Conclusion
I am going to mention now that opinions about a case can vary greatly from one person to the next so judging one is done subjectively on many fronts. However, when issues are right there in our faces, they are pretty hard to ignore.
Now that I have that off my mind I can go about saying that for the most part I really enjoyed my time with the Osiris. Hiper has shown that they do not turn a blind eye to what both the reviewers and the community are saying about their products and go forward to improve upon them in nearly every way. This case represents a very slight evolution from the Anubis but like most things in life, this evolution fixed many things while bringing new issues to the forefront. High marks really have to be given here since the build quality and the overall design of this case is absolutely top-notch. Even though it doesn’t feel nearly as solid as the aforementioned Anubis, it still feels much sturdier than your everyday, run-of the mill mid-tower enclosure. It also has acres of interior space as was demonstrated with the wiggle room between the end of the installed GTX 280 and the drive cage. There are also quite a few interesting additions such as the easily-removable front panel and the pre-installed rubber drive rails which really contribute to set this product apart from the rest of the pack. While it may not look of feel particularly unique in an overly-crowded mid-tower market, the Osiris should appeal to a large number of consumers with some excellent decisions having been made in both the design and engineering departments.
No matter how much we love the Osiris, it seems like there are several small things which contribute to drag it down in our eyes. As I mentioned earlier in the review, with nearly every Intel LGA775 and AMD AM2 motherboard sporting the CPU power connector in the upper left-hand corner, the Osiris offers nothing but frustration to those of you using an aftermarket cooler. Heck, even when using the stock Intel cooler in the test system the 8-pin CPU connector was damn-near impossible to install since there just isn’t enough space between the upper edge of the motherboard and the top of the case. Then there is the matter of the built-in eject button on the front drive bays not touching or aligning properly with the corresponding eject button on some DVD drives we tested. This can easily be overlooked since these panels can be removed with a few turns of a screwdriver but it makes one of the unique features completely pointless for some users. There were other nearly forgettable foibles such as Velcro tie-wraps that don’t work in the least and expansion slot covers that can’t be reattached which are minor enough to be overlooked. Other than that, Hiper seems to have nailed the proverbial nail on the head with nearly every other aspect of the Osiris.
All in all, the Osiris is a good case which improves on many of the stumbling points we had with Hiper’s first case; the Anubis. While the lack of space in the upper reaches of the case may not bother those of you with really small hands (maybe you could pay your kids to install the CPU power connector) it bothered me enough to warrant the Osiris’ lack of the Dam Good Award. So, other than that caveat, the issue with the drive bay doors and some serious availability issues here in Canada, I would actually recommend those of you looking for a new case to seriously consider this product as an option.
Pros:
- Looks great without being overly flamboyant
- Easily-removed side & front panels
- A lot of space for a mid-tower case
- Three quiet 120mm fans included
- High standard of build quality
Cons:
- Nightmare installing CPU power connector
- Misalignment of drive bay eject button with some DVD drives
- Availability
Conclusion
I am going to mention now that opinions about a case can vary greatly from one person to the next so judging one is done subjectively on many fronts. However, when issues are right there in our faces, they are pretty hard to ignore.
Now that I have that off my mind I can go about saying that for the most part I really enjoyed my time with the Osiris. Hiper has shown that they do not turn a blind eye to what both the reviewers and the community are saying about their products and go forward to improve upon them in nearly every way. This case represents a very slight evolution from the Anubis but like most things in life, this evolution fixed many things while bringing new issues to the forefront. High marks really have to be given here since the build quality and the overall design of this case is absolutely top-notch. Even though it doesn’t feel nearly as solid as the aforementioned Anubis, it still feels much sturdier than your everyday, run-of the mill mid-tower enclosure. It also has acres of interior space as was demonstrated with the wiggle room between the end of the installed GTX 280 and the drive cage. There are also quite a few interesting additions such as the easily-removable front panel and the pre-installed rubber drive rails which really contribute to set this product apart from the rest of the pack. While it may not look of feel particularly unique in an overly-crowded mid-tower market, the Osiris should appeal to a large number of consumers with some excellent decisions having been made in both the design and engineering departments.
No matter how much we love the Osiris, it seems like there are several small things which contribute to drag it down in our eyes. As I mentioned earlier in the review, with nearly every Intel LGA775 and AMD AM2 motherboard sporting the CPU power connector in the upper left-hand corner, the Osiris offers nothing but frustration to those of you using an aftermarket cooler. Heck, even when using the stock Intel cooler in the test system the 8-pin CPU connector was damn-near impossible to install since there just isn’t enough space between the upper edge of the motherboard and the top of the case. Then there is the matter of the built-in eject button on the front drive bays not touching or aligning properly with the corresponding eject button on some DVD drives we tested. This can easily be overlooked since these panels can be removed with a few turns of a screwdriver but it makes one of the unique features completely pointless for some users. There were other nearly forgettable foibles such as Velcro tie-wraps that don’t work in the least and expansion slot covers that can’t be reattached which are minor enough to be overlooked. Other than that, Hiper seems to have nailed the proverbial nail on the head with nearly every other aspect of the Osiris.
All in all, the Osiris is a good case which improves on many of the stumbling points we had with Hiper’s first case; the Anubis. While the lack of space in the upper reaches of the case may not bother those of you with really small hands (maybe you could pay your kids to install the CPU power connector) it bothered me enough to warrant the Osiris’ lack of the Dam Good Award. So, other than that caveat, the issue with the drive bay doors and some serious availability issues here in Canada, I would actually recommend those of you looking for a new case to seriously consider this product as an option.
Pros:
- Looks great without being overly flamboyant
- Easily-removed side & front panels
- A lot of space for a mid-tower case
- Three quiet 120mm fans included
- High standard of build quality
Cons:
- Nightmare installing CPU power connector
- Misalignment of drive bay eject button with some DVD drives
- Availability
Thanks to Hiper for sending us this case
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/cases/8711-hiper-osiris-review-comment-thread.html
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/cases/8711-hiper-osiris-review-comment-thread.html
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