Completed Build, Performance, and Conclusion

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As you can see the build with an air cooler is very clean, and I was happy with how easily the system came together. I love small form-factor enclosures, but it's always nice to have plenty of room to work inside the enclosure, which you certainly get with this case.

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Cable management was particularly easy for two reasons: first, there are plenty of openings (which have mount points for zip or twist ties nearby), and second, there is a generous amount of room between the back of the motherboard tray and the rear side panel. No complaints here!

Temperatures and Noise Levels

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The VIVO Titan performed very well with the Corsair H75 liquid cooler, but was at the bottom of the list using the air cooler. Granted, the air cooler tested is a low-profile model selected for maximum compatibility for all enclosures, and a tower-style cooler (such as the ever-popular Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO) would have done much better. Airflow is definately straight through from front to back, so aiming your air cooler toward the back of the case would yield good results.

I expected GPU results to be very good due to this airflow. Take a look:

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Here the best result from the group goes to the Titan, with high case fans. The low fan setting produced a more average result, and based on my experience with the Titan's fans (which were never annoying) I would just leave them at the high setting myself.

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Here the Titan was a bit above average for CPU noise, but was on the high side for GPU noise. The enclosure isn't insulated at all, and the noise from my GPU cooler was easily heard under load. If you don't have a loud graphics card, this isn't an issue at all – but this isn't going to be a silent computing enthusiast case (nor is it meant to be).

Conclusion

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I came away impressed with my first experience with a VIVO enclosure. It's not a perfect product, but it does a number of things right. A new player needs to differentiate on either features or price to compete with the established brands, and this Titan displays good attention to detail with features like the fan controller, and offering plenty of cable routing space. The overall build quality of the case was a little lower than I would like, with fairly thin metal throughout, but this isn't unusual for the budget segment.

Still, it remains to be seen where the market will place the Titan, which currently retails for $74.99. I think it's an above-average entry level case, but $74.99 might be a bit of a tough sell compared to the established brands (where $64.99 would be another story).

Strengths

  • Easy pop-out filter panels for front and top fan mounts
  • Plenty of room for cable routing behind motherboard tray
  • Included fans are quiet and the blue LEDs on intake fans add style
  • Integrated fan controller – rare at this price!

Weaknesses

  • Somewhat thin construction
  • Price relative to market

​It’s not without flaws, but overall I was impressed by the Titan as an affordable newcomer. There are some very good design choices with Titan, and with a little more polish it will be a compelling option in the budget segment.

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