard standoffs, zip ties and a manual.

Although it limits the total amount of hard drives that can be used in your system, Cougar's decision to place all hard drive mounting locations behind the motherboard tray really opens up the main compartment of the Panzer G. This design works well and is very similar to the one used in FSP's CMT510 chassis. This leaves an abundance of space in the main compartment for large graphics cards, radiators, and other water cooling components. In fact, there is more than enough room for a custom cooling loop, dual 360mm radiators, a reservoir, and a multi-GPU set-up with room to spare.

Painted black to match the exterior, the interior of the Panzer G is rather simple and straightforward. There are no traditional cable pass-through holes in the motherboard tray. Cougar instead opted for a two piece design that splits the motherboard tray into two sections with a 1-inch gap between the two sections. This design is similar to that of the NZXT H700i except without the fancy cable management bar. The hole at the upper left hand edge of the motherboard tray is specifically designed for routing fan cables and the ATX12V/EPS12V power cable. There is plenty of space for cable management in the area directly behind the motherboard tray.

This chassis can be equipped with coolers as tall as 160mm and can accommodate multiple graphics cards up to 425mm in length. The seven expansion slots will easily accommodate multi-GPU set-ups in this chassis. We tested power supplies up to 220mm in length without any issues.

As previously mentioned, the Panzer G has mounting locations for up to six 2.5" (two convertible from 3.5") and two 3.5" hard drives. All drive caddies are of the stamped steel variety. Two of the dedicated 2.5" drive caddies mount to the top of the PSU tunnel and two mount directly behind the motherboard tray. Both 3.5" drive caddies mount behind the motherboard tray as well.

However, the two mounting locations on the PSU drive tunnel seem unsightly and unnecessary. Most end users could easily forego the drive mounts on the PSU cover and still have enough hard drive mounting locations for a pair of raided SSDs for their OS and a pair of large spinning disks for storage. This also provides a much cleaner look and reduces clutter in the main compartment.

Cooling

There are mounting locations for up to eight 120mm fans: three in the top, three in the front, one in the rear, and one in the base of the case. The Panzer G also can be outfitted with up to four 140mm fans, two in the front and two in the top. The chassis ships by default with three 120mm intake fans in the front. The rear exhaust fan location supports up to 120mm fans though it is not equipped with one by default. Those of you worried about the lack of an exhaust fan can easily re-purpose one of the 120mm intake fans for use in this location without being a detriment to overall cooling performance.

Radiators and all-in-one liquid coolers up to 360mm can be mounted in top and front of this chassis. The mounting location in the front of the chassis can easily support radiators and all-in-one coolers sandwiched between fans in a push-pull configuration using the stock 120mm LED fans. Though there is a good deal of space in the top of the chassis, radiators and all-in-one coolers using a push-pull configuration require mounting one set of fans outside the frame, under the top cover. The exhaust fan mounting location can be fitted with 120mm coolers in single and dual fan configurations.

Test Configuration

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Testing Results & Conclusion

For the purposes of comparison, we are using the NZXT H700i, the Bitfenix Enso, and the be quiet! Dark Base 700. The cases used for comparison are of similar sizes and feature sets, and all have tempered-glass side panels.

CPU core temperatures on our budget quad-core Core i5-7500 processor running at 3.8GHz were very impressive. With the case's fans set at 1400 RPM, the Cougar Panzer G, thanks in no small part to the generous airflow provided by the triple 120mm intake fans, was more than capable of keeping temperatures in check. Processor temps never exceeded 37°C over the ambient temperature of 25°C. This puts the Panzer G into a tie with Cooler Master's Master Case H500P Mesh chassis and ahead of the NZXT H700i. No easy feat

Graphics-card temperatures fared even better, at 45°C over the ambient, our test GPU turned in the best performance of any of the cases we used for comparison purposes. Obviously this level of heat dissipation can be attributed to the sheer amount of unobstructed airflow, as well as the close proximity of the intake fans to our graphics card. Let's see if all this cooling performance has to come at a cost to acoustic performance.

With tempered glass panels on the front, top and both sides of this chassis, it came as no surprise that system noise was some of the best we have seen. At just 32.2 dBA under load, these results are better than the CMT510, NZXT H700i, and on par with the Dark Base 700. If keeping system noise low is at the top of your list of priorities, you'd be hard-pressed to find a quieter chassis.

Cooling efficiency and noise levels are both ways to measure performance. Determining acoustic efficiency, also referred to as "cooling-to-noise ratio," is a matter of averaging all five of our tests to determine a base value.

The Panzer G offers ticks all the right boxes, including design, functionality and performance. However, even though this chassis is less expensive than direct competitors, we believe a $100 price point would make this a deal you just couldn't pass up. Overall, this is a great case, even at $120.

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Features & Specifications

Lian Li's latest case offering, the PC-O11 Dynamic, is a gorgeous chassis with large tempered glass panels, outstanding water cooling support, and a surprisingly reasonable price tag of $99.

Exterior

Sharp eyed readers will remember that the Lian Li PC-O11 Dynamic was awarded our "Best Value PC Case" award at CES 2018 earlier this year. This chassis, designed in collaboration with renowned extreme-overclocker Roman “Der8auer” Hartung, features steel-and-tempered-glass construction, with a brushed-aluminum accent panel. The chassis measures 450 x 275 x 450mm (L x W x H), is painted black inside and out, and weighs in at just under 22lbs.

The top of the chassis is flat and, with the exception of a 5 by 15-inch row of ventilation slots, is featureless. There are no handles, buttons, slots or ports on the top if the PC-O11 Dynamic. The aforementioned slotted vents span almost the entire length of the left-hand side of the chassis, front to back.

The right-hand side of the front of the chassis is covered by a brushed aluminum panel that is home to two USB 3.0 ports, microphone and headphone jacks, a power button, and a single USB Type-C port. The majority of the front of the case is covered by a 420 x 220 x 4mm tinted tempered glass panel. 

The fact that this chassis is equipped with a full-cover tempered glass side panel isn't anything special, many cases these days have one or more glass panels. But It's the rather ingenious way the tempered glass panels are attached to the case that make this chassis stand out. The tempered glass panels can only be detached once the top panel has been removed. This clever design minimizes the possibility of dropping a glass panel during installation or maintenance, and the lack of traditional thumbscrew fasteners gives the PC-O11 Dynamic a sleek and stylish look.

Those of you concerned about airflow need only to look at the panel on the opposite side of the case, where you'll find slotted vents, identical to those on the top panel, covering both the front and back of the stamped-steel panel. Just as with the glass panels, the top panel has to be removed in order to gain access for cleaning and maintenance.

The rear of the chassis is home to eight expansion card slots, a motherboard I/O area in the center, a mounting location for a bottom-mounted PSU, as we as an opening for two 3.5" hard drives (or a secondary power supply). The bottom of the case has three filter-covered mounting locations for 120mm fans, as well as four large, rubber-lined plastic feet.

The PC-O11 Dynamic features a solid fan filtration system. Every intake fan mounting location in this chassis is equipped with a large washable magnetic filter. Overall, these filters do a good job preventing dirt and dust particles from entering your system.

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Hardware Installation & Test Configuration

Accessories for the PC-O11 Dynamic are located in a small box secured in the open 3.5" hard drive bays. The box contains the usual collection: various screws, Velcro cable straps, and an owners manual and installation guide.

Although Lian Li claims this case supports up to EATX motherboards, the reality of the situation is that since true EATX motherboard measure 13” deep by 12” tall, there are not enough standoffs to install a motherboard of that size. In fact, the motherboard tray in the PC-O11 Dynamic is designed in such a way that attempting to use a full EATX motherboard would leave over three inches of your motherboard unsupported.

With that out of the way, the inside of this chassis is absolutely cavernous. The dual-chamber design allows users to move components hard drives, power supplies, radiators and all-in-one coolers into the rear chamber, freeing up the entire main compartment for your system build.

This chassis features eight expansion slots and can accommodate multi-GPU set-ups up to 420mm in length and 150mm wide. Lian Li also offers--at an additional cost--an optional rear panel that allows you to vertically mount a dual-slot GPU.

You'll find four trapezoid-shaped cable pass-through holes with rubber grommets in the motherboard tray for cable management. Additionally, two small holes with rolled-metal edges sit at the base of the motherboard tray, and there's another for passing through the 12v motherboard power cable as well. You'll also find a large hole in the motherboard mounting plate, behind the CPU socket area, to facilitate heatsink changes without removing the motherboard. This chassis can be outfitted with CPU coolers up to 155mm and graphics cards up to 420mm.

As far as storage options go, the PC-O11 Dynamic can accommodate up to three 3.5" hard drives and a total of six 2.5" hard drives or SSDs. Two of the 2.5" drive-mounting locations can be found in the bottom of the main compartment. In the secondary compartment, there is a removable hard drive rack with two metal drive trays that can house two 3.5" and/or two 2.5" hard drives. Finally, there are mounting locations for two 2.5" SSDs or one SSD and one 3.5" drive on the cable management bar. For a cleaner look, builders can forego using the 2.5" mounting locations in the floor of the main compartment in favor of mounting all the storage devices in the secondary compartment.

Power supplies up to 210mm long can be installed in the secondary compartment behind the motherboard tray. The bottom slot can accommodate PSUs up to 210mm and--with the cable management bar in place--up 170mm in length in the top PUS slot. Removing the cable management bar allows for dual 210mm PSUs, but that comes at the expense of losing two hard drive mounting locations. Lian Li told us at CES 2018 that one of the main reasons the case is designed for two power supplies is that a pair of mid-wattage PSUs often costs less than one high-end, high-wattage PSU. While that's certainly true, we suspect the percentage of people buying this case and installing a pair of power supplies will be fairly low.

Cooling

When it comes to cooling, we were a bit disappointed to discover that the PC-O11 Dynamic doesn't ship with any fans from the factory. Obviously, this can be remedied by the end user, but it would have been nice to see at least one fan included with the case. In total, this chassis can be equipped with up to nine 120mm spinners, or a combination of two 140mm and six 120mm fans.

All-in-one coolers and radiators up to 360mm can be installed in the top, side and bottom of the chassis. When adding an all-in-one cooler or radiator in the side mounting location, the radiator can be installed (with fans) in the in the primary compartment or, for a cleaner look or to make room for other components, the fans can be mounted in the main chamber with the radiator in the secondary chamber.  

Test Configuration

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Benchmark Results & Conclusion

For the purposes of comparison, we are using the NZXT H700i, the Bitfenix Enso, and the be quiet! Dark Base 700. The cases used for comparison are of similar sizes and feature sets, and all have tempered-glass side panels.

Comparison Cases

The lack of airflow in this chassis is due to the fact that the PC-O11 Dynamic ships with no fans. Although we are fully aware that this is done as a cost-cutting measure--and enthusiasts prefer to add their own fans--we still think Lian Li should have included one intake and one exhaust fan to provide some airflow into the chassis. 

To be honest, we expected higher temperatures from a case that has no fans and is equipped with tempered-glass panels. Temperatures were higher than the cases we used for comparison purposes but, this is quite literally a worst-case scenario and temps can only get better with the addition of a couple fans. Our budget quad-core i5-7500 processor running at 3.8 GHz peaked at 52°C over the ambient temperature of 25°C. Those of you running highly overclocked systems will no-doubt want to take advantage of the water-cooling-friendly design by adding a custom water cooling loop or an all-in-one cooler. GPU temperatures also elevated at 63°C over the ambient room temperature.

Most enthusiasts are aware of the benefits of panels made of tempered glass and its ability to reflect sound back into the chassis. That, combined with a complete lack of cooling fans, means that this chassis is almost inaudible at idle. Under load, the PC-O11 Dynamic generated very little noise and is easily the quietest case in the bunch. Unfortunately, glass panels also lead to higher system temperatures. This can be remedied by the addition of one or more intake fans, but that would almost certainly negatively impact the acoustic results below.

We openly admit that our Performance Value results can be a bit misleading, even now. Anyone buying this chassis will no doubt add cooling fans and/or fans attached to radiators and all-in-one cooling solutions. Installing fans would add to the overall cost of the case, and that in turn would affect the Performance Value rating. Also, even though fanswould improve overall thermal performance, it would certainly introduce more system noise and negatively impact our acoustic-efficiency rating.

Those of you that already have an all-in-one cooler picked out for use in this chassis won't need to buy as many extra case fans, so that is something to take into consideration as well. Also, anyone buying this chassis must factor the cost of cooling fans into the total price of this chassis--unless you're carrying spinners over from a previous build. That said, even with the added cost of cooling fans, the sub-$100 asking price low enough that the PC-O11 Dynamic is still a great value.

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Features & Specifications

If you fancy yourself a PC enthusiast, not only have you heard of Cooler Master, you've most likely owned one or more of the company's products at some point: a case, a keyboard, or, well, a cooler. Today, we have the company's latest chassis on the test bench for a little review action: a tempered-glass, white-bodied version of the company’s MasterCase H500P Mesh ATX mid-tower.

Exterior

This chassis is made of steel and plastic and is painted white (inside and out) with black accents. It measures 544 x 242 x 542mm (L x W x H) and weighs just under 25 lbs. The MasterCase H500P's black-and-white color scheme gives it a bit of a storm-trooper vibe, a bonus if you are a fan of the Star Wars franchise. This $150 chassis comes with a one-year limited warranty.

There is a large tinted-acrylic window in the center of the top panel. Directly under this plastic panel is an area with mounting locations for three 120mm or 140mm fans, or two 200mm fans. Cooler Master makes use of a "structured bar design" featuring ventilation holes running along both sides of the front and top panels. These air-intake vents provide a path for fresh air to be drawn in, and Cooler Master has chosen to apply accent colors in their vicinity, providing a nice contrast to the base white color. The top of the chassis is also home to two USB 2.0 ports, a pair of USB 3.0 ports, a large power button, and headphone and microphone jacks.

The spaces between the structured bar area are fitted with the same dual-layer black metal mesh (a coarse perforated metal, backed by fine metal screening material), embedded in the frame of the front face. Behind the mesh front panel you'll find two white 200mm RGB-lit fans. The design of the front panel is a throwback to the old days, when removing the face of a chassis required taking off both side panels to gain access to six clips (three on each side) holding the front in place.

The full-coverage side panel, made of tinted tempered glass, is held in place by a slotted-head cam latch mechanism in the middle of the upper edge. A metal edge along the panel's base buffers the glass against accidental drops. The steel panel on the opposite side of the chassis is plain and secured with captive thumbscrews.

In the rear of the chassis, you'll find an opening for a bottom-mounted PSU, seven standard expansion-card slots (plus two vertical ones for video-card mounting), and an exhaust-fan mounting location that supports both 120mm and 140mm fans. The exhaust-fan mounting location features slotted screw holes that let you adjust the position of the fan to fine-tune airflow or make room for system components. There is a large plastic mesh filter covering the power-supply fan opening that is removable from the rear. The four large, rubber-coated feet keep the case approximately three-quarters of an inch off the ground.

The fan-filtration system on the H500P Mesh is a bit of a mixed bag. A large, removable nylon filter covers the opening for the power-supply fan; you remove this filter from the rear of the case. This, of course, requires moving your entire system to gain access. The fan-mounting locations in the front and top of the chassis are covered by the dual-layer black mesh we mentioned earlier. Cleaning and maintenance require removing the entire panel.

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Hardware Installation & Test Configuration

Interior

Accessories for the MasterCase H500P Mesh are located in a black box secured in one of the two 3.5" hard drive bays. The box contains various screws, zip ties, an RGB controller, and a three-way splitter cable for RGB LED fans. The box also contains a printed manual.

The interior of this chassis is rather large for a mid-tower ATX case. At first glance, the H500P Mesh looks very similar to other mid-tower cases, but, upon closer inspection, you will see some creative design choices that give you the ability to really open this chassis up.

The seven (plus two vertical) expansion slots will easily accommodate multi-GPU set-ups, and, for those of you running long graphics cards, you will be happy to know that video cards up to 412mm can be installed in this chassis. We tested power supplies up to 220mm in length without any issues or the need to move the hard drive racks. You can use CPU air coolers up to 190mm tall.

We counted five cable pass-through holes in the motherboard tray for cable management: three large rectangular openings with rubber grommets, and two smaller holes with rolled metal edges.

Cooler Master has equipped this chassis with a number of cable covers that keep your system looking neat and tidy. (We are not sure what function the CPU cut-out cover serves other than as a cosmetic feature.) We found plenty of room for cable management behind the motherboard tray whether or not you use the included cable covers.

We noted two mounting locations for the 3.5" hard drive rack in the area under the two-piece power-supply tunnel. By default, the hard drive is installed in the mounting location closest to the front of the chassis. Those of you wishing to install a 360mm radiator or an all-in-one cooler in the front of the chassis will need to move the hard drive rack to the other slot or remove it altogether. Additionally, two 2.5" hard drive caddies can be mounted on the PSU tunnel, behind the motherboard tray and on top of the hard drive rack.

Cooling duties are handled by two massive 200mm front intake fans and a large 140mm exhaust fan behind the CPU socket area. This combination of fans should provide more than enough airflow for even the most demanding system configurations.

Radiators and all-in-one coolers can be mounted in the top, front, and rear of this chassis. The mounting locations in the top and front of the chassis support radiators and liquid coolers up to 360mm. There is a total of 39mm of clearance for radiators and coolers in the space above the motherboard and an additional 39mm for fans to be mounted in the area above the frame and below the top panel.

Directly behind the 200mm intake fans is more than enough space to install a radiator or an all-in-one cooler. Creative enthusiasts can easily mount radiators and all-in-one coolers in this area to free up space in the main compartment. This also makes for an overall cleaner look. Inside the frame, the front of the chassis can easily support radiators sandwiched between fans in a push-pull configuration. The exhaust-fan mounting location can be fitted with 120mm and 140mm coolers in single- and dual-fan configurations. There was more than enough room for a multi-GPU set-up, a custom cooling loop, a reservoir, and a radiator or two.

The H500P Mesh comes with an RGB controller and a three-way splitter cable for RGB LED fans. Lighting effects such as breathing, fading, and pulse are all selectable by hooking the RGB controller to the reset button on the front face, and fan speed is also tweakable via the software provided by your motherboard vendor.

Test Configuration

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Benchmark Results & Conclusion

For the purposes of comparison, we are using the NZXT H700i, the Bitfenix Enso, and the be quiet! Dark Base 700. The cases used for comparison are of similar sizes and feature sets, and all have tempered-glass side panels.

With the case's fans set at 1400 RPM, CPU core temperatures on our budget quad-core Core i5-7500 processor running at 3.8GHz were excellent. The Cooler Master MasterCase H500P Mesh performed head and shoulders above the competition, thanks in no small part to the massive airflow provided by the dual 200mm intake fans. Processor temps never exceeded 37°C over the ambient temperature of 25°C.

Graphics-card temperatures fared even better, with our test GPU barely hitting 45°C over the ambient. Regardless of how hard we pushed our test system, the H500P Mesh stayed as cool as a cucumber. Let's see if all this cooling performance has to come at a cost to acoustic performance.

Considering this chassis has two 200mm intake fans and a mesh front panel, we were expecting higher-than-average noise levels in our testing. At idle, this case performed well, generating just 31.4dBA. Sure, the thick glass side panel helps a bit by reflecting noise back into the chassis, but conventional wisdom tells us that a case with this feature set should produce noisier results than the 34.7dBA we saw under load. Color us impressed.

As a side note, when fan speed was set at 1400 RPM, we noted a distinct "whooshing" sound produced by this chassis, as air is drawn through the perforated front face.

We determine acoustic efficiency, also referred to as "cooling-to-noise ratio," by averaging all five of our tests to determine a base value.

Although looks are subjective, we feel that the H500P Mesh is very handsome as it ships from the factory. That said, this case is (literally) a blank canvas for simple mods such as a paint job, graphics stick-ons, and other cosmetic improvements that personalize your system. This chassis is also available in gunmetal grey.

The fit and finish of this case are top-notch, and the overall construction is quite solid. Shoppers will have to decide whether these factors justify the $150 price. To our eyes, this chassis would be a much better value and a solid Editors' Choice award candidate were it in the $120 to $130 range.

Overall, the MasterCase H500P has great looks, excellent thermal performance, spiffy RGB lighting, a cleverly designed tempered-glass side panel, and a host of premium features. That said, those features come at slight premium. Also, though Cooler Master is hardly the only company guilty of this, we simply do not understand why most case manufacturers choose not to include at least one USB Type-C port on their cases in this price range.

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Features & Specifications

Announced back in November, the FSP CMT510 mid-tower ATX chassis features RGB-lit fans, tempered-glass side panels on three of its six sides, and an asking price of just $90. What’s not to like? Let’s find out.

RGB lighting and tempered glass are all the rage these days, so it seems only fitting that FSP’s latest mid-tower case has an abundance of both. It’s obvious that the company designed this chassis to showcase your system build, but the sheer amount of factory-installed RGB fans suggests a focus on cooling performance, as well.  But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s take a look at the exterior of the CMT510.

The first thing you will notice about the FSP CMT510 is its sleek, stylish design. This mid-tower ATX chassis is constructed of steel and tempered glass and is painted black inside and out. The case measures 448x208x491mm (HWD), and it weighed in right at 16 lbs.

The top of the chassis features a fan-mounting location in the rear portion of the panel that can accommodate 120mm or 140mm fans, but the 1.1” of space above the motherboard is too narrow for most all-in-one coolers and radiators. At the leading edge of the top panel, you will find two USB 3.0 ports, microphone and headphone jacks, power and reset buttons, and an RGB controller switch.

The left, right, and front panels on the CMT510 are all 4mm-thick tempered glass. The left and right side panels are held in place by rubber-coated locating pins and thumbscrews. The plastic feet on this chassis have a simple yet effective outcropping on the top that acts as a support for the glass side panel and prevents the panel from being accidentally dropped. The front glass panel is held in place by four thumbscrews that thread through the frame from the inside into brackets that hold the panel about 10mm away from the frame.  We find it odd that, unlike the side panels, there is nothing keeping this panel from falling once the last screw is removed. Extra care is warranted when removing the front panel.

The bottom of the case has two filter-covered holes, one for the power supply, one for hard drive ventilation, as well as four large, rubber-coated plastic feet. The rear of the chassis is home to seven card slots, a motherboard I/O area, and an opening for a bottom-mounted PSU.

The fan filtration system on the CMT510 is basic, but, for the most part, it serves its purpose. The included filters will keep pet hair and larger debris out of your computer but do little to prevent finer dust particles from entering your system. Also, cleaning and maintenance require turning the entire chassis on its side to remove the filters on the bottom.

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Hardware Installation & Test Configuration

A plastic bag containing various screws, zip ties, and a PSU mounting plate comes attached to the frame of the chassis with a twist tie. The bag also contains the manual.

The interior of the FSP CMT510 is very spacious for a mid-tower. This chassis looks small from the outside, thanks to FSP's clever design choices (among them, moving most of the hard drive mounts behind the motherboard tray). But you can install just about any build you can imagine in this chassis. The seven expansion slots allow for multi-GPU setups, with cards up to 400mm in length. And you'll have room to spare for radiators and all-in-one coolers (up to 360mm long) in the front of the chassis. 

An opening in the upper edge of the motherboard tray allows for routing through the 12V motherboard power cable or fan wires, and a larger hole facilitates heatsink changes without removing the motherboard. There are no traditional pass-through holes in the motherboard tray for cable management. FSP has instead opted for a two-piece motherboard-tray design that offsets both panels a bit, creating a vertical slot for routing cables. This design also provides 32mm of space behind the offset panel; here, FSP has included two 3.5" or 2.5" hard drive mounting locations. The area directly behind the motherboard is a bit tight at just 13mm, but there is still enough room for the fan controller and two 2.5" mounting locations for SSDs.  

While we are on the subject of hard drive mounting locations, the CMT510 can accommodate a total of six hard drives. Two 2.5” drives can be installed on the top of the PSU tunnel, and two 3.5” drives and an additional two 2.5” drives can go behind the motherboard tray. FSP has done away with traditional slide-out drive trays, opting instead for stamped steel trays that are fastened to the chassis via thumbscrews.

It's a surprise to see a budget-friendly chassis like this one include a total of four 120mm LED-lit fans connected to an LED lighting controller. The lighting switch allows you to cycle through a number of different illumination effects, including static color, RGB circle, RGB smooth cycle, flash three colors, and flashing white. On the cooling side of things, the triple 120mm intake fans feeding a single exhaust fan should provide more than enough airflow for everything from mild to wild enthusiast PC builds. We'll see how all that airflow affects system temperatures a bit later in this review.

Radiators and all-in-one coolers up to 360mm can be installed in the front of the case. CPU air coolers up to 165mm in height can be equipped in this chassis. This chassis can also accommodate graphics cards up to 400mm.

The CMT510 has more than enough room for modern power supplies. We installed everything from a small 650W power supply (87x150x140mm, HWD) all the way up to Thermaltake's Toughpower 1500W power supply (99x150x220mm) without any fitment issues.

Test Configuration

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Benchmarks & Final Review

Compared to similar cases such as the NZXT H700i, the Bitfenix Enso, the be quiet! Dark Base 700 and the Antec P110 Luce, this chassis falls right into the middle of the pack. We chose these cases for comparison purposes because they are of like size and feature set, and all have tempered-glass side panels.

The combination of three 120mm intake fans and a single 120mm exhaust fan provided more than enough airflow to keep system temps in check.  Fan speeds were manually set at 1,400 RPM. Under full load, CPU core temperatures on our budget quad-core Intel Core i5-7500 processor running at 3.8GHz peaked at 40°C over ambient temperature (25°C) during testing. Graphics-card temperatures benefited the most from the airflow provided by the trio of 120mm intake fans. GPU temps leveled off at 51°C over ambient temperature.

System noise was kept to a minimum, thanks in no small part to the sheer amount of tempered glass on this chassis. In fact, the CMT510 has an acoustic profile almost identical to that of the Dark Base 700, the quietest case we've tested to date. If keeping noise levels low is at the top of your list of priorities, you'd be hard-pressed to find a quieter chassis.

Cooling efficiency and noise levels are both ways to measure performance. Determining acoustic efficiency, also referred to as "cooling-to-noise ratio," is a matter of averaging all five of our tests to determine a base value.

Normally, this is the point in the review where we tell you that our value chart doesn’t take features into account. But it should be obvious by now that, in addition to its solid thermal and acoustic performance, in the FSP CMT510 you are getting a whole lot of case for the $90 asking price. 

Indeed, the CMT510 is an interesting beast. It features tempered glass galore, good performance, and whisper-quiet operation. And it provides enough LED fans to satisfy the most ardent proponents of RGB case lighting. Overall, this is a great chassis for the money.

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Features & Specifications

After the success of its Whisper PSU family, BitFenix is following up with a more affordable Formula Gold line-up. Currently, there are four models in this series with capacities ranging from 450W to 750W. They all feature 80 PLUS Gold and ETA-A efficiency. When it comes to noise, Cybenetics gives the 450W and 550W models LAMBDA-A++ (<15 dB[A]) ratings, while the 650W and 750W units achieve LAMBDA-A+ (15 to 20 dB[A]) acoustic readings.

Today, we're reviewing the Formula Gold family's second-strongest product, the BF650G, which offers enough capacity to power a mid-range gaming system.

Like the other Formula Gold units, BitFenix's BF650G features compact dimensions, thanks to a 14cm depth measurement. Increasingly, OEMs are trying to shrink their PSUs in an effort to simplify installation. We don't have a problem with this downsizing, so long as it doesn't affect performance or noise. Naturally, lower-capacity models can be miniaturized more easily than higher-capacity ones, which tend to run hotter and require more cooling. In our opinion, though, no PSU's performance should be compromised in the name of a smaller footprint, and the same applies to acoustics. Back in the day, most of us didn't have a problem with loud PCs, so long as they were fast. But as the years passed and efficiency took center stage, noisy components became oddities. Quiet operation is a huge advantage, and PSUs play a significant role in keeping overall noise output low, especially under taxing workloads.

Specifications

The BF650G's temperature rating for full power output is specified at 40°C, and the PSU includes all of the protection features you could possibly want.

Its 120mm fan uses a rifle bearing, which is an enhanced version of the sleeve bearing. The fan is driven by a relaxed speed profile, so it's very quiet, even under tough conditions. There is no semi-passive mode, which we don't consider an issue since the fan spins so slowly under light loads anyway.

Finally, BitFenix's five-year warranty is satisfactory in light of its $80 price tag.

Power Specifications

There are four +12V rails, two of which offer higher current output than the others. The minor rails are limited to 100W of maximum combined power (at least on paper, since OCP on those rails is much higher), while the 5VSB rail has the capacity we'd expect from a modern PSU.

Cables & Connectors

It is nice to see an affordable, mid-capacity PSU with a couple of EPS connectors. Four PCIe connectors allow the BF650G to handle a couple of potent graphics cards, while eight SATA connectors are more than enough for any mid-range system. There is also a quartet of four-pin Molex connectors exposed across two cables. You don't get a FDD connector, though, which we're not bothered by. Use an adapter if you really need one.

Power Distribution

There are four +12V rails, two of which have higher OCP than the other two. The first +12V rail (12V1) feeds a 24-pin ATX connector, along with the peripheral connectors. The EPS connector is handled through 12V2, while 12V3 and 12V4 power a couple of PCIe connectors each. All in all, BitFenix's power distribution is optimal.

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Unboxing Video

The following video shows the unboxing the BF650G.

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Teardown & Component Analysis

Before proceeding with this page we strongly encourage you to a look at our PSUs 101 article, which provides valuable information about PSUs and their operation, allowing you to better understand the components we're about to discuss.

This platform shares a number of similarities with CWT's GPS. However, BitFenix's PSU PM let us know that it is a different and slightly modified version without any modular cables. We find a half-bridge topology and an LLC resonant converter on the primary side. On the secondary side, there's a synchronous rectification scheme for generating the +12V rail. The minor rails are handled by a couple of VRMs. The platform's PCB is underpopulated, so it doesn't reveal the PSU's true capacity. As usual for a CWT design, heat sinks on the secondary side are tiny. The +12V FETs are installed right below them, on the main PCB's solder side, and strangely enough they aren't cooled by the chassis.

BitFenix's build quality is very good. The company chose a reliable mix of electrolytic and polymer caps that should provide the desired reliability. It is always nice to see an increased number of polymer caps used for filtering purposes, since they're more tolerant of high operating temperatures than electrolytic capacitors.

Again, the cooling fan uses a rifle bearing, which is an improved version of the sleeve bearing. It offers a longer lifetime, since it uses gaskets to keep lubricant within the bearing. However, rifle bearing fans cannot match the lifetime of pricier FDB fans.

The following video footage shows the BF650G's internals.

We also have some photos of the fan's rifle bearing:

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Load Regulation, Hold-Up Time & Inrush Current

To learn more about our PSU tests and methodology, please check out How We Test Power Supply Units. 

Primary Rails And 5VSB Load Regulation

Load Regulation testing is detailed here.

Hold-Up Time

Our hold-up time tests are described in detail here.

The hold-up time we measure is longer than 17ms, while the power-good signal is accurate and only a hair away from 16ms.

Inrush Current

For details on our inrush current testing, please click here.

The inrush current with 115V is low. However, this is not the case with 230V input.

Load Regulation And Efficiency Measurements

The first set of tests reveals the stability of the voltage rails and the BF650G's efficiency. The applied load equals (approximately) 10 to 110 percent of the PSU's maximum load in increments of 10 percentage points.

We conducted two additional tests. During the first, we stressed the two minor rails (5V and 3.3V) with a high load, while the load at +12V was only 0.1A. This test reveals whether a PSU is compatible with Intel's C6/C7 sleep states or not. In the second test, we determined the maximum load the +12V rail could handle with minimal load on the minor rails.

Load regulation on the +12V rail falls within 1%. But we expected an even better result, given the native cables. Our results are better on the minor rails, with both 5V and 3.3V staying within 0.4%.

Efficiency-wise, the BF650G does satisfy the 80 PLUS Gold standard's requirements, despite the tough operating conditions we apply.

Noise is minimal up to about 50% load, it remains below 30 dB(A) with up to 70% load, and only goes over 40 dB(A) during our full-load test. In general, this is a quiet PSU, even though it doesn't have a semi-passive fan mode.

The power factor readings are a little on the low side, though they don't give us cause for worry.

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Efficiency, Temperature & Noise

Efficiency

Our efficiency testing procedure is detailed here.

Using results from the previous page, we plotted a chart showing the BF650G's efficiency at low loads, and loads from 10 to 110 percent of its maximum-rated capacity.

The PSU's efficiency is very high under both normal and light loads. Its lack of modular connectors provides an edge over competing offerings with modular cables.

Efficiency At Low Loads

In the following tests, we measure the BF650G's efficiency at loads significantly lower than 10 percent of its maximum capacity (the lowest load the 80 PLUS standard measures). The loads we dialed were 20, 40, 60, and 80W. This is important for representing when a PC is idle, with power-saving features turned on.

The BF650G's efficiency is very high under light loads. Even with 20W, it comes close to 72%-efficient. In the other three tests, it easily passes the 80% mark.

5VSB Efficiency

The ATX specification, along with CEC, ErP Lot 3 2014 and ErP Lot 6 2010/2013, states that 5VSB standby supply efficiency should be as high as possible, recommending 75 percent or higher with 550mA, 1A, and 1.5A of load. The PSU should also achieve higher than 75% efficiency at 5VSB under full load, or with 3A if its max current output on this rail is higher than 3A.

We take six measurements: one each at 100, 250, 550, 1000, and 1500mA, and one with the full load the 5VSB rail can handle.

The 5VSB rail is efficient, as is usually the case in CWT's implementations.

Power Consumption In Idle And Standby

In the table below, you'll find the power consumption and voltage values of all rails (except -12V) when the PSU is idle (powered on, but without any load on its rails), and the power consumption when the PSU is in standby mode (without any load, at 5VSB).

According to our measurements, phantom power is very low.

Fan RPM, Delta Temperature, And Output Noise

Our mixed noise testing is described in detail here.

The first chart below illustrates the cooling fan's speed (in RPM), and the delta between input and output temperature. The results were obtained at 37°C (98.6°F) to 46°C (114.8°F) ambient temperature.   

The next chart shows the cooling fan's speed (again, in RPM) and output noise. We measured acoustics from one meter away, inside a hemi-anechoic chamber. Background noise inside the chamber was below 6 dB(A) during testing (it's actually much lower, but our sound meter’s microphone hits its floor), and the results were obtained with the PSU operating at 37°C (98.6°F) to 46°C (114.8°F) ambient temperature. 

The following graph illustrates the fan's output noise over the PSU's operating range. The same conditions of the above graph apply to our measurements, though the ambient temperature was between at 30°C (86°F) to 32°C (89.6°F).  

BitFenix's fan profile is very relaxed, as you can see in the graph above. Up through around 390W of load, the PSU generates less than 10 dB(A), and it has to load the +12V rail with more than 530W to make the fan spin at its highest speeds.

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Protection Features

Check out our PSUs 101 article to learn more about PSU protection features. Our protection features evaluation methodology is described in detail here.

OCP's triggering points on the +12V rail are notably higher than the ones listed on BitFenix's spec sheet. The difference between the first and second pair of +12V rails is around 5A, with the latter ones being stronger. OCP on the minor rails is configured properly, and the same goes for over-power protection.

Since the +12V FETs are installed on the main PCB's solder side, we had to apply a very high temperature on the secondary side to trigger over-temperature protection.

Finally, the power-good signal is accurate, and there is protection against large inrush currents/voltage spikes coming from the grid.

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Cross-Load Tests & Infrared Images

Our cross-load tests are described in detail here.

To generate the following charts, we set our loaders to auto mode through our custom-made software before trying more than 25,000 possible load combinations with the +12V, 5V, and 3.3V rails. The load regulation deviations in each of the charts below were calculated by taking the nominal values of the rails (12V, 5V, and 3.3V) as point zero. The ambient temperature was between at 30°C (86°F) to 32°C (89.6°F).

Load Regulation Charts

Efficiency Chart

Although efficiency is high across the board, the sweet spot falls between 150W and 340W.

Ripple Charts

Infrared Images

We applied half-load for 10 minutes with the PSU's top cover and cooling fan removed before taking photos with our modified FLIR E4 camera that delivers 320x240 IR resolution (76,800 pixels).

Temperatures inside the BF650G are low. BitFenix places the secondary side's electrolytic caps away from hot components, so they never overheat.

FETs on the DC-DC boards get to around 60°C, while the bulk cap runs cool (operating at close to 40°C).

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Transient Response Tests

Advanced Transient Response Tests

For details on our transient response testing, please click here.

Ιn these tests, we monitor the BF650G's response in several scenarios. First, a transient load (10A at +12V, 5A at 5V, 5A at 3.3V, and 0.5A at 5VSB) is applied for 200ms as the PSU works at 20 percent load. In the second scenario, it's hit by the same transient load while operating at 50 percent load.

In the next sets of tests, we increase the transient load on the major rails with a new configuration: 15A at +12V, 6A at 5V, 6A at 3.3V, and 0.5A at 5VSB. We also increase the load-changing repetition rate from 5 Hz (200ms) to 50 Hz (20ms). Again, this runs with the PSU operating at 20 and 50 percent load.

The last tests are even tougher. Although we keep the same loads, the load-changing repetition rate rises to 1 kHz (1ms).

In all of the tests, we use an oscilloscope to measure the voltage drops caused by the transient load. The voltages should remain within the ATX specification's regulation limits.

These tests are crucial because they simulate the transient loads a PSU is likely to handle (such as booting a RAID array or an instant 100 percent load of CPU/GPUs). We call these "Advanced Transient Response Tests," and they are designed to be very tough to master, especially for a PSU with a capacity of less than 500W.  

Advanced Transient Response at 20 Percent – 200ms

Advanced Transient Response at 20 Percent – 20ms

Advanced Transient Response at 20 Percent – 1ms

Advanced Transient Response at 50 Percent – 200ms

Advanced Transient Response at 50 Percent – 20ms

Advanced Transient Response at 50 Percent – 1ms

The +12V rail's transient response with a slower load-changing repetition rate is quite good. Naturally, as the repetition rate and load increase, the deviations grow larger.

Transient response is pretty good on the minor rails, with the 3.3V rail performing particularly well in all of our tests.

Here are the oscilloscope screenshots we took during Advanced Transient Response Testing:

Transient Response At 20 Percent Load – 200ms

Transient Response At 20 Percent Load – 20ms

Transient Response At 20 Percent Load – 1ms

Transient Response At 50 Percent Load – 200ms

Transient Response At 50 Percent Load – 20ms

Transient Response At 50 Percent Load – 1ms

Turn-On Transient Tests

In the next set of tests, we measured the BF650G's response in simpler transient load scenarios—during its power-on phase.

For our first measurement, we turned the BF650G off, dialed in the maximum current the 5VSB rail could output, and switched the PSU back on. In the second test, we dialed the maximum load the +12V rail could handle and started the 650W supply while it was in standby mode. In the last test, while the PSU was completely switched off (we cut off the power or switched the PSU off), we dialed the maximum load the +12V rail could handle before switching it back on from the loader and restoring power. The ATX specification states that recorded spikes on all rails should not exceed 10 percent of their nominal values (+10 percent for 12V is 13.2V, and 5.5 V for 5V).

There is only one small step and a tiny spike in the last test, which give us nothing to worry about. In general, the PSU achieves good performance in these benchmarks.

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Ripple Measurements

To learn how we measure ripple, please click here.

The following table includes the ripple levels we measured on the BF650G's rails. The limits, according to the ATX specification, are 120mV (+12V) and 50mV (5V, 3.3V, and 5VSB).

The ripple suppression we observe on each rail is good. Together, CWT and BitFenix did a fine job on this platform.

Ripple Oscilloscope Screenshots

The following oscilloscope screenshots illustrate the AC ripple and noise registered on the main rails (+12V, 5V, 3.3V and 5VSB). The bigger the fluctuations on the screen, the bigger the ripple/noise. We set 0.01 V/Div (each vertical division/box equals 0.01V) as the standard for all measurements.

Ripple At Full Load

Ripple At 110-Percent Load

Ripple At Cross-Load 1

Ripple At Cross-Load 2

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EMC Pre-Compliance Testing

EMC, EMI & EMS Acronyms

Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC): The ability of a device to operate properly in its environment without disrupting the operation of other close-by devices.

Electromagnetic Interference (EMI): This represents the electromagnetic energy a device emits, which can cause problems in other close-by devices if it is too high.

Electromagnetic Immunity (EMS): Tolerance to electromagnetic emissions.

Equipment & Standards

To properly measure the EMI that a device emits, you need special equipment defined by the CISPR 16-1-1 specification. To learn more about our EMI testing equipment, please check out How We Test Power Supply Units.

In order to minimize EMI noise, some standards have been established. The corresponding standards for Information Technology products are CISPR 22 and its derivative EN 55022. In the EU, every product featuring the "CE" marking has to comply with EN 55022. Both CISPR 22 and EN 55022 divide devices into two classes, A and B. B-class equipment is for domestic environments, so its allowed EMI emissions are significantly lower than for A-class devices.

EMI Results - Average Detector

EMI spurs are kept below the red line, so everything checks out here.

EMI Results - Peak Detector

The results of our peak detector test are even better. A handful of spurs show up on our chart, but they show up way below the respective limits.

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Performance, Value, Noise & Efficiency

Performance Rating

The following graph shows the BF650G's total performance rating, comparing it to other units we have tested. To be more specific, the tested unit is shown as 100 percent, and every other unit's performance is shown relative to it.

BitFenix's relative performance is very high. The BF650G even passes Corsair's excellent RM650x, which is fully modular but costs more.

Performance Per Dollar

The following chart may be the most interesting to many of you because it depicts the unit's performance-per-dollar score. We looked up the current price of each PSU on popular online shops and used those prices and all relative performance numbers to calculate the index. If the specific unit wasn't available in the United States, we searched for it in popular European Union shops, converting the listed price to USD (without VAT). Note that all of the numbers in the following graph are normalized by the rated power of each PSU.  

An $80 price tag is good for this level of performance, so naturally BitFenix earns a solid value score.

Noise Rating

The graph below depicts the cooling fan's average noise over the PSU's operating range, with an ambient temperature between 30°C and 32°C (86°F to 89.6°F).

The BF650G is one of the quietest PSUs in our test pool.

Efficiency Rating

The following graph shows the PSU's average efficiency throughout its operating range, with an ambient temperature close to 30°C.

When it comes to efficiency, the BF650G also fares well. Its fixed cables allow for lower voltage drops, translating into less wasted energy.

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Final Analysis

BitFenix looks like it's doing pretty well in the PSU market. After introducing the popular Whisper family, it decided to tackle the mid-range power supply space with a more affordable line-up armed with high performance and low noise. Once again, a collaborative relationship with Channel Well Technology plays a key role in determining the Formula Gold series' success. The product of their cooperation features compact dimensions and good build quality. In our opinion, CWT is a solid OEM. That's why a lot of brands prefer it for their PSUs.

The BF650G offers a lot of advantages, the most notable being a pair of EPS connectors that make it compatible with high-end motherboards (including those with support for AMD's Threadripper CPUs). Moreover, four PCIe connector easily accommodate a couple of high-end graphics cards, so long as they aren't overclocked aggressively. The native cable design doesn't allow for a lot of peripheral connectors, but we think the ones BitFenix gives you should be enough given this PSU's capacity.

Besides tight load regulation, good ripple suppression, and satisfactory transient response, the BG650G is also super quiet. That's a big strength if you're looking to build a PC with other components that don't make much noise. It might sound odd, but a PSU can dramatically affect a PC's acoustic output, especially under tough conditions. They days when PSU noise was considered of minor importance are thankfully long gone. Nowadays, most manufacturers pay a lot of attention to fan profiles, with semi-passive modes available on a majority of high-efficiency PSUs. The BF650G isn't equipped with a semi-passive mode, but that's not a problem because its fan spins slowly under mild loads.

Speaking of the fan, it uses a rifle bearing and not a fluid dynamic bearing, as the box claims. Nonetheless, we didn't expect to find an FDB-based fan at this price range, and rifle bearing fans last a long time as well. That's why they're so popular in good-quality, budget-oriented PSUs. Considering the five-year warranty covering all Formula Gold models, the fan should outlive BitFenix's guarantee.

The BF650G's overall performance is very high, and its compact dimensions, quiet operation, and fair price tag are tremendous assets. Some enthusiasts might count the native cables against BitFenix; however, at this price point, you can't have it all. We'll take non-modular cables over lower performance or sub-par build quality any day of the week.

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Disclaimer: Aris Mpitziopoulos is Tom's Hardware's PSU reviewer. He is also the Chief Testing Engineer of Cybenetics, and developed the Cybenetics certification methodologies apart from his role on Tom's Hardware. Neither Tom's Hardware nor its parent company, Purch Media, are financially involved with Cybenetics. Aris does not perform the actual certifications for Cybenetics.­

Features and Specifications

NZXT's new H series line of cases, announced in early 2017, are equipped with installed RGB lighting, Aer F-series fans, and a tempered-glass side panel. We've got the H700i mid-tower chassis on the test bench. Let's dive right in.

Specifications

Exterior

The NZXT H700i mid-tower chassis comes in black or white and a variety of accent colors, including black, blue, and red. Measuring 516 x 230 x 494mm, it weighs just over 27lbs, retails for $200, and comes with a two-year warranty.

The top of the H700i is home to two USB 2.0 ports, a pair of USB 3.0 ports and headphone and microphone jacks. The rest of the top panel is smooth and featureless. The front and side of the chassis are devoid of features as well. The opposite side panel features a one-button release mechanism that allows instant access to the area behind the motherboard tray. Air intake vents on either side of the top and front panels not only provide a path for fresh air to be drawn in, it is also the area where NZXT has applied accent colors, providing a distinctive bit of flair to the overall look of the H700i.

As you can see from the photos, the 5mm thick tempered-glass side panel is slightly recessed making it a bit difficult to reinstall on the rubber-coated locating pins once it has been removed. Metal thumb screws with rubber washers keep the tempered-glass panel in place.

The rear of the chassis has a standard motherboard I/O area, seven expansion card slots, and an opening for a bottom-mounted power supply. Supporting both 120 and 140mm fans and outfitted with 140mm fan, the exhaust fan mounting location features slotted screw holes that let you slide the fan up or down to make room for system components or to fine tune airflow. The bottom of the case has a single filtered hole for the power supply and four large rectangular rubber-coated feet that keep the case approximately one inch off any surface

The NZXT H700i employs a fairly standard fan filtration system. There is a large removable nylon filter that covers the fan mounting locations in the front of the chassis and a power supply filter that you remove from the rear of the case. The fan mounting locations in the top of the chassis are unfiltered.

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Hardware Installation and Test Configuration

Accessories for the NZXT H700i are located in a small white box secured in one of the two 3.5" hard drive bays. The box contains various screws, zip ties, and an additional LED RGB lighting strip and extension cable. The box also contains an owners manual.

Thanks to the recent popularity of relocating hard drive racks to the area under the power supply tunnel, cases like the H700i have an abundance of space in the main compartment for water cooling components. In fact, even though this chassis is equipped with a trio of 120mm intake fans, a 140mm exhaust fan, and a large cable management bar, there is more than enough room for a custom cooling loop, reservoir, and a multi-GPU set-up with room to spare.

While we are on the subject of space, it's worth mentioning that it's becoming increasingly common among case manufacturers to list support for E-ATX motherboards up to 10.7”. Although that sounds great, true E-ATX motherboards measure 12 x 13” deep. You can imagine how unhappy you'd be if you bought this case under the assumption it supported a full-sized E-ATX motherboard.

In lieu of traditional cable pass-through holes in the motherboard tray, NZXT has opted for a 8.7” x 1.75” vertical slot for cable management. To keep things neat and tidy, you get a large cable management bar that, along with the PSU cover, help hide unsightly wires and cable clutter. The cable management bar is painted to match to the H700i's accent color.  There is a 10" x .5" opening in the upper edge of the motherboard tray that's designed to allow routing the 12V motherboard power cable or fan wires. A large hole in the motherboard mounting plate facilitates heatsink changes without removing the motherboard. Space behind the motherboard, although well designed, is extremely limited. NZXT has included a number of plastic routing blocks for cable management and plenty of tie down points, but even so, space is at a premium and requires careful planning.

There are mounting locations for a total of three 3.5” hard drives and seven 2.5” drives, two of which are convertible from the two 3.5" drive slots mounted under the PSU tunnel. Of the five dedicated mounting locations for 2.5" drives, two are located behind the motherboard tray and three are mounted to the outside of the PSU tunnel. The 2.5” drive caddies mounted to the PSU tunnel are plastic and are removed by squeezing them from the sides. Although both 3.5” drive racks are removable, you have to remove the top hard drive rack to access the bottom drive rack. Additionally, you can move the 3.5” hard drive racks closer to the front panel or rear of the chassis (toward the PSU).

Cooling duties are handled by three 120mm front intake fans and a large 140mm exhaust fan behind the CPU socket area. The sheer number of fans installed in this chassis from the factory should provide more than enough airflow for even the most demanding system configurations.

Although some larger PSUs may require relocating the hard drive racks, the H700i can accommodate power supplies up to 250mm in length without moving the hard drive racks. You can use CPU air coolers up to 185mm tall and the case can accommodate multiple graphics cards up to 423mm in length.

Radiators and all-in-one coolers can be mounted in the top, front, and rear of this chassis. The mounting locations in the front of the chassis support radiators and liquid coolers up to 360mm. There is a total of 39mm clearance for radiators and coolers in the space above the motherboard and an additional 39mm for fans to be mounted in the area above the frame and below the top panel.

As with all cases of this size, most all-in-one coolers can be physically mounted in the front of this chassis, but because of the fixed length of the tubing, some coolers might not be able to reach the CPU socket. However, these locations are ideal for mounting radiators for water-cooled graphics cards.

Radiators and all-in-one liquid coolers up to 360mm can be mounted inside the main compartment of the chassis. The front of the chassis can easily support radiators sandwiched between fans in a push-pull configuration. The exhaust fan mounting location can be fitted with 120 and 140mm coolers in single and dual fan configurations.

NZXT bills the H700i as a “smart case.” The company employs the use of an Adaptive Noise Reduction algorithm that actively adjusts fan speeds based on measured noise and CPU/GPU temperature changes. This chassis is also equipped with a fan controller/LED RGB lighting controller with three 10W fan channels and support for up to four LED lighting strips or five RGB fans.

The H700i comes with one installed 12” RGB lighting strip and includes an additional 12” LED RGB lighting strip in the accessory box. LED functionality and fan speeds are controlled by the company’s proprietary CAM software. Lighting effects such as breathing, fading, pulse, alternating, and wings can all be selected from the CAM software user interface. Not a fan of NZXT’s CAM software? RGB lighting and fan speed can also be controlled via the software provided by your motherboard vendor.

Test Configuration

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Benchmarks and Final Review

For comparison purposes, we pit the NZXT H700i against the Antec P110 Luce, Bitfenix Enso, and the be quiet! Dark Base 700. The cases used for comparison are of similar size and features, and all have tempered-glass side panels.

With fan speeds set at 1400 RPM, CPU core temperatures on our budget quad-core i5-7500 processor running at 3.8 GHz were easily some of the best we've ever recorded with this test system. At just 38°C over the ambient temperature of 25°C, the massive airflow provided by the three 120mm intake fans made quick work of the heat generated by our test system, and regardless of how hard we pushed our test system we couldn't get the H700i to come close to breaking a sweat.

GPU temperatures also benefited from the direct airflow provided by the triple 120mm intake fans. Registering 47°C over the ambient temperature, these test results are once again some of the lowest we've seen in this test configuration. Now it's time to find out what kind of acoustic performance we can expect.

Noise-wise, the NZXT H700i performed similarly to other mid-tower chassis equipped with a large tempered-glass side panel. At idle, this chassis performed very well at just 31.1dBA. Under full load, the noise output was slightly higher than the Dark Base 700 but less than the Bitfenix Enso. Even with a closed front panel and a thick tempered-glass side panel, the number of intake fans adversely affected acoustic performance. Thanks to the included fan controller, fan speeds can be adjusted to reduce noise output without sacrificing much in the way of thermal performance.  

We determine acoustic efficiency, also referred to as cooling-to-noise ratio, by averaging all five of our tests to determine a base value.

Although looks are subjective, we think this is a very handsome chassis, and the clever color choices offer enough variety for just about everyone. This chassis doesn’t just look good either; it performs very well and comes with a number of premium features that set it apart from the crowded mid-tower market. On the other hand, great looks and above-average performance come at a premium cost. As a side note, the lack of at least one USB Type-C port seems like a glaring oversight in such a premium case, especially in this price range.

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Features & Specifications

On the test bench today we have the Antec P110 Luce, a full-featured, mid-tower chassis with a tempered-glass side panel. This chassis is constructed of steel, aluminum, and plastic and is painted black inside and out. The case measures 230 x 489 x 518mm (W x D x H) and weighs just under 26lbs.

Specifications

The rear portion of the top of the case is covered by a plastic mesh filter with magnets embedded in each corner. Directly under the filter is a mesh area that has mounting locations for two 120mm/140mm fans.

The front of the chassis consists of a large plastic panel with a .8mm brushed-aluminum cover. There are vertical air intake vents on either side of the front fascia. Aside from the lighted Antec logo in the upper left hand corner, the front panel is featureless and lacks any 5.25" drive bay openings. The front panel is tool-less and is attached to the chassis via metal push pins. Removing the panel for maintenance or component installation is a simple matter of pulling the lower edge out and away from the chassis. The front panel requires very little effort to remove. Care must be taken when lifting or moving your system to prevent the panel from popping off.

The tempered-glass side panel, held in place by rubber-coated locating pins and thumbscrews, measures 451 x 489mm and covers the entire side of the case. Oddly enough, the metal panel on the opposite side of the chassis also features locating pins and thumbscrews, almost as if this chassis could be fitted with a tempered-glass side panel on this side as well. 

The bottom of the case has a large filtered hole for power supply ventilation and four large plastic feet. The rear of the chassis is home to ten expansion card slots (8 horizontal, two vertical), motherboard I/O area, and an opening for a bottom-mounted PSU.

The screw holes for the rear-mounted 120mm exhaust fan are slotted, allowing you to slide the fan up or down. This is especially useful when making room for other components or for fine tuning the airflow in your system.

The Antec P110 Luce features a robust filtration system that is easy to use and maintain. Every intake fan mounting location is equipped with a removable nylon fan filter. The filter on the top and front attach to the chassis via built-in magnets. The large filter on the bottom of the chassis slides in and out on rails. Kudos to Antec for making the bottom filter removable from the side of the chassis so maintenance doesn't require you to move your entire system to gain access to the filter.

Inside one of the empty 3.5" drive bays you will find a small white box containing various screws, Velcro cable straps, and an installation guide.

The interior of the P110 Luce is roomy for a mid-tower ATX chassis. This can be attributed in large part to the lack internal drive bay racks in the main component compartment. This chassis can accommodate up to ATX motherboards. The eight expansion slots make it possible to install up to three graphics cards in SLI and/or CrossFire (even on motherboards that require the third card be placed into the bottom slot -ed).

The chassis also features two expansion slots for vertically mounting a dual-slot GPU, though no PCI-e riser cable is included. Although this case supports graphics cards up to 390mm, cards of this length can prevent the installation of all-in-one coolers and fans in the front of the chassis.

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Hardware Installation & Test Configuration

In lieu of traditional cable pass-through holes, the P110 Luce features a large rectangular cut-out on the right-hand side of the motherboard tray measuring 291 x 70mm (H x W) for cable management. A large silver "cable management bar" covers most of the wires that pass through the motherboard tray.

Additionally, there are two smaller holes in the PSU cover that allow power cable routing. The cable pass-through hole at the upper left hand edge of the motherboard tray is specifically designed for routing fan cables and the ATX12V/EPS12V power cable.

There is also a large hole in the motherboard tray behind the CPU socket area to facilitate heatsink changes without removing the motherboard. Behind the motherboard tray there are plenty of tie down points and close to 20mm of space for cable management.

The P110 Luce has mounting locations for up to eight internal hard drives. There are two mounting locations under the PSU tunnel that can accommodate both 2.5" and 3.5" drives. Behind the motherboard tray you will find two dedicated mounting locations for a 2.5” SSD. On the top of the PSU tunnel in the main compartment there are two removable drive trays that can be outfitted with up to four 3.5" hard drives or two 3.5" hard drives and two SSDs. All drive caddies are made of metal and come with rubber grommets for vibration dampening. Depending on the size of the motherboard, graphics card size and configuration, it might not be possible to use the drive caddies that mount to the top of the PSU tunnel.

The 120mm exhaust fan coupled with a single 120mm intake fan provides adequate airflow, but just barely. Ideally we would have liked to have seen a larger 140mm intake fan (or an additional 120mm) to improve airflow, but this is something that enterprising enthusiasts can easily accomplish on their own.

This chassis can be equipped with power supplies up to 200mm with the removable hard drive rack in place. Removing the hard drive racks allowed us to easily install power supplies up 225mm in length.

Cooling

The P110 Luce can be equipped with coolers up to 165mm tall and can accommodate graphics cards up to 390mm in length. For longer, heavier graphics cards, there is an adjustable VGA holder built into the cable management bar.

Radiators and all-in-one coolers can be mounted in the top, front, and rear of this chassis. The mounting locations in the front of the chassis supports 120, 140, 240, 280, and 360mm radiators. It should be taken into account that even though most all-in-one coolers can be physically mounted in the front of this chassis, due to the fixed length of the tubing, some coolers might not be able to reach the CPU socket. But these locations are ideal for mounting radiators for water-cooled graphics cards.

Radiators can be mounted inside the main compartment of the chassis or outside the frame, behind the front fascia. Radiator and all-in-one cooler fans can be mounted in a push-pull configuration by mounting the radiator inside the chassis with the push fans mounted in the area behind the front panel. The mounting locations in the top of the chassis support 120mm and 240mm radiators. As is the case with most chassis that have mounting locations in the top panel, some coolers may be limited to a single fan configuration, depending on the size of your motherboard. Finally, a 120mm all-in-one cooler or radiator can be mounted in the exhaust fan location in single and dual fan configurations.

As previously mentioned, the two 120mm fans included from the factory (one intake, one exhaust) provided barely enough airflow to keep the components in our test system cool. We found that even small changes, such as installing a video card with a blower style cooler, drastically impacted the the airflow profile of this chassis. The reason for this was a simple matter of the cool outside air provided by the single 120mm intake fan being immediately sucked into the blower style GPU cooler and forced out the rear of the chassis. While this benefited graphics card temperatures, the rest of the system suffered as a result. Again, we highly recommend installing a second intake fan or, at the very least, a higher volume 140mm fan.

Comparison Products

Test Configuration

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Benchmark Results & Conclusion

[Note: This is a different test platform from the one used in our other ATX case reviews, so we re-tested the BitFenix Nova to keep the comparison fair. This is indicated by the "test #2." Readers who are good with numbers should be able to make comparisons between the cases tested here and those tested at our other lab.]

During testing, temperatures on our budget quad-core i5-7500 processor running at 3.8 GHz reached 45°C over the ambient temperature of 25°C. GPU temperatures definitely benefited from the placement of the 120mm intake fan, registering 56°C over the ambient temperature. In the end, we saw higher CPU temp and lower GPU temps than other chassis in this comparison set.

The benefit of having only two 120mm fans and a large tempered glass panel are that acoustics are very good overall. At idle, the P110 Luce rivaled the performance of the Bitfenix Nova TG. Additionally, at just 34.4dBA under full load, this chassis provided the lowest noise output of the three chassis used for comparison purposes.

Determining acoustic efficiency, also referred to as cooling-to-noise ratio, is a matter of averaging all five of our tests to determine a base value.

Although our performance-value chart doesn’t take features into account, we don't think the Antec P110 Luce has enough extras to justify its $120 price tag. Especially considering the fact that the market is full of cases with tempered-glass side panels that cost half what Antec is asking.

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BitFenix announced a new version of its Spectre Pro-series fans, adding RGB lighting to the quiet-operation cooling devices.

The BitFenix Spectre Pro RGB is a direct successor to the Spectre Pro lineup, which consists of 120mm, 140mm, 200mm, and 230mm fans with fluid dynamic bearings and reinforced blades for durability and longevity. The new versions feature a centered RGB LED light in the blades that illuminate the fan with the company’s TriBright LED technology, which BitFenix said offers longer product life, higher color saturation, and increased brightness.

The Spectre Pro RGB fans come in a variety of different SKUs, but it breaks down rather easily. Each of the four fan sizes come in stand-alone packages or with an optional fan controller, for a total of eight SKUs. The new Spectre Pro RGB fans are also compatible with other BitFenix products, including the Aurora and Shogun cases, and Asus Aura Sync, which allows users to control the RGB lighting by connecting the fans directly to an Asus-branded motherboard sporting the feature.

Pricing and availability of the new BitFenix Spectre Pro RGB fans are currently unknown.

Features & Specifications

Originally spotted at Computex 2017, this mid-tower ATX chassis sports a tempered-glass side panel, RGB lighting functionality, and a price tag that won’t break the bank. The Bitfenix Enso is constructed of steel and plastic, measures 210 x 489 x 454mm (W x H x D), and is painted in black inside and out. Tipping the scales at just 15lbs, this chassis is fairly light considering its 4mm thick glass.

Specifications

Exterior

At first glance, the Bitfenix Enso looks like your average ATX mid-tower. It is only upon closer inspection that this chassis begins to set itself apart from the crowd.

The rear portion of the top of the case is covered by a removable magnetic metal mesh dust filter. Directly under the filter is a mesh area that has mounting locations for two 120mm fans. The leading edge of the top panel is home to two USB 3.0 ports, headphone and microphone jacks, HDD LED, power and reset buttons, and LED controller buttons.

The front of the chassis consists of a large plastic panel with LED lighting strips in all four corners. There are no openings for 5.25" drives or drive bay accessories. The front of the case lacks vents of any sort. All incoming air is drawn into the chassis via a cutout in the bottom inner edge of the fascia. The front panel is tool-less and is attached to the chassis with plastic push pins. Removing the panel for maintenance or component installation is a simple matter of pulling the lower edge out and away from the case.

The full-cover, tempered-glass side panel is slightly tinted, measures 400 x 420mm, and is held in place by rubber-coated locating pins and thumbscrews. The steel panel on the opposite side of the chassis is secured with standard thumbscrews.

The bottom of the case has a large filtered hole for power supply ventilation and two large plastic feet that span the entire length of the chassis. The feet are almost 2" tall and are equipped with rubber strips to keep the chassis from sliding. The rear is home to nine expansion card slots (7 horizontal, two vertical), motherboard I/O area, and an opening for a bottom-mounted PSU.

The fan filtration system on the Bitfenix Enso is one of the best we have ever seen on a chassis in this price range. Although these are traditional removable nylon fan filters, it's not what they are made of that makes them so great. It is the way they are integrated into the chassis. The filters in the front and bottom of the case slide out from the side, which means that you no longer have to move your entire system just to clean your filters.

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Hardware Installation & Test Configuration

Interior

There is a small plastic bag containing various screws, motherboard stand-offs, and zip ties located in one of the open 3.5” drive bays. A 10-page quick installation guide sits in the PSU compartment.

The interior of the Bitfenix Enso measures roughly 395mm deep and 330mm high. There are no internal 5.25” drive bays in the main component compartment. The company claims motherboard support up to E-ATX, but in reality the Enso only supports motherboards up to 10.6” deep.

Seven expansion slots make it possible to install up to three graphics cards in SLI and/or CrossFire. This case supports graphics cards up to 340mm in length. Those with plans to mount an all-in-one cooler in the front of this chassis could run into space constraints depending on the size and thickness of fans and radiator.  

There are only two medium-sized cable pass-through holes with rubber grommets in the motherboard tray for cable management. There are also two small holes in the top of the PSU tunnel that can be used to route front panel I/O wires such as USB, audio, power and reset buttons, and HDD activity lights. The cable pass-through hole at the upper left hand edge of the motherboard tray is specifically designed for routing fan cables and the ATX12V/EPS12V power cable. There is also a large hole in the motherboard tray behind the CPU socket area to facilitate heatsink changes without removing the motherboard.

The Bitfenix Enso has five internal drive bays. The two mounting locations under the PSU tunnel can be used for both 2.5" and 3.5" drives. Behind the motherboard tray there are three mounting locations for 2.5” SSDs, two of which are basically just holes in the motherboard tray.

There are a total of seven fan mounting locations in the Bitfenix Enso. The chassis ships with a single 120mm intake fan in the front as well as a 120mm exhaust fan over the CPU socket area. The two installed fans are placed almost parallel to each other providing better than expected airflow. But airflow still suffers because of fan size. Mild builds should be fine, but overclocked systems with multiple graphics cards will definitely call for more fans or larger 140mm intake fans.

Although Bitfenix lists support for power supplies up to 150mm in length, we found this to be a conservative number, as we were able to install a 200mm modular PSU, although it was a tight fit. The Enso can be equipped with coolers as tall as 160mm and can accommodate multiple graphics cards up to 340mm in length.

Radiators and all-in-one coolers can be mounted in the front and rear of this chassis. The mounting locations in the front support radiators and all-in-one liquid coolers up to 280mm. As with many mid-tower ATX chassis, even though you can physically mount most all-in-one coolers in the front, because of the fixed length of the tubing, some coolers might not be able to reach the CPU socket. Despite that limitation, these locations are ideal for mounting radiators for water-cooled graphics cards. The exhaust fan mounting location can be fitted with 120mm coolers in single and dual fan configurations.

Fans of “all things RGB” will be pleased to know this chassis has integrated lighting on the front of fascia as well as an extra header behind the motherboard tray for RGB lighting strips and accessories.

Comparison Products

Test Configuration

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Benchmarks & Final Analysis

Core temperatures on our budget quad-core i5-7500 processor running at 3.8 GHz held steady at 42°C over the ambient temperature of 25°C. Keep in mind that more powerful or overclocked systems will likely require extra cooling to keep temperatures in check. GPU temperatures, while not the best we've seen from a a mid-tower ATX chassis with a tempered-glass side panel, were decent at 51°C over the ambient temperature. Overall, this chassis' performance is almost identical to that of the Enermax Ostrog Lite and Dark Base 700.

The large tempered-glass side panel helped muffle system noise and sound generated by the two 120mm fans. Under full load, the Bitfenix Enso performed very well at 35.4dBA. In terms of acoustic performance, this chassis easily beat the other cases we used for comparison purposes, except for the Dark Base 700.

Determining acoustic efficiency, also referred to as cooling-to-noise ratio, is a matter of averaging all five of our tests to determine a base value.

When you look at the performance value chart below, the Bitfenix Enso's $90 MSRP looks great compared to the Dark Base 700, which performs well, but is double the price. The Enso, with its superior noise performance, can't quite match the value of Enermax Ostrog Lite, which retails for $40 less. These two products do equally well on thermal performance. However, when you take into account the tempered-glass side panel, the RGB lighting, and the superior design of the removable fan filters, the true value of the Enso becomes a bit more clear. Ultimately, we'd like to see it retail in the $70 - $80 range, but the current asking price is fair.

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Update, 11/16/17, 7:15am PT: BitFenix shared the Alchemy 3.0 lineup's pricing with us after this story's publication. Details can be found below.

Original article: 11/15/17, 2:35pm PT:

BitFenix announced a new mid-tower chassis called the Enso. It follows the latest trends in tower designs, such as having a tempered-glass side panel, integrated RGB lighting, and compatibility for a number of AIO water-cooling configurations.

The BitFenix Enso has a fairly conservative, conventional mid-tower design. Except for the tempered-glass side panel adorning its left side, the Enso’s top and sides are undecorated steel panels. The plastic and steel front panel is clean thanks to hidden intake vents. The RGB lighting built into its four corners are the case’s most expressive aspect. The Enso stands on extra-tall feet that are integrated into its bottom panel. To keep the interior cleaner, a panel hides the power supply and hard drives from sight.

For cooling, the Enso comes ready for 120, 140, 240, and 280-type radiators. Multi-compatible rails at the front of the case allow for the installation of both 120mm and 140mm fans (one 120mm fan is included). Up to a 280-type radiator can fit here, while a 120-type radiator can go on the exhaust fan at the case rear (included). There’s also a place for two 120mm fans at the top of the case, but Bitfenix didn’t mention radiator compatibility, so we assume there’s a space issue. If no top fans are installed, the mesh in the top panel can be replaced with an included solid panel to reduce noise and dust.

On the issue of noise and dust, the BitFenix hasn’t ignored the details. Both the front intake fans and the power supply intake vent are protected by slide-out dust filters. The aforementioned top-panel mesh also has a magnetically attached filter. To preclude noise resulting from vibration of the glass side-panel (which is mounted directly to the case with thumb screws), the contact area of the panel is lined with foam.

The Enso’s hardware compatibility is average by mid-tower standards. It can fit only two 3.5-inch drives in the cage located at its front, and you can place three 2.5-inch drives vertically at various places on the motherboard tray. It supports up to E-ATX (272mm) motherboards.

The maximum heatsink height of 160mm means many of the largest and best-performing CPU coolers won’t fit, including the Noctua NH-D14, Cryorig R1 Ultimate, and be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 3. That depth, along with BitFenix’s stated max length of 340mm, should be adequate for any GPU. BitFenix has been attentive to an all too common plight of PC builders--the struggle to fit cables behind the motherboard tray. The Enso has a generous depth of 23mm between the side panel and the rear of the motherboard tray.

BitFenix is particularly proud of the Enso’s potential for RGB lighting. Launching alongside it are BitFenix’s new Alchemy 3.0 standalone RGB LED strips. They (and the Enso’s integrated front-panel lighting) are compatible with Asus’s Aura Sync ecosystem but can also be attached to the Enso’s built-in LED controller. Wired to a switch on the front panel, this controller cycles between static lighting programs. The Alchemy 3.0 LED strips can be mounted magnetically or adhesively and come separately in 30cm or 60cm lengths.

Here's the pricing on the new Alchemy strips:

The Enso is arriving to an overcrowded market. Similar cases exist from be quiet!, NZXT, In Win, Cougar, and Coolermaster, just to name a few. For example, the be quiet! Dark Base 700 we reviewed recently is almost identical. The Enso doesn’t even include any USB 3.1 ports, unlike the be quiet!. Pricing and availability, neither of which was announced, will be key for the Enso.

Features & Specifications

be quiet!, best known as the emphatic lower-case manufacturer of power supplies and low-noise PC components, has developed a strong following in the enthusiast community. Today we have the company’s latest installment in its Dark Base line of high-end chassis.

Specifications

Exterior

The be quiet! Dark Base 700, at 241 x 544 x 519mm (W x D x H), is rather large for a mid-tower case but not so much that it could be classified as a full-tower. This chassis is constructed of aluminum and plastic and features a steel frame. The Dark Base 700 is painted black inside and out and weighs just shy of 30lbs.

The exterior of this chassis is simple yet elegant. Thanks to a lack of handles, fan holes, and grilles, one could go as far as to describe the look of this chassis as spartan. The top panel, with the exception of a few slots in the rear portion for ventilation, is bare. The front fascia is comprised of a brushed-aluminum covered plastic panel. There are vertical air intake vents on either side of the front panel that allow fresh air to be drawn into the chassis. Those of you who still use optical drives and/or 5.25” drive bay accessories might be saddened to know that there are no 5.25" drive bay openings in the Dark Base 700.

The upper edge of the front panel is home to a large square power button, fan control switch, a single USB 3.1 Type C port, headphone and microphone jacks, HDD activity LED, reset switch, and two USB 3.0 ports. This chassis features a clear plastic lighting strip embedded into the frame between the front panel and the air intake vents. These switchable, multi-mode, RGB lighting strips (and logo) can be set to white, red, green, blue, orange, and purple, or controlled by your motherboard's lighting controller if so equipped. 

The Dark Base 700 is equipped with a 4mm thick tempered-glass side panel that's held in place by rubber-coated locating pins and thumbscrews. The full-cover side panel is slightly tinted and measures 514mm x 475mm. The tempered-glass side panel can be relocated to the opposite side of the chassis, but we will go into that in detail later.

The entire bottom of the chassis is essentially one large filtered hole with mounting locations for additional fans and power supply ventilation. There are four large rubber-coated plastic feet that keep the case from sliding around on your desk. Around back you will find seven expansion card slots (7 horizontal, two vertical), motherboard I/O area, and an opening for your power supply. The rear fan mounting location supports both 120 and 140mm fans and comes outfitted with a SilentWings 3 140mm fan.

It is apparent that be quiet! put a great deal of thought into the design of this chassis’ filtration system. Every intake fan mounting location in the Dark Base 700 is equipped with a washable nylon fan filter. Gaining access to filters requires removing the front panel. This clever design means that, even though the front and bottom filters are extremely long (16.5” and 19.5” respectively), maintenance and cleaning is a snap. There is no need to move your PC, simply pull off the front panel and slide the filters out.

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Hardware Installation & Test Configuration

Interior

Accessories for the be quiet! Dark Base 700 are located in a small box secured in the open power supply bay. The box contains various screws, Velcro cable straps, and an additional hard drive rack. The owners manual and installation guide was taped to the outside of the box.

The interior of this case is cavernous for a mid-tower ATX chassis. Sure, the lack of internal hard drive racks and optical drive bays contribute to the overall feeling of spaciousness, but the the main compartment is also very spacious, even with the large PSU tunnel in the base of the chassis. This case can accommodate motherboards up to EATX size, although true 13"-deep EATX boards will block the use of the cable pass-through holes.

The front, top, and right hand side panels are all lined with sound-damping material on the inside. Although this is great for keeping noise to a minimum, it remains to be seen if this will have an adverse effect on system temperatures, especially when combined with a tempered glass side panel.

The seven expansion slots make it possible to install up to three graphics cards in SLI and/or CrossFire. The chassis also features two expansion slots for vertically mounting a dual-slot GPU, though no PCI-e riser cable is included. Take note: those planning to use the modular hard drive racks in conjunction with a longer graphics cards (up to 430mm) will be limited to using the slots above or below the path of the GPU. 

There are a total of three large cable pass-through holes with rubber grommets in the motherboard tray for cable management. The upper edge of the motherboard tray is designed in such a way as to allow the 12V motherboard power cable or fan wires to be routed through this area. The Dark Base 700 also has a large hole in the motherboard mounting plate behind the CPU socket area to facilitate heatsink changes without removing the motherboard. There is plenty of space and tie down points behind the motherboard tray for cable management. 

There are mounting locations for a total of seven 3.5” hard drives and fourteen 2.5” drives but, because this chassis only ships with three modular drive racks (the rest are optional), only three 3.5” drive and nine 2.5” drives can be installed in this chassis as it ships from the factory. Two drive racks are mounted under the PSU tunnel. These removable drive racks can be relocated to one of the five located in the main compartment of this chassis. be quiet! also includes handy plastic slot covers that block off the holes in the motherboard tray when not in use. There are three dedicated 2.5” mounting locations behind the motherboard trays as well. All drive caddies are made of metal and come with rubber grommets for vibration dampening.

Now that we have detailed this chassis tech specs, we wanted to talk about one other nice customization feature. The motherboard tray in this chassis can be re-positioned so that your system components are inverted and accessible from the right hand side of the chassis instead of the left hand side. The rubber-coated locating pins are slotted so that, using only a standard screwdriver, they can be relocated to the other side of the chassis. The entire process of flipping the motherboard and moving components requires less than 30 minutes if you know your way around a computer. 

Cooling

As previously mentioned, the Dark Base 700 comes with a large SilentWings 3 140mm intake fan that feeds another SilentWings 3 140mm exhaust fan in the rear of the chassis over the CPU socket area. Because of the size and placement of these fans, airflow in this chassis is extremely efficient. The almost parallel placement of the fans coupled with an unobstructed flow path, allows the cool outside air to move from the front of the case to the rear exhaust fan with very little resistance. In total, this chassis can be equipped with up to nine 120/140mm fans.

The Dark Base 700 can accommodate power supplies up to 285mm in length, although some larger PSUs may require relocating the hard drive racks. This case can be equipped with coolers up to 180mm tall and can accommodate multiple graphics cards up to 430mm in length.