Bitfenix Ronin

[paulstung]

Not sure if this has been mentioned but I've just come across the new ofering from Bitfenix the Ronin, and might I say she looks a bit sexy, and for the price just shy of 70 quid, I'd say a bit of a bargain to boot.

http://www.techpowerup.com/186339/bitfenix-unveils-ronin-pc-chassis.html

 

[MrKambo]

they stole my idea!!!!!!!!!!

seriously....i saw it this morning, and actually, Tom may even agree i noticed a few things wrong with the shinobi in terms of air flow, like the front doesnt allow much air to be sucked in, this case addresses that issue with a much better designed front grill

i hope they do an XL version, ill get it without a doubt, if not, i may purchase this...

by my idea i mean covering the psu area and hard drive bay with a separate piece

 

[Feronix]

I'm getting an 'almost there' feeling when I look at this case. If they put the radiator mount off centre like in the Arc Midi R2 it might have been a serious competitor. I also find it a weird decision that they allow 2x14mm fans in the top, but only up to 240mm rads.

They didn't talk about the option to mount a rad in the front or bottom either? If you can't, they really missed out on that one.

Last thing is that with a 70 quid case, I'd at least expect cable management grommets, but that may just be me? :huh:

 

[paulstung]

I think they left out the grommets assuming most would use the removable shroud type thingy, which hides it all behind. I now what you mean about the almost there feeling. After just watching a vid, that shroud looks like it is made out of that cheap poly they use on top of pallets in a warehouse. The other case they had a quick look at the Shadow looks a bit interesting to

 

[Feronix]

I think they left out the grommets assuming most would use the removable shroud type thingy, which hides it all behind. I now what you mean about the almost there feeling. After just watching a vid, that shroud looks like it is made out of that cheap poly they use on top of pallets in a warehouse. The other case they had a quick look at the Shadow looks a bit interesting to

I also don't get why they made and advertise it as having a massive window if 20-30% of that is going to be covered by that stealth cover anyway :huh:

 

[paulstung]

I agree about the window, they could of incorporated the inner shroud shape onto the door maybe ?

 

[trent]

Last thing is that with a 70 quid case, I'd at least expect cable management grommets, but that may just be me?

You are absolutely right, companies are putting the rubber grommets even in cheaper cases, its just looking low end without them.

 

[Feronix]

I agree about the window, they could of incorporated the inner shroud shape onto the door maybe ?

Or maybe if they just made the window smaller, but keep it in a clean and simple shape so that it wouldn't stand out from the rest of the case.

You are absolutely right, companies are putting the rubber grommets even in cheaper cases, its just looking low end without them.

Yes, I think this shroud idea is nice but it's not very nicely executed this way. Having no grommets will mean that you *have* to use the shroud otherwise your case will look cheap. Having the shroud on means that a big part of your window is rendered useless.

Another point to make is that with this shroud, you can't see the cables at all, so there would be no need for fancy extensions. This is an odd decision from Bitfenix as they sell Alchemy Extensions themselves so it's cutting into their own profit (by a very small, maybe not even noticeable, amount) which doesn't seem like the smartest thing to do.

 

[1355970]

Having no grommets will mean that you *have* to use the shroud otherwise your case will look cheap. Having the shroud on means that a big part of your window is rendered useless.

I totally agree with you about the "almost there" feel to it, but:

Why exactly would your case look cheap if you don't have triangle and/or rectangle shaped rubber flabs haphazardly bent around your sleeved cables at your cable management holes?

I think the idea here was to provide the customer with two window options in one package, without the need of modding, or having to order something for extra money ... even if the execution of that idea is not the best. The stealth cover and the support bars will be included in every box, so those who don't want to use it have wasted a portion of their money.

I for one would have made a smaller window panel in the shape of the stealth cover to go with the case by default, and would have made the bigger window panel a purchasable accessory.

____

Further thoughts or rather criticism i have about this case is the front panel (that huge empty unused area above the top 5.25 bay), and the bottom dust filter (I don't like magnets that close to my bottom hard drive).