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Opening the case seems straightforward, as there are a total of four thumbscrews to remove – two on either panel at the rear.
Unfortunately, BitFenix have bizarrely screw mounted two rubber panels on the top and bottom of the case.
Both of these need to be removed before either side panel door can be removed for the system build. We are all for innovative design ideas, but this just seems over complicated and totally unnecessary.
The insides of the case are painted black and it is well constructed and organised. There isn't a massive amount of working space, but we found it relatively easy to build a performance system inside.
The flipside offers a lot of cut positions for routing cabling and we like the oversized cutout for CPU cooler backplate mounting. There is also a nice 2cm position to hide even a thick 24 pin ATX power cable. The motherboard tray also offers a wide array of hooks on the back, which allows for easy cable threading ties. There are plenty of regular cable ties supplied to help with the build.
The bottom of the case is filtered for a PSU, this is removable from the outside for easy cleaning.
The expansion slots are mounted with thumbscrews. We like the fact the covers can be refitted later without any hassles. A very clean design indeed.
At the top, there is another 200mm fan, which acts as an exhaust unit. Sadly there is no fan at the rear, but a 120mm unit can be added easily enough if you wish to improve the cooling proficiency.
The Survivor offers four 5.25 inch drive bays, with one offering a 5.25 to 3.5 inch adapter. There are also six 3.5 drive bays split between two cage systems. The upper cage can be removed to make room for a larger graphics card. When removed, the space increases from 293mm to 423mm, allowing even the longest graphics cards breathing space. The 3.5 drive bay mounts are stronger than the early versions we used in the Colossus, which is just as well as several of them broke with even moderate handling.
The lower cage is riveted into the chassis so the front mounted fan won't get a perfect backwards flow. Both cages offer three 3.5 inch mounts via removable drive trays that include rubber vibration dampening fittings.
Behind the motherboard tray is a rather unusual multi pin PCB, which is similar in design to the front panel connector on the motherboard. This connector controls the lighting of the front logo and case fan LEDs and it also allows other LED fans to be connected into the case, with full control over their lighting also. Bitfenix are releasing Spectre Fans which will be compatible with this system, as they are home to a long 2 pin connector for the LED control. It is an unusual idea, but we like the fact they are trying new things.
There is a cut down version of this case available, called the ‘Core' version which removes the LED control PCB, USB 3 ports and 200mm roof fan.
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.