Last year at COMPUTEX 2014 BitFenix brought out a slew of new cases. At the time, quite a few were still in the early stages of being readied for launch. At least two of the cases were for sure going to hit the shelves, namely the Pandora and the Atlas. This year at COMPUTEX 2015, the two cases are the focus products of the company again, with the Pandora seeing a slightly larger revision, and the Atlas finally making it to market.
In addition to these two cases, BitFenix is also extending the line with a new case called the NOVA which is here to battle out at the lower end of the spectrum. And for those that love to mode their new cases without the use of a drill, the new Magnetic LED strips might be interesting to you.
BitFenix Pandora ATX
With a shipping date of early Q4, the new Pandora ATX is built for large and in charge water cooling with the ability to mount a 360mm radiator at the top and front, and support for EATX boards. The thing that made Pandora interesting was the LCD display, which returns for this bigger brother to the original Pandora.
In order to maintain its premium aesthetics, the power supply receives a full length cover, with the HDD cage hidden underneath it as well. SSDs can be mounted next to the motherboard tray. IO upgrades include a USB 3.1A type, C type, along with dual USB 2.0 ports to round things off. And instead of being constructed out of aluminum, the Pandora ATX will be constructed out of steel sidepanels, allowing BitFenix to bring the case in at $99 US for the basic model, which is the same price as the original.
BitFenix Nova
Hitting the market in early Q4, the BitFenix Nova is here to compete for under $40 USD. Similar to the BitFenix Comrade in looks, the Nova drops the tool-less HDD and SSD cage, making it great for budget builds or system integrators.
BitFenix ATLAS
The BitFenix ATLAS is the company’s largest endeavour since the original Colossus. We saw the case last year at COMPUTEX 2014, and we weren’t sure if it would ever make it. But after refinements in production, we’ll be seeing the case on the shelves by early Q4 of this year.
The new case will sport USB 3.1 A, USB 3.1 C and dual USB 3.0 ports for IO. A PWM signal repeater will allow control for all fans via a single mainboard CPU fan header, giving user the ability to use what few connectors we have for other purposes.
The HDD cage will be completely tool-less aiding in ease of setup, and windows on both sides will be standard. Support for up to EATX boards along with thick 360mm radiators at the front, along with support for slim 360mm radiators at the top, give it endless monster system cooling capabilities. And to top things off, both chambers can be ejected via the rear with a set of solid aluminum handles. Just be sure to disconnect everything before you do that. Especially if you’ve connected watercooling loops.
The rails can be moved to invert the two setups ala BTX, with the main chamber on the right side of the case so your motherboard is facing you with the system on the left side of your desk. This can help reduce VGA temps depending on the cooler setup on your GPU.
The BitFenix ATLAS will take on the world for $399 USD.
BitFenix Magnetic LED Strips
The interesting BitFenix Magnetic LED strips will be the first product to market, landing in July of 2015. Although MSRP has not been announced, the company does plan to make it competitive with conventional “stick on” LED strips. Purple and Green fans will be happy as those colors made the cut, but unfortunately, orange did not. So if you were planning to put this in your be quiet! Silent Base 800, you will be out of luck. Unless you go for another color other than orange.
The magnets might case some concern for users as components inside systems are sensitive, especially platter based HDDs. But if you don’t put them right on these components then you should be good to go. Plus, they can be re-used easily in future builds.’
What do you think of BitFenix’s latest products from COMPUTEX 2015? Drop a comment below!