BitFenix Neos Review

Performance Analysis

Due to case review feedback, we've decided to relent on testing cases with no or few fans with additional fans to see what boost this provides to cooling. We will now give case manufacturers of cases such as the Neos the option of providing additional fans that are similar or identical to those included with the case, both in terms of price and performance. This way, you can see what increase in cooling you can expect from adding a couple of fans, plus the case stands a chance of avoiding a panning if spending a little more dramatically improves cooling.

As we expected, with just a single rear exhaust fan, the GPU and CPU delta T results of 56°C are way down the table, although far from the worst result we've had. The fan was fairly quiet too, and if we were to place one fan in the Neos, it would be as an exhaust, as getting hot air out is more important than drawing cool air in. At £30, you can't really expect more than one half-decent fan, so we dropped the two additional BitFenix Spectre fans into the front panel, which retail for around £5 each.


This improved things quite a bit, with the CPU delta T dropping from 56°C to 52°C and the GPU delta T 1°C more to 51°C. This was enough for a mid-table rather than lower table result, although the CPU result here was more competitive than than that for the GPU, which was still only equivalent to most cases on their minimum fan speeds or out-of-the-box configurations.

Conclusion

Aside from the ability to create a case in quite a few colours, there are a couple of features we liked with the Neos. The dedicated SSD mounts are one as are the dust filters, with the PSU filter being removable too. The price is certainly the most attractive feature - at £30 for the windowless model, it's one of the cheapest cases we've ever reviewed. With its stock single fan configuration it languishes near the bottom of the pile, but adding a couple of cheap fans shouldn't cost more than £10 and turns the Neos into something that will be much more at home with an overclocked CPU and mid-range graphics card.

Sadly, this is money you'll have to spend in order for the case to be worth considering for a gaming system. This means you could have a Corsair Spec-01 and invest in a rear fan to improve the latter's poor CPU cooling score. The Spec-01 has much greater CPU cooler and GPU clearance plus better cooling potential so is a more attractive option if if you don't mind spending a little more.