Phanteks Enthoo Primo Case Review
by Dustin Sklavos on August 10, 2013 12:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Water Cooling
- Phanteks
The Phanteks Enthoo Primo is, frankly, quite a case. At $249 it's definitely a luxury item, but I get the sense that Phanteks is following Corsair's lead in the enclosure market: start at the top and work your way down. You'll remember the Corsair 900D was warmly received, and the Phanteks Enthoo Primo is without a doubt going to earn a fairly healthy following.
Externally, this is definitely one of the more attractive cases I've tested. While I'm starting to feel a little bit of black box fatigue, there are clearly still ways to reinvent the wheel. There's a beautiful blue line of LEDs that lights up along the trim on the right side of the case when it's powered on, very subtle but very attractive, and if you don't like them you can just turn them off. Overall there's a lot of good geometry and fairly smart ventilation design.
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The internal design of the Enthoo Primo is a little trickier. I feel like Phanteks is on solid ground; the way the power supply bay is oriented and separated from the rest of the interior is smart, and there's plenty of space for routing cabling. The problem I think we run into is that the front intakes are somewhat obstructed, causing the Enthoo Primo to rely more on the bottom intake. That's not so bad, but the result is that the flow of air is a little awkward. The radiator plate is also a nice touch, but needed to be thought out just a bit better to accommodate the types of high end graphics cards that are likely to find their way into a case like this.
What are we left with? Excellent build quality, smart thermal-acoustic balance owing to the PWM-driven fan controller, good looks, esoteric design, and a high price tag. The Phanteks Enthoo Primo is a project case similar to the less expensive Corsair Carbide Air 540, but lends itself much more to watercooling. At the $249 price tag, you essentially place it as a less expensive alternative to the monstrous Corsair Obsidian 900D, and I think it compares very favorably in that respect. Unless you need fifteen hard drives, four graphics cards, and/or a dual-CPU motherboard, the Enthoo Primo is going to be a more ideal option.
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Bazooo - Saturday, August 10, 2013 - link
Great Justin. I can't believe you were already working on it when I wrote to you last week. Thanks a lot!nleksan - Saturday, August 10, 2013 - link
I have been waiting for a review of this case since the day it was announced. In fact, I've been holding off buying a customized CL TH10 specifically because I just love the innovative design of this new case!Honestly, I think this is perfect for users like myself who have outgrown their Switch 810 or similar case, but don't have the need for 4 or more 560 rads just yet. Price is right, and I see this very possibly (and rightfully) taking a lot of attention away from the (recycled/boring/overpriced/low-quality) Corsair 900D.
Too bad about the res mount, but that's what modding is for!
f0d - Saturday, August 10, 2013 - link
900D low quality? thats the first time i have ever heard that, its much higher quality than any other case i have ever seenits a fantanstic case - a little expensive maybe but it looks AWESOME and worth every cent i payed for it
f0d - Saturday, August 10, 2013 - link
while i like the CL cases also they are WAY too expensive in australia, i think the CHEAPEST one shipped is $800 (nobody sells them here - have to import your own) which is twice the price of a 900DInsanity133 - Friday, November 29, 2013 - link
Same here in New Zealand.KurtToni - Monday, August 12, 2013 - link
Love my job, since I've been bringing in $82h… I sit at home, music playing while I work in front of my new iMac that I got now that I'm making it online. (Home more information)http://goo.gl/mtEmF6
JohnVonWar - Saturday, May 28, 2016 - link
In comparison to a CL(CaseLabs) case, yes—any case made by Corsair is much, much lower quality. Caselabs makes very good, very customizable cases. Generally they require some additional aftermarket parts to truly shine, but the construction is unparalleled by nearly anyone except Thermaltake, who literally copied CaseLabs' designs...and maybe Inwin and a couple of others, but generally with a little more bang for buck. Very high buck though...they're expensive as hell.hero1 - Sunday, August 11, 2013 - link
You sir are just like me and I am going to grab this case as soon as it reaches Canadian shores and shove my system into it, that will be IB-E when it comes out with GTX 780 in SLIPyrokinetic - Saturday, August 10, 2013 - link
I love a large case, and while I like the Corsair 800D, I was not completely sold on it. This case though, is fabulous. Not too huge (Corsair 900D) and has a classic look with just a touch of style. Build quality looks great. I think I have finally found a case to replace my modded Cooler Master Stacker 810.techxx - Saturday, August 10, 2013 - link
Be nice to see more mini-ITX case reviews. Full ATX accounts for less than 5% of the tech enthusiast community now.