Gigabyte Poseidon Case Review

[Cardboard box with DSL]

Gigabyte Poseidon Case Review
My First Review

• Introduction
• Packaging
• Dimensions
• Appearance (Inside and out)
• Installation
• Light Beam Projector
• Promises
• Temperatures
• Conclusion

1. Introduction:

I was looking around for a mid-sized, good looking, simple and lan party worthy (i.e. not too heavy, big, can take some damage, etc.). I had 3 cases in mind that met most of my criteria:

1)Thermaltake Armor JR. ~ 115.00 @ Ncix
2)Silverstone Temjin TJ04-B ~ 111.09 @ Ncix
3)Gigabyte Poseidon ~ 112.95 @ Ncix (105.00 on sale when I bought it)

I chose the Poseidon over the others because the Armor was way too flashy for my liking and hinges are not for me, although it does have some great options for cooling. The Silverstone would have been my first choice, but I would be too afraid to hurt it at lan parties, or else I would have bought it in a heartbeat. What sold me on the Poseidon was that it had a small side window, so I can show off a little, but overall I like simple, elegant cases. Another selling point was the room purposely put behind the motherboard panel for routing cables.


2. Packaging:

Like all cases it comes in a flashy box boasting all of its features for anyone to see.

Inside the box you see the Plexiglas panel, which replaces the mesh on the side, and the instruction manual; both sit right on top, so you can’t miss them.

Once that is out of the way, you are face to face with your new case, which is sadly wrapped in plastic. Many of the fancier cases will come wrapped in cloth to protect the case better in transport.

After I pulled too hard and cracked the Styrofoam, I gave up on pulling and just dumped it out; not the most graceful way, but it works.

While there is a little to be gained in the packaging, it was well protected with Styrofoam.

3. Case Dimensions:
19” x 17.1/8” x 7.7/8” (L x H x W) Length is not including the face plate, that adds almost ½.”
Weighs around 8kg empty.


4. Inside and out appearance:
The case is not quite as elegant as other cases from Silverstone or Lian-Li, but the classic black case with a part gloss paint on it helps it boast versatility and some class. The paint does not scratch easily; I’ve rolled into it with my chair a few times, and there was no damage. The slight gloss makes it shine in a light room, while keeping the elegance of a simple black case.
The mesh and Plexiglas are easily swapped on the side panel with a few screws; both side panels also come with thumb screws. Unlike the Aurora, this case has rubber feet, which should keep it from slipping around too much on hardwood or non-carpeted floors in general.
My favorite feature of the case is how little plastic there is on it: the whole front including the drive bay covers are metal! This makes the case look much more classy then cases with mesh all over, or plastic doors which break easily.

It is hard to tell, but the front is brushed aluminum with a faceplate that could take a bullet.

Inside you immediately see that there is no removable motherboard tray, but that’s normal for a case in this price range. There is also a hole near where the power supply is mounted for routing your cables, which should be larger to compensate for longer power supplies; my Enermax Liberty 500W almost blocks it off. The white box contains all of the rails and accessories for the case. One interesting point is that you can remove the hard drive bay by removing 2 screws inside the case and 2 on the bottom. You can also mount hard drives in the floppy bay. I put one of my hard drives there and left the bay out, which keeps things a little cooler.
The case also comes with the famed ‘light beam projector,’ easy to install USB and Fire Wire, and rubber holes for water-cooling. Little things, but still nice to have. I remember trying to attach USB ports when all of the connections were separate; having them in one block makes things much faster.

One of the features that caught my eye was the room behind the motherboard to rout cables and things to keep your case neat and tidy. There is a large gap under the 5 ½” drive bays which is perfect for getting cables behind the motherboard tray and keeping things out of the way.

With Cables

Removed Hard Drive Cage

Gigabyte boasts a cool and quiet computer using 2 120mm fans spinning at 1000RPM. Quiet, yes; cool, that’s up to the user to decide. The fans don’t push enough air to live up to the claims of Gigabyte, but they do push enough to keep things fairly cool. A simple solution would be replacing the fans with 1200 or 1500 RPM good quality fans.

5. Installation:


Like most cases these days, it has the tool-less design. Installing most of your parts is easy. There is a sizeable amount of room for you to work when putting your motherboard in, and expansion cards are secured using a little plastic switch, which holds things fairly tight. The hard drive in the floppy bay is just like putting a DVD drive in (slide, tighten and lock); in the bay just put on the rails and slide it in. Power supply is as easy as it can be, with cables everywhere, especially if you don’t have a modular PSU. But things aren’t all easy: installing the DVD drives requires you to remove the front panel and slide your drive in, then tighten and lock. It’s by no means hard, but taking the face plate off over and over again can get a little annoying after a while.

6. Light beam projector:

Like the 3D Aurora this case sports the light beam projector, it’s just an LED that shines onto a plastic piece making an image appear on your floor. On the Poseidon you can choose between a blue or white LED and create your own symbol or text for the light projector on a DIY bracket included in the box of goodies.

7. Did Gigabyte deliver on all of their promises?

• Superior aluminum covers: The whole thing is aluminum!
• 12cm front and rear fans for an ‘optimal thermal solution:’ Silent, but should have used higher CMF fans.
• Tool-less design: Mostly, other then the hard drive bay and DVD drives.
• Easy install: Fairly, only cut myself once!
• High end, futuristic design: Looks high end because of good paint and metal everywhere, but it looks like most other cases with out doors, not too futuristic. I guess the light beam would count as futuristic…

Comes fully equipped: Front side USB, Fire Wire, audio and has rubber holes for water-cooling. Quite well equipped for a case in this price range.

8. Temperature Benchmarks:

All of the tests were done at stock speeds; using dual prime 95 and ATI tool to create as much heat as possible. The ambient temperature was approx. 23°C, but within that I don’t know because we have forced air, and I don’t have a good thermometer, so give or take half a degree or so. Unless otherwise stated all tests were done with the mesh panel.

Test rig was: E6600, Asus P5B, 2Gb OCZ Platinum, 7950Gt, Enermax Liberty 500W and WD 250GB SATA2.

These tests reveal that the mesh does add some sort of cooling, probably due to being right over the video card and processor. Removing the hard drive bay isn’t necessary, but benefits the video cards the most. When thinking about a dual video card setup, it would be a good idea to remove the hard drive cage or add another fan on the opposite side to keep airflow strong.

9. Conclusion:

Overall I am quite satisfied with the case. It’s light enough for lan parties, has some great features, looks good, simple, is all metal and performs well for its size. Cooling is a bit of an issue with stock fans, but replacing the fans with higher CMF ones should increase the performance.

Pros:

• All metal
• Easy installation
• Cable routing behind motherboard
• Good price / performance ratio (you get what you pay for)
• Light beam (personal touch)
• Light (weight)
• Sturdy
• Looks good
• Spacious for the size
• Fits a Scythe Ninja, with room to spare

Cons:

• Packing (Plastic bag…)
• Low CMF fans
• Cable routing hole too small by the PSU
• Light beam (can cheapen the look)
• Lack of hard drive bays
• Plexiglas hurts cooling

I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a case that will provide good cooling (when the fans are replaced), looks good, is quiet, allows for easy cable management, and can be moved, as long as they don’t mind replacing fans and being limited to 3 hard dives. In conclusion, if you are looking for a case in the $100 price range grab the Poseidon, especially if it’s on sale.

Picture Gallery

[Wankerfx]

Looks great! I find the review is pretty top-notch.

[SKYMTL]

Good review!!!

These members' reviews seem to be taking off.

I have deleted your comment thread as we will be having all discussions pertaining to the Members' reviews in the original thread itself.

Go ahead guys! I think praise is due!!!

You may also want to center all of your pics. (no worries, I fixed 'em for ya.)

[Delavan]

Kudos to you, professional work!

[Cardboard box with DSL]

Thanks guys!
I'm thinking of having a poll to see what I should put on the DIY bracket, but I need some ideas first.
I was thinking of HWC logo or something to that effect.

Thanks for clearing that up SKY! I wasn't too sure what to do about the discussion thing.

[SKYMTL]

HWC LOGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I still haven't had the time to pimp out my Aurora with the HWC logo. Well, that is after my laser printer melted the first acetate sheet I sent through it...

[sswilson]

Great review!

This is the kind of stuff I love to sink my teeth into. Reviews from users get to the point and make a good case for or against spending our hard earned money on a certain piece of kit.

I had glanced at this case once but never went back for some reason.... seems like a decent case for the price.

[belgolas]

Good review. I like this case but I am a fan of full towers. I just love space. Mid is alright. But with the way graphics cards are going you will need a super long one in the future.

[Jmac]

Thanks for the review. This is one of 3 cases I'm considering for my next build (should be within the next few weeks) and your review provided some nice insight into it.

[belgolas]

I might get this case too. I does look nice for the price.

this is a great little review. Congrats :)

[Babrbarossa]

Great review! I really like your neat formatting- nice uniform photo size

So have you put your dear mother's name in the LED projector yet? If you do, post a pic, I'd be interested to see what it looks like when customized.