BitFenix Shogun Review

Up Close:  Interior

How many 3.5″ hard drive cages???  Well, four that you can see, and another two down at the bottom out of sight.  Honestly, you’d think they started developing this case in 2010 or something?  Actually, it’s not as bad as it looks, while we can’t imagine why you’d want that many 3.5″ drives in this day and age, they are at least removable.  Not easily removable, but removable none-the-less. 

  

 

And when we say not easily removable we mean it.  Take a look at how many thumb bolts you’ve got to undo to get these puppies out.  OK, so it’s not like you’re going to be hot swapping cages in a hurry, but it was a bit of a bind to get everything out of there.  Still, at least they’re not riveted in!

  

 

So what are the three padded shelf things?  Well, they’re exactly that, padded shelves.  And if you haven’t already guessed, they are in fact, designed to add support to extra long GPUs.  Again, they’re removable, with guess what…..Yup, Thumb bolts.  Three per shelf in fact, so that means by the time you’ve taken everything out, you’re going to be left with a pile of 18 thumb bolts.  Best put them somewhere safe!

  

 

Down at the base of the case there’s a panel that has mounts for 2xSSDs.  These are no ordinary mounts though as they are actually “SSD Chroma” modules, and, as the sticker indicates, they are certified by and compatible with ASUS AURA, the long and the short of which is that they can be used with a compatible AURA Motherboard and other AURA components and will light up accordingly over the full RGB spectrum.

 

Having gotten so used to the false floor PSU covers that are so prevalent these days, it seems quite odd to see a case of this price without one.  When you consider how BitFenix have made practically everything on this case removable it seems odd that they chose not to add a false floor that was removable. 

 

The rear of the case is fitted with a 120mm fan, but has slotted mounts for 120 or 140mm fans.  Other than that the rear is unremarkable.

  

 

Our first glimpse up into the roof shows that the Shogun appears to be more than ready for some radiator action, with slots for both 120mm and 140mm based units.