Enermax Sea Hawk

by Purav Sanghani on August 14, 2004 12:05 AM EST

Case Fans

One of the most important aspects of a PC case is its ability to circulate air in and out to cool system components. The sample that we received came with only one fan at the back of the chassis, which is not enough to keep our Athlon 64 based test bed at standard operating temperatures. So, we decided to add a second fan at the front of the case where a mount has been included.

The included fan, a Compuman brand 80mm fan, is mounted at the back of the Sea Hawk, slightly lower than the height at which the CPU would reside. The design allows for a second fan to be mounted with screws directly above that.




Click to enlarge.


For a case as small as the Sea Hawk, not much fan power is required to move warm air out and cool air in to the smaller area. So, a couple of 80mm fans should do the job just fine. However, we like to be safe and have as much cooling power as we can get. Dual 120mm fans would have been an excellent choice for the Sea Hawk and would have surely scored higher in our temperature benchmarks.




Click to enlarge.


Internal Design Construction
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  • Zepper - Monday, August 16, 2004 - link

    the 1018x series is totally different from this series - in a whole other league of quality. Way overpriced for .7 SGCC (recycled tin can metal - not quality steel) case. I can't imagine why there wasn't more mention of the flimsiness of the metal except re. the drive bay ears.
    . I wouldn't buy it on a bet. Equal quality can be had from a lot of 3rd and 4th string case makers for half the price and including a PSU.
    .bh.
  • Mday - Sunday, August 15, 2004 - link

    You know, I have been wondering why certain non-core reviews by anandtech refer to the name on the box as the actual manufacturer of the item.

    We all know Enermax didnt design this case. And the same can be said of that case Zirconium has (which I have also).
  • Zirconium - Sunday, August 15, 2004 - link

    I got the Enermax CS-10181 case. It is a very nice case - plain looking, but extremely functional. I can't comment on this one because I don't actually own it, but I'd look favorable on this one since it probably shares some features with my case.
  • val - Saturday, August 14, 2004 - link

    window (shape of flower) on side... for sure :-)
    Val
  • val - Saturday, August 14, 2004 - link

    I Have older Enermax case, with window on front, Enermax power supply and one case fan, I am satisfied with those products for over 2 years now. With power supply in range bellow 100USD is no other option, but also overall Enermax quality is highly bigger than price difference.
    Val
  • TrogdorJW - Saturday, August 14, 2004 - link

    *MUCH* nicer looking case, IMO. Unfortunately, it just doesn't sound like it's really worth the cost. $65 for a case without PSU? If you're spending $65 without getting a PSU (and here at least we could get a relatively decent PSU, since Enermax is one of the better PSU manufacturers), I would think there are better options. By the time you factor in a decent PSU, you're looking at about $120.

    And the front lights are still a bit too bling-bling for my taste. But hey - to each his own. I still haven't heard of any nice cases (i.e. not gaudy) with 120mm fans other than the Antec models. Which is why I keep getting Antecs. Is there no other decent option? :p
  • sprockkets - Saturday, August 14, 2004 - link

    This case is used in a lot of different designs, yet is the same on the inside. I've built two, one that was aluminum and one that was steel. One had a front 120mm or 80mm fan holder, both had a fan on the side, and one had the 2 fan holders in the back while one used a fan duct system. Good points to mention is the fact that the HDD are right in front of a fan for good cooling, plus there is room for four. Those pin out headers are annoying, but if they weren't that way then it wouldn't work for all the different pinout styles.

    Although the InWin cases are sturdier, the ventilation on most of these, with the expansion capabilities and still being good on style make these a good choice for ATX cases, especially for the cost.
  • Thoreau - Saturday, August 14, 2004 - link

    w00t!! Finally, a case that doesn't totally suck the life out of installed components! =)

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