BitFenix Shinobi XL Case Review: Something is Lost in the Process
by Dustin Sklavos on June 26, 2012 2:40 AM EST- Posted in
- bitfenix
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Noise and Thermal Testing, Stock
Given the extremely conventional design coupled with concerns about the front of the Shinobi XL not being able to pull in an adequate amount of air, I didn't have high hopes for BitFenix's design. There's also the substantial amount of ventilation in the top, which may help with thermals but may also negatively impact acoustics. Of course, there's only one way to find out just how well the Shinobi XL will cope, and that's testing it.
We tested the Shinobi XL with an ambient temperature of approximately 24C.
Thermally the Shinobi XL posts excellent CPU numbers, but the graphics card thermals are particularly troubling; shouldn't the GeForce GTX 560 Ti be pulling a decent amount of air from the front intake? The SSD temperatures are pretty much in line with what we look for, though; as long as it isn't cooking like it does in the Lian Li PC-A55, it should be fine.
Fan speed on the CPU demonstrates a lot of headroom, but the GeForce is having a bit harder of a time. We have yet to see an enclosure that can really compete with Antec's Eleven Hundred thermally since we refreshed our testbed and testing methodology.
Unfortunately the noise levels aren't great either. Without any kind of fan control, the two 230mm fans are running at full bore. Beyond that, the ventilation at the top of the enclosure results in a case that runs louder than we'd like, and the poor cooling performance around the video card forces the GPU fans to run faster and louder.
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Chaitanya - Tuesday, June 26, 2012 - link
BitFenix has some really good cases and they innovate when it comes to bringing new cases to market.Pennanen - Tuesday, June 26, 2012 - link
And what exactly has bitfenix given to the case markets? Assuming you werent sarcastic.xbournex - Tuesday, June 26, 2012 - link
SuperCharge, SofTouch, Prodigy, stock water cooling support, brightest LED strips, most dense sleeving extensions, first internet connectivity fan controller, and unnecessary flashy in-your-face look cases.Pennanen - Tuesday, June 26, 2012 - link
Sorry i wasnt specific enought.What useful things have bitfenix given to the markets?
killerclick - Sunday, July 15, 2012 - link
Lack of girlfriend detected.cjs150 - Tuesday, June 26, 2012 - link
But the review is nice and thoroughDustin you really hit the nail "modern conventions are far from perfect and there's a lot of room for improvement".
As an example, the case is wide - why not turn the PSU 90 degrees and have the cables feeding directly into the area behind the motherboard. Lian Li at least experiment with different locations.
I would love to see a case where there is a built in power splitter for the 5.25 bays and Hard drive cages so one molex cable goes to a daughter board which has several socket to run short cables up to the hard drives for example - a bit of imagination would result in a very neat cabling job.
This case really excels for watercooling. Perfect for using a 200x200 mm radiatior (or even 2, front and top)
xbournex - Tuesday, June 26, 2012 - link
The review compares a mATX case 2/3 of the price of this case, an aluminum case with almost no water cooling support that's 2x the price, and ambient temperatures that vary with each review resulting in a default temperature, and noise level being already higher, or lower.The case was designed for watercooling in mind, which the reviewer poorly covered. Not thorough if you ask me.
xbournex - Tuesday, June 26, 2012 - link
not as thorough as it could be**Olaf van der Spek - Tuesday, June 26, 2012 - link
Hey xbournex,Anandtech doesn't test watercooling as far as I know.
When can we expect some BitFenix mATX cases? :p
cjs150 - Tuesday, June 26, 2012 - link
Must admit I cannot remember Anandtech reviewing watercooling either.Watercooling is a niche for those who like to have a bit of fun and get their hands dirty (I think that should read "wet") on the innards of their computer.
I love it, but I know it is not very everyone.
The case looks as though it would be very good for watercooling possible even better than the legend that is the Silverstone TJ07. Certainly more than capable of cooling two hot running GPUs, a seriously overclocked CPU and maybe even the RAM as well without really breaking sweat. So would be pretty quiet compared to trying to air cool that lot