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
Conclusion: Lost in Translation
Let me first come clean and say the BitFenix Shinobi XL is by no means a bad enclosure. Performance is at least reasonably competitive, and while it doesn't achieve Corsair levels of ease of assembly, it's nowhere near as difficult as some of the more elaborate Lian Li and SilverStone cases can be. People looking for a good water-cooling enclosure are definitely going to want to check it out, as the case is capable of supporting a cumulative 1080x120mm of radiators. In many ways this is what Corsair was gunning for with the Vengeance C70, but I think BitFenix has done a better job here.
The problem is that if you're not planning on doing any serious water-cooling, the Shinobi XL loses a lot of its luster. Acoustically it's among the worst of the cases we've tested; it's noisy even under idle conditions, and that noise doesn't come with commensurate thermal performance. As a big fan of the original Shinobi, I feel like the XL causes the brand to lose a little bit of its luster. This is now basically BitFenix's premium offering (alongside their Colossus), but their generally excellent performance south of $100 is nowhere to be found here.
On a more subjective note, I also feel like the Shinobi XL isn't as aesthetically appealing as its smaller sibling. The design language just doesn't scale up quite as well, and in many ways I don't feel like the aesthetics and design are competitive with other cases in this price class.
I'd say if you're looking for a good case to do a custom water-cooled build inside, the Shinobi XL is probably worth considering. Users planning on doing air-cooling or using smaller closed loop coolers need not apply, though; the much less expensive Antec Eleven Hundred is going to be both quieter and cooler.
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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