Raidmax Narwhal Review
Category : Cases
Published by Luca Rocchi on 21.07.15
The Narwhal is one of the latest mid-tower cases from Raidmax, which offers plenty of interior space in order to build gaming systems. Apart from that there are quite a few neat little features, like for example a dust filter bay and a reasonable price.
Rating |
| |
Cooling |
Features |
Layout |
Build Quality |
Value for Money |
| Pros |
+ Good
compatibility for watercooling
+ Numerous spots for
fans |
+ Dust filters |
+ Interior
space |
+ Good build quality |
+ Well priced |
| Cons |
- Molex header |
|
- No rubber grommets |
|
|
|
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Preview
Specifications
| Model: |
Narwhal |
| Case Type: |
Mid tower |
| Dimensions: |
240mm (W) x 507 mm (H) x 539 mm (D) |
| Material: |
Steel |
| Color: |
Gray |
| Drive Bay: |
5.25": |
4 |
| 3.5": |
3 |
| 2.5": |
3 |
| Expansion
slots: |
8 |
| Form factors: |
ATX, mATX, Mini-ITX |
| Cooling: |
Front: |
2x 120mm (1x included) |
| Rear: |
1x 120mm (included) |
| Top: |
2x 120/140mm |
| Bottom: |
1x 120mm |
| Side: |
/ |
| Link to the product: |
Raidmax Narwhal |
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Features
[pagebreak]
Product overview
Overview |
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|
| |
|
| The Raidmax Narwhal is a mid tower case
which is compatible with ATX form factor motherboards. Apart
from that there is also plenty of space for large CPU coolers. The entire top and front
are made of black plastic
material with few details painted in orange color. Both side panels are
solid, well finished and convex in order allow better cable managment. The left side panel
has been equipped with a plexiglass window that shows almost the entire
interior of the case.
The top features an I/O panel with two USB 3.0 ports, headphone and microphone jacks
as well as standard power and reset buttons. The rear panel is quite plain and has
all the features that you would expect from such a case, including a spot for a 120mm fan and the
motherboard I/O panel. In addition, the Narwhal comes with no less than eight expansion slots and
two rubber grommeted openings meant for liquid cooling tubes pass through. In the bottom part you
can find a place for an ATX power supply
as well as an additional fan spot. The bottom of the case is equipped with
four plastic feet that raise and stabilize this rigid case. |
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Installation
Overview |
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|
| |
On
the inside, the Narwhal offers a lot of space, which is mostly thanks to the fact
that this mid-tower PC case measures almost 50 cm in height. A quick look at the motherboard tray
shows that it features pre-soldered standoffs and the usual big
cut-out behind the socket which allows you to install aftermarket coolers without
the need of removing the motherboard from the case. Apart from that
there are additional holes for routing cables. What comes in handy
too is the fact that there is a lot of space between the motherboard tray and the right
side panel.
This is going to make cable management quite a bit easier.
The HDDs and ODDs can be fitted without any
issues, thanks to the used tool-less system. On the Raidmax Narwhal you can install up to three HDDs and three SSDs on black
plastic sledges.
For our test we installed an ATX motherboard with an all-in-one cooler from NZXT. As you can see from the pictures,
there is a lot of space inside and although the components use are not
small, they do appear so. |
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Ventilation options
Overview |
| |
| |
|
| From the cooling point of view, the Raidmax Narwhal is
quite impressive. Included in the bundle are two fans. Both fans, placed on
the rear and the front part, have been equipped with molex headers and measure
at 120x120x25mm. If this is not enough, there is the possibility to equip the top with two additional 120mm fans. Apart from that,
you can also add a 120mm spot in the bottom and another at the rear part. |
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Temperatures
Overview |
| |
| |
|
For testing purposes we're using an ASUS P8Z77-I ITX motherboard, an Intel Core i5-2500K CPU, which receives cooling through a be quiet! Dark Rock 3 cooler as well as a Club3D R9 290X royalAce graphics card. To put the CPU under full load, we're running prime95 for 10 min and in the case of the GPU we use Furmark also for 10 minutes. After these ten minutes, we're going to write down the temperatures. The ambient temperature is close to 27°C. |
|
All noise dampening panels installed |
Idle (°C) |
Full (°C) |
|
Intel Core i5-2500K |
37 / 36 / 38 / 39 |
63 / 62 / 61 / 63 |
| Club3D R9 290X royalAce |
41 |
82 |
|
Less is better |
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Conclusion
The Raidmax Narwhal is a mid-tower
PC, which comes at a very competitive price. Raidmax decided
to use plastic with matte finish, which is feels nice to touch.
The available interior space is adequate for a PC case compatible with ATX motherboards, with a good amount of HDD and SSD bays. In
addition, the PSU space is more than good since there is also enough space for high-end solutions that are usually longer than standard
160mm size.
There is a decent amount of features present on this case and the Raidmax signature on PCI-bracket and ODD slots look nice.
The price of the Raidmax Narwhal is about 69.99 euro on PC-Cooling.de. In our opinion, the price is appropriate to the quality and to the bundle of the product, since there are two 120mm fans with 4-pin molex header. Overall, this case is a good solution for those who want an entry-level product,
which makes it ideal for new gamers. The build quality is good but we would like to see a bigger window side panel, since there are quite a few things that could be improved we
give the Raidmax Narwhal
3.5 out of 5 stars.
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