BitFenix Raider, Spectre Pro and Alchemy Reviews - Watercooling Log link posted!

[BlueRaven]

Hi guys,

UPDATE: Build Log pics posted below.

UPDATE 26/5/12: Watercooling build log posted in Modding


You've probably seen Creekin's comprehensive reviews of the new range of affordable gaming cases from BitFenix:
the WC-ready Shinobi XL ($175), the mid-sized Raider ($99), and the more LAN-friendly Outlaw / Merc Alpha ($59 / $49 respectively).

Well, with four different cases to review Creek obviously couldn't cover every single little detail. The guys at BitFenix were interested in getting more opinions and feedback on the new range,
along with their new Spectre Pro fans and the Alchemy sleeved cable extensions and LED strips which many of you will already be familiar with.



So in this thread I'll be taking a closeup look and offering my thoughts on the BitFenix Raider, which I reckon is the most attractive of the four and offers the best trade-off between price, size and flexibility.
I'll then throw together a simple air-cooled entry level gaming setup in the chassis to see how "n00b-friendly" it is, after which the modding tools will come out so we can see how it might be adapted as a compact watercooled rig
(that section of the 'review log' will be posted in Modding and linked after the air-cooled build below). Along the way I'll also be checking out the new Spectre Pro 120mm LED fans and BitFenix's Alchemy LED and cable extension products.



If you had any questions at all about whether this chassis is the right choice for your next rig, they're about to get answered!

I'd like to apologise in advance for my somewhat limited photography skills, and the picture quality of the SGSII which was all I had available for this review.
Hopefully I will have access to a better camera for any future reviews.

BIG UPS TO LESTER @ BITFENIX FOR SUPPLYING THE PRODUCTS UNDER REVIEW TODAY!

[BlueRaven]

BitFenix 'Raider' Mid-Tower Gaming Chassis

A $90-$100 gaming chassis isn't in the super-budget category but it's certainly not up at the big end of town either, and this market segment is crowded with offerings from several well-regarded manufacturers.
So how is BitFenix different? What makes this chassis stand out from its many competitors at this price point? What do you get for your money?
The simple answer is a well-thought-out and solidly constructed home for your components, which offers a good mix of features and value along with a couple of nice little extras. Let's take a closer look.

1. Specs, Packaging, Accessories

Official Specs: http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/pr...s/raider#specs

In adition to the abovementioned specs, here are a few further points of note:

- Materials: Black powdercoated steel inside and out.
The finish has a very smooth and even texture and looks like it'll hold up well against scratches and knocks. This is not a cheap coating job that will chip or flake in a light breeze.
All the exterior plastic has the rubberised "SofTouch" coating, which feels groovy man. It also seems to do a good job of shrugging off fingerprints, and wipes clean easily.

- Form Factors: The mobo standoff locations each have a stamped number, with stamped text in the centre of the tray indicating which numbers to use for Mini-ITX, mATX and ATX motherboards.
A nice little n00b-friendly feature which probably cost nothing to add but makes life that little bit easier.

- 5.25 Bays x 4: Each with foam filtered mesh blanks.

- 3.5"/2.5" Bays: 6 x HDD caddies which support both 3.5" and 2.5" drives. The upper half of the drive cage wall can be removed to accomodate long GPU's, leaving you with 3 bays.
There's an additional 2.5" mounting point on the floor of the chassis under the cage, but this would be limited to SSD's as it's probably the worst spot in the case in terms of airflow.

- Cooling: Built-in 5 channel fanbus controlled from the top panel. All the intake fan locations are filtered, with the PSU and bottom fan filters easily removable for cleaning. More about the fan locations later.

- PCI Slots: 7, with black hex-punched mesh covers secured by thumbscrews (no stupid tool-less retention mechanisms here, thank god!).
Another nice little touch that adds to the overall impression of quality.

- I/O: One of the first chassis' sporting 4 x USB3.0 ports to suit new boards with two internal USB3.0 headers. Both header cables also have a looped-through USB2 header attached,
providing backwards compatability with older boards that don't support internal USB3 (as you'll see in my example build later). The audio jacks support both HD and AC97 audio.

Ok, enough tech specs... let's get stuck into it.


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The Raider arrived from Altech securely packed, with no box damage and in perfect condition.
This is a good start, it's always reassuring when you pick up the box and don't hear anything rattling around inside!


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The accessory kit, which was packed inside the chassis for shipping.
You can see the reasonably attractive stick-on case feet (which can also be bolted through the chassis, though the hardware to do so is not provided), installation guide and hardware pack (all black hardware, another nice touch of quality).
In the hardware bag you can see the silver mobo standoff adaptor which allows you to drive in standoffs using a Philips screwdriver. This is a fantastic little bonus that again makes life much easier,
especially when breaking through the powdercoat on the tapped threads during the initial install. It's one of those simple yet brilliant ideas that makes you wonder why every case ever made didn't ship with one included.
You also get a mobo beep-code speaker, an optional lock loop that allows you to secure your side panel with a padlock if you take the case to a lan, and some cable ties to help keep things neat.
All bases covered here.


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The installation guide is clearly printed, contains easily understood text and diagrams, and not a hint of Engrish anywhere. Remarkable.

2. Exterior - Features and Initial Impressions

Ok, ok... I think I've made you scroll far enough now.

Here she is...


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My first look at the Raider in the metal. The chassis feels sturdy without weighing a ton. General fit'n'finish seem very good.
The side panels are secured by black thumbscrews, and the panel gaps are nice and tight.
As you can see, the design is clean and simple with no excess plastic protrusions or mouldings to collect dust/get broken off.
The front panel is unadorned except for the shiny metallic plastic BitFenix logo which I reckon looks pretty damn cool.


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The fit of the I/O ports is not the final word in precision manufacturing, but is perfectly acceptable for a case at this price point.
The power button feels well sprung, with a positive action and satisfying 'click'. Note the narrow Reset switch, which cannot be fully depressed without using your fingernail.
This simple but clever bit of design will be appreciated by anyone that has put up with a cheap generic case's hair-trigger reset switch,
often located only millimetres away from the front panel jacks. No accidental resets here!
The knob for the fan controller feels a little wobbly but slides smoothly. I suspect most people will use this simply as a two-position "Min/Movie - Max/Gaming" control,
but it's more flexible than a simple Hi/Lo switch and greatly simplifies fan cable management so it's definitely a useful feature.
I'm told by BitFenix that the fanbus can dissipate a maximum power of 72 watts (6A @ 12V), more than enough for the three included fans plus a couple more.


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Here you can see the removable PSU and bottom fan filters. The PSU filter was a bit bowed so it did not sit flush with the chassis.
This was easily fixed by simply flipping the filter over and refitting it upside down.

I neglected to take a pic of the rear panel, but I'm pretty sure most of you will have seen an ATX mid-tower back panel before.
This one has a couple of grommetted holes for external rad tubing along with a smaller grommetted hole for external fan cabling.
These are located above the rear 120mm fan grille which also has mount points for an 80mm fan if, for reasons known only to yourself, you wish to fit one there.

That's about it for the exterior. My initial impressions are of simplicity, solidity and attention to detail. I'm fairly impressed so far.

3. Interior - Design, Features and Details


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Straight away you can see the potential for some neat cable management in here, along with that usefully-sized backplate cutout in the mobo tray.
The wide slot along the top of the tray is another very useful feature that all cases should have IMHO.
You can also see the large grommetted cutout at the bottom for PSU cabling and several other holes and slots that'll help you get cables where they need to go.
Note the tool-free ODD bays, which are a simple but effective pin-latch design and can be removed with minimum fuss if you prefer security over convenience
(black M3 screws to suit ODDs are included). The top half of the modular drive cage is secured by two thumbscrews; more on that in a minute.
The two pre-installed 120mm intake fans can be replaced by a single 200mm fan (not included) that mounts on the front of the chassis behind the fascia.


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Here you can see the snazzy hex-punched slot covers, the complete absence of any ineffectual tool-less expansion card rentention mechanism
(simple and reliable thumbscrews are used instead), and the pre-installed 120mm exhaust fan. As mentioned earlier, the rear fan can be replaced by an 80mm job (if you're insane or deaf).
The fan cables are a plain black 3-core design with 3-pin headers, so you can monitor them via software if you choose to run them off your mobo rather than the built-in fanbus.
The cables are not sleeved unfortunately, but hey... I guess they had to save a few bucks somewhere to keep the price down. They're pretty easy to conceal anyway.
It's also worth mentioning that there are no sharp edges, pointy bits or other nasties waiting to snag a cable or draw blood from unsuspecting fingers.


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Internal cables neatly tied off for shipping. Notice the numerous cable tie loops scattered handily about the back of the tray.


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There's a pretty decent amount of space behind the tray, the better to conceal those pesky cables.
Shouldn't all this stuff be wireless by now?


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OCOWs be all up in mah cage. I have named them Steve Teak (S. Teak) and Robert Oast (R. Oast), in honour of the best bits of all cows.
I'm pretty sure that Steve is the one that's about to jump and Robert is the one egging him on (steak and eggs.... mmmmmm.... sorry, it's getting late).
Seriously though, you can see how the modular cage idea works to allow long graphics cards.
No, you can't pull out the whole cage, but there wouldn't be much point because you ain't fitting no decent amount of rad in under the ODD cage anyway.
At least, not without reasonably serious mods... but we'll get to that later....


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In this shot you can see the rubber supports that your PSU will rest on to minimise vibration. There are two reversed sets of PSU mounting holes,
so you can orient the supply upright or upside-down depending on whether it's a modular PSU and/or you mount a 120mm intake fan in the bottom location.
Large PSU's will block access to the bottom fan position, but anything up to about 650W should be fine.
This pic also shows one of the very few annoying little things about the Raider... the case feet don't line up front and back!
Yep, I'm having a pretty hard time finding stuff to complain about in this chassis.

4. Top & Front Panels - Closer Look


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Both the front and top fascias are a simple press fit, easy to remove but they snap into place very securely.
Here's the top panel removed from the chassis showing the USB3 headers with their USB2 loop-through connectors and the front panel (or top panel in this case) audio cable.
At the top of the pic you can see the 8-core ribbon cable for the Power/Reset/LED connections, the molex that supplies power to the fanbus, and the five fan tails.
That large expanse of mesh should allow rising heat to vent effectively from the top of the case.


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The front panel with its foamy filtery goodness. Nice that they continued the venting and the foam filters up through the ODD bays,
rather than just using plain unfiltered mesh or plastic. The blanks are very easy to snap in and out.


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Front panel again, showing the reasonably large depth for fan clearance if you decide to fit a 200.
This will come in handy once we start trying to get wet.


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This backlit shot shows that the foam is obviously an open-celled type and not very dense, so hopefully it shouldn't choke off intake airflow too much.


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Stevo and Rob hanging out with the naked Raider. Another 200mm fan can be fitted up under the top cover if you want to go nuts with the cooling.
I'm really not sure why the rear of the 200mm location has those huge cutouts...
It would have made more sense to just have the whole area hex-punched like the front of the chassis, with options for one or two 120mm/140mm fans.
Again, this is one of the few very minor things I don't like about this case but it's something that anyone with basic modding skills (or even just double-sided tape) would be able to fix very easily.


5. Conclusion, Pros & Cons, Final Thoughts

So there you have it, the BitFenix Raider Mid-Tower Gaming Chassis in excrutiating detail!
I was very impressed by the build quality, sensible design features and nice little extras in this case.

PROS:

- Premium quality powdercoat/SofTouch finish inside and out
- Premium quality hardware and accessories
- Multiple fan locations with filtered intakes and 3 fans pre-installed
- Built in 5 channel fan controller
- 4 x USB3.0 ports
- Flexible PSU orientation
- Flexible drive cage arrangement
- Tool-less where it's handy, not where it's annoying
- Great looking, with simple and stylish design

CONS:

- Case feet are not bolted on from the factory and are misaligned (narrower width at the front than the back)
- PSU filter was a bit bowed and loose-fitting straight out of the box (easily fixed)
- Drive cage thumbscrews were too tight to remove by hand, requiring a screwdriver
- No sleeving on internal header/fan cables (unlikely in any case at this price point)
- No top 120mm/140mm fan mounts
- Large PSU's wil block the bottom intake fan location
- Not big enough for water without a bit of a fight


Those lists say it all really... a whole bunch of excellent features, offset by a couple of very minor issues.
Considering that this case can be had for around $95 and is roomy enough for several years worth of upgrades, it really is a great buy for your next air-cooled rig.

Stay tuned as I check out the new Spectre Pro LED fans and the Alchemy modding accessories in the next post.
After that you can see how it all comes together for a basic air-cooled build inside the Raider,
and further down the track I'll be getting mah mods on and stuffing some watercooling into this thing...

Thanks for reading, comments and feedback welcome!

[BlueRaven]

BitFenix Spectre Pro 120mm LED Fans

You've just seen the BitFenix 'Spectre' fans included with the Raider case reviewed above. These are pretty decent fans, they don't move a huge amount of air but are fairly quiet.
However, they are really designed as case fans making them unsuitable for use on coolers or radiators.

BitFenix have recently introduced a new range of 'Spectre Pro' fans, designed with higher airflow and static pressure for use in such applications.
They kindly sent me a couple of the 120mm LED models along with the Raider as I mentioned I would eventually be watercooling it.

So let's check them out. I'll state up front that I don't have the equipment, time or inclination to test the CFM/pressure/noise specs in an accurate and repeatable way, so I'm not going to try.
What you're getting here are impressions and opinions from someone who's been building PCs for nearly two decades and has experience using Noctua, Noiseblocker and Yate Loon fans
(as well as countless OEM and "yumcha" models), so hopefully I've got a pretty good baseline for some comparisons.


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Here's your scope of delivery in visual form. You get:

- The fan (obviously )
- A set of black fan screws for hard mounting
- A set of silicone rubber anti-vibration mounts with rubber washers
- A 12V-7V noise reducing adaptor
- For LED models, an LED power breakout cable (about which more later)

Important Technical Stuff: http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/pr...s/spectre-pro#
The key points we're interested in here are as follows:

- Speed: 1200rpm +/-10%
- Air Flow: 56.22CFM +/-10%
- Static Pressure: 1.24mmH2O
- Noise: 18.9dB (A-weighted)

First of all, these specs seem pretty average. This is in fact a good thing, as it means they are likely to be closer to truth than the pure fantasy that some manufacturers laughingly refer to as "specifications".
The main thing to note here is that while the CFM and pressure specs are not sky-high, they are reasonable for that RPM and noise level.
Given a decent level of accuracy in those specs, a trade-off has probably been made here to keep these fans silent even at full speed.
So straight away we can assume that they were designed for adequate performance with minimal noise, rather than outright "tear your face off and feed it to you" levels of airflow.
Given this trade-off, low FPI rads would be the best choice for use with these fans.

Moving on to features, a Fluid Dynamic Bearing is employed for long life and low noise. FDB designs are becoming more and more popular since Sony began licensing the technology, and they generally perform well.
The Spectre Pro's also feature "focussed air flow", which I presume means they have been designed to maintain pressure at a further-than-normal distance from the fan (similar to SilverStone's Air Penetrator fans).
This should minimise dissipation of the air flow and ensure cool air reaches all corners of your case when used as intake fans, and should also help rad performance.


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Here you can see the 'multiframe' design of the Spectre Pro, consisting of an outer mounting frame of grey polycarbonate plastic which holds the seperate blue 'hub carrier'.
The mounting frame feels quite stiff and brittle and seems like it would readily transmit vibrations into the chassis, but a small amount of flex and play between the two frames is designed in to prevent this.
It should also help minimise vibration in situations where the mounting surface is slightly out of true for some reason.


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According to BitFenix, high rpm's can cause normal fan blades to warp slightly which unbalances the fan and again contributes to unwanted vibrations.
Above you can see the reinforcing ridges which are moulded in to the impeller blades to prevent this.
This is not something I've heard of before, but hey... BF have more R&D dollars than I do. As long as the ridges don't increase noise, they certainly can't hurt.


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The LEDs sit in moulded mounts at each corner, similar to many other LED fans.
The wiring, while not the neatest I've ever seen, has heatshrink over one leg of each LED to prevent shorts due to rough treatment.


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Here you can see the breakout for the LED power supply. Using the supplied cable, you can switch/dim the LEDS from the integrated lighting controller in certain BitFenix cases.
The cable terminates in a simple 2-pin header (like a front panel LED connector) so you could possibly use it with an aftermarket fan controller or a control circuit of your own design.
Finally, if you get sick of the bling you can disconnect the breakout to disable the LEDS.


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Oooooooo......purty.

Well, the Spectre Pro's are certainly quiet... as in, completely inaudible at full speed until you're ~10cm away from them. Even then, the most than can be heard is a low hum.
I can't see the 7V adaptor being that useful unless they are used as case fans. They are already silent enough at full speed!
I'm not too sure about the 'focussed airflow' claim. They don't seem that remarkable in this regard (although it's a difficult thing to measure accurately).
They definitely move more air than the original Spectres, but I'm not sure how they will go on a rad... anything over 8-10fpi will kill the flow from these I reckon.
My sig rig is currently folding for the Chimp Challenge so can't be used as a testbed right now, but it will be interesting to see how they perform once I manage to jam a rad into the Raider.
In the meantime, you can see more of them in the air-cooled build log below (to be posted shortly).

PROS:

- Truly silent operation
- Long-life FDB bearing
- Anti-vibration mounts included
- Flexible LED connection options
- Affordably priced

CONS:

- Moderate CFM/pressure specs
- The polycarbonate plastic feels a little brittle, as if it might break easily if dropped or mistreated
- 7V "low-noise" adaptor is pretty useless

All in all, these seem to be a good value and very quiet fan. But I will reserve any judgements regarding performance until I've had a chance to test them on a rad.



BitFenix Alchemy Modding Accessories
First up I'm taking a look at the Alchemy LED strips, specifically the 30cm Blue version - welcome back to 2005!

Additional range info here.


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Once again, the product was kindly provided by BitFenix in order to dress up the Raider for the review. In my next post you'll see how it looks when installed in the chassis.

Spoiler below, highlight to read:
Hint: It's BRIGHT! And BLOO!!



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So these are a little bit different to your basic hard-wired SMD LED strip, as you may have noticed from the photo...
Basically BitFenix introduced a modularised design, allowing multiple strips to be daisy-chained together in different ways and power to be supplied from either end of the assembly.
They managed this by fitting a machined 4-pin socket at each end:


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Inside the package you have the strip itself (featuring "TriBright" SMD LEDs and a strong 3M adhesive backing), along with a Molex power supply cable and extension plus a number of adaptors.
The 4-pin socket at each end of the strip can be connected either to the power cable, or to another strip using the Male-Male pin adaptors.


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All the bits plug together easily but they feel quite secure once mated together, it didn't seem like they would vibrate loose in a hurry or anything like that.
I can see the potential for epic bling with these new strips. Hey, if you really wanted to go over the top you could even join different coloured strips together in alternating patterns!
(Disclaimer: I will not be held responsible for beatings, ridicule or sudden projectile vomiting if you do this).

So what do they look like then?


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Bright enough to flare the crap out of my camera lens apparently.

I think BitFenix have done a good job reinventing a product that many modders love, making it more flexible and effective.
The only minor flaw with the product is that the power supply cable is a bit short... from the 4-pin power plug to the molex is only about 30cm.
An extra 10-15cm would make cable routing that little bit easier.

PROS
- Extremely bright
- Strong 3M adhesive backing
- Flexible "chainable" configuration for larger cases or special projects
- Makes adding some flash lighting to your case incredibly simple

CONS
- Power supply cable needs to be 10-15cm longer

CCFLs are DEAD! Long Live Alchemy LED Strips!

I'm going to finish up this post with a brief look at a product that I'm sure many of you already know very well... the Alchemy sleeved cable extensions.


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So I'm pretty sure I don't have to explain too much here, right? Ultra-dense fabric weave, heatshrink-less sleeving, precision moulded connectors etc. etc.
Available in a range of colours/lengths/pin configurations.


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The individual cables feel quite thick and need a bit of encouragement to bend, which suggests that they easily meet the minimum 18AWG specification that the current ATX standard demands.


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I'm really nitpicking here, but the packaging of my ATX24 extension was damaged when it arrived. It is a very thin plastic that doesn't do much to protect the cables.
You can't see it too well in the photo, but one end of the twist-tie securing the cable must have caught in the weave and has frayed it slightly (can't even see it once installed).
Also, the connectors seemed to need a fair bit of initial effort to plug into the cables from my PSU.
But again, I'm really nitpicking because there is honestly not much wrong with these sleeved extensions at all.

Basically, you've got two choices.
You can sleeve your PSU by hand, with all that involves as far as calculating lengths/ordering sleeve/cutting and sealing sleeve/cutting heatshrink/de-pinning cables/blah blah blah.
Or you can install some of these, call it done, and go to the pub. I know which option I would prefer.

So if you're still with me, thanks for reading this far! I should have the Raider build log up a little later today, but please feel free to leave any comments or feedback on the products and the reviews in the meantime.
Cheers guys.

[BlueRaven]

Right, well... I reckon that's enough detail to answer pretty much any question you guys may have about the aforementioned products.
In case nobody noticed... I love my PC hardware and could talk about it for hours.

But now I'll just shut up and make with the pics.


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Well, that's done. Cable management tiem.


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All done. And I'm not even breathing heavily.


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Stevo and Rob seem to like getting their disco on.


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Now where's my Dremel?

Thanks for reading, comments and feedback always appreciated. Cheers.

[GTR]

Mate, loved the review and build detailing of the Bitfenix Raider.

Your cable management skills are top notch. How long did the cable management process take you?

[BlueRaven]

Originally Posted by GTR

Mate, loved the review and build detailing of the Bitfenix Raider.

Your cable management skills are top notch. How long did the cable management process take you?

Since this was my first review on OCAU, I think I may have gone a little over the top on the detail. But your comments are definitely appreciated!

It took me the best part of an evening to do the build, but that includes having to cook and eat dinner, clean up, deal with a couple of phone calls and emails etc.
I'd say the cable management by itself probably took about 2-3 hours, mainly because I changed my mind about a couple of things and had to cut some ties and redo some stuff.

Dunno if anyone noticed the yumcha 80mm fan that I had to ghetto onto the HSF after the stock one died. Stupid AMD stock cooler... *sigh*

EDIT: I should note that without needing to manage the extensions and even with basic knowledge, a novice builder should easily be able to get a rig up and running in this case in an evening.

Thanks very much for the feedback.

[Sven76]

Nice review Blue well done ....

I'm curious how you found the noise of the spectre pro fans? I have 3 x 200mm fans as I am normally a fan<--- get it of Bitfenix stuff and all three have ticking rattles going on to the point where once you have heard them you can un hear them ... the sound range seems to get in under even the tv and I didnt imagine it the Mrs hears it too ... stick a finger in the fan and no more noise so definatley the fans... Its not a rattle as such more of a ticking sound did you experience this 3 from 3 leaves me wondering if its normal and im just to sensative to it is why i asked...

Irony ... replaced the 3 Thermal take case fans that came witht he case for these due to woeful TT case fans included with cases and got noiser fans lol

[Creekin]

is it possible ur fans are hitting a cable or something sven?
i have a box of spectre pros here and all are silent as..
in fact a little too quiet tbh (ie: no ballz)

nice work blueraven, if a tad verbose..
rig looks awesome in blue though

[BlueRaven]

Cheers guys.

I can talk shit about this stuff until the world ends but I figured most people would just look at the pics and skim the text.

But the detail is there for those who are actually considering purchasing the Raider, or maybe looking to pick one up off the forums to mod because they like the look of it.

Sven, the rig is inaudible in my flat under ambient noise of fridge, A/C, traffic etc. even with the 4 fans at max.
The 120mm Spectre Pro's are some of the quietest fans I've used but they trade off quite a lot for it.

I can't comment on the 200's unfortunately as I haven't tried them, but they definitely shouldn't be making any noise from the bearings.
If they're not hitting an obstruction as Creekin suggested, I'm sure BitFenix would be happy to RMA them via your retailer to figure out what's going on.

[Sven76]

Originally Posted by Creekin

is it possible ur fans are hitting a cable or something sven?
i have a box of spectre pros here and all are silent as..
in fact a little too quiet tbh (ie: no ballz)
Snip! feint bluraven priase Snip!

Whilst one of the pictures i have of you in your assless chaps did fall from the wall and rest against the side of the computer it wasn't actually interfering with the fan (oh the mirth in that sentence) but yeah thats the sound in particular from the top fan like its hitting a cable but its perfectly clear its in a chaser mk 1 and i even thought it might be scraping against the top of the case as there is a convoluted cross so you can fit 120 140 and 200mm fans but nope all 3 clean and all 3 tick to varying degrees ... I bought these expecting silence tbh.

Funny thing too if you stop the fan with your ummm finger sure why not it won't restart by itself it just stops (yeah yeah did it to see if it was that we all have done it normally fan response up by itself)

Originally Posted by BlueRaven

Cheers guys.

I can talk shit about this stuff until the world ends but I figured most people would just look at the pics and skim the text.

But the detail is there for those who are actually considering purchasing the Raider, or maybe looking to pick one up off the forums to mod because they like the look of it.

Sven, the rig is inaudible in my flat under ambient noise of fridge, A/C, traffic etc. even with the 4 fans at max.
The 120mm Spectre Pro's are some of the quietest fans I've used but they trade off quite a lot for it.

I can't comment on the 200's unfortunately as I haven't tried them, but they definitely shouldn't be making any noise from the bearings.
If they're not hitting an obstruction as Creekin suggested, I'm sure BitFenix would be happy to RMA them via your retailer to figure out what's going on.

Blue really not calling into question Bitfenix or quality deliberately its not really a bearing / bushing sound is the only reason i ask and its not that its super noisy just once you have heard it you can't un hear it like a dripping tap... Just wanted to check if you noticed something as you mentioned the fans is all...

You did a great job on the review Creekin is just worried he will lose favourite position is all

[BlueRaven]

Originally Posted by Sven76

Blue really not calling into question Bitfenix or quality deliberately its not really a bearing / bushing sound is the only reason i ask and its not that its super noisy just once you have heard it you can't un hear it like a dripping tap... Just wanted to check if you noticed something as you mentioned the fans is all...

You did a great job on the review Creekin is just worried he will lose favourite position is all

Haha, thanks mate.

Creekin has a way of expressing his, er, uniquely personal opinions very concisely.
I could probably stand to take a leaf or two out of his book in avoiding TL;DR...

Are you undervolting the fans? I ask because that could explain why they stall once you stop them, and some fans do tend to tick or whine when undervolted past a certain point.

The 120s have a startup speed of 5V according to the specs, and they make no ticking sounds with the Raider's fanbus set to Min.
Just the faintest whine that can't be heard at all over ambient noise.
But they also move very little air at that speed.

EDIT: Actually, the whine was coming from the PSU. So yeah, they're pretty much dead silent at all speeds.

Again, the 200's may behave differently if undervolted.

[Sven76]

I DIDNT THINK OF THE 5V THING TO BE HONEST I HAVE THEM ON THE FAN CONTROLER THAT COMES ON THE TT CHASER SO MIN SETTING WILL BE 5V FOR SURE SO THAT EXPLAINS THE STOPPING THING I THINK IF I TURN IT UP TO HIGH SO 7V YEAH FIXES THAT NOT THAT IT WAS AN ISSUE ... THEY MOVE A FAIR BIT OF AIR AT LOWER SPEEDS BUT IM GETTING A FANCY FAN CONTROLLER INTO WORK SO WILL PROB PUT THAT IN FOR TESTING PURPOSES OF COURSE .... YES I TYPED IN CAPS OPPS TOO MUCH TO RETYPE NOW SO MEH NOT YELLING JUST STUPID AFTER A KEYBoARD MASHING DIABLO SESSION