BitFenix Colossus - Giant Steps
BitFenix's debut product, a giant full tower casing dubbed the Colossus has landed in our labs and we find out if the newcomer has what it takes to compete against the big boys.
Enter the Colossus
It's not every day that one gets to review the debut product from a fledgling company. No matter the amount of financial resources backing a new venture, or even the pedigree of the team behind it, the first product will always be a marker for what's to come. First impressions are important and in many cases, they make or break a newcomer's reputation.
BitFenix, which aims to be a gaming hardware and peripheral manufacturer (there's more background about the company and team here), has decided to tackle the chassis segment first. It hopes to make a huge splash with a very large chassis, a full tower steel and plastic giant appropriately named the Colossus (after the ancient wonder, Colossus of Rhodes). With an experienced team consisting of ex-Cooler Master and abit employees, there's certainly some anticipation over the Colossus. From the reviews that have already appeared online, this casing seems to have made quite the impression on reviewers with its cooling performance, cable management and unique security feature.
BitFenix's first product is a giant casing for the enthusiast market appropriately named Colossus.
Supporting even extended ATX motherboards, the Colossus promises ample interior space for all your components, though the first thing you'll likely notice is the LED lighting system banding around the exterior. Together with the option to really stir up the fan count and front USB 3.0 ports, the Colossus is ready to wow the enthusiasts. Or can it? Find out our take after the jump.
Exterior Design
Made with SECC steel and ABS plastic, the sheer size of the Colossus means that this is a real heavyweight, coming in at around 16kg when empty. Add in its bulky size and this isn't a casing that you will want to lug around. In fact, even the side panels of the Colossus is heavier than you would expect, thanks to the LED lighting system embedded within the panels that runs across the exterior. It's an impressive looking design, with the choice of either blue or red LED lighting, the better to complement the casing, which comes in black or white.
While the surface of the Colossus is predominantly plastic, BitFenix has added a rubbery layer to it that gives it a smooth, matte like texture. It's hard to describe exactly how it felt but it was cool to the touch and appeared to resist scratches. The casing is slightly elevated from the ground with four stands and it's hard to imagine it falling over due to its weight and inertia. Stability is not an issue here, unlike some aluminum casings where the power supply unit anchors the system.
The wavy LED design extends to the side of the Colossus, which makes the side panels of this casing much heavier than usual. Users can switch between blue or red lighting with a button.
As BitFenix mentions, the presence of a secure compartment, known as S3, is one of the main highlights of the Colossus. A key is required to unlock this compartment, under which one finds the power, reset buttons and the front panel ports, including support for USB 3.0 ports. The compartment itself is cozy enough that one can only store items below a certain size, though your wallet and keys should fit the bill if you need to go away from your desk for a while.
This compartment at the top of the Colossus is dubbed by BitFenix as S3. It's supposed to serve as a secure repository for users to stow their gear, like gaming mice or external storage drives. As you can see, this compartment can be locked.
While we could fit our mouse within the S3 compartment, it's not that spacious and some of the taller mice or harder storage devices will not fit. Notice too that the casing's buttons, including the power, reset and fan control switches are found inside the compartment. Also, see the cable leading from the compartment? That too is a rather unique feature...
BitFenix has also located the front ports around this compartment. The two USB ports in blue are USB 3.0 compatible, suited for those early adopters who have switched to newer USB 3.0 capable motherboards. There's also an eSATA port (not shown in this image) and the usual audio jacks.
Another unique touch from BitFenix is the way the Colossus is designed such that one can route cables from the S3 compartment down and along the sides of the front facade and then onto your desk. If you have the PC on the desk like some, then you can effectively route the cable of your mouse for instance from the front USB panel where it is presumably connected, using the existing grooves in the casing and then onto the desk. For those who are obsessed with having everything neat and tidy, BitFenix offers the next step in cable management.
Remember that cable from earlier? Another rather unique feature on the Colossus is this cable management system for your gaming peripherals, where users can route the cable through grooves at the sides of the casing, assuming that you have plugged them into the front USB ports in the S3 compartment. Also, judging by the screw holes here, the front door which opens to the left, can be swapped to open to the right.
The rear of the Colossus is rather typical, with its power supply housing designed at the base to add more stability and for optimal cooling. There are also four grommets at the top for water cooling kits and their pipes.
Some of the included accessories - cables ties to secure your graphics cards even further, a bracket and tray to convert an external 3.5-inch drive to fit into the Colossus' 5.25-inch bay, and a USB 3.0 to 2.0 connector for those who haven't upgraded yet.
Interior Design
Given its colossus size, it's no surprise to find that this casing supports up to the E-ATX form factor that some motherboard vendors are coming up with nowadays. The mounting holes for the motherboard standoffs are labeled properly inside, with a legend and all and it's easy enough to install them at the right locations. Our standard ATX motherboard practically looked tiny when installed in this giant casing.
Plenty of space inside the Colossus, as it supports even E-ATX form factors. There are also many holes and vents so that you can route your cables from the other side, essential for those trying to manage their cables effectively for better cooling.
We just installed our components, with no cable management done yet but there's hardly any need is there? After all, there's still plenty of space and even the longest graphics card out there now should have no issue with this casing.
Cable management is a big thing on the Colossus and there are plenty of holes for users to route their cables behind and out of sight. Obviously, it also helps with casing ventilation as there are no obstructions that retain heat or disrupt the air flow. Speaking of which, the Colossus comes with a huge but relatively slow spinning 230mm fan at the top, the better to suck out the warm air inside the casing. Another similarly huge front fan at the 3.5-inch drive bays pull in cooler air from the outside and should provide more than sufficient cooling for the entire chassis.
A huge 230mm fan dominates the top of the casing. It's the reason why BitFenix saw no need to include a rear exhaust fan by default, though the option remains.
The mounting holes are marked according to the form factors and the cut-out space here allows easy access to the bottom of the motherboard, for when you need to change your cooler or processor.
The BitFenix Colossus is meant to be tool-free and it satisfied that claim with a number of tool-free mechanisms that are similar enough to its competitors but at the same time, are its own take. Special mention must go to the sturdy tool-free lock for the eight expansion slots, each of which clanged shut onto our graphics card with such force that it could take our fingers off. Yes, we are exaggerating a little here but it's indeed one of the most solid tool-free locks we have seen on a chassis. And BitFenix even included special cable ties to secure your expansion cards, just in case.
The optical drive bay tool-free mechanism meanwhile was just bewildering. It was a one-button locking design that didn't make itself sufficiently clear whether the drive was secure or not.
A rather standard arrangement with the 2.5-inch drive bays for your storage. We easily installed our HDD by snapping the holders to the drive. Easy to remove and to install. And you can route the cables from below the motherboard since it's an open design.
BitFenix has probably created one of the stoutest designs ever to secure the PCI expansion slots. It's a sturdy mechanism that snaps onto your add-on cards with a satisfying thud. And it has no problems with dual-slot cards either.
The bottom is reserved for the power supply unit, with four raised and padded stands to reduce vibration and allow for proper ventilation. Screws are required here however to secure the PSU in place.
Another slot at the bottom for an optional fan. Overkill if you ask us.
By now, you would expect the installation on this chassis to be a breeze, but unfortunately, it wasn't the case. First, this casing appeared to have been engineered to very exact dimensions. We had to force our optical drive though the 5.25-inch drive bay with brute strength because apparently, the slot was built with so little allowance that it was a very tight fit. We were wondering if there was some unknown obstacle in the way until we gave up and just forced it in. The same applied for one of the side panel, which fit so well into its groove that it was extremely hard to take out. In the end, brute force again turned out to be the solution.
No doubt, it made for a very close, tight fit with no visible gaps, but it made the task much harder. Everything was compounded by the sheer bulk and weight of the Colossus, which made moving it literally a backbreaking endeavor. In short, we liked the design and the ample space, yet ironically the weight and the close fitting nature of this casing led to some frustration during installation.
Conclusion
If BitFenix had hoped to make a splash in the chassis scene, the Colossus will create quite a stir. Appealing to the enthusiast segment, particularly the gamers with its emphasis on features and performance, not to mention the dual color LED lights, the Colossus has some very unique characteristics that bodes well for the company and brand.
The distinctive LED light system is certainly something that not all of its competitors have. It does have a downside of making the side panels truly heavy and we won't like to imagine accidents involving bruised fingers if you happen to slip and have one of these panels land on your fingers. The other strength is its extensive cable management options. From the interior, with the numerous holes and nooks for routing your cable, to the rather special grooves at the front of the chassis to manage your peripherals' cables, it's clear that this is something BitFenix is focused on.
Next, the cooling options are plentiful, with two large 230mm fans pre-installed and options for more. To us, those two huge fans are sufficient, though gamers with more powerful systems with multiple graphics cards may disagree. The fan controller at the top allows the user to control all the fans from a single point, another plus.
At US$160, the Colossus is pretty good value for chassis of its size and attributes. Now if you don't intend to be making much changes to your hardware configurations in short notice, this casing might just fit your style and needs.
BitFenix's take on tool-free mechanisms are also very interesting to say the least. While the expansion cards appear a shoo-in for being the most impressive we have seen, the drive bay version takes home the award for being rather vague. Or maybe the fact that we didn't find a user manual with our casing made it harder for us. Finally, the biggest drawback that we could discern could be a positive one in another's book. That's the sheer weight of this steel and plastic behemoth. It simply drags down this casing, making it more difficult to install, including tight fitting components that were resistant to being removed. It also makes it impossible to utilize this casing in any way for a LAN setup, ruling it out of the contention for traveling gamers.
BitFenix did have its price right though. At around US$160, the Colossus is pretty good value for what it has and enthusiast full tower casings are never cheap. For a company making its debut, the Colossus strikes the right note between price, performance and design.
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