ABOUT BENCH FORUMS PODCAST LOGIN REGISTER
PC Components▼
Smartphones & tablets▼
Systems▼
ENTERPRISE & IT
GUIDES▼
DEALS

BitFenix Raider Case Review: All These Little Things

 by Dustin Sklavos on February 28, 2013 12:01 PM EST
26 Comments | Add A Comment
26 Comments

Assembling the BitFenix Raider

By now you've seen me vent enough about the design flaws inherent to the BitFenix Raider that none of the frustrations I ran into during assembly are going to be much of a surprise. Still, it's worth going through assembly step by step anyhow; the review wouldn't be complete without it.

Installing the motherboard was actually pretty easy. BitFenix includes some of the standoffs built into the motherboard tray by default, which was appreciated. Conveniences really do make cases these days; when cheap cases (especially those in Corsair's line-up) make assembly as easy as possible, there's no reason for any manufacturer not to include them.

The drive trays are unfortunately on the flimsy side. This is a pretty common problem with most manufacturers, and really they just need to use more rigid trays. Fractal Design and Antec have historically dodged this bullet by using metal drive trays, and those definitely get the job done. As for the 5.25" drive bays, the toolless mechanism works really well, but the bay shields pop inward instead of outward. Moving the case, I've already accidentally knocked shields inside a couple of times.

Getting the power supply in was thankfully very easy, as BitFenix includes a set of four rubber standoffs in the bottom of the case that make it simple to line up. Lining up the video card, on the other hand, was more difficult. It seemed like the board/card needed to be about a millimeter closer to the back of the case. I can take or leave a problem like this since it falls into the traditional "wiggle room" problem, and to BitFenix's credit, the Raider is actually really sturdy. You can usually finesse mounting a card by bending in the back of the case some, but the Raider wasn't having it.

As I mentioned earlier, though, cabling the Raider was a red nightmare. It's one thing to assemble a case like the Rosewill Line-M, where you just know going in that cabling is going to be precarious, but it's another entirely to try cabling a case that should be easy to cable but isn't. The routing holes surrounding the motherboard tray are just too small, full stop. I had to run the 24-pin power lead through the interior of the case instead of through the routing holes because the holes themselves are all too small. Even the one next to the power supply bay, where all the leads should eventually lead, is needlessly small.

Gallery: BitFenix Raider Assembly

I probably seem like I'm being too harsh on the Raider. Certainly BitFenix includes a healthy amount of space behind the motherboard tray, and that's always appreciated. But my reason is simple: it's one thing when something's just a poorly designed piece of crap, like the Moneual Sonamu from way back in the day, or Lian Li's unfortunately named PC-A55. It's another thing entirely when something looks like it should be good, looks like it should be well-designed, but isn't. The Raider is the equivalent of a Rob Liefeld; it's identifiable what these design decisions are supposed to be, but the execution fails because it's lacking fundamentals. Routing holes are great, but they need to be big enough to fit the cables through. Drive trays are great, but they need to not be a breath away from just falling out of the rails. Bay shields are great, but you shouldn't be able to accidentally pop them into the case. I want the Raider to be better, and BitFenix definitely knows better, so I'm perplexed as to how things turned out like this.

In and Around the BitFenix Raider Testing Methodology
PRINT THIS ARTICLE
Comments Locked

26 Comments

View All Comments

  • c0d1f1ed - Thursday, February 28, 2013 - link

    I have this case and I quite like it. Indeed the feet aren't screwed on but use good quality sticky tape, which doesn't bother me one bit since it sits on the floor all day anyway. It might even help with the noise! Also indeed the cabling is tight, but I actually like that. It took some care to route things but I don't intend to change/add things often. The fans that are pre-installed are of high quality and the speed control is built in. Very silent even on high, and I consider myself sensitive to that.

    My only minor complaint is that the power LED is too bright. It's not matte but shines like a keyhole finder LED. Fixed that by cutting a corner out of a sticker and placing it over it. All-in-all a very minor thing to make it pretty close to my ideal case.

  • jminneman - Thursday, February 28, 2013 - link

    I mean seriously. Why, in this day and age, would I ever have a need for 4 5.25" bays? I can see the need for having 1 on any case, or 2 on larger cases (full height and bigger).

    My preference would be to lose all 5.25" bays. I never touch a CD/DVD/BluRay any more at all. If there is a way for me to download it or get in on USB that is what I prefer and it is only getting more common every day.

    Certainly I understand there are edge cases that require more than 1 or 2, but just imagine what you could do with that area freed up. Imagine how many 3.5 bays could fit in the space of 4 5.25" bays. That would be one slick storage case.

  • killerclick - Friday, March 1, 2013 - link

    Get a smaller case if 5.25" bays bother you. I use 2, one for the optical drive (all my backups are on DVDs), one for my 3.5" drive that I put in an elastic sling to stop it from spreading vibrations inside the case. Since the fan controller lever on the case started crapping out, I'm thinking of adding a PWM on one of the 5.25" drive bays, so then 3/4 will be in use.

  • rickon66 - Thursday, February 28, 2013 - link

    It looks like they got tired of putting the Antec 1100 on the charts, seeing as how it kicks all the other cases butts time after time.

  • Dustin Sklavos - Thursday, February 28, 2013 - link

    Actually, I have my results spreadsheet broken down into sub-$100, $100-$149, and then $150 and above. The 1100 hangs out between $100 and $149. ;)

  • bill4 - Thursday, February 28, 2013 - link

    Anyone noticed EVERY SINGLE review this guy does is negative?

    I mean, what a shocker, he didn't like this case!

    And he always uses the old line negative reviewers use at the end, some variation of "there are better options". Sometimes he names these, sometimes he doesnt.

    Well if there are better options, why dont you review them! And if there are good products, and presumably you've reviewed some of them, then why are all your reviews negative??!! If these better competing products exist, then where are your positive reviews?

  • Pbryanw - Thursday, February 28, 2013 - link

    Really? I can't tell if you're serious or trolling?

    For a positive review read his assessment of the Nanoxia 1 in which he positively purrs about the case. Ok, so he's critical of a lot of cases, but I'd rather have someone who errs on the side of negativity, than someone who thinks every case is great and so gets 8/10 or some kind of award.

    What I think it comes down to is Dustin is looking for that perfect case, and when a case falls short like this Betfenix, he quite rightly points out where they've gone wrong and I prefer this approach. I imagine it's also good feedback for the designers of these cases.

  • WeaselITB - Friday, March 1, 2013 - link

    Seriously? Are you new here?

    Just from the past couple of months --

    Fractal Design Define XL R2 -- generally positive
    http://www.anandtech.com/show/6764/fractal-design-...

    Nanoxia Deep Silence 2 -- positive
    http://www.anandtech.com/show/6742/nanoxia-deep-si...

    Corsair Carbide 200R -- positive except for drive cage
    http://www.anandtech.com/show/6515/corsair-carbide...

    Nanoxia Deep Silence 1 -- positive, Bronze Editor's Choice
    http://www.anandtech.com/show/6479/nanoxia-deep-si...

    NZXT Phantom 820 -- positive, Bronze Editor's Choice
    http://www.anandtech.com/show/6367/nzxt-phantom-82...

    And those are just the ones that I could remember the conclusion after having re-read the title of the review. If something's wrong with the case, he calls them out on it, which I like. I just wish he'd start using bigger than mATX (I kid, I kid! :-p)

    -Weasel

  • tecknurd - Friday, March 1, 2013 - link

    ""Their breakout product has probably been the Prodigy (which got picked up by almost every boutique under the sun), but really, they've had great stuff for a while now.""

    Really, do tell. After getting the BitFenix Prodigy, it actually lost my expectations. It just sucks, it just sucks, it just sucks. I replace it with a lot better case such as the Lian Li PC-V354.

    There are so many reasons why it suck. I did review of the BitFenix Prodigy on newegg, so you can read it there. What BitFenix only has is they got style, but quality is their lowest priority or is not part of the engineering process.

  • lmcd - Friday, March 1, 2013 - link

    which color, what's your name, etc.

    Thanks for the worthless comment. You didn't even refer to your own review well.

    Bitfenix isn't bad; there are far worse and Bitfenix has many great ideas in all of their cases.
Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved.
BENCH
TOPICS
FOLLOW
ABOUT

Log in

Don't have an account? Sign up now