Test Setup
Bringing On The Heat
For 2022, we have updated the Case Review Rig with a 10900K, supported by an MSI Z490 motherboard for ATX case reviews, cooled by a be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 cooler that has a Noctua 120mm NF-A12x25 fan installed on the back. This CPU is capable of pulling up to 300W when stressed, though for our purposes it will be limited to 260W for overclocked testing, due to the 250W spec of the Dark Rock Pro 4 CPU cooler and to ensure the longevity of the Case Review Rig.
Standing in for the ASUS 5700XT is an MSI RX6800 Gaming X Trio. This card pulls about 245W under overclocked load and is even longer at 324mm.
Together, these two components allow us to put overclocked loads of around 500W during gaming and around 750W loads during synthetic testing to really show how well a particular case shines.
Please note that while these are not the most recently released components, they were chosen specifically for their ability to draw power and emit heat when pushed. The intent of this component selection is to provide power draw baselines for readers to compare against other components on the market, regardless of vendor. With respect to the Case Review Rig, the results from The FPS Review case reviews are intended to be brand agnostic.
This means that the results shouldn’t be interpreted primarily as “a 10900K really can draw a lot of heat!”. Obviously, this is a true statement, but we instead ask our readers to try to view the results as “The case can handle a combined 260W CPU load and 250W GPU load entirely on air”. This is a case review, not a review of the test rig – the major components used have been previously reviewed by this site.
Notes About Specific Components Used
For the GPU, a CoolerMaster MasterAccessory ARGB 3-Pin GPU Support Bracket was used to keep the rather large and heavy card from sagging. This is due diligence on our part to preserve the longevity of this GPU. Cooler Master’s support bracket also adds RGB lighting.
RGB Lighting
While ADATA XPG Defender does not have any native lighting capability, the FPSR 2022 ATX Case Review Rig does have RGB lighting on the motherboard, GPU, RAM, fans, and GPU support bracket. These will be shown set to all white in the appropriate software suites, defined as #FFFFFF or 255/255/255.
We show lighting inside an otherwise unlit case because we understand that many of our readers are likely to have some component that lights up. Therefore, we do want to show how cases under review could look with such components installed.
Discussion (8 replies)
Join Discussion →But can it fit a STRIX 4090? ;)
It actually should, fitting GPUs up to 405mm in length, where the Strix 4090 is at 358mm. Height should be okay too, but one won't have much room for that PCIe power connector and may wish to consider CableMod's right-angle adapter.
I like Antec. This should pop up on sale for under a hundy at some point. I don't really care about glass or LED disco lights, so if they offer a cheaper version omitting those that would be cool (not one listed on their site tho).
What I don't like is no dust filter for the front 3 intake fans. It has a bottome, side and top filter, but not on the front, where the primary intake is. Dust filters are a must for me and really cuts down on the cat hair intake.
The subtraction of glass should cut the price a bit, though I don't expect there to be much savings from dropping the RGB fans. You can just choose to not turn them on if you like, as they're the 5v kind that can be run from a motherboard header.
Only thing I could think of was the limited intake up front; a front filter is going to cause further restriction and potentially increase fan noise, or otherwise potentially limit cooling.
Yeah I mean when done right they can make a huge difference without impeding airflow. But all too frequently not. My P100 has a nice front filter, easy to pop off and clean. It doesn't eliminate dust intake but it helps a lot... and I have 3 cats so it gets cleaned frequently
They were my go to brand for power supplies, and cases back in the day. They seemed to fade away, but I'm glad to see them coming back into the market again. As far as this case goes, it's a nice case, but the only thing that sets it apart from other cases is the front. The overall case seems like just about any other mid tower out there.
Not much anyone can do. This configuration has become a standard of sorts, and is really the limit of performance while keeping the system compact as well as using the most accessible components.
Most innovation is being focused on either larger or smaller systems. Many higher-end boards are EATX now, and even some more mid-range boards. On the other end, if one is willing to put up with a few compromises, ITX delivers quite a wallop in a small package. But that's just considering 'features' and 'specifications'; cooling is an entirely different matter!
You're probably right there. It's kind of up to the end user to make it their own.