BitFenix Pandora ATX Review

BitFenix Pandora ATX Review

Manufacturer: BitFenix
UK price (as reviewed): £99.95 (With window and display), £86.99 (no window or display)
US price (as reviewed): TBC

The original Pandora was an interesting case. It had a few hallmarks of previous cases from other companies but in general it was unique looking and a relatively fresh addition to the case scene. One of our main bugbears with it though was its limited cooling potential. It had just 134mm of CPU cooler clearance and only just enough room for a dual 120mm fan radiator too. It was also limited to micro-ATX motherboards, but BitFenix has gone back to the drawing board to make a bigger, more potent version.


And here it is. The Pandora ATX is a much larger case with an additional 40mm of width and 100mm of depth, allowing it to offer a home to a much more feature-packed PC. There's also enough space for ATX motherboards too in addition to several larger fan mounts, more drive mounts and plenty more besides. As with the smaller version, there are a couple of options available - mainly with or without the programmable front logo display, which is identical in terms of resolution to that on the original case, and allows you to upload your own images up to 240 x 320 pixels. Without the display the case retails for a reasonable £86.99 - with it, a less wallet-friendly £99.99.


Another issue we had with the previous case is that build quality wasn't amazing. For the most part, the new Pandora ATX doesn't have any issues here, although the side panels do feel a little flimsy and can be tricky to fit, relying on ball joints that pop into recesses in the main chassis. Once they're fitted, the case dons its unique, sleek look, although you'll need to watch out for dust and fingerprints on the glossy front panel.


You get the full complement of power and reset buttons, audio ports and two apiece USB 2 and USB 3 ports, although there's no lighting or fan control on offer. There are three dust filters - the PSU, roof and front section - and all are removable. As there are no bulky drive mounts inside the case, the side window is particularly large so you also get a great view of your hardware

Specifications

• Dimensions (mm) 203 x x 558 x 510 (W x D x H)
  
• Material Plastic, steel
  
• Available colours Black, silver
  
• Weight 9.92kg
  
• Front panel Power, reset, 2 x USB 3, 2 x USB 2, stereo, microphone
  
• Drive bays Up to 4 x 3.5in, up to 10 x 2.5in (six mounts shared with 3.5in bays)
  
• Form factor(s) ATX, micro-ATX, mini-ITX
  
• Cooling 3 x 120/2 x 140mm front fan mounts (fans not included), 1 x 120mm rear fan mount (fan included), 3 x 120/2 x 140mm top fan mounts (fans not included)
  
• CPU cooler clearance 160mm
  
• Maximum graphics card length 440mm
  
• Extras Removable dust filters, pump mount