Riotoro Prism CR1280 EATX/XL-ATX Full Tower Case Review

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Test Results And Conclusion

We continue to use our reference PC with its reference overclock for case testing, apart from replacing the X99S XPower AC with the X99S Gaming 7. That replacement has allowed us to compare tighter "Standard ATX" cases, since the XPower motherboard is oversize.

Noise is measured .5m from the case's front corner, on the side that opens. The numbers are corrected to the 1m industry standard -- used by many loudspeaker and fan manufacturers -- by subtracting six decibels.

Drivers And Settings

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ChipsetIntel INF 9.4.2.1019
CPU4.2GHz (42x 100MHz) @ 1.2V Core
MotherboardFirmware 17.8 (02/10/2015)
RAMXMP CAS 16 Defaults (1.2V)
GraphicsMaximum Fan for Thermal Tests | Nvidia GeForce 347.52

Comparison Cases

Corsair's Carbide 600C and NZXT's Noctis 450 set the performance mark for Riotoro's Prism CR1280 to beat.

Test Results

Even after warming up for many hours, the Ritoro CR1280 was able to produce good thermal results at full fan speed and mediocre temperatures at low fan speed. Perhaps the fans spun a little harder?

Noise levels tell the rest of the story, as the Riotoro CR1280 had a tough time containing the noise of our graphics and CPU cooler, and even added noticeably to all that racket with its own fans.

Using the average of all three systems as the baseline, the Riotoro Prism CR1280 was always a little cooler and always much noisier compared to the high-end Corsair and upper-mainstream NZXT comparison models. The result is a net loss in temperature-to-noise ratio at both settings.

The Prism CR1280 costs much more than the Noctis 450, but that difference in cost is probably about what some buyers would pay to upgrade to RGB lighting, with its controller.

Overall, the Noctis 450 really is the Prism CR1280's closest competitor in size, design features and build quality. The Prism CR1280 has a fully translucent side panel, but the Noctis 450's side window has far better clarity. And while the Prism CR1280 has space for a 13"-deep EATX motherboard, both cases can hold an enthusiast level 10.6"-deep oversized motherboard that's been creatively labeled EATX.

The Noctis 450 has a little more space for a triple-fan radiator on the top panel, but it also has only seven slots. That's a big issue if you'd like to put a graphics card in the motherboard's bottom slot, even if the only reason you're putting it there is for something other than graphics (such as data mining). Thus, the Noctis 450's drawbacks could become fatal flaws for some buyers, while the Prism CR1280's cloudy plastic and extra noise become lesser inconveniences. If you really want the RGB lighting, the value is probably on par.

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Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware, covering Cases, Cooling, Memory and Motherboards. Follow him onTwitter.

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Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
  • sillynilly
    Yawn
    Reply
  • apazeus
    *Looks at GPU* That sag tho!
    Reply
  • Crashman
    17879222 said:
    Yawn
    Silly Nilly, what did you expect? :D

    Reply
  • CompGee
    *Looks at GPU* That sag tho!

    We're coming to the point that GPUs are going to need external support on the back end.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    17886415 said:
    *Looks at GPU* That sag tho!

    We're coming to the point that GPUs are going to need external support on the back end.
    I thought we'd passed that point:
    Reply
  • CompGee
    I saw no backend support on that GPU used in the test system.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    17891295 said:
    I saw no backend support on that GPU used in the test system.
    I think you need to go to the main forums thread of this response chain in order to see what I was referring to.

    http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-3042692/riotoro-prism-cr1280-eatx-atx-full-tower-case-review.html
    Reply
  • CompGee
    That link goes straight back to this thread.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    17893794 said:
    That link goes straight back to this thread.
    OK, so the picture is of a Voodoo 5 6000 graphics card, which is braced at both ends: The bracket fits a support slot at the front of old-fashioned pedestal server style PC tower chassis. And I said I thought we'd gotten passed the point of making cards that were braced at both end, referring to it as an outdated example.

    In reality, I don't think the front edge supports will ever make a comeback. There have been many cases over the years with adjustable card supports on the side though.

    Reply
  • sillynilly
    17880477 said:
    17879222 said:
    Yawn
    Silly Nilly, what did you expect? :D

    Not sure, but man that case looks boring! :pt1cable:
    Reply