BitFenix Merc Alpha: Just How Much Can $39 Buy?
by Dustin Sklavos on October 5, 2011 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- mid-tower
- bitfenix
Noise and Thermal Testing, Overclocked
At first glance, the BitFenix Merc Alpha isn't really an overclocker's case, but try to remember where the roots of overclocking lie: maximizing the value of your dollar. It used to be you bought a cheap chip and then made it perform like its more expensive cousins. Likewise, someone looking to build a monster on a dime might want be interested in seeing how the Merc Alpha handles the increased thermal load of our overclocked testing suite.
Eh, it could be a little more graceful. Part of the problem is that there just don't seem to be enough fans really circulating air for the Merc Alpha to perform better. Adding quiet intakes to the front and to the side panel might make a big difference. That said, it's not completely cooking our test hardware either, keeping temperatures livable across the board.
Idle noise continues to be a strong suit of the Merc Alpha and its included 120mm fan, while load noise isn't the worst we've seen. BitFenix's enclosure continues to be a fairly balanced design that doesn't skew hard towards thermal performance or acoustics.
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AssBall - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
I think they are not available for retailers yet; I can't find them to buy anywhere so far except Australia.Airwick - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
They've been available here for a little while now.http://canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=...
TrackSmart - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
They sell $20 cases on Newegg. So it's not a price issue.blckgrffn - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...Same internals, right down to where the SSD mounts.
Bozo - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
The inside of that case looks like an Antec 100. HmmmTyphoidMary - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
I bought a Rosewill Blackbone from the 'egg on THG's recommendation last year, and it was a genuine pleasure to build in. Cheap too, I think it was like $50.http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
crimson117 - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
It may be $39.99 MSRP, but the lowest price I can find including shipping to the east coast is ~$55 from the BitFenix store. FrozenCPU wants $30 for ground shipping.iamezza - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
Thanks Dustin for another excellent Case reviewI too dislike those non-recessed slot covers, it's something I have only really seen on either very-cheap cases or OEM cases.
hrbngr - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
As a previous poster mentioned, I think that for a little bit more $$, the Coolermaster HAF 912 is a stellar budget case. The detachable middle bay that allows room for big video cards along w/decent width--allowing for larger/taller heatsinks--makes this case an easy choice for most installs. I was previously an antec 300 fan, btw.Samus - Thursday, October 6, 2011 - link
This thing costs less than two 'hotswap adapters' for my Silverstone FT01!