**2015's Best Cases: A Roundup of Enthusiast and High-End Enclosures**
As we head into 2015, the world of PC cases is more diverse than ever. From affordable aluminum using cases to high-end showpieces that are truly one-of-a-kind, there's something for every type of builder out there. In this article, we'll take a look at some of the best cases from the past year, covering everything from budget-friendly options to top-of-the-line enclosures.
**Affordable Aluminum Cases**
One of the most affordable aluminum using cases on the market is the Pandora by Bit Phoenix. Priced at $120 for the window version and $110 without the window, this case offers a great balance of price and features. It's not all aluminum, but it's a step in the right direction towards creating an affordable enclosure that still looks and feels premium. The Pandora by Bit Phoenix is definitely worth considering for anyone on a budget.
On the other end of the spectrum are cases like the Fractal Design Define R5, which offers support for ATX, Micro-ATX, and Mini-ITX motherboards. With its fable modu hard drive and optical drive cages, this case provides users with a high degree of flexibility when it comes to building their system. One of the standout features of the Define R5 is its ability to mount two SSDs in a concealed fashion, making it an ideal choice for builders who want to add extra storage without sacrificing too much space.
**Enthusiast Cases: A New Era of Innovation**
For those who are serious about building high-performance systems, there's no shortage of options when it comes to enthusiast cases. One of the most interesting newcomers from 2015 is the Thermaltake Core X9, which offers a unique approach to case design. With its horizontal-mounted motherboard trays and modular design, this case allows builders to customize their setup in ways that were previously impossible.
Another popular enthusiast case is the Thermaltake Core X2 and X1, both of which offer smaller, more affordable alternatives to the larger Core X9 model. While they may not have all the bells and whistles of the bigger brother, these cases still provide a high degree of flexibility and customization options for builders who want to create a truly unique system.
**The Art of Case Design**
For those who are willing to spend a little extra money, there's no shortage of amazing case designs that are as much a work of art as they are functional. One such example is the Deep Cool S-Frame, which is essentially a piece of art that just happens to be made out of aluminum and glass.
With its 50-pound design weight and price tag of $800, the S-Frame is definitely not for everyone. However, for those who want a truly unique and eye-catching case that's sure to turn heads, this may be the perfect option. The S-Frame's three-compartment shell cells are made out of steel and offer separate compartments for the motherboard, power supply, and video card – making it easier to build and maintain your system.
**The Trinity: A Triangular Enigma**
Last but certainly not least is the CyberPowerPC Trinity case, which is essentially a 50-pound piece of triangular-shaped hardware that's more than just a case. This unique design features three separate compartments for the motherboard, power supply, and video card – all of which are neatly routed through the center of the case.
Priced at $350, the Trinity is definitely an investment – but one that's sure to turn heads. With its futuristic design and emphasis on cable management, this case is perfect for builders who want a truly unique and high-end system that's unlike anything else out there.
**Conclusion**
As we look back on 2015's best cases, it's clear that the world of PC enclosures is more diverse than ever. From affordable aluminum using cases to high-end showpieces like the S-Frame and Trinity, there's something for every type of builder out there. Whether you're looking to build a budget-friendly system or a top-of-the-line enthusiast rig, these cases are sure to inspire – so be sure to check them out in more detail by clicking on the link in the description below.
**Recommended Cases:**
* Pandora by Bit Phoenix
* Fractal Design Define R5
* Thermaltake Core X9
* Thermaltake Core X2 and X1
* Deep Cool S-Frame
* CyberPowerPC Trinity
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey everyone this is Steve from Gamers nexus.net and we are looking at the best cases of 2015 this is a Roundup of all the gaming cases and enclosures I saw at CES 2015 these are brand new products that will be shipping soon or have just begun shipping recently and there's not quite as much in the mid-range Market this year as there was in the previous year there's been a shift in the market but we saw a lot of really cool budget cases and some pretty fancy high-end $800 cases that you probably won't be buying but they're pretty cool to look at very quickly all this content brought to you by cyberp power cyber Vapor gaming PC the first case we're looking at is silverstone's Raven rvz02 which is a brilliant innovation in many ITX cases we were huge fans of this one the Raven zo2 is a new version of The Raven Z1 very obvious there with the naming but it's actually smaller than previously it has zero case fans and instead it uses a slotted design in the acrylic Windows they are acrylic windows on the top and bottom on opposite sides so your side panels are actually mirrored you can install either side panel on either side and the reason that works is because this case is using a pcie riser card so you're you're plugging in a riser card to the PCI Express slot on the motherboard and the motherboard faces the right side and then the video card actually faces the left side so this exposes the video card's face plate to the outside of the case which given the focus on high quality and sort of artistic face plates lately with video cards this is a very cool thing in my opinion so you've got on one side exposed video card the other side exposed CPU Cooler and then you need a a high-end CPU Cooler that's lower than 60 mm in height in order to adequately cool the thing because it has no case fans uh but it is meant for Mini ITX and home theater use so if you're putting some 87 watt Intel CPU in there you'll be just fine with something like the ar06 CPU Cooler so that is the Raven zo2 pretty darn cool and it uses a completely toolless design for the uh optional slim optical drive silverstone's Raven zo2 will we priced at less than $85 they weren't 100% sure the final price but it will be less than $85 moving on to the next case in the budget range is corsair's 100r and 100r Silent Edition these two cases are very similar to the next Silverstone cases we're talking about because they both had the same idea at the same time the 100r is a $50 case and the 100r silent is a $60 case the only difference between the two being that the 100r silent Edition uses very thick foam padding in the deep side panel so that's sort of a big deal with this case is the side panel bezel is very deep allowing more cable management and allowing the foam if you get the silent Edition to be somewhat thick very few factories are able to stamp a bezel this deep without cracking the the side panel so uh only a couple case manufacturers actually make cases this way the 100r priced at $50 is capable of mounting two 140 mm front fans and 2 120 mm top fans allowing room for some growth but includes a single 120 mm rear exhaust fan so you'll probably want to throw a fan on there almost immediately if you buy this case I would suggest a 140 front fan to get some use out of that surface area but it's it's a very good starting point for Budget gaming systems and is sort of in the spirit of the 200r which is one of our most recommended budget cases from a few years ago silverstone's PS 11b probably not the most userfriendly name in the world uh is actually almost an identical case to the 100r and at CES Silverstone noted that they had this idea a while ago and they felt that it was very validating that a company as large as Corsair had a similar idea with their 100r so the PS 11b is effectively direct almost identical competition to the 100r it's priced strictly at $50 even the silent edition of the PS 111b and it uses the same type of side panel stamping it's a very deep bezel allowing for a lot of cable management allowing for thicker foam the only major difference is that the foam and the PS 11b isn't the same type of foam as in the 100 R silent Edition so that may be where that your $10 price difference kicks in moving on to the mid-range cases the best mid-range cases really are actually ones that came out at the very end of 2014 they snuck into 2014 but looking at two of the cases that were from last year first the bit Phoenix Pandora has come out now with a uh 2.4 in LCD on front of it the LCD is actually customizable by the user you can put your own logo in it you can put your face in it really you can put whatever you want as long as it fits in that 2.4 in LCD and it allows some customization of the case this is one of the most affordable aluminum using cases in this market it's not all aluminum I say it that way for a reason but it is the most affordable at $120 with the window or 110 without the window so that is the Pandora by bit Phoenix worth looking into doesn't support full ATX though the fractal Define R5 is able to mount ATX Micro ATX and Mini ITX so it supports all of the form factors that are really relevant to Gamers it has fley modu hard drive and optical drive cages so you can actually remove all of the optical and hard drive cages if you wanted to and then Mount Your ssds to the rear side of the motherboard which supports two ssds in a concealed fashion thermales core X9 came out alongside the core X2 and X1 at CES the X2 and X1 being smaller and cheaper the core X9 is priced at about $170 so really it's sort of in the Enthusiast side of things the core X9 uses horizontally mounted motherboards and then the rest of the trays and rails can be moved around or removed as you see fit so if you'd like to use one of these enclosures strictly for a liquid cooling setup and then pipe all the liquid down to a system below it where the motherboard rests you can do that because these systems will allow pass through if you stack them vertically using the magical powers of gravity you can run tubing from one to the other so that is the core X9 the X2 is a bit more affordable it's close to $120 and then the X1 is1 $ and those two are just smaller enclosures with more limited uh motherboard form factor support but they are definitely way easier to fit in your house all three of these cases are very wide so a lot of you probably won't have room to fit this sort of thing in a normal Computing space that you're used to so do keep that in mind it does require more square footage now for the best Enthusiast cases these are the most interesting ones by far n1's sbox at $300 is a somewhat affordable arguably piece of case art in wi's sbox uses an aluminum sheet a single sheet that's been bent a few times by hand by two employees using a press and then it has a big sheet of tempered glass covering the enclosure so that's some high quality glass that anyone is not afraid to use they used it with their D Frame last year and the sbox uses a single piece of aluminum so it gives sort of a a more pristine design appearance it's some practical to build in but you're definitely buying this more for the the artwork side of things than for practicality at this point especially at $300 deep cool and cyber power work together on this next one it is the Trinity and it's effectively eccentricity in case form it's a $350 50 lb uh Triforce like Star Wars Lambda shuttle thing so if you want a case that is very different this is probably something to consider it has three compartmentalized shell cells that are made of steel and they're in the sort effectively the bottom left bottom right and then top Center so it looks sort of like a triangle in effect and to that end the case installs the motherboard and power supply and video card all three in separate compartments so they are not in the same compartment together in a clever fashion deep cool and cyber power have routed all the cables through the center of the case and because of this pre- routing the wires are much easier to manage you just connect the power supply uh to the extension and then you connect the extension to the component in the receiving compartment in's s frame is $800 it is a showroom case it uses a single piece of aluminum folded 15 times by hand and with a press so it's a very expensive and timec consuming manufacturing process hence the price being passed on to the user but because of this it's a very unique looking and it's got a more handcrafted appearance to it the case does not include any fans that will will support them and the company recommends using all liquid cooling instead as it looks a bit better in a case like this again like the s box it uses a big tempered sheet of Glass on the left side panel so that is the S frame very worth looking into just for the fact that it's cool I wouldn't really recommend buying it from really even the people who can afford it but it's very cool and all of these cases are worth looking into for 2015 we will have more case roundups as the year progresses and more cases are launched we expect something from NZXT and expect more from Corsair in the future so that is the best cases of 2015 check the link in the description below for more information subscribe to the channel if you like this video and I will see you all next time peacehey everyone this is Steve from Gamers nexus.net and we are looking at the best cases of 2015 this is a Roundup of all the gaming cases and enclosures I saw at CES 2015 these are brand new products that will be shipping soon or have just begun shipping recently and there's not quite as much in the mid-range Market this year as there was in the previous year there's been a shift in the market but we saw a lot of really cool budget cases and some pretty fancy high-end $800 cases that you probably won't be buying but they're pretty cool to look at very quickly all this content brought to you by cyberp power cyber Vapor gaming PC the first case we're looking at is silverstone's Raven rvz02 which is a brilliant innovation in many ITX cases we were huge fans of this one the Raven zo2 is a new version of The Raven Z1 very obvious there with the naming but it's actually smaller than previously it has zero case fans and instead it uses a slotted design in the acrylic Windows they are acrylic windows on the top and bottom on opposite sides so your side panels are actually mirrored you can install either side panel on either side and the reason that works is because this case is using a pcie riser card so you're you're plugging in a riser card to the PCI Express slot on the motherboard and the motherboard faces the right side and then the video card actually faces the left side so this exposes the video card's face plate to the outside of the case which given the focus on high quality and sort of artistic face plates lately with video cards this is a very cool thing in my opinion so you've got on one side exposed video card the other side exposed CPU Cooler and then you need a a high-end CPU Cooler that's lower than 60 mm in height in order to adequately cool the thing because it has no case fans uh but it is meant for Mini ITX and home theater use so if you're putting some 87 watt Intel CPU in there you'll be just fine with something like the ar06 CPU Cooler so that is the Raven zo2 pretty darn cool and it uses a completely toolless design for the uh optional slim optical drive silverstone's Raven zo2 will we priced at less than $85 they weren't 100% sure the final price but it will be less than $85 moving on to the next case in the budget range is corsair's 100r and 100r Silent Edition these two cases are very similar to the next Silverstone cases we're talking about because they both had the same idea at the same time the 100r is a $50 case and the 100r silent is a $60 case the only difference between the two being that the 100r silent Edition uses very thick foam padding in the deep side panel so that's sort of a big deal with this case is the side panel bezel is very deep allowing more cable management and allowing the foam if you get the silent Edition to be somewhat thick very few factories are able to stamp a bezel this deep without cracking the the side panel so uh only a couple case manufacturers actually make cases this way the 100r priced at $50 is capable of mounting two 140 mm front fans and 2 120 mm top fans allowing room for some growth but includes a single 120 mm rear exhaust fan so you'll probably want to throw a fan on there almost immediately if you buy this case I would suggest a 140 front fan to get some use out of that surface area but it's it's a very good starting point for Budget gaming systems and is sort of in the spirit of the 200r which is one of our most recommended budget cases from a few years ago silverstone's PS 11b probably not the most userfriendly name in the world uh is actually almost an identical case to the 100r and at CES Silverstone noted that they had this idea a while ago and they felt that it was very validating that a company as large as Corsair had a similar idea with their 100r so the PS 11b is effectively direct almost identical competition to the 100r it's priced strictly at $50 even the silent edition of the PS 111b and it uses the same type of side panel stamping it's a very deep bezel allowing for a lot of cable management allowing for thicker foam the only major difference is that the foam and the PS 11b isn't the same type of foam as in the 100 R silent Edition so that may be where that your $10 price difference kicks in moving on to the mid-range cases the best mid-range cases really are actually ones that came out at the very end of 2014 they snuck into 2014 but looking at two of the cases that were from last year first the bit Phoenix Pandora has come out now with a uh 2.4 in LCD on front of it the LCD is actually customizable by the user you can put your own logo in it you can put your face in it really you can put whatever you want as long as it fits in that 2.4 in LCD and it allows some customization of the case this is one of the most affordable aluminum using cases in this market it's not all aluminum I say it that way for a reason but it is the most affordable at $120 with the window or 110 without the window so that is the Pandora by bit Phoenix worth looking into doesn't support full ATX though the fractal Define R5 is able to mount ATX Micro ATX and Mini ITX so it supports all of the form factors that are really relevant to Gamers it has fley modu hard drive and optical drive cages so you can actually remove all of the optical and hard drive cages if you wanted to and then Mount Your ssds to the rear side of the motherboard which supports two ssds in a concealed fashion thermales core X9 came out alongside the core X2 and X1 at CES the X2 and X1 being smaller and cheaper the core X9 is priced at about $170 so really it's sort of in the Enthusiast side of things the core X9 uses horizontally mounted motherboards and then the rest of the trays and rails can be moved around or removed as you see fit so if you'd like to use one of these enclosures strictly for a liquid cooling setup and then pipe all the liquid down to a system below it where the motherboard rests you can do that because these systems will allow pass through if you stack them vertically using the magical powers of gravity you can run tubing from one to the other so that is the core X9 the X2 is a bit more affordable it's close to $120 and then the X1 is1 $ and those two are just smaller enclosures with more limited uh motherboard form factor support but they are definitely way easier to fit in your house all three of these cases are very wide so a lot of you probably won't have room to fit this sort of thing in a normal Computing space that you're used to so do keep that in mind it does require more square footage now for the best Enthusiast cases these are the most interesting ones by far n1's sbox at $300 is a somewhat affordable arguably piece of case art in wi's sbox uses an aluminum sheet a single sheet that's been bent a few times by hand by two employees using a press and then it has a big sheet of tempered glass covering the enclosure so that's some high quality glass that anyone is not afraid to use they used it with their D Frame last year and the sbox uses a single piece of aluminum so it gives sort of a a more pristine design appearance it's some practical to build in but you're definitely buying this more for the the artwork side of things than for practicality at this point especially at $300 deep cool and cyber power work together on this next one it is the Trinity and it's effectively eccentricity in case form it's a $350 50 lb uh Triforce like Star Wars Lambda shuttle thing so if you want a case that is very different this is probably something to consider it has three compartmentalized shell cells that are made of steel and they're in the sort effectively the bottom left bottom right and then top Center so it looks sort of like a triangle in effect and to that end the case installs the motherboard and power supply and video card all three in separate compartments so they are not in the same compartment together in a clever fashion deep cool and cyber power have routed all the cables through the center of the case and because of this pre- routing the wires are much easier to manage you just connect the power supply uh to the extension and then you connect the extension to the component in the receiving compartment in's s frame is $800 it is a showroom case it uses a single piece of aluminum folded 15 times by hand and with a press so it's a very expensive and timec consuming manufacturing process hence the price being passed on to the user but because of this it's a very unique looking and it's got a more handcrafted appearance to it the case does not include any fans that will will support them and the company recommends using all liquid cooling instead as it looks a bit better in a case like this again like the s box it uses a big tempered sheet of Glass on the left side panel so that is the S frame very worth looking into just for the fact that it's cool I wouldn't really recommend buying it from really even the people who can afford it but it's very cool and all of these cases are worth looking into for 2015 we will have more case roundups as the year progresses and more cases are launched we expect something from NZXT and expect more from Corsair in the future so that is the best cases of 2015 check the link in the description below for more information subscribe to the channel if you like this video and I will see you all next time peace\n"
