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The Survivor arrives in a large colour box with the name of the product and company logo on the side.
It is well protected between stryofoam pieces and encased in a clear plastic cover for protection against scuffing during shipping.
The bundle is extensive, with a variety of cable tidies, screws and mounting brackets. There is a well written, illustrated manual supplied to aid with the building phase.
We much prefer the appearance of this case when compared with their earlier Colossus case. It is a more subtle refined design with attractive curved edges on all corners. Behind the plastic shell is a black painted steel interior that is very well made.
Behind the grille, there is a 200mm intake fan. You can remove this fan if you wish and add two 120mm fans, they have also included a dust filter to keep the insides clean. There is another 200mm fan inside, which we will look at later.
The roof section hides buttons and connectivity behind a movable panel. There are button for power, reset and lighting controls for the two 200mm fans and the Bitfenix logo. There are also eSATA ports alongside two USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 ports. Headset and microphone connectors are also available here. The movable plate wasn't such a smooth mechanism however and would sometimes stick.
A rather cool addition is an integrated handle which is positioned above the top 200mm exhaust fan and it folds back into place when not needed. Ideal for carting the case to LAN parties. It looks rather flimsy, but it is rated to support up to 40KG of weight, more than enough for a full system build, even with the heaviest components in place.
Both side panels are plain and I found them easily marked with fingerprints, due to the kind of material used. In fact, I was cleaning this case with a cloth many times before taking these pictures. The rear offers a nice layout, with two holes cut into the top for watercooling. The rear also has space for an 80mm or 120mm fan, although one is not supplied, which is an unusual omission. Even with a 200mm fan at the top, an exhaust fan at the rear is quite an important addition.
Underneath the case, is a dust filtered hole to aid with power supply cooling. This is removable for easy cleaning.
Never really liked their products, the design is just over the top and doesnt appeal to me. they are overlooking the basics and jumping into new territories before they have the basics covered.
They use some weird looking materials. what is it again? SECC, ABS I think I read.
I like the shape of this one, but id like silverstone to build it. :p
Sorry, ill stick with my Lian Li. but i like the fact they are diong things differentely. Price isn’t too bad, but its still fairly costly, almost 100 quid.
HUGE step up from the Colossus. I think that was one of the most ugly things ive ever seen. I agree with the review, they need to focus on fans, positionings, cooling. and basics. then working ou the cool ideas later.
The review is a little harsh. ok the fan omission and screws at the back is a bad idea, but it looks very different and I think they deserve a little credit for trying to be different in such a populated marketplace.
Its not bad looking, the material doesnt appeal to me, its rather rough looking, like a cheap car part.
Id rather get a silverstone or even an Antec DF85. but as others have said, id like to see them hang around and try more ideas. the third one is normally the killer.
Nah, bad design all round, sorry not for me. read about this elsewhere. some of their thinking makes no sense.
Its a different idea, but that rear mounted panel seems so stupid. why have it screwed in when many people need to get inside? negates the thumbscrews idea.