BitFenix Outlaw Review

Introduction

• Brand: BitFenix
  
• Model: Outlaw
• Price: £44.99(At time of review)

BitFenix is probably most well-known for their extensive line of cases and for the accessories to go with them. Time and time again Bitfenix have released amazing cases such as the Shinobi, Prodigy and Prodigy M, NEOS and even the more recent Pandora which was quite the head turner(My review on the Pandora can be seen HERE). One of the things BitFenix does with their cases is to offer separately purchasable side panels and other parts designed specifically for a certain case, which is always nice as you don’t have to worry about whether you want a window side panel or not when purchasing because if you change your mind, they are easily available. Also, as mentioned BitFenix also offer a good range of accessories to accompany their cases, or any PC case really such as fans, fan controller, LED strips and even braided extension cables. All things considered, BitFenix does a great job of making sure their customers have what they need readily available to them and also try to give them as many options as possible.

Another thing BitFenix is well-known for is the way they respond to customer feedback. They are always looking to improve themselves and their products and regularly take into account feedback from customers and make changes and release updated versions of previous products by taking this into account. BitFenix pride themselves, on really listening to their customers and want the products they sell to be an extension of ones, will, rather than something that something that needs to be compensated for.

Today I will be taking a look at the BitFenix Outlaw PC case which comes in at £44.99 from the good folks over at Overclockers UK. The Outlaw features an inverted motherboard tray that is said to offer better cooling and support for graphics cards. To help with the overall thermal performance of the Outlaw, BitFenix have included a couple of fans as standard to get the air flowing through the case. The Outlaw also features BitFenix SofTouch™ which is a nice touch to the exterior of the case. All in all, the Outlaw looks to be quite a nice case, but before we pass too much judgement, let’s take a look at review video.

 Conclusion

The performance aspect of the BitFenix Outlaw is in my opinion, going to be one of the main strong points for the case. The inverted motherboard tray is designed to help allow more airflow to the GPU to help keep it cooler during those long weekend gaming sessions. The two included fans, one rear and one front, will also do a good job of keeping airflow moving across the top half (bottom in the Outlaws case) of the motherboard which will of course help to keep CPU temperatures down as well. One thing that should be mentioned though is the allotted space for fans at the top of the case. Please pay attention to which way you point them as they may end up trying to pull against the fans on your GPU which is surely not the result you would want.

Taking a closer look at the design of the Outlaw and from the exterior and it is fairly pleasing to begin with. The signature BitFenix SoftTouch gives the front a very desirable look. Moving around the case and the look starts to go from desirable to a bit cheap. There is just something about the vented areas for fans on the side panel and top that never quite sat right with me and left a bit of a budget taste in my mouth. If you ask me, the Outlaw is definitely a case that needs a windowed side-panel and unfortunately at this time, it does not look like one is not available to purchase for it.

The inverted motherboard tray could create some very eye-catching builds and knowing BitFenix’s reputation for offering windowed side panels to be purchased separately, I am quite surprised they did not do this with the Outlaw. The inverted motherboard may also cause some minor problems for users and while it won’t affect performance or hardware, it may not be as pleasing to look at. Most hardware is normally meant to go into a PC in a certain way, especially the GPU and PSU and with the motherboard being inverted, you may run into issues with this and any text on these components may no appear to be upside-down which may not be to everyone’s liking.  While there are of course ways around this, it is something to take notice of especially if you already have the components you wish to put inside the case.

Another thing that may set some users off from the Outlaw is the cable management options as there is no really room behind the motherboard tray to route cables and there are also no pass-thru holes to connect cables/wires to the bottom of the motherboard, instead you may have to route them across the front side of the motherboard itself which is not very favourable. While there is some cable management room, users will be forced to store and route their cables near the front drive bays which could cause some minor issues. Users may find they have too many cables bunched up in the one spot, or they may also find out their PSU cables are now no longer long enough to reach their destined areas thanks to the cable management and inverted motherboard.

The price is going to be another one of the better selling points for the BitFenix Outlaw. Coming in at around £45 it is not overly expensive and does offer decent value for the money once the minor issues have been taken into consideration. You will definitely be able to get your monies worth out of this case, especially if you are not overly concerned with the minor issues previously mentioned.

At the end of the day, the BitFenix Outlaw has a massive amount of potential but it just seems to fall short of delivering it and while it is still a good value for the money, some of its downfalls may be too big for some users to overlook.

I would like to thank BitFenix for sending the Outlaw in for review and look forward to maybe seeing an updated version of it, or whatever else they may come out with next.