DeepCool Genome 2 build and case review...My First Review

[SmilesAreDaggers]

So I grabbed a DeepCool Genome II for my 4th build of the month last week.... 

Parts List:

CASE: DeepCool Genome II

MOBO: Maximus IX Formula

CPU: i7 7700K kaby

PSU: Corsair RM 850i

RAM: 32Gigs 3600Mhz

GPU: ASUS Radeon RX480 8 GB OC Strix model (waiting on Vega release)

M.2: Samsung 850evo 500Gig

SSD: Toshiba OCZ 480Gig (x2)

HDD: WD Blue 4TB 7200RPM 

 

Due to some issues on the motherboard setup the factory air cooler wouldn't mount so I bought a smaller Enermax aircooler(very efficient as well) and proceded with the build as I planned on swapping from it's original Zalman Z9 Neo case to this DeepCool Genome II for its liquid AIO CPU block for better temps and some light overclocking while only building a small custom loop for the aesthetics and for the built in on board liquid cooling of the "CrossChill EK III VRM water block" and the RAM sticks.and possibly later look at doing a mod where I crack into the built in AIO and add it to the loop as well. but main reason I went with this case for this particular rig was for the fact that the on board EK setup didn't have a CPU counterpart sold for it at launch(massive oversight?)--nor did they release the Maximus IX Ultimate the day they launched the Z270 chipset MOBO's (which I will be buying and swapping this one out for or building another rig entirely) and that is why I went with this "cool" looking case.

 

The Good:

Arrived after 24 hours of the order being placed! (location location location!)

Case arrived packaged nicely aside from the dent and gash in the cardboard the case itself was fine... or was it?

They sent me the correct color--White with blue "lighting accents" and tubing

Water Cooler Already ready to plug and play

Fans already mounted on radiator 

Nice amount of room internally to build in and everything fit nice and neatly

The backside has a plethora of cable management mounting points! (even enough to quiet my OCD)

SSD Mounts on backside are very nice as you mount on a caddy and then use a slide lock then use a thumbscrew to secure (has 2)

Comes with a GPU Vertical mount bracket and the PCIE x4 extender!

Has a way to customize the large empty front space for cable management optimization or inserting another radiator and fan setup as well as the ability to mount an SSD or 2 on the visible side for the window

Removable HDD tray for extra cooling support on top of the extra front space

Included fan hub which can also accommodate the pump as well for other MOBO's that may have limited headers  

Rubber noise dampening bumpers for the PSU mounting are that felt like they were well made and not cheaped out on (other previous cases had cheap thin ones that really did nothing)

Power switch on the side for the LED's built in for highlighting and effects

 

The Bad:

Box looked like it had been purchased and opened and then RMA'd before I was sent it from NewEgg.com

The GamerStorm Logo was damaged due to being put on incorrectly and when being packaged it likely caught on something but the "S" part of it was half peeled off and hanging out all messed up (foil tape type of sticker, so no fixing that)

 

The Front I/O panel could use some type of cover to snap on and feels like its an incomplete item there, no labels for the mic/headphone jacks or even color differences (I thought it was missing a snap in cover it was so bad and contacted the company)

 

Built everything in case and mounted the water block hooked up the fan splitter and its 3 fans as needed, even mounting my PSU in what felt like upside down to me as this cases instructions said to, plugged in the PSU and flipped the switch on it, the motherboard started its color breathing "system off mode" lighting so I pressed the power button on the front panel--NOTHING! Hit the reset button--AGAIN NOTHING!!

Reached in and hit the Start button on the motherboard, fired right up and before i could sit down windows was on and loaded as well as all my run on start up programs and GPU monitor, and the LED's in the fans were a static on bright clean white which adds a cool ambiance but with no dimmer switch or way to turn them off was kind of drowning out my "Clown on LSD" amount of built on RGB. and then it began... the pump wouldn't kick on (or at least thats what I thought as it has a built in LED as well to help with the effects and accents and helps highlight how the case is a "living machine" breathing effect coupled with the LEDs behind the reservoir on the front that aren't on either) so I restarted went into BIOS made sure the CPU temp was staying low and at 4.2GHz idle temps were hovering at about 31* C--pretty nice to me, so I double checked that the fan hub and the pump (hooked into its own pump header) were on and receiving power--Double Checked they were indeed on and perfectly running... still no LED's on front or on the CPU block...

 

Powered off disassembled it ALL down to a bare frame holding a motherboard with the cooling block mounted on the CPU and had found that none of the front panel button cables were hooked to the buttons nor was the LED power cord hooked into it (nice factory QA checks!--or was it a return? ) and I had to basically guess which clip went in which slot as the left side (power reset and LED header/splitter and switch) had the same amount of cables running to the plugs and same shape and all cables in this case are black so no color indicator for anything. Upon tracking the CPU blocks LED cable to the front figured out which plug had what on it but no indication of which port to plug it into on the faceplate, so I guessed, got lucky on first try and moved on to reassembling the case... yay!

 

Now that its all here I tried messing with the LED's which have a breathing effect of like 2 seconds on and then 3 seconds off (just guesstimated not actually timed) I tried (and hoped the LED off switch would turn the ones on the fans off along with the breathing ones on the CPU and the Front backlighting on the case--or at least have maybe 3 or 5 presets ... kept pushing the button and holding it or multiple pushes to see if it would somehow do something besides the "breathing" or "OFF" modes, even better I noticed that all this button does is provide false hopes as it ONLY turns off the breathing backlight for the reservoir on the front panel--NOTHING ELSE!!!!

 

Lights on the fans should have had the LED's wired to the LED switch as they are three times brighter than the ones mounted for effect on the front panel and with how the AIO loop is not just built into this cases design, but ingrained in its very fabric of being I figured it would have had that small option on there as well so you could turn the lights off (CPU block too) for if you want to have it as a setup for a home theater case or game in a darker setting--or God forbid "Netflix and chill" in a darker setting. And the only reason I thought it had these possibilities was due to the description of its lighting effects from the manufacturers site.

 

THE OVERALL:

If you use minimalist lighting such as white LED's or no LED/RGB this cases lighting looks clean and great from the fans alone, the pulsing front accent can be turned off thankfully, it will be easy for me to modify VERY SOON to add what features I think it needs on that side of things.

The cooler included is very much a great AIO loop for your CPU so long as you don't go crazy on the overclocking side of things (I also am running my system at a light overclock and maintaining very good temps across the board). the fact that the Genome II case is about $229.00(maybe $249.00 if not on sale) US made it an easy choice for me for the cases internal space and accommodations and the potential I saw for future water loop customization, however, I couldn't justify the extra$50.00 to $100.00 US for the ROG red/black RGB edition and I am glad I didnt buy it due to its lack of Aura Sync with software and being a 256 color controller you plug everything into and coming in the black and red scheme only was also a killer as black doesnt reflect colored lighting as well to make the RGB on board and GPU carry over for more saturation on the internals. and with the fan lights still being the same white LED's for accent lighting I feel it would drown out the RGB youre trying to use to fight against the black and blood red ROG edition monster with.

 

If you want a case and loop to start a mod, I highly recommend (as I may try and fit a micro ATX in here with my current setup in the near future for streaming and editing purposes, and ... just because). I will also be cutting a window in to show off my SSD mounts and cable management that this case allowed my OCD to go full swing at if I cant figure out how to mount the micro system inside. But NO MATTER WHAT-- I will be adding a complete LED controller to all the factory included White LED's in this as well as 3d printing a front I/O plate or cover for this thing, as soon as I complete the RYZEN build I'm working up...

 

As for it on its own, it is an affordable AIO and case combo that so long as is assembled fully does its job and looks damn cool doing it too for a really good price.

 

I wanted to do a Youtube video review and build but figured my ugly mug would scare off the views lol I may do a B roll shot or two and upload and will get around to pics here if anyone wants them, like if it helped you--or if you thought it was a good read, thanks for sticking with it this long