Cooling [SFF Network] An In Depth Review of the Enermax SteelWing

[confusis]

Originally announced back in May of last year, Enermax released the Enermax SteelWing chassis in October of 2016 with little-to-no fanfare. In fact, a quick search around the net reveals that this case hasn't even received a proper review - and it probably doesn't help that the case isn't listed on the Enermax USA website, either. However, after meeting with Enermax at CES, we are pleased to have the opportunity to review their entire line of small form factor products... and this case is no exception.


Read more here.

 

[LocoMoto]

I could see that power led halfway across the globe!

But seems like a decent case for use as a statement piece near a TV without offering all to much space compared to some other cases *cough* *cough* NZXT MANTA *cough*...
Thank you the SFF Network team for bringing us all these juicy details and the review. Good read!

 

[3lfk1ng]

Glad you enjoyed it! I'm going to go ice my fingers now.

 

[Ceros_X]

I thought it was a good review -- happy to see that there were no punches pulled, and that you split the cons and nit picks up.

I am not personally a fan of the accent color - it looks more pink than red to me (but that may just be a photography trick). I feel they should maybe have made one with a dark blue, black, or grey side panel. I get that it's an accent panel, but a lot of us are drab people and black is the new beige, etc.

Really excited to see what other Enermax cases you get in.

Also, didn't know the CompactPRO existed, are you going to review that in another thread/article?

 

[Phuncz]

Very good review, incredibly thorough and detailed. I very much enjoyed reading it. An interesting case with some good quality finishing, although also some quality issues.

I am not personally a fan of the accent color - it looks more pink than red to me (but that may just be a photography trick).

In the past this was an issue with anodization, although it seems to have become better. Or photographers are editing out the blue component to make it look more red.

 

[3lfk1ng]

happy to see that there were no punches pulled, and that you split the cons and nit picks up.

I personally dislike when cons and nitpicks are considered one and same so I didn't want to fall into that trap myself.

it looks more pink than red to me

It's definitely more red than it is pink but as Phuncz mentioned, the anondized red color can only go so far.

Really excited to see what other Enermax cases you get in.

No more cases but something else instead

Also, didn't know the CompactPRO existed, are you going to review that in another thread/article?

Most likely not but we may try to get our hands on a different standalone model. Not that their was anything wrong with this model (It's frigg'n awesome!) but I would rather not have to steal my wife's iPhone everytime I need to record a video.

Or photographers are editing out the blue component to make it look more red.

Yup, that's important to note too. These shots are 100% untouched in order to try and capture the actual product colors as accuratly as possible.

 

[TheHig]

I saw some shots of this case and happy to see a proper review here. Looking forward to more.

-- also I 3rd or 4th(?) the separation of pros cons and nits. It's a nice touch and makes a lot of sense. Nice work!

 

[Arboreal]

I really like this, a real effort has been made to make something different and still sensibly sized.
I would worry about taking it out & about, scratching the glass or lovely red anodised side panel; it would probably need a case to drop it into.

 

[MarcParis]

Nice case, worth to be studied/considered.

16l for micro ATX motherboard (ok only 3 pcie bracket) is something pretty rare.

Only true issue is this damn power led...but solution exist...like not connecting led power i/o..

 

[bilj]

Any chance of fitting Hydro 80i V2 without the extra fan when using mATX mobo? The pic shows a H60 25mm radiator, with barely another 25mm space left, and in fact a 2nd fan didn't fit. The H80i is 49mm. Seems very tight and may block SATA ports completely. Any thoughts?

Also, from other pictures I've seen, there is some empty space above the front fan. Would it be possible to somehow mount the fan/radiator assembly a little higher and possibly expose a SATA port at bottom of case?

I"ve ordered this case and an ASUS Strix Z270G and can't decide on the right AIO to get. Would like to use Corsair Link.

 

[3lfk1ng]

Yea, that configuration would definitely block 90-degree sata ports completely but you might (should) be able to mount the radiator inside the mounting shroud (instead of the outside like I did). Then, you could mount the fan on the outside of the shroud.

Unfortunately, the mounting points for that bracket are fixed. You cannot raise or lower the mount due to the mounting points being welded to the chassis. Also, depending on the location of the 24-pin power, the radiator hoses may conflict depending on the flexibility of the hoses and your 24-pin power cable.

 

[bilj]

I got the case today and examined it closely. The fan shroud only accomodates a 25mm thick fan, hence also only a 25mm radiator. If the radiator was even a millimeter wider than a fan it may not fit within the shroud. I'll stick with the standard "fan in the shroud" and radiator piggybacked in the chassis.
Estimating how far the right-angle SATA conectors would protrude (don't have mobo yet) my best guess is there's maybe max 34mm of space for a radiator, so I'll stick with those in 25-27mm thickness. I'm going to get a DeepCool Gamer Storm CAPTAIN 120EX, and maybe replace the fan (in the shroud) with a Noctua NF-F12 iPPC 3000 PWM so I can crank up the fan speed high if needed (this machine will often be running in a closet so sound is not a factor).
I'm also going to try to jury-rig a 70mm x 15mm fan to exhaust upwards and out that top vent grille, since this chassis doesn't have any additional dedicated fan mount areas.
I'm excited to build this soon: ASUS Strix Z270G, i7-7700K, G.Skill DDR4-3200 14 14 14 34, Samsung EVO 960, HGST He8 8TB.... no graphics card as it's not for gaming.