XFX Type 01 Bravo Case Review
by E. Fylladitakis on May 16, 2014 6:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- XFX
- mid-tower
- Case
Final Words
XFX put a lot of effort into the aesthetic appeal, with their marketing claiming that a case "represents who you really are". Aesthetics are a strictly subjective matter and the design of the Type 01 Bravo is undoubtedly unique. On the other hand, although it is not an aggressive design, we cannot really consider it to be "minimalistic" as XFX claims. The definition of minimalism is to design something with the least amount of elements possible, achieving simplicity. Though the design of the Type 01 Bravo is based on basic geometric shapes, they have been used excessively and in order to achieve a design that stands out a lot, not to form a simple and understated product.
In terms of performance, the XFX Type 01 Bravo is no better than most typical mid-tower cases. Although this isn't bad considering the size and design of the case, it becomes a problem once the price of the case is included in the evaluation. If it could close the performance gap between a mid-sized tower case and an advanced gaming case, the XFX Type 01 Bravo would have been serious competition; however, the XFX Type 01 Bravo is all but hopeless when compared with larger, more advanced designs.
Despite that, aesthetics are a subjective matter (some users might hate this design, others may love it) and the average performance is not really a major issue for a new case. The real problem of the Type 01 Bravo is the quality issues and the excessive use of plastic. We should clarify that there is nothing inherently wrong with plastic, the properties of which depend on its quality and density - there are plastics that greatly surpass the properties of the best metals. However, the plastics used in the Type 01 Bravo are badly designed and very brittle, requiring very careful handling by the user or serious damage is bound to happen. This also makes the Type 01 Bravo entirely unsuitable for frequent transportation and we would not recommend it to people who upgrade often either.
As the Type 01 Bravo is the very first attempt from XFX to design a case, we consider it to be a fair attempt, but with plenty of room for improvements. We cannot deny that the Type 01 Bravo has several useful and interesting features, nor that it is versatile and easy to work with. It is however plagued by quality issues and the price tag is hard to justify for what really is a typical mid-sized tower case with an unusual aesthetic. XFX is currently working on other case designs, with a rumored aluminum-based "Type 01 Alpha" coming up, which sounds far more interesting for advanced users, gamers, and enthusiasts.
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dstarr3 - Friday, May 16, 2014 - link
I've noticed that you rarely include full photos of the cases you review on the first page. I'd really appreciate it if you'd change that, as, no offense, I'd really rather not read the review of a case that I'd never buy based on looks already.E.Fyll - Friday, May 16, 2014 - link
Good point. The appearance after all is the most important factor when selecting a case. This can be arranged.dstarr3 - Monday, May 19, 2014 - link
Thanks. :-)Haravikk - Saturday, May 17, 2014 - link
This is one ugly, over-sized case! While I admire an effort to go for a unique look, I don't think the horizontal bars are attractive at all; maybe if the front of the case weren't a uniform flat-surface it might look better. I also think that the main body should be in a different colour, one of the pictures looks like there is a silver/grey bodied version which might look a bit better. Even so, the plastic top "handles" are incredibly disappointing; it wouldn't take much to make them strong enough for carrying (just needs some curved and reinforced steel through it that fits securely onto the chassis) which strikes me as a huge failure on attention to detail.The size is also bewildering; personally I think the case could have looked a lot better with a concave front (curving inwards at middle height), sticking out enough at the top for an optical drive, and at the bottom for housing two (3.5") to four (2.5") hard drives down in front of the PSU. This would have improved the visual appearance incredibly, at which point the horizontal bars could even look good, while giving good airflow. Maybe even flatten off the curve toward the middle to give a space for a 5.25" bay fan controller (but not a full 5.25" bay) since those are fairly common in gaming cases.
Being able to fit a 200mm front fan is nice, but personally I'd be fine with a slimmer case and two 140mm fans instead, especially since that would give you more airflow to both the GPU(s) and CPU as standard.
The main plus points seems to be the excellent cable routing spaces and the ability to fit three side fans (or a huge radiator), but I'm not sure how much those are worth given the other problems.
edmoncu - Sunday, May 18, 2014 - link
If not for the huge XFX logo, this would've been one ugly case!poordirtfarmer2 - Sunday, May 18, 2014 - link
Agreed! The thing looks like the engine case of my toy tractor when I was a kid. And a rounded top - heck, where's the cat going to sit?masterpine - Sunday, May 18, 2014 - link
This thing needs to be taken out behind the barn and shot. I know style is subjective, but quality seems to have been a low priority which is pretty poor for this price point.hassaqbear - Sunday, May 18, 2014 - link
Front reminds me of the xps 720 dell