BitFenix Ghost Case Review: Begging for the Premium Treatment
by Dustin Sklavos on November 10, 2012 12:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- bitfenix
- quiet
- ATX
Noise and Thermal Testing, Overclocked
Having been fairly underwhelmed with performance at stock settings, I experienced some trepidation when it came time to test the BitFenix Ghost under much more stressful circumstances. The essential problem is this: making tradeoffs for silence over performance mostly works out under more moderate loads, but high performance and/or overclocked hardware can stress the case's cooling enough to actually negate the sound dampening aspects of the design.
At the same time, I was also optimistic that the fans from be quiet! might acquit themselves better still under the overclocked settings.
There's no nice way to say it: without modified cooling, the BitFenix Ghost's thermal performance under our overclocked testbed is pretty poor. The Ghost needs additional airflow to get truly competitive thermals; the system didn't overheat the way Lian Li's PC-A55 did, but I'd still hesitate to call the thermals any more than "barely adequate" under this much stress.
Fan speeds tell the same story.
With all that in mind, the Ghost is at least successful in keeping noise levels down, but once again it's clear you really do need to add just the right amount of cooling to hit a sweet spot with this chassis design. Idle noise remains quite low, and adding some quiet fans can help bring load noise down substantially.
I'm of the opinion that while performance does improve noticeably with the door removed, the improvement isn't enough to make me suggest the case is being outright suffocated by keeping the door closed. It's a reduction in airflow to be sure, but not a catastrophic one. At the same time, it does negate the Ghost's primary reason for being: muffling noise.
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darkling - Saturday, November 10, 2012 - link
I sincerely wish that the dimensions were 8.7" x 11.6" x 13.9".Alexvrb - Saturday, November 10, 2012 - link
That's the second thing I look for in a case. First is motherboard form factor. So when I read ATX, and then saw the claimed dimensions in inches, I was a little peeved. Thankfully it seems the dimensions given in mm are much more believable.Dustin Sklavos - Saturday, November 10, 2012 - link
Argh, I knew I forgot to fix something. Fixed.Kepe - Saturday, November 10, 2012 - link
Thanks for all these great case reviews, Dustin!Might I suggest a look into slim HTPC cases? You know, cases one can put right next to their home theater amp in the TV stand, such as the Silverstone Milo ML03. Perhaps an article with many cases being compared to each other. I don't remember ever seeing a review about those cases on Anandtech. Anyways, thanks for all your great articles =)
sunflowerfly - Saturday, November 10, 2012 - link
If you know of one, please let me know! If you look at what companies are buying from Dell and HP, they are mostly small or slim computers that don't take up much desk space. But I can't seem to find quality cases to build my own. How are the mainstream markets and the builder markets that much out of step?Death666Angel - Sunday, November 11, 2012 - link
I can recommend the JCP-MI-102, that is a great, small mITX case with a PSU supplied. They have more very slim, small cases as well. :)sunflowerfly - Tuesday, November 13, 2012 - link
Looks like a nice case, but if asking for help should have added what i'm looking for. I really want a slim MicroATX case that can stand vertical on my desk behind my monitor. Nice enough to handle an i5 and mid range, low-profile graphics card. USB3 and optical drive on the front, internally an SSD, hard drive, and quality power supply. Quite and efficient cooling is a must. Seems simple, yet I can't find one.Howard - Saturday, November 10, 2012 - link
"As far as assembly goes, the Ghost is all but bulletproof"should be rewritten as
"As far as assembly goes, the Ghost is anything but bulletproof"
cjb110 - Saturday, November 10, 2012 - link
Don't think so, Dustin seems to be overall positive about the assembly. So its not quite bulletproof.Reading it your way, suggests the assembly was pretty bad, with lots of areas for bullets to get in :)
geforce912 - Saturday, November 10, 2012 - link
Dustin, i think you should review the Nanoxia Deep Silence 1, it is an amazing case and you would love it.