Assembly

Installing the motherboard is done with the use of traditional spacers that are screwed into the tray of the chassis. As you can see, an ATX board looks minuscule within the case and you should have no issues placing XL-ATX in it, along with long graphics cards and the biggest CPU cooler you can find.


The hard drive trays look quite similar to those used in the Colossus. You will not require any tools to place a 3.5 inch drive in there, while 2.5 inch ones like an SSD have to be held in place with some of the provided screws.


Sliding the trays back into the chassis is quite easy. Unfortunately, the problem of lose trays still exists even in the Shinobi XL. All trays which are empty have a lot of play and even the one filled with a 2.5 inch drive still wiggles just as much. While this is not a huge issue, as you can simply remove all the empty trays and secure the ones filled with 3.5 inch hard drives with a normal case screw, the ones filled with an SSD are left unsecured.


Installing the ODD is quite simple as well, especially as you can easily push out the top-most cover from the inside without having to remove the entire cover. Perfect for all of those just installing a single external unit. Once free, simply slide it in place and push both locks down. With the drive in place, there is still about 1-2 mm of play, so you better use one or two of the provided screws to pin the drive down securely, to avoid any vibrations emitting from this area.


Inserting the PSU is done by traditional means, just put it in place and use the black screws to keep it where it is supposed to be. Due to the size of the chassis, you should be able to install even really long units, unless a 240 mm radiator or fans have been placed on the floor of the chassis.


Once everything is installed, the BitFenix Shinobi XL still makes a great impression. Plenty of space and excellent cable management should allow for things to be nice and clean. The I/O cables are extremely long, which is definitely better than too short, but you will have to invest a few minutes extra to get things clean behind the motherboard tray as well.

Finished Looks

Once the side panels are back in place, there is really no way of knowing if the system is up and running unless you can see the LEDs on top or hear the internal components. Two blue LEDs - one for power and one for HDD access can be found in the top panel of the Shinobi XL. The fans are nice and quiet, thanks to the fact that these are retail Spectre units.


Taking a look at the front, the optical drive lines up nicely with the rest of the design, while all the components are easily accessible in the rear of the chassis - just as you would expect from such a roomy chassis.