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The Beta EVO comes packaged in a very plain cardboard box with no fancy images of any type just the basic product information.
Once removed from the package we have the Beta EVO with molded Styrofoam pieces fitted to the top and bottom of the case. The case itself is secured in a plastic bag to help prevent scratches to the exterior surfaces during shipping.
The lower portion of the front panel is made up of molded plastic material with vertical slots cut into it to assist with airflow. The power and reset buttons are located on either side of this area just below the 5.25” bays. The slotted area has mesh and a thin layer of foam rubber behind it to prevent dust from getting into the case. The upper half of the front panel consists of 4 removable 5.25” mesh bay covers.
The left side panel has two places to hold 120mm fans. These areas are perforated to allow ample air intake to assist cooling your GPU and other system add on cards. One thing we see missing from this setup are any form of dust filters. In order to keep costs down these little bonus features are often omitted.
The rear panel of the Beta EVO is quite basic. The layout is made for a bottom mounted PSU, which may help with cable routing. There are two liquid cooling punchouts which are protected by rubber and reside next to the expansion bays. On the top portion of the rear panel there is room for an optional 120mm exhaust fan as well as the cutout for the I/O shield.
The top panel of the Beta EVO presents a couple of different options as far as cooling goes. There is space for 2 x 140mm or 2 x 120mm fans. If water cooling we could place a dual rad setup there instead. Something simple like the pre assembled CoolIT ECO or the Corsair H50 would work well in the Beta EVO. The front part of the top panel has hookups for a headset, microphone, 2 USB 2.0 ports and an e-SATA port.
The bottom of the Beta EVO shown above is the only place that a dust filter makes an appearance, and after removing 4 screws it can be removed for cleaning. The PSU mounts on the bottom of this case and draws fresh air in so this filter will help reduce the amount of dust that gets sucked into the PSU.
Good review Steve, t he case looks decent, but that thermaltake reviewed here yesterday seems a better deal.
Shame they are using such thin metals on the chassis, I dont think id buy another case like this, I had one last year and it was poor. ill spend more this time and aim higher.
I quite like the shape, but the metal thinness puts me off. nice review
Well at least the hack on their server hasnt put them off sending out samples 🙂 Good review steve. bit surprised on the material thinness as other people said. I had a cheap antec chassis and I noticed the same issue when building the system, the flexing. I think id spend more money on a better chassis next time.
Seems an OK product, but the market is so competitive now. I cant see this selling wonderfully. Thermaltake and Silverstone have some great, low cost chassis out lately.
Anyone seen this available in europe?
People need to understand that when cases like this are released at such a budget, corners will be cost. its normally on materials – such as t his. seems a fine case for the price. would suit a young kid or someone on a tight budget.
I think id give this one a miss. looks ok, but think people need to spend more to get something decent. would be good for a second build. or testing rig/server at home.
I am not sure I like the looks of this,. the insides are good however, which would be more important at this price point.
I gotta be honest, I think this is a really ugly looking case. not much work went into the appearance.
@ Tri Color – what do you think is ugly? I had a good look at the pictures steve took and it looks fine to me. not sure I buy into the ridges at the top, but apart from that, it seems ok.
Its just a really ugly looking front fascia. the vented bits look out of place and the shape and posture of the overall design. Its not very pretty. I appreciate the cost but it would put me off buying it.
We were given price updates. You can get it for $60 from NZXT or as low as $45 @ Tiger Direct
Good review, great case! I used this case for my SLI build (2 x GTX260, AMD 955BE, 6gb DDR2, CoolerMaster Hyper212+) and I couldn’t be happier. True, the metal is a bit thin, but I’m not using the case to hold up my car when changing a flat, so it’s a non-issue. For the price (I paid US $29 after rebate plus free shipping), this case can’t be beat! It would be nice if they included more than the single front 120mm fan……