A Closer Look - Outside

BitFenix - being a fairly young company - is really trying out new things with their cases, be it the surface or the design. A testament to that is their first chassis by the name of Colossus. With the Raider, the company takes a much simpler but still quite good looking approach to the overall design. Considering the success of the Shinobi, BitFenix is obviously dialing back on the design "craziness" a bit, while still offering something stylish for the masses.


The front is constructed of metal mesh along with plastic, which features the so called "SofTouch" surface - something we have seen on all of their previous cases and on more recent cases from the competition like the Midgard II or CM Storm Trooper. The rear reveals a simple but nonetheless effective layout, something you would expect from a case in this price range.


Both sides of the chassis are completely solid and only have a little extruded part in the rear to give you some grip when pulling these off the enclosure. There is a subtle difference in color between the plastic frame and the metal parts of the chassis due to the completely different surface of these two materials.


Taking a closer look at the front, you will see a BitFenix company emblem at the bottom. This area gives way to fresh air for the two 120 mm fans as well. Above that are the four 5.25 inch drive bays. As you can see, there is no 3.5 inch drive bay, which would have been good to see in a case like this.


In the rear, there is the PSU bay in the bottom. It is multidirectional, meaning that you may install the power supply with the fan facing up- or downward. Above that are the standard, seven motherboard expansion slots, each protected by a separate metal mesh cover. All the way in the top is a 120 mm exhaust fan - raising the total number of included cooling units to three. There are two openings to route water cooling through, along with a weirdly shaped hole next to it. I honestly have no idea what that one is for.


BitFenix has clearly invested a lot of effort into the overall design. To keep anything from disturbing this look, the I/O has been embedded in the plastic parts on the chassis top panel. To the left are four USB 3.0 - a first for a computer chassis - along with the usual pair of audio connectivity. On the other side are the power and reset buttons, next to a blue power LED and a small, but effective slider to control up to five fans.


Last but not least, the bottom holds two separate dust filters. One for the PSU and one for the optional floor fan. BitFenix has also lined the entire front with a non-removable dust filter, so you can rest easy that no dirt will enter the chassis through these areas.