INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   We all know and we've also pointed it out numerous times in the past that the market is currently filled with a huge number PC cases designed for every consumer out there but what happens if you can't find the right one for you? This is something a friend of mine told me a few weeks ago when he was searching around for a PC case which he could use for his office system since on one hand he didn't want to spend much while on the other the ones he did find with all the features he wanted were designed after gamers. Well i for one never thought of that since most people i know spend quite a bit for their work systems but i never can say no to a friend so i started looking around for a budget-friendly and feature-rich PC case which could also be used in an office. Coming up with one was not that hard thanks to Raidmax and their recent announcement of their Monster II Midi Tower which we have here with us today.

   Raidmax was founded in 1988 with the mission of providing the best solutions: specifically, meeting your requirements for innovative designs, excellent performance and quality products. In early 2003, Raidmax was the first to debut the design "Scorpio": an alien eye shape on its general front panel. At the time, it was the best ever hit in the gaming case business and almost every factory had owned at least one similar design back in China. Two years later, Raidmax released another cutting-edge design, Samurai, and people who had seen the case itself instantly fell in love. After numerous global feedback, Raidmax is known all over the world. It is said our company is not only a case designer but also the perfect budget keeper. You can simply spend a little but you receive higher quality than you expect. It has been more than 10 years since Raidmax began its work on its unique product lines and market position. The name of Raidmax is synonymous to gaming design and budget cases. In the United States, Raidmax is considered to be the best second tier brand; in Asia, it is said that only Raidmax can offer the budget cases with great designs; in Europe, with almost no brand management, Raidmax' followers are still showing their loyal support in many ways.

   The Monster II midi tower by Raidmax fully supports ATX, Micro ATX and Mini ITX mainboards, features a clear side window and has enough room for four 2.5" and one 3.5" drive (or three 3.5" and two 2.5" drives), two 5.25" optical drives, 240/280mm radiator at the front (360mm with the two 5.25" bays removed), 120mm radiator at the rear (you should be able to install a 140mm one however), 280mm radiator at the top (providing you remove the 5.25" bays), 180mm tall CPU coolers, 400mm long graphics cards and 180mm long power supplies (260mm with the 3.5" drive cage removed). It also comes with two 140mm fans placed at the front and rear (the front has a blue LED) and is currently available only in black. Let's move closer and see what the Monster II is all about.

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Monster II arrived inside a plain cardboard box that has a large product drawing at the front along with the company logo.

 

 

Some of the product specifications are printed on the left and right.

 

 

Five product drawings are used at the rear to showcase interior and exterior product features.

 

 

Packaging is quite typical so once again the tower is placed inside a plastic bag and between two thick foam spacers.

 

 

The bundle includes 10 cable ties, 4 small plastic bags with screws and standoffs and the user manual.

 

 

THE MONSTER II EXTERIOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The front of the Monster II is quite simple and since it's designed to mask the two 5.25" bays I’d say it can fit everywhere (size wise it measures 445mm in height, 410mm in length and 210mm in width).

 

 

Almost half the left side panel is taken by a clear plastic window.

 

 

The fascia is made out of glossy/polished plastic but thanks to its design it actually looks nice.

 

 

You can remove the fascia by pulling it outwards.

 

 

This reveals a removable air-filter and the 140mm LED intake fan.

 

 

The top I/O includes the power and reset buttons, power LED, HDD activity LED, two USB 3.0 ports and the usual microphone and headphone 3.5mm ports.

 

 

It's not easy to see but the top is actually perforated.

 

 

At the rear we see 7 PCI expansion slots, a 140mm exhaust fan and the PSU area.

 

 

The 140mm exhaust fan can be replaced with a 120mm one (or a 120/140mm radiator) and the PCI expansion slots are secured in place via regular screws (there's also a slot cover present).

 

 

Moving at the base we see a removable air filter right beneath the PSU area and several holes covered with rubber (more about those on the next page).

 

 

THE MONSTER II INTERIOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Raidmax has used a PSU area cover to create a dual-chamber design so at first glance there's not much interior space available.

 

 

At the top front we see the two 5.25" bays that feature tool-free/less brackets.

 

 

You can install a 240/280mm radiator at the front or a 360mm one by removing the 5.25" bays.

 

 

The mainboard tray has no holes for cable management but it does have a vertical opening on the right side which works just as well.

 

 

Here we see the PSU area cover which doesn't actually extend all the way forward so the 140mm intake fan is also used to cool its interior.

 

 

This is how the interior of the case looks from the other side.

 

 

The bottom drive cage has two 3.5/2.5" drive trays and one extra spot at the base for yet another 3.5" drive (that's the purpose of the holes at the base of the tower).

 

 

The drive trays are made out of aluminum so they are very sturdy.

 

 

Raidmax has also placed two vertical 2.5" trays also made out of aluminum.

 

 

The PSU area has 4 feet on which you can place the PSU and by default it can be used with 180mm long models (260mm if you remove the drive cage).

 

 

As you can all see unless you remove the 5.25” drive bays at the top there’s only room for a low-profile 120/140mm exhaust fan or radiator (remove the 5.25” drive bays and you should be able to install a thin 240/280mm radiator). Above the fan/radiator area Raidmax has placed a magnetic air-filter (unfortunately the top cover in our sample was stuck and since we didn’t feel like breaking it free we skipped taking that picture).

 

 

BUILDING THE SYSTEM

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

As always the purpose of this section is not to build a functional system but rather to showcase what you can expect from the case at hand in terms of interior space.

As expected from a midi tower using a full sized ATX mainboard takes up most available space (a nice surprise was the vertical cable management opening which lines up with the SATA ports).

 

 

This is why Raidmax doesn’t mention anything about the top area, there’s simply no room to install a radiator with two regular fans (a thin radiator however without any fans or two low-profile fans should be ok).

 

 

Since you can use CPU coolers up to 180mm in height you shouldn’t have a problem picking even the tallest one around ((just be aware that if you use a large CPU cooler like for example the Thermalright Macho you may need to remove the rear fan).

 

 

Even if you decide to use a radiator at the front with push & pull fans you should have no issue mounting even the longest graphics cards inside the Monster II.

 

 

The PSU area is not ideal so since there’s not much room between the end of the PSU and the drive cage I strongly recommend using a fully modular one as seen above.

 

 

NOISE LEVEL TEST

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After giving it much thought we decided on performing noise tests with each PC Case we receive by placing our ExTech HD600 vertically ontop of each case to measure the noise levels emanating from the pre-installed fans at both 50% and 100% with the help of a fan controller (if the case doesn't have one we use our own).

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Raidmax did their best to launch an affordable midi tower with plenty of features but my guess is that they could have done better. Granted the Monster II has enough room for long graphics cards and tall CPU coolers, it has a separate PSU chamber and can accommodate even a 360mm radiator at the front but it falls short in other areas. For one you can’t place regular thickness fans and radiators at the top (just a thin radiator should be ok however) so that will certainly disappoint some users (I know we were). Also room for just three 3.5” drives and 2.5” drives (or five 2.5” drives) may indeed be more than just sufficient for most people but when there are midi towers that offer twice as many spots it’s hard to consider this as a strong selling point for the Monster II (although at the same time it’s not negative either). I did like to see that Raidmax ships the Monster II from the factory with two 140mm fans (although not exactly silent models) and those two vertical drive trays (something we don’t see a lot – although more than in the past) so the how much Raidmax asks for it could “make” or “break” it.

   Right now the Monster II midi tower by Raidmax retails for USD59.99 inside the USA (Newegg.com) and for 69.99Euros inside the EU (PC-Cooling.de) a price tag that puts it on the lower end of similar models. Long story short the Monster II by Raidmax may not be one of the best midi towers to ever reach out lab (it has several tiny "issues" which are not important on their own but they do add up) but at the end of the day it offers a good set of features for a surprisingly affordable price and for that we strongly recommend checking it out.

 

PROS

- Overall Build Quality
- Design - Room For Up To 6 Fans
- Front Room for A 240/280/360mm Radiator
- Five Drive Spots (3x3.5/2.5" - 2x2.5")
- Two Pre-Installed Fans
- PSU Area Cover
- Air Filters
- Space For 400mm Long Graphics Cards & 180mm Tall CPU Coolers
- Price (For Some)

 

CONS

- Top Fan / Radiator Area Clearance
- Fascia / Top Cover Quality