It's that time of the week again, where we showcase a review submitted by a member in our forums. Remember that we consider all reviews that are submitted here. Who knows, your review might make the front page next week!
This week we've selected a review from Nexus18 for his extensive BitFenix Raider Case review.
Introduction:
Firstly, I would like to thank Kul1 and BitFenix for supplying me this case, I really appreciate it and in return I am going to be posting my thoughts on it, with a few comparisons against my previous case, the Antec Sonata 3 and a few comparisons against the Antec P182, which is still highly regarded today.
This is a relatively new case by BitFenix and is referred to as having the best out of the box cooling out of all their cases, of course this will be put to the test later on!
And I apologize in advance for probably the longest post ever!
Features:
Main specs of the BitFenix Raider:
- Materials - Steel & Plastic
- Dimensions - 210 x 500 x 493mm (ATX Mid Tower)
- Motherboard Sizes - Mini-ITX, mATX, ATX
- 5.25" Drive Bays - x 4
- 3.5" Drive Bays - x 6
- 2.5" Drive Bays - x 7
- Cooling Front - 2 x 120mm (included) or 1 x 200mm (optional)
- Cooling Rear - 1 x 120mm (included)
- Cooling Top - 1 x 200mm (optional)
- Cooling Bottom - 1 x 120mm (optional)
- PCI Slots - x 7
- I/O - 4 x USB3.0, HD Audio
- Power Supply - PS2 ATX (bottom, multi direction)Weight - 8.52 kg
Packaging:
The packaging isn’t anything exciting or flashy like Antec's boxing. The Raider comes in a plain brown cardboard box with black images of the case and some of the key features of the Raider. Of course inside, it is protected with two pieces of polystyrene on either side and the case itself in a see through plastic bag. However, this is irrelevant to me as the more important thing is the product itself
First Thoughts:
Once you get the box opened and everything out, you have a small brown card board box, which contains all the screws (all the screws are black), feet, cable ties and the speaker.
You also receive a very small user guide. It is well laid out with very brief explanations and images, however, not everything is covered. The screws could have been identified better using images rather than just text as they are all similar in look and size.
For the instructions, it shows that the top panel can be completely removed with no wires showing, obviously this is not the case (no pun intended) as there are wires connected to the top panel (the I/O wires and the fans wires connected to the manual control switch) and you can’t fully remove the top panel due to this, you have to slide it around. The guide is decent enough for newbies, however, it could be much better.
Outside of the case:
The case looks great! Very nice and sleek looking, the three main things, which stand out immediately are; the BitFenix logo on the front panel at the bottom, this really adds some character to the case; the mesh panel contours from the back of the top panel all the way to the bottom of the front panel, this is obviously for optimum cooling performance and also gives the case a very nice unique look as well.
Last but not least, the BitFenix trademark, known as the SofTouch finish (essentially this is a hard soft rubber texture) on the sides of the top and the front mesh panels. This really is a great material and probably my favourite that I have seen used on a case yet! Not only is it super soft with its luxurious matte finish, but it resists fingerprints! Even smudge and stain marks! If your hands are a bit sweaty, you will leave a "sweat patch", however, this evaporates after a few seconds by itself, it is pretty much the same material that is used on the top of the DeathAdder mouse by Razer, but much smoother!
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