Enermax StarryKnight SK30 V2 Mid-Tower Chassis Review

TweakTown's Rating: 91%

The Bottom Line

The changes made to the StarryKnight SK30 V2 made me appreciate the way Enermax tries to better itself by constructively taking criticism. Well done, Enermax! The SK30 V2 is a solid value contender that punches much higher above its weight.

Pros

• + Four included SquA RGB PWM fans (3x 140mm and 1x 120mm)
• + Stellar price point of $99.99
• + Very quiet under load
• + Excellent thermals

Cons

• - The PSU dust filter is flimsy
• - PCIe slots are still cumbersome
• - Vertical GPU mounting too close to tempered glass
• - Not a lot of cable management tie-down points

Should you buy it?

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Introduction

Today, we have a familiar ATX case from Enermax that I critiqued a while back for not having things like rubber grommets, PCIe slot covers, and PWM fans. Since these changes were easy to make, Enermax has responded with the StarryKnight SK30 V2, which they sent over for me to take a look at. Let's dig in.

ENERMAX LIQMAX III 360 ARGB AIO CPU Liquid Cooler

	Today	Yesterday	7 days ago	30 days ago
	$89.99	$89.99	$89.99	$89.99	Buy
	$116.20	$116.20	$123.01	$128.49	Buy
* Prices last scanned on 4/26/2024 at 9:22 pm CDT - prices may not be accurate, click links above for the latest price. We may earn an affiliate commission.

Packaging

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Enermax has packaged the StarryKnight SK30 V2 pretty much the same as any other of its cases, in a plain brown cardboard box with a product image on the outside. The model we received was the ECA-SK30-BB-ARGB-02.

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The backside of the cardboard box shows the product image, but it is blown out, showing the individual pieces.

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On the left side are the specifications for the StarryKnight SK30 V2.

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Taking the SK30 V20 from its cardboard coffin reveals another familiar sight: two white hard foam end pieces and a clear plastic bag. It's pretty basic packaging since one of the foam pieces arrived cracked.

Outside the Enermax SK30 StarryKnight V2 ATX Case

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Removing all the packing materials shows yet another familiar sight, which, from the outside, looks identical to its predecessor.

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The front of the SK30 V2 remains unchanged, and for good reason. It is completely meshed out and provides excellent airflow; there is no reason to change it.

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The rear section of the SK30 V2 is very similarly configured to the V1 version but with PCIe slot covers and a slightly different vertical GPU bracket that still has me pondering why there are so many screws and so overengineered. Support for a 120mm fan in the rear, with the last of the fans included. The rear 120mm fan model number is UCSQARGBA12P-SK with an RPM range of 500 to 1,200 RPM running on 12V with .08a.

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The top of the SK30 V2 is unchanged from the V1 version. It supports up to a 360mm radiator or three 120mm fans. 140mm fan support is limited to two fans or a 280mm radiator. Not pictured here, Enermax has included a magnetic dust filter, which is a nice thought, but an intake dust filter in the front would have been more useful.

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The bottom of the SK30 V2 is the same as before, but with very small rubber feet; these should have been much larger. The skimpy PSU dust filter is also still present, which will do the job but will be a pain to reinstall. Also, the underside shows two screws to allow the removal of the single 3.5" HDD drive cage.

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The top I/O consists of a power button, LED button, two activity lights, a single USB 3.0 Type-A port, separate 3.5mm mic and headphone jacks, another USB 3.0 Type-A port, and lastly, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port, which is an upgrade over the last version of the SK30.

Inside the Enermax SK30 StarryKnight V2 ATX Case

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Upgraded fans are one of the key points I made from my review of the SK30 V1, this time with PWM control. Model number UCSQARGBA14P-SK is rated for .14a on 12V, with the RPM ranging from 500 to 1,000. One thing, however, was that the front three 140mm fans were installed with the cables on the top, which I had to flip around to allow for cleaner cable management. Possible some oversight upon assembly. Support in the front for another 360mm or 280mm radiator is possible, depending on radiator thickness, up to 38mm total.

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Enermax also took our criticism and added four rubber cable grommets, which seems to improve the overall presentation. Storage options remain the same as they did before, with two 2.5" drive sleds on the backside of the motherboard tray with two additional 3.5" HDD or 2.5" HDD drives supported in the basement with the PSU.

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Enermax has managed to pay attention to detail here with all blacked-out cables, unlike the SK30 V1, which had hideous mustard and ketchup HD audio wires.

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The included fan controller, which also does aRGB duty, is new for the SK30 V2, as the V1 version only controlled RGB lighting for the four included fans. This upgraded fan/RGB controller can control up to six fans with aRGB lighting via a single SATA power cable and a 3-pin aRGB header on the motherboard or via its LED button on the top I/O.

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Two PCIe slot covers, rubber drive bumpers, various screws, zip ties, two velcro straps, and the user's manual are included with the SK30 V2.

Test System, Installation, and Finished Product

• Motherboard: B650 AORUS Elite AX (AMD B650) - Buy from Amazon
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7700X - Buy from Amazon
• Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 360 - Buy from Amazon
• Memory: Patriot Viper Venom 32GB DDR5 5600 RGB - Buy from Amazon
• Graphics Card: NVIDIA RTX 3090 Founders Edition - Buy from Amazon
• Storage: Corsair MP600 PRO XT Gen4 PCIe x4 NVMe M.2 SSD - Buy from Amazon
• Case: Enermax SK30 StarryKnight V2
• Power Supply: be quiet! Straight Power 12 1000w ATX 3.0 PSU - Buy from Amazon
• OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 64-bit Build 22621 - Buy from Amazon
• Software: AIDA64 Engineer v7.20.6800, CPU-z 2.09.0 x64. GPU-Z 2.57.0, and HWiNFO64 v7.63-5205

Final Thoughts

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So, there are a few things we have to address. First, Enermax likely used the same tooling for the V2 as the V1. I am sure of it. But for my life, I don't understand why the vertical GPU bracket has to be this hard to implement. Again, you must have at least SIX screws to be removed to install a discrete GPU.

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Then after you remove the six screws, you must remove the breakaway PCIe slot covers that Enermax didn't remove before packaging. Thankfully, Enermax did, however, include two additional PCIe slot covers in the accessory box.

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The build went well in the SK30 V2, and it was a more positive experience than in the V1 version. Cable management is somewhat weak, but rubber grommets hiding the cables from view from the inside of the SK30 V2 meant I could be a little sloppy with it. The new fan/aRGB controller helps keep much of the cabling on the backside, which again helps.

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Let's talk about performance, installing the normal ATX testing hardware, which consists of An AMD Ryzen 7 7700X with vcore limited to 1.128v running at the standard frequency of 4.5GHz on a B650 AORUS Elite AX motherboard. For memory, Patriot Viper at DDR5-5600M/T sticks work nicely. The GPU is the NVIDIA RTX 3090 FE, running at stock clocks and power limits. The Enermax StarryKnight SK30 V2 did well in terms of total system cooling, mostly due to the 140mm triple fan array originally mounted in the front fan location. I mounted the Arctic Freezer II 360mm AIO in the roof mounting location, which was a very tight fit.

The AMD Ryzen 7700X CPU only rose to an average temperature of 59.2C, while the GPU, the NVIDIA RTX 3090 FE, averaged only 64.6C while maintaining an average frequency of over 1.9GHz boost clocks. Noise levels were incredible, and the system was not audible, even at full tilt.

All testing was completed using Aida64 Engineer's System Stability Test version v7.20.6800 for over 15 hours; the ambient temperature was 18C. Other monitoring software used was HWiNFO64 v7.72-5355, TechPowerUp GPU-Z v2.57.0, and CPU-Z 2.09.0.x64.

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In closing, is the Enermax StarryKnight SK30 V2 an improvement over the original? Absolutely. I was hard on the SK30 V2 for the right reasons. Enermax took my criticism in that review and made it better, which I respect. That review stated that the SK30 lacked rubber cable grommets, which are now added and hated on the MOLEX fan connections, which now all are PWM. I complained about the breakaway PCIe slot covers; for the most part, those were replaced with actual screw-in PCIe slot covers.

Then, the price, which I said was the V1 with all those issues, would have indicated a sub $60 ATX case. Now, the V2, priced at $99.99, currently on sale for $84.99 on Newegg, makes for a much better price proposition to the consumer.