BitFenix Pandora Review

Up Close:  Interior Overview, Front and Base

The side panels are tool free, being held in place by four small metal pegs which locate into the main chassis.  So smooth is the removal that before we saw the pegs we thought they were held on lightly by magnets.  As the side panels curve round anteriorly, removing them also exposes the gloss front of the case along with the ventilation holes which are otherwise masked from view.  Superficially at least the interior of the case looks more like a mid tower than one designed to take M-ATX or M-ITX boards, and at 420 high and 465mm deep it’s proportions aren’t that different from some mid towers able to take full size ATX boards. The narrowness of the case does mean that you’re not going to be fitting a hefty CPU tower cooler in there, in fact anything over 124mm is a non starter, which limits you in the main to low profile CPU coolers, or as is more likely AIO based water cooling systems.  The depth of the case does though enable it accommodate GPUs up to 350mm long even if the width does mean that you’re going to have to watch they don’t come in more than 120mm tall off the motherboard. 

    

 

As we would expect, there’s a good sized CPU cut out and good sized cable management holes, although bizarrely BitFenix have chosen not to include grommets on some of the bigger and more visible cable management holes.  In the front of the case we can also see the 120mm fan and the removable dust filter forward of it. 

     

 

The frame at the base of the case is able to house a 2.5″ drive on its side, making it visible through the case window.  It’s primary function however is to act as a cable management conduit, with the cables exiting the PSU underneath it and then being routed up through the grommeted holes.  This bracket is removable as we’ll see later.

     

 

We were very impressed by the level of support offered to the PSU.  In a time when we’re starting to see little more than a cursory slim rubber sticky pad it’s nice to see four decent sized feet firmly anchored to the case floor.  Any PSU up to 180mm can be used with the cable management frame in situ, with longer units accommodated if it is removed.