Final Thoughts, Pricing, Conclusion
Final Thoughts
After reviewing the exterior, interior, and installing a mid-range gaming system into the Colossus, I’d have to say that BitFenix has a real winner on their hands with this massive E-ATX case. The case’s depth and original features moves away from traditional production case methods and should give them a decisive advantage if they can continue this type of work in the next additions to their product line.
Some of my favorite additions to the Colossus was the expandability options for using an E-ATX motherboard and the unique tool-less features for the PCI slots and hard drives were quite useful and functional at the same time. The exterior LED lighting system is one-of-a-kind and adds another dimension to an already stylish and extremely original and functional case.
Pricing
The Colossus can be pre-ordered at several European websites for around 130 Euros. U.S. consumers will have to wait until December when the Colossus will be available for $169 in our region.
Conclusion
We’d like to thank BitFenix for providing the Colossus for our review today. This is BitFenix’s first venture into the PC enclosure industry and they swung for the fenches with this offering. While it is only a prototype until it goes to final production, the Colossus seemed a lot more polished than other pre-release products we’ve tested in the past. The exterior lighting system, lockable storage compartment with USB 3.0 ports, and tool-less design make the Colossus a great buy for those users who like a simple and modern design that doesn’t focus exclusively on having large acrylic windows. If I had any final suggestions to improve this case, I would ask for them to add some soundproof material that would be an easy way to make the Colossus a silent solution as well as a stylish one. Either way, this case really stood out to me and should be very profitable if they can make it cheap enough to compete in the U.S. market.
Strengths
- Solid construction and design
- Custom exterior lighting system
- Lockable storage compartment with USB 3.0
- Custom tool-less design
Weaknesses
- Awkward 140mm fan mount on the back panel (Note: There is a bracket to convert it to 120mm, but it would have been easier to add mounting holes for both 140mm and 120mm fan solutions)
- Not compatible with internal watercooling systems with dual or triple radiators (Editor’s note: BitFenix contacted us and said the Colossus was not primarily designed for the water cooling crowd. They wanted to add innovations like the S3 security compartment and the external cable routing, as the water cooling segment of the market is quite small.)
