BitFenix Ronin Case Review
by Dustin Sklavos on July 22, 2013 12:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- bitfenix
- ATX
Conclusion: A Miss
Writing a negative product review for AnandTech is very different from, say, writing a negative movie review or a negative video game review. It's not a task I particularly enjoy, especially not when the product comes from a company like BitFenix that we've developed a good working relationship with. Historically I've been very fond of BitFenix's products, and they've been gracious enough to provide hardware for testing whenever we've needed it. That makes this review a difficult one to write, because frankly, the Ronin is a bust.
Visually it's at least aesthetically pleasing, and as I mentioned before, this is one place where BitFenix typically excels. The Ronin is an attractive piece of kit, and the soft-touch finish really does contribute to a feeling of value. I'm also not convinced the stealth cover is a bad idea; I wish the side window were a little bit less reflective, but that's neither here nor there. Suffice to say that the Ronin is at least a very good-looking enclosure.
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Unfortunately aesthetics are largely where the upsides of the Ronin end. Barring the stealth cover and brilliant snap-shut drive sleds, there isn't a whole lot of original thinking going on inside the Ronin. BitFenix has severely hamstrung the Ronin with just two 120mm fans, and the case has serious issues with airflow. Those fans are quiet, but they're not moving anywhere near enough air to make up for the low case volume. Since the Ronin doesn't feature any acoustic padding or other allowances to keep noise down, we're hit with the dreaded double whammy: it's hot and loud.
The killing blow for the Ronin is its price tag: at $99, it's just too expensive. At virtually any price tag it might have been getting by on looks, but $99 is especially egregious coming from a company that ordinarily is able to offer pretty solid value. The net result is that we have a case that looks good, but that's it; it's too expensive, it's too hot, and it's too loud. Even the best companies have the odd miss here or there and the Ronin seems to be BitFenix's. On the bright side, I hear you can pick up a Shinobi Window for just $79 on NewEgg, and that's a case I can happily recommend.
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1Angelreloaded - Tuesday, July 23, 2013 - link
Innovation, is a relative term to the user, some feature some users find attractive are to some a nightmare or not pleasing, to me while thumb screws are nice and fast, they are unsightly on a case, and all I can say is "Since when did we become that lazy, to not use a screwdriver?". Moot point but I'm waiting for a Case manufacturer to have a prefabricated modular case that doesn't have industrial designed segments, and doesn't cost an arm or a leg like MM or Caselabs. there is a distinction to what can be considered "Premium" or "Ingenuity" and in the PC world I have to say form and function is a must otherwise companies like LaCie would have went the way of the dodo. We need a new version of mainstream and Enthusiast parts, and a definitive separation of the two. TBH the whole x79 sandy-e is way behind on features of the native chipset and even with Ivy-e being released for the socket its simply not practical for the pricepoint while on the mainstream z77 and z87 you are stuck with onboard graphics that you pay for but can't use without taking a hit on your fps. I diverge from the point sorry, Cases are very very similar in that respect the only definition between the 2 different market segments is price and features we should have, that should be a no brainer simply are not there yet, or are in overpriced cases in which your better putting your money elsewhere, like people have done before no ssd drive cage, no problem that's what Velcro is for.techxx - Monday, July 22, 2013 - link
That is a shame. IIRC though, there are supposed to be some new Mini-ITX cases from them on the horizon. Full ATX cases just don't make sense to me anymore anyway! Micro-ATX should be the largest form factor on the market now, with Mini-ITX being the norm.RagnarKon - Monday, July 22, 2013 - link
While I do welcome innovation in the mini-ATX and especially the micro-ATX market... ATX cases absolutely make sense to me. On my main system I have every PCIe slot filled (except the one blocked by the GPU cooler) and I'm not even running an SLI setup.Also, I am disappoint BitFenix... I had high hopes.
Grok42 - Tuesday, July 23, 2013 - link
I would agree with everything techxx said with a small exception that he probably assumed wasn't needed be explicitly said. Is there a place for ATX cases? Sure, I plan on using ATX for my home servers for the foreseeable future. However, the world doesn't need another ATX case. What we need are many more mITX and mATX designs.techxx - Tuesday, July 23, 2013 - link
There will always be that 0.01% of users who require a full-ATX case while the remaining 99.99% would be more than adequately covered with a mini-ITX or micro-ATX case. Unless you have 3-way SLI or a ton of PCI devices (which makes you even rarer), m-ITX and micro-ATX pack one hell of a punch nowadays.Aeolus98 - Monday, July 22, 2013 - link
It seems like what they're trying to do is to keep the case looking streamlined, with no unevenness on the sides, so that dictates a (fairly) standard in through the front, out through the back and top. It's a great design when executed properly, even with no gpu fan vent, like the HAF or the antec 1200. They should have put more fan space on the front and bumped it up from 2x120mm to 2x140mm to provide a bit of airflow. I don't really see your point about price, though, with the second 120mm on the front it could possibly be on par with something like the antec 900 series, while that costs a bit more OTOH.DanNeely - Monday, July 22, 2013 - link
Why do you only have 2 comparison systems for the full fat test? Looking at the NZXT 530 review from a few days ago there are several others that could've been added to help fill the table out.kelstertx - Monday, July 22, 2013 - link
Not everyone uses multiple 2-slot-wide video cards and makes monster systems with 4 drives that need 3+ fans to cool. This case would be perfectly fine for 90% of the systems I end up making for friends and family -- those only get a single 120mm fan, and it's rare that they even have standalone video cards. Yes, the price does need to come down a bit, and someone looking to load this thing to the hilt might do better to look elsewhere, but keep in mind that the gamer market is a small percentage of the market, compared to all the people who just do email, web browsing, and facebook stuff. So I'd say a "miss" for high power gamers with unlimited budgets... but a nice looking and totally usable, albeit slightly expensive case that would be more than fine for everyone I know personally.JDG1980 - Monday, July 22, 2013 - link
Any modern ATX case of reasonable quality will cool a single-GPU system. The question is why you should buy the Ronin instead of, say, the Fractal Design Define R4 (which is about the same price and much quieter, with better thermals) or the Antec GX700 (which costs only $59 and bests the Ronin in everything but idle noise levels). I'm just not seeing the value proposition here.Grok42 - Tuesday, July 23, 2013 - link
I'm with you on your build style. Keep it simple and inexpensive. What doesn't follow is why you would use this case. For something without a GPU it seems like an small mATX and mITX would be perfect.