BitFenix Raider Case Review: All These Little Things
by Dustin Sklavos on February 28, 2013 12:01 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- bitfenix
- ATX
Testing Methodology
For testing Micro-ATX and full ATX cases, we use the following standardized testbed in stock and overclocked configurations to get a feel for how well the case handles heat and noise.
| ATX Test Configuration | |
| CPU |
Intel Core i7-2700K (95W TDP, tested at stock speed and overclocked to 4.3GHz @ 1.38V) |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-Z68MX-UD2H-B3 |
| Graphics Card |
ASUS GeForce GTX 560 Ti DCII TOP (tested at stock speed and overclocked to 1GHz/overvolted to 1.13V) |
| Memory | 2x2GB Crucial Ballistix Smart Tracer DDR3-1600 |
| Drives |
Kingston SSDNow V+ 100 64GB SSD Samsung 5.25" BD-ROM/DVDRW Drive |
| CPU Cooler | Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo with Cooler Master ThermalFusion 400 |
| Power Supply | SilverStone Strider Plus 750W 80 Plus Silver |
Each case is tested in a stock configuration and an overclocked configuration that generates substantially more heat (and thus may produce more noise). The system is powered on and left idle for fifteen minutes, the thermal and acoustic results recorded, and then stressed by running seven threads in Prime95 (in-place large FFTs) on the CPU and OC Scanner (maximum load) on the GPU. At the end of fiteen minutes, thermal and acoustic results are recorded. This is done for the stock settings and for the overclock, and if the enclosure has a fan controller, these tests are repeated for each setting. Ambient temperature is also measured after the fifteen idle minutes but before the stress test and used to calculate the final reported results.
Thank You!
Before moving on, we'd like to thank the following vendors for providing us with the hardware used in our testbed.
- Thank you to Puget Systems for providing us with the Intel Core i7-2700K.
- Thank you to Gigabyte for providing us with the GA-Z68MX-UD2H-B3 motherboard.
- Thank you to Crucial for providing us with the Ballistix Smart Tracer memory.
- Thank you to Cooler Master for providing us with the Hyper 212 Evo heatsink and fan unit.
- Thank you to Kingston for providing us with the SSDNow V+ 100 SSD.
- Thank you to CyberPower for providing us with the Samsung BD-ROM/DVD+/-RW drive.
- And thank you to SilverStone for providing us with the power supply.
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kukujin21 - Friday, March 1, 2013 - link
I think 14 months ago you gave a better review of the internals although you still had the same complaints?. anything look familiar Dustin?http://www.anandtech.com/show/5157/nzxt-phantom-41...
Dustin Sklavos - Friday, March 1, 2013 - link
That's a good catch. I have them side by side right now, though, and they're similar but by no means identical.Of course, fourteen months ago would've been ~42 cases ago, and I may have become slightly more cantankerous in the interim. ;)
killerclick - Friday, March 1, 2013 - link
Bought it 4 months ago. What I don't like about it:Dust filters don't stop as much dust as you'd like, except when they get clogged with dust themselves. That's why I don't vacuum them anymore (airflow is still pretty good).
Why does it have a mesh on top? Dust FALLS IN THE CASE, despite the positive air pressure inside (I never turn my computer off). I had to put filters on the holes on top of the case to stop dust from falling inside.
You can't completely remove the top mesh to clean the top of the case - it's connected by wires so you can only lift it and move it so much until the cables snag.
After 3 months, the fan controller lever started crapping out and now it's impossible to set it to the slowest speed. I didn't even use this lever that much, it's just really flimsy.
Finally, when I put a 7200RPM (Samsung Spinpoint F3) disk in, it's very loud even at idle because of vibrations. I had to make a sling out of elastic in one of the 5.25" bays and stick the disk in it, and now it's quiet (no vibrations).
killerclick - Friday, March 1, 2013 - link
Yeah, I also didn't connect the power LED because it's way too bright.lmcd - Friday, March 1, 2013 - link
Last time you had to install feet on a $100 case was the SG09, I believe.prodigy23 - Wednesday, November 5, 2014 - link
Just bought and assembled it. The soft touch material on the from and top is really nice. The cables for the USB 3.0 ports are 20 pin only, but one cable adapter to 2.0 is provided . As someone mentioned in a previous comment, the rubber feet are now screwed. I struggle a little bit to pass the 24-pin power connector through the routing holes, but it was not something to make someone cry or trash the case. The part that is really really bad is the dust filter for the power supply, it is curved when it should be just plain. My biggest problem was that the cables of my power supply (XFX TS 550W) are on the short side for a midi-case with a mini-ITX MB (gigabyte z97n-gaming 5). Moreover I installed a Club3D R9 280 royalking and it just barely fit without removing the HDD case's wall. Overall, good value for the money, I paid €75.