Introduction

This month has just been full of cases from many manufacturers as of late in my list of things to review. It is now BitFenix's turn to step up to the plate with their latest mid-tower chassis concept. Being part of the "inner circle" at the BitFenix forums, I get to peek at these case designs long before they make it to reality, even as a concept. I don't remember the exact date, but I do remember this chassis being one of five or six other chassis that were concepts as well. With a vote from the "inner circle" to top cases by vote are taken to the next stages of development and this chassis just happens to be one of the inside winners long before the chassis ever made it into steel and plastic.

On their site, BitFenix lists what they want to deliver in this new chassis. They start off with the line "defeat system-crashing heat" which alludes to the trio of supplied Spectre 120mm fans, but there is an added feature that allows 200mm fans in the front as well as the top of the chassis to take the "system-crashing heat" out of the chassis even more efficiently.

Along with a long list of features in the middle of their mission statement, they end with something along the lines of delivering a chassis with top notch performance and quality with "unstoppable value". So, it seems we are in for a very feature rich mid-tower with a smoking hot price; at least that is my guess right now.

Today we are going to be looking at sleek and simple styling with a SofTouch front and top in the new Raider mid-tower chassis. Well, to be honest, not exactly new to those over the pond, but it is new to the US market. The sub-$100 solution, in both my eyes as well as those of BitFenix, does offer plenty of up to date "must haves". On top of that, they have made one of the most ingenious fixes. If I were to give you two native USB 3.0 ports, most users would be in trouble at this point. Instead of adapters, they wired a USB 2.0 connector right into the back of the 3.0 connector just to make life that much simpler! There is plenty more to see in the BitFenix Raider, so tag along as I rattle off the specifications and lay down the price, so we can get to the sleek looking chassis images.