BitFenix Raider Mid-Tower Chassis Review

Recently BitFenix sent us a conspicuous looking box with the word Raider emblazoned on the side. According to Merriam-Webster the definition of Raider is as follows: one that raids,  a: a fast lightly armed ship operating against merchant shipping, b: a soldier specially trained for close range fighting, c: one that attempts a usually hostile takeover of a business corporation. Given the definition of Raider, I was very much looking forward to giving this case a good look over, and if true to past BitFenix chassis offerings I will not be disappointed.

Features & Specifications

(Courtesy of BitFenix)

Defeat system-crashing heat with Raider – the all-new performance chassis design from BitFenix. Unlike most other chassis that include run-of-the-mill fans, Raider comes equipped with three premium 120mm BitFenix Spectre™ Fans and a contoured mesh design for unstoppable cooling performance. The first chassis to offer four SuperSpeed USB 3.0 ports, Raider is ready for the future, offering all the connectivity you need for your SuperSpeed peripherals. The integrated fan controller controls up to five fans, allowing you to customize your system’s cooling profile to suit the task at hand. DIY niceties like filtered intakes, tool-free drive locking mechanisms, rubber grommets and plenty of space behind the motherboard tray help you get up and running headache-free, and a removable hard drive cage wall means that Raider even accommodates expansion cards up to 38 cm in length! To top it all off, Raider is coated in signature BitFenix SofTouch™ Surface Treatment for a quality matte finish and one-of-a-kind feel. Unstoppable performance and quality – that’s BitFenix Raider.

 Features

• Four SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Ports – As the first chassis to offer four SuperSpeed USB 3.0 ports, Raider is ready for the future. Use the two internal 19-pin connectors to enable up to four USB 3.0 ports, or use the included 9-pin connectors for USB 2.0 – plenty of connectivity for all your high-speed USB devices.

• Maximum Airflow Design – The smooth mesh styling of Raider s more than just looks. The combination of an all mesh front and top with 5 fan locations means maximum cooling for your components. And for those who demand even more airflow, Raider can also be outfitted with up to two huge 200mm fans for unmatched air cooling.

• BitFenix Spectre Cooling – A premium chassis deserves premium cooling. That’s why Raider comes loaded with three BitFenix Spectre™ 120mm fans for superb cooling performance and quiet operation.

• Integrated Fan Controller – Power is nothing without control, which is why Raider comes equipped with an integrated fan controller. Watching a movie or listening to music? Turn your fans down for the sweet sound of silence. Ready to get into the game? Turn your fans up for maximum cooling performance. With Raider, you’ve got total control over any situation.

• Superb Expansion – Offering four 5.25″ bays, six 3.5″bays, and space for up to seven 2.5″ drives, Raider can accommodate a bevy of hardware. Have an extremely long graphics card? No problem. Simply remove the specially-designed hard drive cage wall and install graphics cards up to 38 cm in length!

• BitFenix SofTouch Surface Treatment – Raider features signature BitFenix SofTouch™ Surface Treatment which gives an elegant matte finish and one-of-a-kind feel. Best of all, SofTouch™ even resists fingerprints and stains, keeping your Raider looking great.

• Trouble Free Installation – Working with your system shouldn’t be a headache. With a large CPU cooler cutout, tool-free drive locking mechanisms, rubber grommets and 23mm of clearance behind the motherboard tray, Raider can get your system up and running in record time. And to keep your system clean on the inside, dust filters on all intakes are also included.

Packaging & Accessories

The packaging for this case is pretty standard as far as cases go. The case was housed in a standard beefy cardboard box, two fitted Styrofoam ends, and a large plastic bag around the case itself. As we will see, there really isn’t too much to the box one side has Raider written on it with the BitFenix logo, while the other side has some specs on it.

Accessories

The accessories that were included are pretty much run of the mill for a mid size ATX case. The little brown box included four case feet, one Bag’ O’ Screws, one Motherboard Speaker, and 12 Small Zip ties.

Case Exterior

Without further ado we will now proceed with a visual introduction of the case exterior. Warning! These pictures are explicit and should only be viewed by those that think it is possible for components to look sexy! After getting the Raider removed from its packaging and the bag removed I was slightly taken aback by its appearance. It’s a very subtle case in its lines and form, and stealth like in its appearance.

From the above front angled views you can see that this isn’t the flashiest case around. Everything about it is understated and very sleek.  All of the plastic pieces on the exterior of the case are also finished using the SofTouch treatment, which gives the plastic a nice rubberized feeling to the touch. There is only one standout marking on the case, and that is the BitFenix logo. In the picture to the bottom right you can see that the SofTouch treated plastic continues along the bottom edge of the case front. Also in the same picture you can see that in the middle of the front they used a fine mesh which doubles as both form and function. It looks nice and works well to filter the dust. What you can’t see is that the front is also lined on the inside with soft density foam.

The back of the case is again understated and pretty standard as far as mid-towers go. You have a bottom mount PSU, 7 slots, a single mounted 120 mm Spectre fan, 2 grommet-lined holes for water cooling, and a mysterious as of yet undefined (at least by me) grommet lined oval.

For the top section of the case they chose to use the fine mesh sans the soft density foam. Again around the edges is the SofTouch treated plastic. I don’t think I can really put into words how the texture feels. Soft-velvety plastic? Plasticky (is this even a word?) rubber? I’ll go with soft-velvety plastic. Moving on… Also on the top you have your four USB 3.0 ports, standard audio jacks, your integrated fan control slider, your power and reset buttons, and two tiny blue LED’s for the power and HDD.

On the bottom of the case (Also treated with SofTouch) you have two removable filters that are made out of a soft mesh. One of the filters is for your PSU and the other is for an optional 120 mm fan.

Interior

I was pleasantly surprised with the volume of room in the interior of the Raider given the fact that it is a mid size case. The entire inside of Raider is painted and finished in the same fashion as the exterior. On the motherboard tray, there is a sufficiently sized cutout to allow the addition/removal of various sized back plates for your CPU cooler. There is a total of 23 mm clearance behind the motherboard tray to accommodate wire management, with rubber lined cutouts in the proper places to route your wires.

In the pictures above you can see both the front side and the back side of the motherboard tray. This case can accommodate the mini ITX, mATX, and ATX form factors. The drive bay area can house six 3.25″ HDD’s, or seven 2.5″ drives. The drive tray housing is also set up to be sound dampening by the use of rubber in the tray’s tracks. The top left hand side of the drive bays is also modular so that you can accommodate longer graphics cards up to 380 mm/14.9″ in length.

With the removal of the top you can see the mount for the optional 200 mm fan, and again on the right a better view of the fine mesh lining for the top. With all of the mesh lining you can really tell that this case was designed to allow for the maximum flow of air. Below you can see that there are four 5.25″ bays (three of which there is a knockout for), there is a spot to mount an optional 200 mm fan with the modification to allow the existing two 120mm Spectre fans. The back side of the front panel you can see the removable filtered cay covers. A hitch that I have with this section of the case is the fact that in order to remove the front panel, you have to in fact remove the top also. There is a section of the front cover that sits inside of the top by about 3/4 of an inch. It’s not necessarily a strike against the Raider, but it is another step that you have to do to get the front panel off.

Below you can see a better picture of the slide trays for the HHD and the latches for the four 5.25″ bays. I will say however, that it is not all snap and go. In order to install 2.5″ drives, you will have to use the provided screws to attach the drive to the hard drive trays.

Below is a close up of the 19 pin USB 3.0 connectors, BetFenix has also provided USB 2.0 adapters for those that do not have USB 3.0 capabilities. Also is a picture of the five fan headers that come from the sliding fan controller.

Component Installation

Component installation went quite well and was relatively easy courtesy of the tool-less design. In the aforementioned Bag O’ Screws, they supply you with all kind of screws; short ones, medium ones, long ones, and quite few thumb screws. I was excited about the thumbscrews because I thought that they were to be used to attach the motherboard to the motherboard tray. Unfortunately it was not to be. They supplied Philips head screws for the attachment of the motherboard. The motherboard tray itself offers a variety of places to put your standoffs to accommodate whatever size motherboard you are using. Also, as previously noted, the top portion of the HDD cage is modular and as such can be removed with the removal of two thumb screw as shown below.

The HDD trays are pretty simplistic in that they have prongs where the screws would normally be. Very easy installation, just snap the tray onto the hard drive and insert into the proper area. Much as shown below

We have the PSU installation and cable routing in the next few pictures, and everything is standard like any other PSU install.

Next up is the installed motherboard. In this case I am using the Asus Crosshair IV Formula which is an ATX form factor.

Installing the graphics card was pretty standard aside from the screws used. The expansion slot covers are held in by a thumbscrew. Once the thumbscrew is removed it pops right out. I mean that quite literally! One shot out so far and fast I only heard the sound of it pattering across the floor.

To give you an idea of the amount of room that is available on the backside of the motherboard tray I will show you a few shots of what mine looked like. Now bear with me because I am of a mind that if it is out of sight, it is out of mind. As such, the backside looks like a couple of rats got loose back there! As bad as it looks though, it only took a little bit of coercion to get the side back on.

Now a shot of the back with the components installed. In true bencher’s fashion, I have no idea where my I/O shield could be! I haven’t seen it for quite a while and it very well could take days to find it.

After installing everything I still had some room to play around with so I stuck a 3020 BL MBIXX radiator in there just to see what it would be like. It fits snug right up under the VGA, and when I have a little more time to invest I plan to see if I can hook everything up. It will be nice to have a Mid size chassis that can house a CPU only loop internally.

Conclusion

At the end of the day there isn’t really much that I would change or add to this case. For the price point that this case comes in at it is certainly well worth it. The build quality is held to a high standard as far as I am concerned. The BitFenix SofTouch Surface Treatment is something else! After quite literally manhandling the case to see if I could get a fingerprint to stay there wasn’t a single fingerprint in sight. I even went as far as to lick the case just for good measure, and as designed there were no traces left. (Note: Overclockers.com does not condone manhandling, licking, or anything otherwise untoward to computer components. This lick was performed by a professional and should not be imitated.) In the essence of the definition of Raider I would have to say that this chassis falls under definition b. This is a specially trained soldier for close range fighting on the virtual front. It will hold all of the tools and weapons you need to take out the enemy.

Being offered at $99.99, I believe that this is a great chassis and offers a lot of perks for its price range. If someone were looking for a case with good airflow, plenty of room for cable management, and appealing to the eye looks; then this case would be for them.

– capttripppp