INTRODUCTION

   Back in 2007 when i first started taking my very first professional steps in this industry there was one thing most of my colleagues had in their labs/offices, open test benches (or benchtables). Of course, the same exact thing applied for overclockers and even quite a few people in general so i really can't figure out why their popularity decreased significantly over the course of the last decade or so. Yes, test benches were never aimed towards regular consumers but for overclockers and reviewers (even some industry professionals) they were always a must which is why i too ought to have one in the lab (used to but it's been many years since then). Streacom has a long history of manufacturing some of the best aluminum HTPC cases in the market and since they some of you asked today, I’ll be taking a look at their BC1 open benchtable.

   Streacom was founded in 2010 by a small but experienced team that shared a common vision of producing uniquely designed and engineered computer cases. With our head office in Holland and manufacturing base in China, we entered the market by focusing on SFF and passive cooled products all made from premium grade aluminium. This combination of premium quality and compact design has established Streacom as a global player in the PC component market and earned us a reputation for making stylish well-crafted products.

   As clearly stated by Streacom their BC1 series (there's also a smaller "mini" model available) is a collaboration between them, HWBOT and Overclocking-TV and is aimed towards "travelling overclockers, enthusiasts and technical professionals". This automatically means that the BC1 series has but a single primary goal, to offer a compact yet versatile benchtable which can be used to setup an entire system at a moment’s notice. The entire benchtable is made out of 8mm thick anodized aluminum (5052 grade), is currently available in three colors (silver, black and red - a titanium version is just around the corner), supports hardware components with a maximum combined total of 25Kg, sports a convenient carrying handle and comes ready with standoffs, thumbscrews and even pushpins made out of SS304 grade steel. It supports up to XL-ATX sized motherboards, full ATX sized power supplies (up to 10Kg in weight), two 2.5/3.5" drives, 4 graphics cards and either two 80/92/120/140mm fans or a single 240/360mm radiator (5Kg max). So, let's see what Streacom brings to the market with their BC1 open benchtable.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The BC1 is packed inside a large yet flat black cardboard box that has the product name at the top.

Just a sticker with the products serial number and barcode is located at the rear.

Soft black foam is placed on the interior so problems during transport should not be a thing.

Just the user guide is bundled with the BC1 open benchtable.

THE BC1

Measuring just 370mm in length, 260mm in width and 8mm in thickness when not assembled the BC1 looks truly unlike any other benchtable in the market.

8mm thickness may not sound as much but still the BC1 is quite sturdy.

Thumbscrews, standoffs, pushpins, brackets, feet, everything is placed in the main body of the BC1.

The BC1 seems to have reached version 1.1 which is also what i have here today.

Here you can see every part squeezed in the BC1.

ASSEMBLY

Starting with the two feet is the obvious choice and as you can see, they are only held in place with thumbscrews (2 each).

The PSU on the other hand needs 3 thumbscrews.

Next in line is everything else that gets mounted on top such as the standoffs and pushpins.

For this review i used a second EVGA Z390 DARK motherboard which i secured on the BC1 using the bundled pushpins.

Streacom doesn't mention compatibility with 360 radiators but as you can see i had no issues mounting the Fractal Design Celsius+ S36 Prisma.

Since I’ll also be using this for a large RGB fan comparison before the end of the year (for which I’ve been gathering fan samples for almost a year now) I’ll be building a complete CORE I9-9900K system.

The BC1 also has room for up to two 2.5/3.5" drives which you mount vertically as seen above.

Finally, you can use the long thumbscrews to mount graphics and audio cards as seen above.

Sure, this may not be the most "complete" setup but it does look nice right?

CONCLUSION

   The BC1 may not be the most exciting or sturdiest benchtable to ever hit the market but it's very compact, light and versatile which means you can take it around with you or store it with extreme ease. It’s also a lot sturdier than what you’d expect from such a compact model and available in 3 (soon 4) colors something which I expect will attract even more potential buyers. I did encounter a tiny issue with the rubber pads that go beneath the legs/feet of the BC1 (some will fall the moment you move it) but that’s really not a serious issue (besides you should be able to glue them on if this annoys you).

    Currently the BC1 Open Benchtable (v1.1) retails for USD169 inside the USA (Newegg.com) and for around 130Euros inside the EU a price which is really not much for such a benchtable. Still just like with everything else in the market there are more feature-rich models as you climb higher in terms of cost. That being said the BC1 delivers on everything that one would expect from a compact benchtable and for that it gets the Golden Award.

PROS

- Good Build Quality
- Compact Size
- Weight
- Component Mounts
- Carrying Handle
- Available Colors (Silver/Black/Red/Titanium)

CONS

- Overall Availability
- Rubber Feet Stability