djdestiny
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- May 19, 2010
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Apologies for fingerprint marks and poor product shots.
My writeup on the enthoo pro : (WARNING WALL OF TEXT AHEAD)
Obviously, this is not an big chassis like the switch 810 and will not fit rads in the same places as the 810. But, the enthoo pro makes use of it's displaced size very well by allowing you to configure most of the case to what you like.
Most of the case can be dismantled for painting but there is just some of it that is riveted, for reasons unknown.
It should have been screwed in as well!
It looks classy and simple very much unlike any HAF series cases or a NZXT Phantom
Radiator support : Not so simple since a bottom 240 will slam right into your PSU if you use a 190mm long PSU like I do. Just that 20mm difference in depth compared to a switch 810 makes it pretty much impossible for you to install a 240 rad.
Otherwise, you can always keep the bottom HDD cage if you want to use 2 HDDs like I do (not any more as of now) and install the 240 without the optical bay on the middle 120mm fan slot, with the other 120 in the area where the optical bay used to be or if you can squeeze it in there, the other option is to take the cage mounting point out and rest the whole cage on shock absorbing foam
and thus squeeze a rad in there if it isn't possible to do with the stock HDD mounting points and move the single HDD underneath the PSU cover.With only the bottom HDD cages in place you can hide the reservoir and pump if you so desire.
Of course, the key points I'm having to raise is that the Enthoo Pro is well-built and has a PSU cover along with a optical bay AND HDD bay cover which hides up most of what you wouldn't want to see.
Cable management space at 27mm which admittedly isn't necessarily the most spacious but there's a bulge in the bottom allowing for even more cable management in the very bottom which makes it far more brilliant than my 810 for cable management which doesn't have much.
The doors are hinged like the 810 but doesn't require 1000 pounds of force to pull it out of orbit and doesn't have silly plastic door latches that will break if you open the doors frequently (which I do)
The paint is glossy, which is a shame as that makes it VERY sensitive to fingerprint marks without a shadow of doubt.
It's a perfectly smooth finish though and the "brushed parts" are actually plastic!
Fantastic as brushed aluminium is nice to touch and look but not so nice to see eventually. The glossy finish is very annoying though ...
A issue I have though is the slightly flimsy motherboard tray but it's not as bad as cheap corsair cases tend to be and I am just nitpicking really, I am comparing it to CM HAF cases and the COSMOS 2 which has one hell of a solid tray.
Hell the Corsair 230T isn't cheap and just screams cheap from the PCI covers to the motherboard tray along with the chassis on the outside!
The velcro straps on the motherboard tray though (Better than clips!), are actually bolted on to the tray.
If I have three gripes with it (which I do) is that the built in fan controller is very weird you can't have it powered from the SATA plug unless you enjoy running fans at full blast which defeats the point of the fan controller but maybe I was reading it wrong. Mine came broken so I never knew how it reacts to control nevertheless.
Secondly, I can't install a 45mm thick rad and a row of fans without everything being a tight squeeze ... removing 1 screw in the corner solves the problem though
EX58-UD5 doesn't have the tallest VRM heatsinks either ...Of course, the other problems is that the built in 200mm runs at 900rpm out of the box. It is indeed the very phanteks fan you can buy off the shelf so it's a good fan but it's quite loud and you cannot really have it spin lower than 600rpm easily if you're using voltage resistors.
Normally I have never liked 200mm fans because there aren't any good ones that I usually know of but I probably approve of this one if there's nothing in the way apart from the screen filter which is great, unfortunately HDD cages are in the way so no.
Plus having taken out the PH-F200SP and put in the stock PH-F140XP cooling my R9 280X TurboDuo is a lot easier even though it's got a really low power draw being a Tahiti XTL
So now, a few issues I would like to see phanteks improve on, extending the top of the case by at least 10mm for more rad clearance and a rough paint coat would be nice. Gloss Paint is nice to look at but not so nice once you have your fingers on it.
Of course pricing is my main point, it costs 139$ which really isn't much at all.
For something that only costs 139$ for a case this customizable is definitely a winner.
Is it a perfect case? I don't think so, not really. Is it a great modder's case? Yes!
Brilliant brilliant case - this is like a Lamborghini Aventador in the car world for those who aren't into cars that much but if you are, this is like a GT-R R35 in terms of looks and actually in simplicity functionality too
Both come across as mean as very neat/clean at the same time. If I was trying to abbreviate ... It just looks fantastic.
It's simple ... at the same time very feature-packed but well thought out. Phanteks replaced my scratched up side panel FOC!
A lot better than I suppose, NZXT? They delayed my panels for 6 months and in the end decided not to send me panels for my switch 810. If it wasn't for Hydra's help I wouldn't have gotten this case early and really thank you Eugene for getting me one pre sale.
Pros :
Well built, very very stealth innards, awesome customizability, fantastic looks, black smoked window
Cons :
Extremely fingerprint magnet glossy paint coat, side panel came scratched,
mobo tray is a bit flimsy but not as bad as cheap corsair cases tend to be (Production models come with a much more solid panel than mine is so yes it's a non-issue now)
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