INTRODUCTION

   If you've already purchased all the needed hardware components for your new system and you're thinking about which case to house them in then in all likelihood you're also thinking about which AIO Liquid CPU cooler to pair it with. Compared to lets say a decade ago things are actually quite easier today since most cases of all sizes (even mATX/mITX ones) have enough room to accommodate at least one dual-fan AIO model. Still just like with pre-build systems there are some consumers looking for the "easy" way out and to them cases with pre-mounted AIO CPU coolers are far more appealing. Unfortunately to date we haven't seen that many cases with intergrated liquid CPU coolers (whether those are AIO or custom ones) and so when Deepcool announced the availability of their latest Baronkase Liquid Case in the beginning of the year we really had to take a look.

   We founded Deepcool with the mission of providing the best and personalized thermal solutions for customers around the world. Deepcool was first established 1996 with its headquarters in Beijing and factory facilities in Shen Zhen that produced coolers and cooling accessories for desktops and servers. In response to rapid advancements in the PC sector Deepcool further expanded into AIO liquid cooling products, chassis, and power supplies. We have built a global distribution network in about seventy countries, allowing end-users to purchase Deepcool products online or at the nearest local storefront. We have gained positive media exposure and coverage, and won awards from renowned professional websites and magazines steadily building a good reputation among general users, gamers, overclockers and modders. We are totally committed towards maintaining user satisfaction by accommodating ever-changing thermal needs while providing the most responsive and comprehensive services in the industry. Our slogan is for you to “Enjoy your cool life!” We adopted the name Deepcool since Deep Blue, a program running on an IBM supercomputer, achieved a stunning victory over Gary Kasparov, then world chess champion, in 1997. This milestone clearly demonstrated that computers have now become the most powerful tool available to the human race, and was the time when we first started our business in computer cooling solutions. We hope our products could be as effective as Deep Blue, and adopted the matching name of Deepcool to help achieve our goal.

   Deepcool is no stranger to the "art" of intergrading AIO liquid CPU coolers into cases/towers since they did that many years ago with their very successful Genome and Genome II models. The Baronkase Liquid model is actually the 5th in line after the Genome, Genome ROG, Genome II and Dukase Liquid Cooling Cases and although it may not look as impressive as the Genome models and their double-helix reservoirs (nor does it offer the same cooling efficiency) it's actually a very interesting mATX/mITX tower. Speaking of mainboards the Baronkase is also compatible with ATX sized ones but due to its 5 PCI expansion slots and limited interior space we see very little reason for someone to house an ATX system in it (size could be the reason but it's more probable that Deepcool just wanted to state that it's possible). With that out of the way the Baronkase Liquid also features a side panel made out of tempered glass, pre-installed Captain 120EX Liquid Cooling System (RGB Lighting Effects), stylish liquid flow-rotor unit, front RGB LED strip, exterior metal handle, top/bottom magnetic air filters, vertical PSU mounting space and enough interior space for 5 drives (2x3.5"/3x2.5"), 7 fans (7x120mm or 3x120mm and 3x140mm) and/or two radiators (rear 120mm and top 120/240/280mm), 168mm tall CPU coolers, 250mm long graphics cards (340mm with the plate removed) and 200mm long power supply units (160mm in vertical position).

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The Baronkase Liquid arrived inside a plain cardboard box that just has the company logo and product name on both the front and rear.

Both the features and specifications of the case are printed on the left and right side.

As expected the case is wrapped inside a plastic bag and placed between to foam spacers.

There are two bundles in the case one which contains the vertical PSU mount with the instructions, 12 cable ties and all available screws and one which includes a backplate, thermal paste tube, case badge, user guide and all the necessary bits and pieces to install the Captain 120EX Liquid Cooling System onto Intel LGA1150/1151/1155/1156/1366/2011/2011-3/2066 and AMD AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+/AM4/FM1/FM2 compatible mainboards.

THE BARONKASE LIQUID EXTERIOR

Measuring 423mm in height, 470mm in length and 215mm in width the 10Kg heavy and sturdy Baronkase Liquid is a rather compact mid-tower.

The entire left side is taken by a 4mm thick tempered glass panel held in place with 4 thumbscrews.

At the front we find a thick fascia made out of 1.2mm thick SPCC steel.

The I/O panel is located at the front top of the case and includes two USB 3.0/3.1 ports, headphone and microphone 3.5mm ports and the reset and power on/off buttons.

Typically the fascia can be removed to gain access to an air-filter and space for either 2x120mm fans or a single 140mm fan.

At the top we find a magnetic air filter and three buttons used to change the mode of the RGB LEDs, turn them off entirely and finally adjust the speed of the selected mode.

Moving at the rear we find a pre-installed 120mm fan, 5 PCI expansion slots and an "occupied" PSU area (more on that later on).

Yet another magnetic air-filter is located at the base of the Baronkase Liquid.

THE BARONKASE LIQUID INTERIOR

The Baronkase Liquid may not be as large as a mid-tower but it actually has quite a bit of available space inside (especially for a mATX/mITX case).

A 2.5" drive tray is placed vertically on the right side and since it's made out of aluminum it happens to be very sturdy.

Right beneath the drive tray we fund a "stylish" liquid flow-rotor unit which also features RGB LED illumination.

Moving further inside we see a removable cover which can also be used to mount another 2.5" drive on it (you will need to remove it however if your graphics card(s) is over 250mm in length).

The mainboard tray has a total of 4 rubber grommets along with of course a very large opening beneath the CPU area.

We may not have tested the Captain 120EX Liquid Cooling System (take note of the plastic board the waterblock/pump is secured on to avoid any issues during transport) but the nice looking liquid flow pump is something we've seen with other models of that line.

All of the 5 available PCI expansion slots are secured in place via regular thumbscrews.

If you end up using the vertical PSU space then you can install two extra 120mm intake fans at the base of the case.

Here we see the top of the Baronkase Liquid from the inside (the 240mm version of the Captain EX series would be a much better fit).

Taking a look from the other side of the mainboard tray we see another 2.5" vertical drive tray (also made out of aluminum), two 2.5/3.5" drive trays (also made out of aluminum), 3 cable straps and the vertical PSU area.

With just 18mm left for cable management behind the mainboard tray things are quite tight.

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.

This time we are starting our build from the other side since the Baronkase Liquid features a vertical PSU area which you will need to use if you mount an ATX sized mainboard inside. However if you do not you can use it to mount a 240mm radiator (you can even mount fans in push and pull since the front ones are mounted just after the fascia).

As expecting mounting an ATX sized mainboard inside the Baronkase Liquid leaves very little around it.

In order to mount a large graphics card like our GTX 590 (286mm long) you will need to remove the cover 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

   Deepcool has released many innovative and good looking products over the years (with their tri/quad-stellar cases sitting at the top) and although the Baronkase Liquid could had been a lot better still it fits nicely in their current product line. It features high build quality, looks very nice thanks to the side tempered glass panel and the RGB lighting and thanks to the pre-installed Captain 120EX AIO it’s ready for most CPUs people would pair with an mATX/mITX mainboard (as mentioned earlier it would be far better had Deepcool used the 240mm model instead of the 120mm one – their choice obviously had to do with cost and the fact that people wouldn’t use an high-end CPU in an mATX/mITX case). Needless to say that mounting an full sized ATX mainboard in the Baronkase Liquid makes very little sense (on one hand because you can only use 5 PCI expansion slots and on the other because it leaves very little free space) unless you happen to have one and you’d like a compact tower to use it in. The vertical PSU area and the metal handle may not be features we haven’t seen before (we’ve seen similar solutions in the past) but they add to both design and versatility.

   With just 3 months left before the end of 2018 the black version of the Baronkase Liquid Cooling Case by Deepcool currently retails for USD139 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 128.27Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) a price tag which is extremely balanced for what you’re getting (unfortunately the white version is quite more expensive). Sure the Baronkase Liquid is not the ideal tower for a system based on an ATX sized mainboard but it’s a very good choice for mATX/mITX systems and for that it gets highly recommended by us.

PROS

- Build Quality (Thick SPCC Steel With Tempered Glass Side Panel)
- Radiator Space (Top/Front 240/280mm)
- Preinstalled Captain 120EX AIO Liquid CPU Cooler With Stylish Liquid Flow Meter
- 5 Removable Drive Trays
- RGB Illumination With Top Controller
- Vertical PSU Area
- External Metal Handle
- Top/Bottom Magnetic Air Filters
- Available In Black & White Colors
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Overall Interior Space (Not Ideal For ATX Systems)
- Captain 120EX AIO Liquid CPU Cooler (240EX Model Would Be A Far Better Fit)
- Noise Levels (With The Preinstalled AIO)
- Price Of White Variant (Currently)