BitFenix Outlaw: When Inexpensive Doesn't Mean Cheap
by Dustin Sklavos on December 23, 2011 5:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- mid-tower
- bitfenix
Noise and Thermal Testing, Stock
I was intensely curious to see how the BitFenix Outlaw's inverted design would perform. A similar style worked like gangbusters in the more expensive Micro-ATX SilverStone Temjin TJ08-E, but there are some key differences here. BitFenix has opted for a negative pressure design instead of a positive pressure one, with the exhaust fan pulling air out of the back of the case instead of placing a fan in the front and letting the fan in the heatsink do the rest of the work.
Thermals in the Outlaw aren't great, but it's also the second least expensive case in our lineup (behind BitFenix's own Merc Alpha). That said, they're at worst middle-of-the-road, and that's just fine. The major temperatures (the CPU and GPU) are both quite good, and there's still room for real improvement when it comes to adding fans.
As far as I'm concerned, this is the Outlaw's big win. Normally getting something with good thermals and good acoustics requires spending a lot more money, but the level and character of the Outlaw's noise was surprisingly low and mellow. The major offender is actually the GeForce GTX 580's cooler, which has to be fed entirely through the case ventilation and is audible out of the top of the case. The kind of less expensive, quieter video card more apt to appear in this type of case (like a Radeon HD 6850 or GeForce GTX 560) will probably excel.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
23 Comments
View All Comments
wutsurstyle - Wednesday, January 4, 2012 - link
Very good to see a setup where the motherboard is upside-down. Now those massive cooling pipes on video cards are rightside-up and more effective.binqq - Friday, January 6, 2012 - link
Our Website: ===== www fashion-long-4biz com ====Our main product list is as follows:
Zebble - Tuesday, January 24, 2012 - link
I wouldn't have even considered this case, but after reading the review I decided to try one. What a very pleasant surprise! Very well-built, and the rubber-like coating on the front face makes for a very impressive high-quality feel.The up-facing USB ports were the clincher for me, as I like to use a USB key off my keychain without having to detach it. Front-mounted USB ports left my keys hanging and pulling down on the USB key which can't be good for the USB key or the USB port! Up-facing USB ports
solve this problem...
I was also surprised at the quality hardware included. Almost all screws were thumbscrews, and even a hex-to-philips adapter was included to make installing the motherboard stand-offs a breeze. Haven't seen this in any other case I've purchased. Nice touch BitFenix!
Cable room/routing was very good. It's the cleanest build I've done because of all the cable room behind the 3.5" drive-bays. Again, nice touch.
Was so happy with the case, I snagged another the next day.