Time to be more critical in your case reviews HWC

[BootlegUsher]

I just watched the 500R review and there wasn't a link to a comment thread so I will make one.

I get that it is a good case, but the reviewer didn't find a single thing wrong with it which makes the review seem like a glorified advertisement instead of a review. One obvious example I saw was how the CPU backplate was nowhere close to being accessable from the cutout in the motherboard tray. This was not even mentioned.

Also, 140 dollars is not a budget case and the reviewer is talking about what a great value this is. Lets be realistic here, most people get squirelly when a case breaks 70 bucks and wouldn't even think about 140. If you think that for 140 dollars this case is competing well with other cases in the same price range then that is fine, but the way it was worded it again comes across as some sort of ad trying to convince people to spend more money.

Finally, (and this goes for many different review sites) I am getting tired of reviewers not doing a complete build and then saying how well everything fits in the case. The DVD drive was conspiciously absent in this review. Why does this matter? When I bought my FT02 I found out first hand that the DVD drive blocks me from having a second graphics card since there is not enough room. I read plenty of reviews before purchasing and was quite surprised to be finding this out on my own. I went back and re read them and low and behold none of them bothered with the DVD drive and just assumed everything was fine and went ahead listing the case as having "great crossfire preformance" in the summary. Another example from this video review is talking about how the case can handle radiators up top. I want to see you install the radiator and hook everything up so I can tell firsthand that everything works great. This statement about radiators fitting just seems like some marketing bullet point is getting read off the box.

I just felt like this needed to be said, I have noticed that HWC is doing case reviews almost exclusively in video format and I always thought the written reviews were better. It is time to be more thorough and critical of the product being reviewed or else its basically an advertisement. I don't care if less things get reviewed so long as the ones that do get the proper treatment.

[Jebusman]

There comes a point when every case that's reviewed is a good case, that either:

A. Manufacturers have mastered the art of design
or
B. We really need to raise our standards.

Even if it's nitpicking, every potential flaw is a potential reason why someone wouldn't want this case, either because they themselves are extremely picky, or they actually are doing something uncommon (but still not out of the ordinary) that you glossed over. Honestly a lot of people don't bother with DVD drives anymore, because they're all about Digital Distribution/Network sharing. But you're still going to find them. And they're going to be pissed.

[wesamess]

I have to agree with BootlegUsher here. The written reviews are much more critical and in depth. I found out the hard way too when I got my FT02. The isn't much space between the motherboards and optical drives.

I would love to see actual parts put in the cases, even a full out build. I understand this will take more time to review but I expect more from a quality review site. I trust HWC more so than the rest and always come here first to read the reviews.

[CoolHandL]

I agree as well, a nice in-depth written review, high res photos with full installation of hardware. every case has some small flaw, better the reviewers point it out before we come back with gripes about clear issues. the case in question...@ $140 is a good price? I love corsair but cant see the value in this case. the $140 price point is the 650D, this case looks like a antec 300 on roids which puts it in the sub $100 range IMHO.

[ipaine]

While I do suppose I get some of the criticisms I also don't think they missed much here. But after you mentioned the back plate I did have to go back and look and sure enough you couldn't get to all of it.

For one thing, why the DVD drive? It has the same mounting system as pretty much all of the Corsair cases and it works great. Also if your DVD drive gets in the way of a video card in this case, well then you are putting something in the wrong spot.

Originally Posted by CoolHandL

the case in question...@ $140 is a good price? I love corsair but cant see the value in this case. the $140 price point is the 650D, this case looks like a antec 300 on roids which puts it in the sub $100 range IMHO.

With regards the the price a quick look at Memory Express and the 650D was $179 while the 500R is only $129 so there is a decent enough price difference. So yes I do think it is a good case for the cost.

[CoolHandL]

To each their own opinion,
I paid $140 for the 650D from NCIX just after its release (Price matched of course).
The 500R looks like a $80 Case IMHO.
Regardless what the retail price is, my opinion is that of the above.

[G777]

I too totally agree with BootlegUsher, more like a product showcase than a review.

If you want to see really thorough reviews have a look at tiny tom logan's reviews for OC3D.

Tom definitely has his own style, and it's not everyone's cup of tea. He can prattle on for 20-40 mins at times, but he definitively tells you what he thinks and doesn't miss much detail.TimeToLiveCustoms's Channel - YouTube

[Jebusman]

Originally Posted by ipaine

While I do suppose I get some of the criticisms I also don't think they missed much here. But after you mentioned the back plate I did have to go back and look and sure enough you couldn't get to all of it.

For one thing, why the DVD drive? It has the same mounting system as pretty much all of the Corsair cases and it works great. Also if your DVD drive gets in the way of a video card in this case, well then you are putting something in the wrong spot.



With regards the the price a quick look at Memory Express and the 650D was $179 while the 500R is only $129 so there is a decent enough price difference. So yes I do think it is a good case for the cost.

The problem with the DVD drive was that everyone just always assumes it'll always work. So when a case like the FT02 came along having the mobo pointed in a different direction, all of a sudden there was a problem that NO ONE bothered to bring up in any review out there, because no one thought there could possibly be a problem with installing a DVD drive of all things.

Sure it doesn't affect this specific case, but glossing over these things will only lead to more valid criticisms being overlooked on future cases because of assumptions.

[b1lk1]

As a former reviewer of PC cases and related parts, I can say that there are no perfect cases, and there is always a place to find fault. I did find more than a few that were very good and well worth it, but there are always faults somewhere. I didn't read/see this review personally, but I also will not fault the reviewer since sometimes it can be hard to do reviews of products that really don't invoke passion such as a case.

[enaberif]

The biggest issue with optical drives isn't so much the case but the fact that each manufacturer size maybe different in length.

So while one drive is smaller than another.. this usually doesn't matter but that extra 1/4 of a inch to some does.