BitFenix have gone on yet another unique route to achieve an aesthetically appealing look, but HAVE they achieved it?
Here's the spec:
| Material: Dimensions: Weight: M/B Type: 5.25" Drive Bay: 3.5" Drive Bay: 2.5" Drive Bay: I/O Panel: Expansion Slots: Cooling System: Power Supply: Maximum Compatibility: | Steel body, plastic bezel 205(W) x 483(H) x 505(D) mm N/A Standard ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX 3 6 (3+3) 6 (through the 3.5" drive bays) 2x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0, 1x Mic, 1x Audio, 1x Power, 1x Reset 7 1x 120mm Front Intake, 1x Rear Exhaust Standard ATX |
Exterior:
The BitFenix Ronin is a very simple and sleek case on the exterior. They've opted to go for a front and top coated in their SofTouch treatment and two mesh strips travelling along the sides, this for me gives the product something to look at but leaves it nicely simple and not overly attention seeking. I especially like BitFenix's continued use of circular grills on the viewable parts as it is less harsh on the eyes an compliments the overall soft look and feel of the exterior. The front features three 5.25" drive bays and a large grill with the Logo planted firmly near the bottom. The only negative I have found to the front and as you will see on the top also is that wear the grills are the plastic bends in quite easily with very little pressure.
The right side panel shows off a very large window that will show off most of the internal components if you choose to use it alone but the Ronin comes with an extra little add in piece that they have called the 'stealth cover'. As this is more part of the internal review you will have to wait until later for that but I will just say here it is nice to have both the option to have a large window and the option to cover up some of the more generally untidy areas of the case.
 | Unfortunately I did find a downside to this panel and that is the way they have chose to fix the acrylic window to the metal. In an effort to keep a sleek looking design they haven't gone for screws or anything that would be very visible, instead they have chose to bend metal from the panel to go through gaps in the acrylic. Not only has this meant the acrylic is quite thin but also the |
gaps are still visible from the outside and aren't very attractive to look at.
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The transition of the front and top panels is achieved by a curved bezel on the front allowing the top and front panels to be easily separated with a clean cut between the two. The SofTouch coated areas transition between the panels perfectly which is very very important for the overall look of the case. It is little details like this that will decide whether or not a case pulls off its attempted styling. Simple and sleek designs are especially hard to pull off as they so easily turn into looking cheap and nasty. BitFenix have pulled this off almost perfectly, I did however come across a small issue with the design and that was when removing the top panel a few times, one of the mesh strips started to come slightly loose at the end and raised up a few millimetres. To complain about this is almost petty as it was easily fixed.
 | The front I/O is located on the top right at the front. With two USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 you get a lovely amount of connections and the fact they are orientated vertically helps aesthetically. Power buttons on the Ronin don't impress me unfortunately as the power button is quite wobbly and I've never seen the point in reset buttons that cant be pushed just with your finger. |
Moving round to the back of the Ronin we see an almost standard design with absolutely nothing to really talk about. it hints at what sort of compatibility you will get for water cooling up top and has the standard seven expansion slots, 120mm exhaust Spectre fan and everything else you really expect from a mid tower case.
| To finish up the exterior we have the underside of the case. BitFenix have opted to go with a magnetic dust filter on the bottom that covers both the power supply vent and an optional 120mm fan mounting spot. This is so much more convenient than a sliding dust filter but you will have to lift the case up to remove it because of the shape. The feet unfortunately are nothing special. | |
Interior:
While the exterior is very impressive and attractive for the professional look it brings, the inside is where all the interesting stuff is, more specifically, the stealth shield.
| Starting with the stealth shield as it is the first this you come across when opening the case; I have very mixed feelings about this addition. Aesthetically it is new and different having two layers for having a viewable interior and allows you to choose to either show or hide areas of the case without making mods to the side panel. It also has a hexagonal pattern layered onto the surface with a nice thick |  |
curved border lining the inner portion of the shield. From an aesthetics point of view yes I feel they have more than succeeded in creating a case that's yet again unique. From a functional point of view I have a few worries regarding its integration that would put me off using it had I bought the case with my own money.
The shield is connected to the case by three fasteners on the back side of the plastic. This firmly secures it in place and doesn't let the shield move at all. In fact my only issue with the shields isn't even in the shield itself but the metal brackets used to secure it to. There is two brackets (Photos: Below) that are screwed to the case, one smaller one at the back and one longer one nearer the front that travels the up the entire height of the case. When removing the shield I found it simple enough to un-clip it from the smaller bracket but when I tried removing the other two clips from the larger bracket, the bracket would bend a considerable amount and wasn't strong enough to stay rigid for easy removal. I found it extremely worrying and if it was part of a case I had put hours of work in to afford to buy, I would have been even more worried and hesitant to try and remove the shield as I was scared I would break it. Thankfully this did turn out to be a non-issue for the most part with it getting easier to remove the more I did it but the fact that it was so hard to remove in the first place leaves something to be desired.
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Next up we have the storage options. In the Ronin we get it nice and simple, two cages that house three 3.5" hard drives and both can be easily removed, the top via clips and the bottom via 8 small screws. BitFenix seem to love simple yet effective designs for storage and I love this also. It makes designing and building a system seem that little bit less complicated from a design perspective.
| The drive sleds on the other hand are a little new and interesting. Rather than being a 'bend to fit' design that most manufacturers have opted to go with in the past, BitFenix have introduced a design that slides open in the middle allowing you to place the drive in and slide it closed around the drive. These feel just as secure and easier to use than previous designs when they contain a drive. |  |
 | The front of the Ronin shows off the two front 120mm fan mounts, both of which come with dust filters. You will find only one spot fitted with a fan and that the dust filters require being screwed to the fan which is a let down. Another let down is that you won't be able to fit any sort of 240mm radiator to the front either.  I have fortunately found a positive from the front portion of the case and this is located on the blanking plates for the 5.25" drive bays. While some bay covers just snap off and can't be put back on, BitFenix do allow you to screw them back on to the case with a screw on each side. |
Before we cover the back side of the motherboard tray and finish up with a conclusion I'm going to quickly go around the cooling options on the top. The Ronin expands outside of the metal chassis and allows for fans to be placed within the top plastic portion. This still leaves you with a very limited space between the motherboard and the top. The case supports up to a 240mm radiator but you are limited to thinner rads and not only in push or pull not both. Dual 140mm fans can also be installed in the top of the case instead.
 Last but not least we have the back. You get a nice comfy sized cut out for the cpu coolers backplate and a good amount of holes for cable management. It's nice to see that all the edges have been rounded off so you won't cut any fingers off or more importantly any of the cables you might pass through that will rub against the edges. The holes are however quite small especially the lowest one located near the power supply, this is barely larger than the others when it really should be. You do get a ton of cable tie loops though, even an angled one near the top to curve cables round. The holes near the top sit perfectly with the fan holes in the chassis top. |   |
Conclusion:
BitFenix have created yet another unique case with the Ronin. While it IS similar in exterior design to a few previous cases that BitFenix have released, its curved corners bezel and SofTouch design for some reason remind me of Silverstones TJ07, a case that retails up to four times more. This means if you love this type of design but need something a 'little bit' better value than a £250 case, the Ronin is definitely up your alley.
With a good storage and expansion set up I could definitely see myself using this case for a work/office system especially seeing as you get three 5.25" drive bays and four usb ports. the dual 3 HDD cage split I think is a great idea as well as it keeps everything looking and feeling a lot simpler than when you have a case with random mismatched cages that have from anywhere from one to four drive bays in. The new sled design also works well with it being easier to use, just remember to not forget these don't bend as there's no going back.
The BitFenix Ronin case definitely stands its own ground in most areas of its design but it lets itself down in cooling potential, the main thing that it has lost when they've shrunk the case down from a standard sized ATX case. It DOES still have some water cooling capabilities but there is many other cases out there that offer better options such as extensive front rad support. If I was to use this case myself in a personal system I would probably recommend taking the two included spectre fans and placing them as exhausts in the roof and bringing in some fans for the front intake with a little bit higher airflow.
A Ronin review can't end without a mention of the Stealth Shield. I really do like the idea and am interested to see how and if it gets further developed but I think for this instance the integration was a little bit of a let down. It's a feature I would be scared to actually use had I bought the case for my own system and would only take it on and off as few times as I possible could. Had the steel bracket been a little thicker and firmer I would have maybe seen the Shield being something new that would set a new path in the same way 8 expansion slot cases and such have over recent years.
Being let down slightly with cooling capabilities the Ronin received a7.5 out of 10 for its rating disregarding price meaning had it given that little bit extra cooling wise it would be a top rated product. We also have chosen to give it a 7 our of 10 on value because it offers all the features we love to see in this price range and is definitely of a high value standard.
With a good storage and expansion set up I could definitely see myself using this case for a work/office system especially seeing as you get three 5.25" drive bays and four usb ports. the dual 3 HDD cage split I think is a great idea as well as it keeps everything looking and feeling a lot simpler than when you have a case with random mismatched cages that have from anywhere from one to four drive bays in. The new sled design also works well with it being easier to use, just remember to not forget these don't bend as there's no going back.
The BitFenix Ronin case definitely stands its own ground in most areas of its design but it lets itself down in cooling potential, the main thing that it has lost when they've shrunk the case down from a standard sized ATX case. It DOES still have some water cooling capabilities but there is many other cases out there that offer better options such as extensive front rad support. If I was to use this case myself in a personal system I would probably recommend taking the two included spectre fans and placing them as exhausts in the roof and bringing in some fans for the front intake with a little bit higher airflow.
A Ronin review can't end without a mention of the Stealth Shield. I really do like the idea and am interested to see how and if it gets further developed but I think for this instance the integration was a little bit of a let down. It's a feature I would be scared to actually use had I bought the case for my own system and would only take it on and off as few times as I possible could. Had the steel bracket been a little thicker and firmer I would have maybe seen the Shield being something new that would set a new path in the same way 8 expansion slot cases and such have over recent years.
Being let down slightly with cooling capabilities the Ronin received a7.5 out of 10 for its rating disregarding price meaning had it given that little bit extra cooling wise it would be a top rated product. We also have chosen to give it a 7 our of 10 on value because it offers all the features we love to see in this price range and is definitely of a high value standard.
Verdict:
Rating: 7.5/ 10
Value: 7/10
Value: 7/10
