A Closer Look - Outside

At first sight, there is not a lot that makes you think of a Shogun warrior when looking at the chassis. On the contrary - the unit looks quite simple and clean, with a fairly unique mix of round, soft corners and straight lines. A Shogun warrior's armor usually has quite a lot of menacing details you simply won't find on the chassis anywhere. So it seems Bitfenix just picked a name that fits the scheme of its previous enclosures, like the Shinobi or Ronin. In terms of construction quality, the Shogun is really good, with solid use of aluminum on the top and bottom, for example. However, the front is unfortunately made out of plastic.


The design element in the front combines straight lines on the horizontal edges with very soft vertical bends. This gives the chassis a bit of bulk to mimic the shape you see on the top and bottom. In the rear, Bitfenix did not simply give you the usual chassis layout, but has also wrapped it in a similar panel, which completes the chassis' overall look nicely.


Looking at the sides, both of them feature glass panels with quite the unique shape, which - quite frankly - really saves the chassis' overall design. Without this edgy component, the Shogun would be way too round in appearance. The tint of the panels is actually nearly perfect as it shows enough of the interior for your hardware to be shown off easily.


Taking a closer look at the front, you will find the Bitenix logo on the very bottom. In the top, there seems to be a drive bay, but the design is misleading as it just serves as a bit of a visual element without any actual functionality.


You may pull the entire front off to reveal the two pre-installed 120 mm intake fans and the possibility to add a third in the very top. I cut myself while handling the front as Bitfenix uses metal mesh elements with pretty jagged edges. These should have been folded inward - but I am being a bit picky at this point.


In the rear, the bottom PSU bay is quite traditional, with two sets of mounting holes to make sure you can place the unit within the Shogun any way you like. Above that are the seven motherboard expansion slots with reusable metal mesh covers. Bitfenix has chosen to eliminate any grommet-covered openings next to these, which is a perfectly fine cost-saving measure as nobody really uses such openings anymore. In the very top, you will find a third 120 mm fan set to push hot air out the back. Thanks to the elongated mounting holes, you may adjust its height to best align it with your motherboard's CPU socket area. You could also opt for a 140 mm unit.


Bitfenix placed the I/O at the top edge of the front. Its design has it attached to the front of the steel frame instead of being a part of the front panel, which is great. You will find all the usual connectors here, including audio in and out, two USB 2.0, two USB 3.0, and the power and reset buttons. Another button next to the reset one allows you to cycle through the various colors of the embedded and/or installed LED strips. While this is very nice, the button looks just like the reset one next to it, and I can see people pressing the wrong one when trying to show the illumination options off to their friends. On the bottom is a dust filter that protects all the openings from dirt and grime. It may simply be pulled out through the back without the need to tip the chassis over.