Phanteks Enthoo Pro Advice

[Guest]

I searched the forums and couldn't find a previous thread to this topic, but if I missed it please link me to it so I don't create a double. I'm debating swapping out my current case (NZXT H440) to the Phanteks Enthoo Pro, more specifically the titanium green edition. I've read reviews and comments on Newegg and Youtube, but wanted to reach out to this community for any insight from those who currently own this case or have owned it in the past. I'm trying to get as much info as possible about it before purchasing. The good, the bad and everything in between is welcome. I provided a link to the case if others more experienced than me wanted to give their comments as well.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811854018

 

My needs currently are simple: a 360mm radiator cooling my CPU and a 120mm radiator attached to my GPU with some case fans. Nothing extreme on the water cooling end. But I like the amount of room to expand and work in, and the fact that it still has room for optical drives which I still find myself using. This case seems to hit everything I'm looking for, but I've been fooled before by pictures and over-hyped comments.

 

Thoughts?

[Morgan MLGman]

My flatmate has the Enthoo Pro. I put my dad's build in a H440. I wouldn't swap the H440 for the Enthoo pro even if they offered me it for free

It feels like a different class of a case tbh.

[Guest]

Just now, Morgan MLGman said:

My flatmate has the Enthoo Pro. I put my dad's build in a H440. I wouldn't swap the H440 for the Enthoo pro even if they offered me it for free

It feels like a different class of a case tbh.

Can you expand on that? What exactly don't you like? From what I've read, it's a pretty decent buy but I might be missing something.

[Whorax]

I actually made the switch from an Enthoo Pro to the H440. I regret it 100% and there's about nothing I'm happy about with the H440 over the Enthoo Pro.

 

I'll edit this with my reasons here in a few minutes. Gimme a bit.

Complaint 1 with the H440: I had/have a H100i GTX AiO (240mm) and I really had to finagle the thing into the H440 to get it to fit. It also wouldn't fit in a pull config with the H100i, so I had to swap it around to push. The main thing with this issue was the HDD cover on the side of the case. Really made it a bitch to install the AiO. There's not a shot in Hell I'd ever bother with trying to put a bigger rad in there.

2: This is an obvious one. Temps skyrocket in the H440 compared to the Enthoo Pro. I knew that when making the switch though so I won't fault the case for this.

3: What I will fault the case for is being possibly louder and worse at quieting my parts than my Enthoo Pro was. In my experiences the Enthoo Pro was better at being quiet and cool than the H440, where being quiet was a main priority.

4: I don't think the window is very high quality. At least on my model. It scratched while I was transporting my setup from home to my apartment at school. I was my no means rough with the case as I put it back in it's original packing with tons of the bubble packing that comes with most electronics.

5: Lining up the side panels when you're putting them back on after building/opening your case post build is terrible imo. There are tons of little slits on the frame of the case where you're supposed to align hook like things on the panels to get the panels back on. This design idea wouldn't be/isn't a problem until you have your share of cables packed in behind your motherboard area. It makes it incredibly difficult to reattach the rear side panel. I also wouldn't say it's a shitty cable management job on my part either; I think my cable management isn't too bad.

 

What I like about the H440:

1: I like the rear AiO light. Makes it a bit easier to find what ports you need to plug into.

2: I like the SSD mounting brackets that are on the PSU cover/under the GPU. They're nice if you have a cool SSD you wanna show off (I only have a Crucial MX100 though, so there's no point in showing that off).

3: I like that there's no optical drive bays. I never use them anymore and they're an eyesore to anyone not using optical drives.

[Morgan MLGman]

Just now, Stylized_Violence said:

Can you expand on that? What exactly don't you like? From what I've read, it's a pretty decent buy but I might be missing something.

Sure, well, looks obviously are a subjective matter, but H440 looks much better to me

Materials used, well do you know the feeling when you have something quality-made, you touch it and it feels like being quality made? I mean materials used, how it was assembled etc? Enthoo Pro doesn't give me that feeling. It has more space inside though and has a superior airflow compared to H440. It is also louder, but that was to be expected
The dust filters are poorly made and it has some plastic feels on it that would make me look for another case for that budget.

The H440 I had in my hands was the Razer Edition, I had a great experience with it, although the LEDs were connected together quite poorly, but that was my only complaint about that case, it felt much better when you touched the materials it was made of, didn't feel "cheap" like some parts of the Enthoo Pro

I can't say much about watercooling, H440 seems to be good for a dual-rad AIO for the CPU but your plans seem bigger so it might not be enough for that, have you looked at Corsair 750D Airflow Edition?

[SteveGrabowski0]

I have one, it's an amazing case. It's really well built, it looks great, and it comes with two nice 200mm and 140mm fans. I love that I can put 120mm fans on the drive cages, though I only put one on the top drive cage since it's right in front of my GPU and since putting a fan on the bottom drive cage won't allow me to install the PSU cover. The cable management is absolutely top notch, it's so easy to do a clean build in an Enthoo Pro. And that 200mm intake keeps your hard drives cool. With its build quality and features I just can't imagine buying another case for 10 years.

 

Here are the downsides to the case:

 

1. There top dust filter is a real pain in the ass to remove. It's not snapped in like the others, it has metal pins you have to bend (like you see with case windows) to be able to remove the filter. The other filters are simple to remove, but I don't want to keep bending these metal tabs and have them break off.

 

2. The front panel has some unfiltered side intakes. I haven't noticed much dust from them (the front filter seems to capture most dust), but they're just behind the dust filter so it doesn't do anything to them.

 

3. They only include one SSD tray in back.

 

4. The case window is a little dark. If you care about seeing the insides you might want to pick up a lighting kit or something.

 

Point #2 had me really concerned when I bought it since I run a box fan a lot of the time that kicks up dust, bit I bought it anyways since I knew I could block off those small vents if needed. So far I haven't needed to. All I really have to do is clean the front dust filter weekly. It's an amazing case, especially for $100. I have had mine about five months and it has been awesome.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Morgan MLGman said:

Sure, well, looks obviously are a subjective matter, but H440 looks much better to me

Materials used, well do you know the feeling when you have something quality-made, you touch it and it feels like being quality made? I mean materials used, how it was assembled etc? Enthoo Pro doesn't give me that feeling. It has more space inside though and has a superior airflow compared to H440. It is also louder, but that was to be expected
The dust filters are poorly made and it has some plastic feels on it that would make me look for another case for that budget.

The H440 I had in my hands was the Razer Edition, I had a great experience with it, although the LEDs were connected together quite poorly, but that was my only complaint about that case, it felt much better when you touched the materials it was made of, didn't feel "cheap" like some parts of the Enthoo Pro

I can't say much about watercooling, H440 seems to be good for a dual-rad AIO for the CPU but your plans seem bigger so it might not be enough for that, have you looked at Corsair 750D Airflow Edition?

I did see that Corsair case but it didn't strike me as a case that would fit my needs. Spec wise it does pretty good, but aesthetically speaking I just don't like it and I know we shouldn't place too much emphasis on looks, but since this case will be sitting on my desk right next to me I wanna make sure I get one I don't mind staring at. Plus it's quite a bit more expensive then I'd like, but I will give it another look since you mentioned it. Perhaps I can learn to appreciate it.

 

I also have the Razer Edition case and it looks and feels premium I admit, but since I have a triple rad for my CPU & a single for my GPU, things have gotten just a bit more cramped then I'd like. Plus I do plan on adding a second GPU and a few other accessories that would really strain the space. Don't get me wrong, I like my H440 but just need something with a bit more room.

 

7 minutes ago, SteveGrabowski0 said:

I have one, it's an amazing case. It's really well built, it looks great, and it comes with two nice 200mm and 140mm fans. I love that I can put 120mm fans on the drive cages, though I only put one on the top drive cage since it's right in front of my GPU and since putting a fan on the bottom drive cage won't allow me to install the PSU cover. The cable management is absolutely top notch, it's so easy to do a clean build in an Enthoo Pro. And that 200mm intake keeps your hard drives cool. With its build quality and features I just can't imagine buying another case for 10 years.

 

Here are the downsides to the case:

 

1. There top dust filter is a real pain in the ass to remove. It's not snapped in like the others, it has metal pins you have to bend (like you see with case windows) to be able to remove the filter. The other filters are simple to remove, but I don't want to keep bending these metal tabs and have them break off.

 

2. The front panel has some unfiltered side intakes. I haven't noticed much dust from them (the front filter seems to capture most dust), but they're just behind the dust filter so it doesn't do anything to them.

 

3. They only include one SSD tray in back.

 

Point #2 had me really concerned when I bought it since I run a box fan a lot of the time that kicks up dust, bit I bought it anyways since I knew I could block off those small vents if needed. So far I haven't needed to. All I really have to do is clean the front dust filter weekly. It's an amazing case, especially for $100. I have had mine about five months and it has been awesome.

And here you love this case so go figure, lol. The dust filters aren't a major concern for me; worse comes to worse I'll have to blow out my case more often, something I don't mind sacrificing. I currently only have one SSD and don't really plan on another so the single bracket is fine with me. Do you utilize the bottom mounted fans at all? Can you with the PSU shroud?

[SteveGrabowski0]

3 minutes ago, Stylized_Violence said:

And here you love this case so go figure, lol. The dust filters aren't a major concern for me; worse comes to worse I'll have to blow out my case more often, something I don't mind sacrificing. I currently only have one SSD and don't really plan on another so the single bracket is fine with me. Do you utilize the bottom mounted fans at all? Can you with the PSU shroud?

You have to remove the PSU shroud to use the bottom 140/120 mm fan mount. I gotta disagree with Morgan, the Enthoo Pro screams quality to me. It's true the front panel has a lot of plastic, but the frame is really sturdy and the side panels seem really solid. Not the thin easily flexible crap you see on budget cases. I would have bought it at $150 and been happy with it still, so at $100 I feel like it's a great deal.

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, SteveGrabowski0 said:

You have to remove the PSU shroud to use the bottom 140/120 mm fan mount. I gotta disagree with Morgan, the Enthoo Pro screams quality to me. It's true the front panel has a lot of plastic, but the frame is really sturdy and the side panels seem really solid. Not the thin easily flexible crap you see on budget cases. I would have bought it at $150 and been happy with it still, so at $100 I feel like it's a great deal.

That's kinda disappointing about the fans, but oh well. Not really a deal breaker, but that PSU shroud does present a very clean look which is what I'm after.

[Guest]

51 minutes ago, Whorax said:

I actually made the switch from an Enthoo Pro to the H440. I regret it 100% and there's about nothing I'm happy about with the H440 over the Enthoo Pro.

 

I'll edit this with my reasons here in a few minutes. Gimme a bit.

Complaint 1 with the H440: I had/have a H100i GTX AiO (240mm) and I really had to finagle the thing into the H440 to get it to fit. It also wouldn't fit in a pull config with the H100i, so I had to swap it around to push. The main thing with this issue was the HDD cover on the side of the case. Really made it a bitch to install the AiO. There's not a shot in Hell I'd ever bother with trying to put a bigger rad in there.

2: This is an obvious one. Temps skyrocket in the H440 compared to the Enthoo Pro. I knew that when making the switch though so I won't fault the case for this.

3: What I will fault the case for is being possibly louder and worse at quieting my parts than my Enthoo Pro was. In my experiences the Enthoo Pro was better at being quiet and cool than the H440, where being quiet was a main priority.

4: I don't think the window is very high quality. At least on my model. It scratched while I was transporting my setup from home to my apartment at school. I was my no means rough with the case as I put it back in it's original packing with tons of the bubble packing that comes with most electronics.

5: Lining up the side panels when you're putting them back on after building/opening your case post build is terrible imo. There are tons of little slits on the frame of the case where you're supposed to align hook like things on the panels to get the panels back on. This design idea wouldn't be/isn't a problem until you have your share of cables packed in behind your motherboard area. It makes it incredibly difficult to reattach the rear side panel. I also wouldn't say it's a shitty cable management job on my part either; I think my cable management isn't too bad.

 

What I like about the H440:

1: I like the rear AiO light. Makes it a bit easier to find what ports you need to plug into.

2: I like the SSD mounting brackets that are on the PSU cover/under the GPU. They're nice if you have a cool SSD you wanna show off (I only have a Crucial MX100 though, so there's no point in showing that off).

3: I like that there's no optical drive bays. I never use them anymore and they're an eyesore to anyone not using optical drives.

I'm gonna echo some of your complaints in the H440; I admit I bought mainly for looks. But what do you like about the Enthoo Pro specifically? I know you mentioned things like temps, but were there other things that struck you as handy or convenient or just plain better compared to past cases?  

[SteveGrabowski0]

One thing I have to caution with the Enthoo Pro: if you're mounting a 360 mm rad at the top, you're definitely not going to have access to the top 5.25" inch bay, and depending on the thickness of your rad you might end up with only one usable 5.25" bay. That's assuming you don't have to remove the 5.25" bays to fit the rad. You should contact Phanteks' tech support to see if it's possible to install a 360 mm rad without removing the 5.25" bays. Their tech support is very quick at responding.

[Guest]

3 hours ago, SteveGrabowski0 said:

One thing I have to caution with the Enthoo Pro: if you're mounting a 360 mm rad at the top, you're definitely not going to have access to the top 5.25" inch bay, and depending on the thickness of your rad you might end up with only one usable 5.25" bay. That's assuming you don't have to remove the 5.25" bays to fit the rad. You should contact Phanteks' tech support to see if it's possible to install a 360 mm rad without removing the 5.25" bays. Their tech support is very quick at responding.

My rad isn't that thick and I'd only need one optical bay anyway, but good point nonetheless. Anything else about the case that you can think of that might benefit me?

[SteveGrabowski0]

10 minutes ago, Stylized_Violence said:

My rad isn't that thick and I'd only need one optical bay anyway, but good point nonetheless. Anything else about the case that you can think of that might benefit me?

Nothing big I can really think of. Installing a bottom fan instead of the psu cover did nothing to cool my 970 even running the fan at 100%, but my card is an axial fan model and not a blower like the Hybrid, so YMMV. I do find having a 120mm fan mounted to the drive cage in front of my card helps a lot for keeping the video memory cool on my 970. I can get much better memory overclocks on my gpu with it installed.

[Guest]

43 minutes ago, SteveGrabowski0 said:

Nothing big I can really think of. Installing a bottom fan instead of the psu cover did nothing to cool my 970 even running the fan at 100%, but my card is an axial fan model and not a blower like the Hybrid, so YMMV. I do find having a 120mm fan mounted to the drive cage in front of my card helps a lot for keeping the video memory cool on my 970. I can get much better memory overclocks on my gpu with it installed.

So I guess it is true that you can mount additional fans to the cages to increase airflow. Can they take dual 120mm?

[SteveGrabowski0]

1 hour ago, Stylized_Violence said:

So I guess it is true that you can mount additional fans to the cages to increase airflow. Can they take dual 120mm?

You can put one 120mm on each drive cage, though you'll have to remove the psu cover to put a fan on the bottom cage.

[Guest]

21 hours ago, SteveGrabowski0 said:

You can put one 120mm on each drive cage, though you'll have to remove the psu cover to put a fan on the bottom cage.

Okay, I think I got enough info for now. Thanks