Rosewill Armor EVO Case Review: Sometimes Performance Isn't Everything
by Dustin Sklavos on January 23, 2013 12:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Rosewill
- ATX
- E-ATX
Conclusion: Excellent Performance, Questionable Quality
I'll be clear: I don't expect the world of build quality from Rosewill's cases. These are as consumer grade as it gets, and corners must be cut. That's fine, I understand, and my expectations are adjusted accordingly. Parts of the case can look fairly chintzy (pretty much anything plastic), but basically, the case can serve its purpose.
It isn't a bad looking case, but where the Rosewill Armor EVO excels is in its thermal performance. There are very few other cases out there that move as much air as the Armor EVO does, and odds are you're going to have to spend up to get to them. Can NZXT's Phantoms do it? Sure, if you've got an extra $60 or so to blow on one. The Antec Eleven Hundred comes close and costs slightly less, but it doesn't have as much thermal headroom as the Armor EVO does. All that, and the Armor EVO still manages to fit in a basic ATX mid tower footprint.
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The problem is that there are a few flies in the ointment. At or around MSRP, the Armor EVO gets eaten alive by Rosewill's own Thor v2, a case that's built better and has been around for a while. The Thor v2 may be bigger, but it works, and it has built-in fan controllers, something the Armor EVO sorely lacks. As of this writing, you can actually get the Thor v2 for $25 less than the Armor EVO.
What we run into with the Armor EVO are two major problems: build quality is frustrating with the side panels but fatally flawed with the fan mounts in the top of the case. I shouldn't be able to simply pull the fans out like that, and they shouldn't fall out in transit. That tells me the case can't actually support any top-mounted radiators without risking having them fall onto the internal components and potentially break something. The other problem is the price tag. Rosewill is a house brand, and however much they may be expanding, they run into the same problem the bulk of the PC industry does: you can't charge Apple prices for Dell products. The Armor EVO needs to be $99 or better.
There's undoubtedly a good system to be made out of the Armor EVO, but I can't recommend it. Even if the noise isn't an issue to you, the questionable build quality and especially the falling fans make the case a very hard sell. If Rosewill fixes these problems in a revision and adds a fan controller, I'll be happy to recommend it. Until then, I'd stick with the tried and true Antec Eleven Hundred or go for Rosewill's own Thor v2.
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max347 - Wednesday, January 23, 2013 - link
Second paragraph, second sentence, seen->see*?SunLord - Wednesday, January 23, 2013 - link
You know what I would like to see in case reviews photos of the case with different size motherboards. I don't care about them testing the case with all the different sizes but it would be nice to see what a Full ATX and an E-ATX would look like installed in the cases that support them using a MicroATX MB is nice for a constant variable in testing across all cases but gives you zero clue on how well a motherboard you would actually use in this case would fit or lookSabresiberian - Wednesday, January 23, 2013 - link
I agree here. I understand the reson to stick with one size mainboard for all testing, but I'm very skeptical of the clams of some of these case manufacturers when they say their case will hold "XL-ATX" and "E-ATX". Get one of those EVGA SR-2s and slap that baby in there, heh.Sabresiberian - Wednesday, January 23, 2013 - link
reason*; claims*. Sheesh, my error checker was way on the blink on this post.Barbarossa - Monday, January 28, 2013 - link
The SR-2 is HPTX, most cases don't claim compatibility with that.By E-ATX most people mean a Rampage or Maximus board from Asus or similar, which isn't actually the same as the TRUE E-ATX spec.
XL-ATX is kind of a made-up spec, but it was used to define longer than standard boards (more than 8 slots).
ForeverAlone - Wednesday, January 23, 2013 - link
It's nice to see that twin-120mm fans on the front are standard now.number58 - Wednesday, January 23, 2013 - link
I noticed that the numbers from the recently reviewed phantom 630 were not in the tables to compare with this case. Any particular reason?vol7ron - Wednesday, January 23, 2013 - link
Not sure this would have much of an impact on results, but do you take ambient temperature before/during (maybe even after) tests?pensive69 - Wednesday, January 23, 2013 - link
how about a marriage between a small home or dorm room fridge maker and a case maker? you'd be able to do your install INSIDE an actual fridge with insulation and temp controls provided in a system designed to work at 35 - 45 F anyway?ambient air solutions start around 30 - 40 F higher out of the box
Beenthere - Wednesday, January 23, 2013 - link
Some of the PC case makers seem to have lost the plot...There is a reason why the original tower PC cases were built the way they were with no openings in the top of the case. Here's a hint: what blows out can also fall in...
While in theory an open top allows warm air to escape easily, it also allows dirt/dust/liquids/small objects, etc. to enter - even when unintended or unwanted. Thus top openings in PC cases are a bad idea on several fronts including NOISE, for those who don't already know.
As far as buying this Rosewill case based on it's "thermal headroom", that is a sick joke. It hardly matters if your OC'd CPU runs at 49C or 51C as either is well within the low end of the operating range for ANY CPU. Hell 59C isn't even an issue.
With all of the disadvantages to this case design be it the top opening, which being raised is REALLY bad, the noise, the shoddy construction, the excessive fan noise, the screened side panel and the excessive price, this unit can hardly be recommended for anyone with a clue. Yes some folks will buy it for it's "stealthy" look or it's pretty LEDs but not anyone with a clue, especially when you can buy a quality conventional PC casr for ~$70.
It's actually quite silly what the PC case market has become in recent years to entice the 13 year old kids. I'm surprised they aren't selling PC cases with tit and arse plastered on the outside of them - aka Lara Croft/Anjie Jolie, like they do GPU cards. Those would fly out the door faster than they could produce them. The 13 year old kids could have their favorite fantasy babe half naked sprawling all over the outside of their PC case. Oh baby, I can't wait for these...soon to be on shelves no doubt. :(