BitFenix Case Feedback

[BitFenixUK]

Hello everyone!

Just thought I would get some feedback about our current range of cases. Which ones do people like the most and which would you "avoid"?

Are there any features you would like to see us implement in future releases or are we already doing our job?

Thanks in advance

 

[BitFenixUK]

I love the Neos and Comrade for the price, only major concern is there isn't enough space behind the motherboard at all for half decent cable management Though that could be expected for the budget price

Thanks for the feedback!

Yeah the NEOS is technically classed as an affordable budget case so there are going to be "lacking" features with space behind the motherboard tray being one of them. Although generally speaking if you have a pretty potent build, then a better option would probably be the Shinobi, Ronin or the Shinobi XL

Comrade is a case I like too, I actually have one boxed upstairs just incase I need one; can never have too many cases! haha

 

[BitFenixUK]

By the way the hard drive sleds are freaking awesomely designed, so easy to put drives in without bending the sled etc

(I used the Neos's for a couple of office workstation builds and the Comrade for a server, couldn't shut the side panel properly )

Yeah I agree! I have actually managed to crack a couple of HDD sleds from other brands although a lot of manufacturers are improving them!; shame about some others!

HDD storage is important in any chassis as you need some kind of storage to boot the system up right?

 

[BitFenixUK]

I would by the Ronin if you made a R2 version with the minimum following changes:

Filter for the entire top grill.
One filter for the two front fans.
Two front fans as standard out of box.

Duly noted Also thanks for the feedback!

In regards to the inclusion of extra fans, this will of course impact the cost slightly but the filters I will go back to HQ and make the suggestion for you

 

[BitFenixUK]

I'm a big fan of SFF but I wouldn't even consider the Prodigy ITX. For me it just misses the point of it all - especially as now you can get a microATX setup in the same space!

I'd be very keen to see what Bitfenix could do regarding ITX in a footprint of say, 12-13 litres.

Yeah the Prodigy isn't a small case by any means and you aren't the first to cry out for a SFF version of a BitFenix case. I will note this to HQ along with the other peoples opinions, we value them all so don't worry about that!

I personally prefer other case manufacturers for superior watercooling support.

For example, would love to see a Micro ATX or ATX mid tower from Bitfenix able to comfortably house a triple radiator in the roof and dual in the front/bottom with modular and movable hard drive cages.

Do this and I'll be your biggest fan!

Yeah water cooling support is something we are implementing across a lot of the newer models and although we might not have native support, some of our cases do!

You could always mod the case yourself

Looking to get a NEOS for the price and also because my girlfriend like the look of the purple girly one lol.

How sturdy is the motherboard tray going to be once I drill out the rivets holding the hard drive cages? I want to be able to stick a 240mm AIO cooler up front.

The NEOS is a fantastic option for those on a budget; the colour configurations are fantastic in my opinion!

In regards to the motherboard tray, it is of course steel and it is as strong as you are going to get in any "budget" chassis.

 

[BitFenixUK]

Should have specified - I am talking about native watercooling support...people like me simply don't have the time anymore to Dremel the hell outta a case (like my TJ07) as I am looking for quick and easy builds for clients.

So yer, NATIVE water cooling support is extremely important (not just to me but to a plethora of others out there)...make it happen Bitfenix I always had high hopes for you!

I will forward the feedback to HQ so they know your concerns ( we look at ALL feedback btw )

I like the way you can change the mesh and badge to different coloured ones on the Shinobi case.
Though the design of the rest of the case isn't really to my tastes, size and layout wise.
I'd like to see some similar customization options integrated into some other case designs.

Mostly what I currently want in a case though would be a very minimalistic mATX case, preferably quite small with a rotated motherboard for better gpu cooling.

Cases that allow for rotated motherboards are few and far between and as far as I know currently, we don't have any plans for this. I will however pass the feedback on

More mATX cases!

The mid towers are too big and the mITX too cuboid. I'd certainly buy an mATX Shinobi or Ghost.

Also, watercooling support... Don't overdo it. Everyone seems to nowadays and it just inflates the cases for no real need. Too many mATX cases have too many compromises because of watercooling support. Example: the Corsair 350D is large with lots of watercooling support (to steer people towards buy Corsair CLCs). Most don't need the extensive water support that too many cases are offering now. Room for a 1x140, 1x120, 2x120 is already more than most need.

You ask for more M-ATX cases and thou shall receive!

We strive on producing quality but affordable chassis but we like to cater for everyone!


All feedback in this thread will be forwarded to HQ so keep it coming

 

[BitFenixUK]

Also forgot to say it would be good if the I/O panel on the Ronin was attached to the chassis and not the top panel. Secondly the feet on the Ronin don't raise the system enough for PSU ventilation.

No problem, I will raise the feedback personally

 

[BitFenixUK]

I have a Mini-ITX Prodigy which I love. Well thought out, no sharp edges and high end gear runs cool even on air cooling. I've modified mine with an internal Xbox wireless receiver mounted to plastic cage the side and soldered to the case reset button now acts as the resync button.

I've recommended this case over and over. Only thing I can think about is that the space behind the PSU is a little tight, particularly for fully/partially modular PSUs. I'd also love to see a 3.25" drawer accessory to replace the unused bay with somewhere to keep dongles, etc while moving the PC around or to charge phones or something. Make it lockable and i'm sure LAN goer's would appreciate this.

I want to see some pics of this!

You got a build log?

 

[BitFenixUK]

I had a Prodigy but really hated the side panel placement of the power switch and USB ports. Lovely colours though and quality build.

Yeah personally, I didn't like that either on the Phenom as it made it a little fiddly for me. Overall though, smashing cases

No build log for the 360 adapter as I was kinda winging it, but will get some photos this weekend.

If you guys don't make an official 3.25" drawer accessory, maybe i'll have to start planning one for myself

Haha I will find out but I personally don't think 3.25" warrants its own space

I built a W/C Prodigy for my other half so she could use it as a pc on her tv and when i got bored could play some of my steam games.
Airflow through the front rad isn't brilliant due to the solid front so underload need to take the front off. Would be nice to have a blue mesh front but i'm probs the only person that wants one lol

It's a running 4770k, GTX 670 ad 8GB Corsair 1600Mhz

I like that, I really do!

If my missus sees that, I will have to empty my wallet

 

[BitFenixUK]

any chance of stealth front odd bay covers for the range, or is it only limited to the shinobi?

There is no plan AFAIK for a stealth front ODD bay for the Prodigy But I will certainly let you know if there is!

Going to do a mITX prodigy build for my Niece in the next couple of days. So early impressions without having the case yet are:

- Make a stealth DVD drive tray. She opted for the Aqua Blue (she loved the colour) and having to fit a black dvd drive will look out of place in what is otherwise a nice facia.
- Option to have a filter for the intakes.
- Move the USB and Power switch to the front, having it on the side panel seems odd to me.
- Cable management for ATX power supplies. I can envisage having loads of slack cable in an ITX build unless I chop and shorten the PSU wires myself.
- I know that it's intended for LAN hence the handles, but can they be easily removed or are they moulded in?

Yeah the side panel switches seem to be getting a little flack currently. I will forward that onto HQ and the handles can be removed/replaced

This.
Maybe a case similar to Valves own Steam box in the future?

You will have to wait and see in the near future!

 

[BitFenixUK]

The phenom M is a nice case. Though you it could do with being either an inch higher or increasing the space between the chassis and fan covers so you could fit a dual in there.

Fitting a 120x2 works (I have done it) but basically kills the ability to run sli or another expansion card in the secondary pci-e slots.

Information noted

Thanks for the feedback! And to everyone else of course! It really is appreciated!

 

[BitFenixUK]

just finished the build for my neice and I'm going to drop it of at London tomorrow.

There is one flaw with the Prodigy and it is very common. I'm stuck now as the cases USB 3.0 bottom connector does not work.

I've tried looking for solutions:
http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/forums/3,tech-talk/850,ghost-front-usb3-problem/

and nothing works. Is it possible that the lead that goes to the motherboards USB header is broken? The lead itself looks to be integrated with the case so to remove I will need to disconnect the power leads etc.

Now my problem is that I cannot tell a PC illiterate Sister or Neice to install this part so they have to make do with a non functioning USB port that on a mITX build is very important due to the lack of ports in the first place.

It is possible that the cable is faulty, where did you purchase it from? Sounds like if the problem is a manufacturer defect, a RMA with the retailer you purchased it from would be needed etc.

i loved the mITX version of the prodigy, but mATX version was really disappointing the airflow just looks awful and there's no support for optical drive or 2nd GFX card or 240 rad on top, couldn't you just make a wider version of the mITX - something like the caselabs microcube case - one so we could have 2xGFX cards and at least a choice of radiator or ODD?? Also custom colours like you can buy with Nike trainers. Charge a 50% premium, ask customers to wait for 6 weeks and you'd still have people failing over themselves to buy them

We do have cases in development etc but obviously you can't compare a Caselabs case to a BitFenix. They are both aimed at completely different markets.

I do understand what you mean though, the trainer analogy tickled me though, it is an awesome idea!

Only issue is we don't want to charge people a premium for our products which is more than necessary, we want to offer as many different options as we possibly can (within reason of course).

The problem with M-ITX not being suitable for 2 x GPU's, is the motherboards themselves usually only have 1 x PCI-e x16 slot so it makes it hard to even contemplate adding room for a 2nd GPU if that makes sense?

 

[BitFenixUK]

Oh i haven't made myself clear i mean't make a wider version of mITX case for mATX - in the same dimensions/shape as the caselabs one. mATX boards have the required slots for 2 GFX of course...

And the custom cases - you could easily charge people £100 for a custom prodigy - imagine clear handles, metallic/wooden sides it would be awesome

I know what you mean, although it wouldn't technically be an ITX case, it would be M-ATX but I 100% get where you are coming from now!

In regards to the custom cases, I will forward that onto HQ and see what they say

I have the Raider and its been one of my favourite cases. I have had it a few years and its hard a very hard life, moved around regularly and apart from the outer plastic shells coming apart (I dropped it on its front 3 times), its been great. My biggest problem is the buttons and the connections which didn't last long, the reset button was done after 3-4 months, mainly due to it being so tiny and only having 2 very small plastic clips supporting it.

The internal cable tidy solutions are great, the removable HDD tray at the front that allows you to fit a bigger graphics card, all very thoughtful and at a bargain price!

I won't upload a picture of it as it is looking pretty ragged now, but as I am about to upgrade, I am thinking of getting another Raider!

It's nice to see a BitFenix case being "worn" and put to good use for a long period of time, thanks for sharing that!

Not so good about the reset switch dying/breaking after 3-4 months, we do have a dedicated BitFenix parts store now which allows you to order nit bits like that! But I can understand why you wouldn't; it would probably take a way a bit of that ruggedness! haha

Having had a huge collection of cases lately because i buy one, then decide its not quite right etc
Got to say i love the prodigy and along with the silverstone ft03, they are my favourite cases

People will moan about the prodigy being too big for an mitx... We all know this, bitfenix probably know this, but it as everything!
The 1 changes i would make to it are/were
1) been mentioned a few times, the location of the usbs/power button.
If that was mounted on the top panel somewhere that would be amazing

But seriously with that i am really nit-picking
I would have said make more holes in the front of the power supply bay to allow for cables, but you have already done that (the perils of being an early adopter)

Cant speak for atx cases, i dont have the room, so i tend to switch between matx and mainly mitx..
For me keep up the good work lads and a few tweaks here and there and you have a friend for life

Thank you very much for the feedback! Yeah people do complain about the size of the Prodigy and I can see where they come from!

I actually do agree with you all on the USB 3.0/switches placement as I find it a little inconvenient where it is situated. That being said, I don't think there will be a new revision of the Prodigy to rectify this but I do feel on future cases, it will be taken on board etc!

We listen to what our fans/end users say about our products!

 

[BitFenixUK]

Feedback noted and thanks!

Will share my thoughts with HQ on the matter