BitFenix Shinobi Goes XL
- Thread starter kul1
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Looks like a nice case, but having a windowed side panel will really finish the look off. 
please gimme link or something to be sure.
this? http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/accessories/525-drive-bay-adapter
can you say this case will be quiet as ANTEC P182/183 ?
2nd question: this case has 2 USB 3.0 header connection, while ASROCK EXTREME4 GEN3 has only 1 header USB 3.0? HOW TO SOLVE?
this? http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/accessories/525-drive-bay-adapter
can you say this case will be quiet as ANTEC P182/183 ?
2nd question: this case has 2 USB 3.0 header connection, while ASROCK EXTREME4 GEN3 has only 1 header USB 3.0? HOW TO SOLVE?
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@kmetek: yes it comes with the adapter you linked in your post... in regards to the USB issue like with the Raider the Shinobi XL Internal connectors also have a USB 2.0 cable attached to it so you could use the ports for USB 2.0 if none or only 1 header is supported by your motherboard.
Regarding the difference in noise levels between the P182 and the XL (stock cooling), if I had to guess, I would say that the XL would be quieter than the P182, judging from my use with the Raider and P182.
Below is a quote from the noise testing section of my BitFenix Raider review, where I have compared the P182 to the Sonata 3 and the Raider as well.
The main differences between the XL and Raider would be;
- The shinobi has 2x230mm and 1x120mm Spectre fans, The Raider has 3x120mm Spectre fans
- The side panels appear to be thicker for the XL
- A more closed off design, the Raider has an open mesh design contouring from the back to the front
Here are the specs (according to BitFenix) of the 230mm Spectre fans:
Speed - 900±10% RPM
Air Flow - 97.8±10% CFM
Noise - <20 dB-A
Air Pressure - 1.08 mmH2O
Below is a quote from the noise testing section of my BitFenix Raider review, where I have compared the P182 to the Sonata 3 and the Raider as well.
The main differences between the XL and Raider would be;
- The shinobi has 2x230mm and 1x120mm Spectre fans, The Raider has 3x120mm Spectre fans
- The side panels appear to be thicker for the XL
- A more closed off design, the Raider has an open mesh design contouring from the back to the front
Here are the specs (according to BitFenix) of the 230mm Spectre fans:
Speed - 900±10% RPM
Air Flow - 97.8±10% CFM
Noise - <20 dB-A
Air Pressure - 1.08 mmH2O
Now onto the fans that are supplied with this case, they aren’t standard OEM cheap ones, they are BitFenix Spectre fans, which cost about £5 to buy separately. These fans have fluid dynamic bearings, which essentially means that everything is kept running nice and smoothly and this helps the fans to have a longer lifespan and more silent when running. The fans are made out of thermoplastic crystalline polymer, which is essentially a matte finish, so they are also high quality in terms of looks. According to BitFenix, here are some important figures for the Spectre fans:
Noise - 20 dB-A
Speed - 1000±10% RPM
Airflow - 43.5±10% CFM
Air Pressure - 0.62 mmH2O.
Lets compare that information to an Antec tri cool 120mm fan, which is used in the Sonata 3 and the P182!
Stats taken from Silentpcreview (unfortunately no air pressure readings):
High RPM:
Noise - 36 dBA
Speed - 1930 RPM
Airflow - 53 CFM
Medium RPM:
Noise - 27 dBA
RPM - 1430 RPM
Airflow - 36 CFM
Low RPM:
Noise - 20 dBA
Speed - 870 RPM
Airflow - 21 CFM
Noise Levels:
This is one of the most important things for me when it comes to deciding which case to get! The Raider is louder than my Sonata 3 by a very small amount, however you really have to listen and pay attention in order to notice the difference between them, this is with the Antec tri-cool 120mm in my Sonata 3 set to low and the Raider set to low as well, this is pretty impressive I have to say considering there are 3x120mm fans in the Raider as opposed to just the 1x120mm fan in my Sonata 3!
Even when turning the fans to high for the Raider, it is still exceptionally quite! At first I thought “this can’t be right, I can barely hear any difference at all between low and high”. I even thought to myself the controller for the fans must be broken or not all of them are increasing in RPM as the difference is very subtle but just about noticeable if you pay enough attention. I even had to take the side panel off and put my head near the fans to be absolutely sure about the noise and even placing my hand at the back and front in order to see if there was an increase in airflow! The noise levels are even more impressive considering the mesh design/panels, making it is pretty much open from the back of the top to the bottom of the front.
The Antec tri-cool set to high is extremely noisy. The P182 with every fan set to low apart from the bottom (medium speed) is slightly noisier than the Raider (when fans are set to low), judging by my hearing, this is how I would rate them for noise levels:
High fan speeds – Antec P182 > sonata 3 > raider
P182 being the loudest and the Raider being the quietest
Low fan speeds – sonata 3 > raider > P182
Sonata 3 being the quietest and the P182 being the loudest
However with the fans set to low on the Raider, I can hear the GPU fan much more now when it is under heavy load i.e. gaming, as opposed to the Sonata 3, this is due to the thin flimsy side panels on the Raider.
If BitFenix made the side panels a bit thicker, this would not be as much of an issue then. The open design of the mesh panels at the top probably also play a part in this.
The main thing about these BitFenix Spectre fans is that they are super quiet at low and even high settings!
Here are some decibel readings that I took on my Android Smartphone (Samsung Galaxy Spica/i5700) using this Android app:
https://market.android.com/details?...ult#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImtyLnNpcmEuc291bmQiXQ..
Firstly, DO NOT put too much thought into these readings, as they are not going to be as accurate as a proper decibel meter, this is to just try and show you the difference in perceived sound between the fan speeds.
The distance that my mobile was placed (with the microphone facing the cases) from the case is 19cm, this is roughly how far I sit from the case.
Going from left to right, the fan increases from low to medium and finally high speed:
Here is a chart for the decibel readings chart:
Sonata 3:
P182:
The bottom fan in the P182 was kept on medium through out the tests
Raider:
Due to the P182 bottom fan not being changed at all, you could assume that from the medium decibel reading for both the Sonata 3 and the P182, that the difference could be -/+ 1 for the low and high speed tests.
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According to BitFenix website it is 34.5mm
http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/chassis/shinobi-xl#specs
http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/chassis/shinobi-xl#specs
I don't think review stock is around yet apart from a couple of select reviewers with pre-release samples still under embargo. 
As I said in the Switch 810 thread, I'd love to see one of the sites able to do a direct comparison between the cases.
As I said in the Switch 810 thread, I'd love to see one of the sites able to do a direct comparison between the cases.
NOOOOO
Bitfenix.
people dont want a window with a fan grill on there.
they are pointless. people want a window so they can see their cool hardware, fans are ugly and mounting them on a plexi window is noisy and ineffective.
please just rethink this and do plain windows.
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+1 no grill on the window
Please do not use the same shape as the Shinobi mid tower for the window either.
Please do not use the same shape as the Shinobi mid tower for the window either.