Hardware BitFenix Shinobi Review

Just stop each page just before it finishes. All the images load fine. It seems to load fully, then do a quick refresh and black out. Been doing this for about a week.

For the guy who said use the computer, I'm not dragging my PC with me when I go grab lunch!

 

If you're wondering how this case performs with a couple more fans:
I bought this case as a wildcard for my friend's rig, as it seemed to offer a sensible balance of build quality, noise and value for money, as well as being more attractive than the 100. After reading the bit-review, I opted for the windowed version with the extra intake fan: £61 all inc. from Aria.

The case's thermals aren't that much to worry about, with the usual 4.5 GHz 2500K / MSI GD53 / Tranquillo HSF combo, when you pop an old 120mm fan you have lying around in the top of the case: CPU plateaued at 61ºC with Prime95 in a fairly toasty room. The 6870 Vapour-X hits high 70s under gaming.

If you're used to HAF enclosures, there really isn't that much in the way of air movement, but it doesn't seem to bother the hardware, since the tower cooler is sitting 2 cm away from the top/rear fans. Noise-wise at idle: a Mini P180 with all fans on low (with quiet components) could be heard above the Shinobi, sitting right beside it. Another bonus is that a Mini P10 is virtually the same size as this case, yet the latter can house a full-fat ATX mainboard (this is a fairly impressive feat, in my opinion).

The downside of this case: no hard-drive dampening. There is no room whatsoever to put rubber grommets between the metal & the HDD and if you mount the hard drive(s) the way they're meant to, the case is LOUD. I ended up using a 5.25 in.-to-3.5 in. tray with grommets, which came from owning previous Antec cases. Despite lack of cooling, HDD never hits 40ºC.

Finally, the side-window is very tinted, meaning you will need faily intense lighting if you wish to illuminate your hardware.

My conclusion: a well-priced, good-looking, compact and quiet (with DIY HDD dampening) enclosure that can house an ATX mobo.