Bitfenix Pandora Core mATX Case Silver Window 2X2.5IN 2X3.5IN No PS Top USB3.0 Audio

Comment:
So overall I like the Pandora but it's not the perfect case I was hoping for. I wanted a new mATX case since I recently upgraded my HTPC (in a Silverstone SG03) with a more up-to-date board and CPU. I then had the old board (a C2D-based build) ready to go into another case to be repurposed as a general-use PC. Thus I ended up selecting the Pandora for it. After getting it and using it I'm not sure if I shouldn't have gotten a blue Prodigy-M instead but I thought the Prodigy isn't exactly small and this was over $30 cheaper and had a window, so I went with it.Starting with the good, I love the design. Also having a 1st-gen (all-alum) SG03, I really do like the brushed metal these type of cases have. The curved panels also give this case a unique appearance apart from cases which are either boxy or look like Transformers. Of all the cases I have/have had, this is the first one with a Window which pushed me towards it over the Prodigy-M. I'll need to get some sleeved cables and LEDs or CCFLs to really do it justice though. The "SSD showcase" through the window is a very nice touch though I wish the SSD mount were simpler--really are screws needed here? The top two parts where you screw it in could just as easily have been made to press/friction fit the SSD into instead of having screws. Also the window makes the Intel SSD I'm using with this system at the moment look real plain--I might have to swap it out with something with a flashier label!I noticed NCIX has the HC review posted which complains about the side panel removal/installation. I could not disagree more. Not only are the panels easy to remove, I had no issues whatsoever putting them back on--a gentle press causes the balls to seat without issues. Not sure what the belly-aching was about there or if they changed the design or what but it's no problem to open/close the case. Support for a 240mm radiator is welcome and the case definitely has modern accomodations all around. Now on to the nitpicks...The case is what I personally consider on the large size for an mATX case considering what it [doesn't] have. There's no ODD provisions, not even for a slim/vertical drive. I get that "nobody uses ODDs" anymore, but still for the size of the case you think they might manage it. Don't get me wrong it's not huge and the case *is* slim/narrow, but OTOH it's pretty tall (towers over my SG03) and long. This is partially due to the PSU locating which is good and bad. Good cause you still have a full size PSU and it doesn't limit [air] CPU cooler height at all; bad, cause it makes the case that much taller. Then there's the "extra slot" which I'm not sure is really required (it would only matter if you were using a dual-slot GPU in the last slot like SLI or Xfire) and the case feet...it all adds up. One little issue I had was the cooler I have on my CPU is a low profile cooler, fairly large laterally, and it hits the top 120mm fan meaning the fan can't spin without hitting it. This can be solved with a couple washers under the fan (and the fan won't hit the top cover) but the problem is the supplied screws are then not long enough--argh! So will have to get longer screws if I want to use that fan. (Also one of the spring latches for the top grille was broken on mine, I removed it and hopefully BitFenix can send me another one.)That brings me to my note of the case being tall. I mean it's so tall as it is, they might as well just made it *another* 50mm taller, and then let you have a top rad too. And I'm not being sarcastic, I'm serious. Might as well, it's not like they were really trying to keep the size down and extra height would not detract from the design. To heck with that top HDD mount too, either make it fan/rad replaceable or forget it altogether. If we have no ODD, why do we need another HDD space? The slots secure with thumbscrews but as with most cases these are tightened so hard from the factory that you can't undo them by hand, you have to use the included allen wrench to do so. However once you've done that you can use them as thumbscrews and not worry about tightening them to kingdom come with the allen wrench thereafter. Downside is the screws are tough to use by hand because there's so little room due to the rear alum part. You can either decide to remove that whole thing for easier access or just stick to the allen key or just bear with getting your fingers in there. And a note about the rear alum part, it's fairly sharp edged; it has hoops that one might think to handle the case by, but I wouldn't recommend that.Cable management is a little bit restricted due to the lack of space behind the motherboard-side panel and the case side panel. They could have made some deeper indents or something. Also in other cases where you see rubber grommets, here you just have two and no other ones--a little weird.That might sound like a lot of nitpicks but really that's all they are--nitpicks. There's nothing grossly wrong about the case and it is fairly impressive and satisfying overall.That concludes my review but the last thing I want to talk about is the ICON display the case can be had with ("Core" versions like this one do NOT have the display). It's a really neat feature but with this version on sale (and cheaper on sale than the version without the window) it made the ICON version over $50 more. I did not get that version of the case because when I looked into what it could do the answer to that was, well, not much. All it does is display a single static image at 4:3 ratio and has to be manually changed. If anyone from BitFenix reads these reviews, I have a much better idea. Instead of having it 4:3, make it 1:1. Instead of 240x320 make it 320x320 or even 300x300. Then...make it DO SOME STUFF! There's so many things you can do with this. Clock display for one--with a choice of analog or digital clock faces. Pop-up alerts that show you things like new mail or twitter/facebook pushes, etc. PC status--like CPU load and/or core temperature. Another idea would be to have it show album art from your music player. With a plugin or script for MediaMonkey, etc. and a square resolution this would work great. Then you'd see album art on the little display. Sure you might have that on your monitor but it's nice for when just listening to music and not having the screen on. I was hoping that maybe someone made an app/program/interface for this display to do something but found nothing online. Just seems like the display idea has SO much potential but sadly they didn't really do much with it. Just kinda slapped it in there and upped the price by $50. If it did some cool stuff I'd probably have paid the extra for it, but in its current state I just can't justify spending about 60% more than the cost of the case for it.

Comment:
Well, I think I said it all in the pros and cons. Maybe consider resleeving cables if you want to do perfect cable management, as pre-sleeved cables have a lot of trouble passing between the motherboard tray and the side panel, resulting in a not-so reassuring bend in the panel.Expansion cards are installed with an hex key system, which might not be the best (but that's my personal preference).