BitFenix ENSO Live Build

Join us Friday, November 17th @2PM CST on Twitch.tv for another live build! This time we've got the new BitFenix ENSO case to build an Intel i5-8600K / GTX 1080 gaming system. We'll also be checking out ASRock's Z370 Killer SLI motherboard and DeepCool's new RGB version of the Captain 240EX.

PCPartPicker part list

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel Core i5-8600K 3.6GHz 6-Core Processor	$259.99
CPU Cooler	Deepcool CAPTAIN 240EX RGB 153.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler	$99.99
Motherboard	ASRock Z370 Killer SLI ATX LGA1151 Motherboard	$129.99
Memory	Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$192.99
Storage	Western Digital Blue 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	$144.99
Video Card	Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 8GB WINDFORCE OC 8G Video Card	$529.99
Case	BitFenix ENSO ATX Mid Tower Case	$89.99
Power Supply	EVGA SuperNOVA G3 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply	$89.99
	Total at time of filming	$1537.92 (USD)

A big thanks to BitFenix for providing the case, DeepCool for providing the CPU cooler, and ASRock for providing the motherboard used in this build.

JackOfSpades789

25 months ago
18 points

I know you guys are sent stuff, but why feature such a broken and nonsensical chassis like the Enso? Gamer's Nexus did a really decent tear down and critical analysis of this case and they found more cons than pros. Sure, the RGB front panel looks awesome, but what point is there if your components can't breathe?

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yuwee92

25 months ago
19 points

At least they have a temperered glass panel so you can see the components burn.

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JackOfSpades789

25 months ago
15 points

Razer added a "fire" effect for their Chroma keyboards recently......perhaps they collaborated with Bitfinix to enhance your experience?

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Ebruhn113

23 months ago
3 points

lol best comment I've read so far

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Ronnie69669

21 months ago
1 point

Agreed

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BoyScout
staff
submitter
21 Builds

25 months ago
3 points

We are pretty unlikely to avoid taking a look at a case just because another reviewer didn't like it. We've been playing with the case over the past week or so and certainly have developed our own list of pros and cons which the guys will attempt to cover while showing what it's like to build in the it.

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[comment deleted]

25 months ago
4 points

I'm sorry, but that review wasn't an opinion. The numerous cons Steve laid out in that video were facts about a poorly designed case from a company that should know better than "RGB and tempered glass make a case excellent," a trend that has been going on for years, yet people seem to find perfectly acceptable. The temperatures in this thing are a legitimate concern, especially with Pascal being as temperature sensitive as it is.

But as others have said, it isn't PCPP's job to review the case. That just sort of comes naturally when they build in it, dealing with the ease to build inside of it. I think what it really comes down to is giving attention to a case that heavily sacrifices function for form, and therefore isn't deserving of attention.

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widowhanzo

24 months ago
3 points

Steve is very objective, and always clear about their testing methods. The Enzo is a hot box with no airflow, you can tell that just by looking at it, and its small tiny air intakes.

A case I'm most excited about this year must probably be the Fractal Meshify, because it's one of the rare case with non solid front panel, and the mesh design is great. I wish they had a non glass side panel option, because the glass panel is useless to me, as I have my PC now, it's positioned in a way where I can't even see the side panel where the glass is.

And RGB is just annoying. :D

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Dazeonae

25 months ago
2 points

I totally agree with what you're saying, I'll say that first. Following that, though; it's not their job to review the case, judge the case, condemn, or recognize the case. It's PCPartPicker as a whole just building PCs, but judging or reviewing parts; if they are reviewing anything, they are reviewing the building process, not the case.

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RoyalSovereign

15 months ago
1 point

Indeed. I agree.... Airflow is terrible. Several people who got this case modified it to improve airflow.

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[comment deleted]

JackOfSpades789

25 months ago
3 points

Biased how? GN just pointed out the flaws of the Enso, which are numerous. If Steve was saying that one particular case was always better, then yes, that would be biased. However, GN takes many variables into account and does in depth testing. People like Hardware Canucks just look at a case and say "Ohhh tempered glass, check, RGB, check, recommended!". We can all have our preferences, but I prefer to look at hardcore data than someone who judges on looks (for the most part. Though, this is an entirely subjective area).

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widowhanzo

24 months ago
0 points

If there's one YT tech channel that's objective and clear about their testing methodologies, it's GN. They actually look at the functionality of the case and not just gimmicks.

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25 months ago
8 points

That case is an oven dude

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25 months ago
5 points

Oh.. Never thought i'd see a Pizza-oven get built here on PCPP ;)

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trend.y

25 months ago
4 points

Now all they need is pizza dough.

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cparker5

22 months ago
2 points

Being new to this site, but not building, I am very happy to read all these replies and that the site moderators allow this conversation to happen.

pcpartpicker provides a great service and it's members add so much value.

Thank all of you for your willingness to share your experience and opinions.

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Enrico411

25 months ago
1 point

What a week a second live build!!

Keep 'em coming hehe ;)

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25 months ago
1 point

I have the same PSU!

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acs590

25 months ago
1 point

I can not wait to see that cpu cooler in action!!!! it looks pretty awesome (hopefully it cools well to, from what everyone else is saying, it's gonna need it :))

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[comment deleted by staff]

Jaklein88

25 months ago
1 point

Alright.. I'm building me second pc now and I'm hearing all this crap about the ENSO! I rely on reviews and ratings through google, yet when I google the ENSO I see a good review from Tomshardware and no ratings on the ENSO through this website. So how do I avoid things like this "disaster" of a case? I would have bought it based on 2 reviews I just read. Just trying to figure out how to educate myself about what I'm buying next. Thanks!

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[comment deleted by staff]

25 months ago
1 point

If these builds and this site are here to help people make good choices when choosing parts... I have to agree with everyone's criticism of the chassis. There are plenty of other tempered glass/ rgb cases from companies that actually BUILD functioning systems in them and have good air flow. Phantechs P400 with tempered glass for about $10 more is a great choice.

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Potato_

24 months ago
1 point

The airflow must be GARBAGE.

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Soccah123

24 months ago
1 point

How are all yall ignorant to how the world works? Just ask pcpartpicker how they make their money, and you'll get your answer as to why they used this case and put those parts in it. It's not rocket science, it's the way the business works. You can tell in how careful they are to avoid any and all negative commentary. All tech sites are mostly ******** precisely because they survive ad revenue. There are some exceptions, and those exceptions are usually because either the person is individually wealthy already; or they are supported by the community -- i.e. patreon, etc -- rather than through some corporate sponsor. In any case, if you want quality work in relation to tech stuff, there are plenty of alternatives. PCpartpicker is primarily used for the community forums and the compatability/build your own pc lists. The majority of their money I assume comes from whatever kick backs they get from people using their vendor links through the website.

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BoyScout
staff
submitter
21 Builds

24 months ago
1 point

Our build videos and live streams are not paid or sponsored. There's no particular benefit for us to prop up any particular product over another, as we receive compensation through retailer affiliate referrals, generally independent of the brand or model a user decides to ultimately purchase.

The components we do receive as review or demo samples from manufacturers are offered with no agreement or implied expectation that we'll say (or avoid saying) anything in particular about their products.

While we hear (and can somewhat share given other reviews) the concerns on airflow in the ENSO, our pre-stream benchmarking showed typical temperatures for the CPU and GPU under load, certainly nothing alarming. When the comments started flowing in after announcing our live build, Barry went back and tested our setup further, trying to reproduce the front grill / air flow concerns and (as he noted in his pros/cons at the end of the video) didn't really see anything nearly so dramatic on the temps in our setup.

That said, our result doesn't mean another reviewer's findings are necessarily invalid. For example, it might be important that they tested with an air CPU cooler instead of a CLC. So we're not looking to disparage what others found, but our experience clearly varied a bit from theirs and as such both our positives and negatives on the case were focused elsewhere, mostly dealing around the actual build experience rather than just focusing in on its air flow design.

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24 months ago
1 point

I think you hit the nail on the head with the front radiator. That will go a long long way toward increasing internal temperature by itself without adding in the reduced airflow. The Enso case is absolutely beautiful though, and the cooler looks amazing as well. Nice build.

To quell all the haters, tell Silverstone it has been requested they send you over a TG RL06 for you to build in. It is LHS (long hair Steve) approved since it has the best airflow they have tested of any recent release.