Phanteks Enthoo Primo Full Tower Case Review

Final Thoughts
When it comes to the Enthoo Primo you can immediately tell that Phanteks tried to leave no stone unturned. This especially true when it comes to watercooling. There are few cases on the market that offer this level of detail and support for all the needs of a watercooler. There are also few cases available that offer this type of design innovation, both in an aesthetic and functional sense. The Ethoo Primo is truly a work of art to look at. This is amazingly still true to me, even after a lengthy install which was made all the easier thanks to Phanteks tremendous efforts to make PC building easier. From the multiple native radiator mounting positions, to the vibration dampened pump bracket, to the smaller details like slides for adjusting the position of your components. And not to be easily forgotten, the biggest innovation of all perhaps, is the thermally isolated and elegant mounting system for the PSU. Plus Phanteks has also thrown in a set of 4 of their nearly silent PH-F140SP fans.

And of course they’ve included items that are a staple in a 2013 case: 4 USB 3.0 slots, smoked side windows, tool less and removeable drive systems.

And from the lofty heights of glowing praise we must descend to the depths of the drawbacks of this case. While there is very little that is fundamentally wrong with the case, so little in fact that I would say the worst offense would be the inability of the tool less 5.25” system to lock shorter items in place. There is one problem, the case is $249.99. At that price range there are some serious contenders for your money. This is not entry level by any means. Considering you can have a very decent motherboard or GPU for that money it’s very critical that we take it into account here. First I would have almost expected an aluminum construction through out. This case is heavy! With a gross weight of 44 lbs plus the addition of your components, this is not going with you to every LAN party, not unless you’re trying to throw your back out that is. The other thing that is a big disappointment at this price, is the absence of a fan controller. Yes it has that splitter with PWM control, but we would have rather had an actual fan controller. Additional lighting wouldn’t have hurt either, but is not something that will make or break a case for us.

So after all that, ThinkComputers.org would like to award the Phanteks Enthoo Primo a 9 out of 10 score!

rating9 10 small

Pros:
– Innovative and well thought out design
– Pleasure to water cool
– Fit and Finish

Cons:
– Price
– Weight
– No true fan controller