INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Quite a long time ago i announced that i would also perform product reviews based on requests made by you, the readers and although many things have happened during the past months (mainly the launch of this new project) i haven't forgotten about that and so a while ago i started looking into my emails for review requests. Well it seems that many of you are actually not bored (who knows, some may) by my extremely thorough PC Case reviews (at least pictures-wise) and have asked for a review of the latest midi tower manufactured by Bitfenix to hit the market called the RAIDER. Of course as some of you know if possible i always try to cover your requests and so the Bitfenix RAIDER Midi Tower is modeling for us today.

 

   Focused on combining superior design with the latest advances in technology, BitFenix creates state-of-the-art computer hardware and peripherals that blur the line between man and machine. Users shouldn't have to adjust themselves to the way their hardware works. So, we strive to put the user in complete control of his hardware, so that it functions as an extension of his will, and not as another variable he has to compensate for. In the heat of battle, the user should not have to worry about the state of his equipment, which is why BitFenix products are engineered to perform under even the most extreme conditions. No matter how taxing the situation, users can rely on the strength of BitFenix products to perform as they are intended. Finally, BitFenix is about performance. In the top levels of competition, the difference between first and second place can be razor-thin, which means that every advantage counts. BitFenix is about making high-performing products that give users an edge. BitFenix is the result of the collaboration of several veterans in both the technology and gaming industries. From the same minds behind some of technology’s most venerable products, our goal is to create products that grant the user the utmost control, strength, and performance to complete their computing tasks. We understand that some of the most innovative and novel concepts come from the community itself, which is why we take great steps to listen to the needs of our users and develop optimal ways to integrate their ideas into our products. By working closely with the global community, BitFenix is able to engineer solutions that directly address the needs of our users. Combining a deep understanding of gaming and other high-demand computing applications with superior engineering and design know-how, the BitFenix team is dedicated to creating the go-to computing products and peripherals for those who refuse to quit.

 

   One of the first things you will most definitely notice about the pictures of today’s review is the difference in color since i decided to try new, more powerful bulbs for my test bench. Unfortunately these bulbs turned out to be a waste of both time and money since they produced so much cold (blue) light that my DSLR just couldn't handle it no matter what setting i used and so although i did eventually replaced the new ones with the old ones just this once the pictures of this review will be a lot more blue than usually. Technical issues aside the RAIDER is manufactured with the same ideals/strategy in mind as the rest of the Bitfenix product line so it's basically a quality midi tower with several features, good design and an attractive price tag.

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The RAIDER midi tower arrived inside a plain cardboard box with a large BitFenix logo on the front placed right above the packed model version.

 

 

The version color and serial number are present at the right side of the box.

 

 

A rather small drawing of the unit is present at the left side right above a table with its specifications.

 

 

The features of the RAIDER are highlighted with several drawings at the rear of the box.

 

 

Two Styrofoam spacers and a plastic bag protect the tower during shipping.

 

 

The RAIDER comes bundled with a quick installation guide, several cable ties, metal panel lock piece, four round feet and a plastic bag with all the necessary installation screws.

 

 

THE RAIDER EXTERIOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just like most cases introduced by BitFenix the RAIDER is an elegant midi tower with round corners and a nice black finish.

 

 

The left side panel is plain without any kind of windows or fan spots.

 

 

The front fascia is black and most of it is also perforated for better airflow.

 

 

There are four 5.25" optical drive bays located at the front of the RAIDER.

 

 

Bitfenix has placed their logo and two 120mm intake fans (behind the logo) at the lowest section of the fascia.

 

 

The I/O is located on both the left and right side of the top and includes 4 USB 3.0 ports (something we rarely see), the usual headphones and microphone mini-jacks, power On/Off and reset buttons, power and HDD activity LEDs, and a fan controller. From this angle you can also see that the entire top of the RAIDER is meshed.

 

 

At the top right beneath a large meshed area there's room for a single 200mm exhaust fan.

 

 

The rear of the RAIDER also features a matte black paint.

 

 

Two water cooling grommets, a small opening right next to them and a single 120mm exhaust fan are present at the rear of the tower.

 

 

There are a total of 7 PCI expansion slots available, all of which come with perforated covers.

 

 

As usual the PSU space is placed at the bottom of the case.

 

 

Unfortunately the thumbscrews that keep both side panels in place are not rubber coated.

 

 

Taking a look from the bottom of the case we see the 4 locations for the bundled rubber feet and two large perforated sections both of which feature removable air filters.

 

 

THE RAIDER INTERIOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The side panels are quite thick but they don't come with noise-absorbing coating on their interior.

 

 

As you can all see the interior of the tower looks quite spacious and is also painted black.

 

 

All four 5.25" bays come with tool-less mechanisms, still I’d also like to see an 5.25" to 3.5" adapter bundled with the RAIDER.

 

 

Right beneath the optical drive bays we see two 2.5"/3.5" drive cages inside which you can place up to six disk drives.

 

 

If your needs are covered with just three 2.5"/3.5" disk drives and you want to install one of the latest mGPU cards (GTX 590/HD 6990) then you can remove one of the drive cages.

 

 

I was somewhat surprised to see that the top drive cage is not entirely removable like with most cases, instead Bitfenix has only made the left side removable which is not a bad thing since it's a lot quicker.

 

 

To replace the front fans (if that time ever comes) you need to remove the screws found behind the front fascia and then access them from the interior.

 

 

The drive trays are quite easy to use but they are not very sturdy something that applies with almost every tower out there.

 

 

The mainboard tray has a total of 4 holes for cable management and one very large hole beneath the CPU space for easier swap of backplates.

 

 

Identical to the front 120mm fans the rear one is also part of the Bitfenix Spectre line.

 

 

All 7 PCI Expansion slots feature regular thumbscrews a solution which sometimes is a lot sturdier than a plastic mechanism.

 

 

Aside the fact that the RAIDER comes with mainboard USB 3.0 plugs i was very glad to see that these also come with USB 2.0 plugs hanging off them in case you don't have one of the latest mainboards with USB 3.0 headers.

 

 

The bottom air filter and the four pyramid shaped rubber feet are two nice additions placed at the PSU area.

 

 

You can mount yet another 120mm intake fan at the bottom of the tower (why let the air filter go to waste).

 

 

If you decide not to mount a top 200mm exhaust fan there's sufficient space for you to place a dual radiator for water cooling.

 

 

BUILDING THE SYSTEM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once again we reached the page in which we are not trying to build a complete working system but rather give you a complete picture of what to expect in terms of interior space.

It's quite clear that EATX mainboards will not fit (or at least not easily) in the RAIDER since our standard ASRock ATX board takes up almost every bit of space.

 

 

Thanks to the lack of side fans there's also plenty of space for large CPU Coolers up to 170mm in height.

 

 

By default the RAIDER can hold pretty much every single GPU out there (580/6970) but in order to use one of the long mGPU (590/6990) cards you will need to remove the left cover of the top drive cage.

 

 

You can mount any PSU regardless of size, however really long ones will cover the cable management hole at the bottom.

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Bitfenix may be amongst the new players on the block but in less than 2 years they have managed to take the market by storm with their feature-rich high quality towers such as the Colossus and Survivor. The entry level Shinobi and Merc lines also come packed with a good number of features at a stunning price tag but that left a small room in the middle of their product lineup which is now up to the latest RAIDER to fill, but can it? Well i always say that pictures speak for themselves in such reviews so it's not hard to see that the RAIDER has a good build quality with an elegant design and a good number of features such as 4 USB 3.0 ports (which we rarely ever see), both USB 3.0 and 2.0 mainboard connectors (for older machines), a convenient fan controller, it's completely tool-less, can fit even the longest graphics cards (by removing the top drive cage) and finally comes with enough room for a dual radiator or an 200mm exhaust fan at the top. Certainly it doesn't offer what the high end Colossus Full Tower does but like i said its goal is to fill the mid-end gap in their product line and nothing else.

 

   Since the Bitfenix RAIDER was designed and manufactured to be the backbone for their mid-end product category it's only natural that its price tag would place it right between the Merc/Shinobi and Survivor/Colossus towers so currently you can have it for around USD89 inside the USA and 79.90euros inside the EU (Caseking.de). Bottom line the RAIDER is amongst the best overall midi tower cases I have seen lately combining quality, features and price and that’s why it walks away with our Golden award.

 

PROS

- Good Build Quality
- Design
- 4 USB 3.0 Ports
- USB 3.0/2.0 Mainboard Connectors
- Compact Fan Controller
- Airflow (Up To 5 Fans - 3 Pre-Installed)
- Dual Radiator Space
- Space For Long mGPU Cards (By Removing The Top Drive Cage)
- Price 

 

 

CONS

- More Interior Space Would Be Nice