BitFenix Neos Review

[section_title title=”Closer Look”]Closer Look

Starting with our first look at the Neos and we can notice this particular version does not come with a windowed side panel, some do, some don’t. For those who want a window on one of the side panel they can be purchased cheap enough. The case is black in colour and the side panels are made from a rather thin steel and are quite flimsy. However, when you remember the price this is easily overlooked.

The front of the Neos has a mesh design to not only improve aesthetics but to offer better cooling performance as well. We can also see that there are 2x 5.25″ bays for optical drives or even maybe a reservoir for water cooling. The front can actually be pulled off with a bit of gentle strength and reveals a space for 2x 120mm fans.

One of the things I liked about this case was the front IO panel is on the top of the case. I feel this just makes it easier to access and gives the front a much cleaner look. On the front IO panel we have a couple of connectors and buttons such as:

1 x USB 3.0

1 x USB 2.0

1 x HD Audio set (mic/headphones)

1 x Power Button

1 x Reset Button

On the bottom of the Neos there are four feet to help keep the case from getting damaged and to also offer better air-flow. There is also a removable dust filter to help ensure the bottom mounted PSU doesn’t get dusty as well.

On the back and we have what is expected, 7x PCI slots for all our graphics/expansion cards, 2 holes for watercooling,  a cut out for the rear IO of our motherboard and also the cutout for the bottom mounted PSU.

Another thing I like is BitFenix have added a cover to the area where the expansion cards would be screwed. This also allows for access to the screws from outside and of course covers them up as to not be eye-sores.

Taking a look at the Neos with the side panels off and we can see there definitely is a bit of space. The Neos features a cut-out on the motherboard tray for easy CPU cooler installation, stand-off less mounts which is always nice to see and offers support for Mini-ITX, mATX and ATX motherboards. To the right and we can see what looks to be 3x 5.25″ drive bays on the top, while only two are accessible from the front the third and top slot acts as nothing more than a space to put the wires through to the back of the case from the front IO. Below that we have 3x dedicated 2.5″ SSD slots and 3x 3.5″ HDD slots and while these are technically tool-less to remove, you may want to screw your drives in to keep them in place.

One of the things that may not go over with many is the amount of room, or lack there of, for cable management in the back. The Neos does have a few cutouts so we can pass wires/cables through the main part of the case to the back but once in the back there is not a lot of room to work with. While this is to be expected when factoring in the price it can still be a bit of a nuisance when actually building in the case.