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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dac7nco - Thursday, October 6, 2011 - link
Agreed. By the time I'm done a $150 case is $300.Daimon
mrcaffeinex - Thursday, October 6, 2011 - link
to the Thermaltake V3 Black Edition that I picked up for my wife's desktop not too long ago. They are in the same price range (the V3 was $29.99 from the Egg a month or so ago, usually $39.99 or $44.99). There are some nice improvements on this one over the V3 though: the motherboard doesn't require standoffs to be installed for normal installations, the PSU can be mounted normally or inverted, and I think I prefer the simplicity of the front panel design on this one a bit more.JonnyDough - Thursday, October 6, 2011 - link
"At just $39 it would be reasonable not to expect much, but as you'll see this case can hang with enclosures at twice the cost or better."We've been trying to tell computer case reviewers this for years...we don't need $200 cases to house our PCs. It isn't worth it when you replace a PC every 3 years. Yesterdays prized system is tomorrow's too slow to use piece of junk.
Zoomer - Saturday, October 8, 2011 - link
How about adding in numbers for the antec 300? It'll be useful as a basis for comparison.On that note, how about asking Antec when they'll update the 300?
EthanW - Thursday, October 13, 2011 - link
I don't understand why everyone likes the Merc. I've messed around with one and the front is very plasticky (it's not the same soft-touch the other cases had), while the guts aren't anything special. Don't get me wrong, I love Bitfenix cases. It's just that the Outlaw puts the Merc to shame for about $10 more. The Outlaw has the proper soft-touch finish, an inverted motherboard and nicer build quality - not to mention how much better the outside looks.Guys, if you can talk Bitfenix into it, review an Outlaw, instead. You'll be pleasantly surprised.