A Closer Look - Inside

To gain access to the inside, you have to remove a pair of thumb screws on each side panel. Our preview unit did not come with any screws at all and the panels really held in place very well, requiring a considerable amount of force to remove. The retail cases will have thumb screws and easily removable covers. As you can see, the interior is all black and BitFenix has kept things rather simple at first sight, but you should be able to install long graphics cards, so even those who plan to use a multi-GPU gaming rig will be well served with the Shinobi. Turning the case over, there is a very big opening in the mainboard tray, so you should have unrestricted access to any cooler backplates. On top of that, the case has a suprising amount of space below the tray, allowing you to easily route cables here. I hope that we will get a hold of a retail version soon, as I really want to fill it with hardware and see how clean it will look in the end.


BitFenix has chosen to do an eight to three configuraton in terms of internal and external drive bays. This means that the Shinobi can hold a whooping eight hard drives - more than most mid tower cases, but at the cost of an external 3.5 and 5.25 inch bay. There are only three of the 5.25 inch bays, but this should suffice for most scenarios. All drive bays feature screw less systems. The HDD bays have plastic locks with metal pins to hold the drives in place on both sides. These should be fine for most users, but if you do choose to use traditional screws, you have to sacrifice the entire locking mechanism, as all four screw holes on each side are used by the lock. If you want to keep the cool look of the system, you still have the choice to take off the ones facing the other side and install a few screws there. A 120 mm intake fan has been placed on the very bottom and cools four hard drives directly, but you may install an additional unit right above that. Things are better solved with the 5.25 inch bays, as these locks still allow you to use screws if you plan on moving the system often.


Turning our focus to the rear, we have the afore mentioned PSU bay on the bottom. Four foam pads are intended to stop any vibration from passing to the case structure. Above that are the seven standard mainboard expansion bays. Each cover is held in place by a thumb screw - a refreshing sight, as there are plenty of manufactures who opt for the cheap plastic locks in this area instead. The 120 mm pre-installed fan pushes air out the back and comes with a 3-pin mainboard header. As this is an actual retail fan which you can buy, it comes with all-black cables, which is good to see in an all-black case.


Additional vents for fans can be found in the ceiling and in the flooring. Along with the one in front and side of this case, you may install an additional five cooling units within the Shinobi. This should be more than enough for any user, no matter what parts are installed into the case. All intake areas in the floor also have the same simple but effective dust filter on them.


Even the I/O and case cables are black, which means that there is not a single colored wire present to disturb the all-black interior - a nice little touch. None of the connectors are anything out of the ordinary, so you should have no trouble getting everything hooked up to the mainboard of your choice.