Raidmax Raptor Case Review

So here we are.  A new year, a new set of resolutions, and a new case up for review.  I’ve been off for a few weeks for the holidays and family stuff, but now I’m back and ready for action.  I was excited to get this case review going, mostly because everyone knows I love cases, but partly because the boss man has been breathing down my throat to get something done.  So here it is; the Raidmax Raptor chassis review.

Raidmax has been making some pretty nice cases here lately.  I was monitoring their website for a while, and when I saw the Raptor I immediately jumped at the chance to review it.  For no other reason than because I loved the available red-on-black color scheme.  They have a blue one as well, but who cares?  Red is bestial.  It’s hardcore.  It’s the fires of freaking Mordor!  Here’s some info on the chassis before I start tearing it down:

Product Description

Features:

• 4 fans included:
  • Front 120 mm Red LED Fan
  • Top 2 x 120 mm Red LED Fan
  • Rear 120 mm Fan
• Screw-less design for 5.25″ Devices and 3.5″ HDDs
• Mesh front and side vent for better cooling performance
• CPU cutout allows for easy installation of CPU coolers
• Top mounted USB 3.0 x 1, USB ports x 2 and HD Audio
• Front panel Fan Control switch and LED light adjuster
• Cable management design simplifies cable routing for your computer
• One click easy remove/install front 5.25″ drive bay covers
• Bottom mount PSU with washable filter
• 12.4 inches interior depth for longer video card or 16.9 inches with topper Hard Drive cage removed

The first thing I noticed about the chassis was the airfoil design on top.  Three overlapping plastic fins, much like dragon scales, that allow warm air to be pushed up and back when exiting the case.  There’s no real reason for this design, other than aesthetics, but the result looks pretty damned cool.  My only issue is that the “fins” are made of some pretty flimsy plastic.  A little pressure, and I foresee them snapping off with a quickness.

Just in front of this is a recess with a built-in carrying handle.  The top is made of some pretty thick and sturdy plastic.  I don’t see any issues when it comes to its ability to bear weight.  Forward yet again, is the multimedia panel.  Pretty basic stuff here.  There are ports for audio (mic and headphones), two USB 2.0 ports, a single USB 3.0 port, power button, reset button, LEDs, and controls for the internal fans.  The case comes with three red LED fans, and you can use these controls to change their speed and brightness.

Now on to the front of the case.  Embossed with the Raidmax logo, the fan features three 3.5″ bays for optical drives.  Below these are another series of fins and protect the mesh covering the fans that provide intake for the case as well as cooling for the hard drives just behind them.  It only comes with on fan in the front, however.  The second fan is up to the customer to provide.  The fins are made of thick plastic, but knocking them into a hard surface while carrying the chassis will probably result in broken fins.  The parts that will most certainly break are the dual plastic “shields” that cover both sides of the front.  These are made from the same stuff as the airfoil on top, and the slightest touch bends them.  Be cautious when moving this case.

The right side of the case comes off to allow access to the back of the motherboard for replacing heatsinks without the need to remove the mobo from the chassis.  All the wires for the fans were also pre-wired through here, allowing for a mess-free installation.  There’s sufficient space back there to allow for heat dissipation as well.  But the best part is easily the access to the mobo’s heatsink from the back.  I hate taking motherboards out just to replace a heatsink for review.

Going around to the other side we see the inside of the chassis.  Using tool-free design, all of the 3 optical drives, the 5 HDDs, the single SSD, and the 7 rear expansion cards can be removed and replaced without the use of tools.  The HDD cages are very nice, thought the design is far from new.  The hard drives slide in so that the connectors are at the back, reducing the inevitable mess of wires that blocks airflow and looks unsightly.  The only issue here is the lack of space in the back.  If you use a regular SATA data cable you’re going to have to deal with pressure on the connector.  Raidmax includes two low-profile data cables, but most enthusiasts are going to need more.  I would suggest using these two for HDDs and using a regular cable for the optical drives.

Like many good cases these days, the PSU goes on the bottom.  It’s the way it should have been since the day that home PCs came of age, but lucky for us the time is here now.  The PSU mounts easily, using for included screws, and below it in the bottom of the case is a removable dust and lint filter.  This is also another favorite design for me.  Many PSUs have large fans on the bottom that pull air from under the case, rather than from inside the case like older power supplies.  The dust filter prolongs the life of these PSUs.

The Raptor comes with no shortage of fans, and all of them are very quiet even at their highest speeds.  I’m sitting two feet from them right now, and can barely hear them.  The airflow on the inside is very solid, even with the side of the case off.  I put my hand near the CPU heatsink fan and can feel cold air coming from the front.  With a side of the case on, the force of the air exiting the top and back is fairly impressive.  I would say that with a fan installed on the side, it would be a cooling Utopia for any air-cooling enthusiast.

The rear contains a plethora of expansion slots.  Seven, to be exact.  This is pretty average for most full-sized ATX case users, but for those use micro-ATX boards, this is a lot of slots.  And many Average Joes are trying to get small quiet cases these days.  For those of us who like having lots of space for dual video cards and extra USB cards, having plenty of expansion slots for a full ATX board is great.  However, this case does make things a little harder on you than many I’ve seen.  Having a tool-less design is great, but the Raptor’s expansion slot blanks don’t readily come out.  They have thick chunks of retaining metal, and when you get ready to use a slot, you have to break them free and work them out.  I bent the frame of the case trying to get one out for a video card.

The Raptor, like many gaming cases, is set up for water cooling.  It has three holes for tubing beside the expansion bay.  I would have preferred that they be above the bay to avoid the tubes resting on any expansion cards, but I’m sure with sufficient tubing and a few zip ties this can be remedied.

Overall the design is nice, it looks great and any gamer would be happy with the looks.  Some parts of it are flimsy and could break off or be damaged with a lot of moving around, but with proper care it could be avoided.  There is plenty of space for optical drives, hard drives and expansion cards, and the inside is roomy enough to accommodate a multitude of cables and wires, many of them routed through the back of the case, and still have lots of room for airflow.

The Raptor provides access to the cooling unit from the front and back without having to remove the mainboard from the chassis, which makes it very desirable for those of us who remove cooling systems frequently.  All in all, it’s a good case with a few issues, but worthy of any gamer’s hardware.