Enermax launches $99 Hoplite mid-tower with hotswap bays

Matthew DeCarlo

Posts: 5,271   +104

Enermax has launched a new desktop chassis aimed at gamers and performance buffs alike. Said to be the company's flagship mid-tower case, the "Hoplite" has a solid spec sheet for its $99 asking price. Among the more noteworthy features is two 3.5-inch hotswap drive bays along with an optional top-mounted hotswap drive dock, neither of which is common in a $100 case.

The I/O is home to an eSATA port, audio jacks, and two USB 2.0 ports. In addition to a drive dock, the premium model trades both USB 2.0 ports for USB 3.0. Inside, the Hoplite has a bottom-mounted PSU with a dust filter, cable management cutouts with rubber grommets, extruded side panels so you can stuff wires behind the motherboard tray and a hole below the processor.


Stock cooling includes a 120mm front intake fan with multi-color LED lighting (red/blue) and a 120mm rear exhaust. The side can be outfitted with two 120mm fans or one 200mm fan and the top can take two 120mm or 140mm fans. You can adjust the color and speed of the front intake fan via two controls on the front bezel. There's also two holes with rubber grommets for liquid cooling.

The Hoplite has four 5.25-inch and six 3.5-inch bays with quick release covers and rails for easy drive installation. There's also seven rear expansion slots with clearance for graphics cards measuring up to 315mm long -- that's enough space for today's longest consumer card, the Radeon HD 5970. We've seen mixed reports on availability, but it should be on shelves soon if it isn't already.

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Actually looks like a pretty nice case for $99, though more 120s up front would be nice. Esp. impressed with the hole behind the mobo. Always a pain in the *** to take everything out to mess with the heat sink.
 
You can't beat that for $100. I just have 1 question. The side panel vent doesn't have a filter or Plexi glass?
 
I can't say for sure, but judging by the pictures that's correct. The side panel looks like it's straight metal mesh with holes for two 120mm fans or one 200mm fan. You could always purchase filters separately.
 
Quiet impressive for a sub 100 case, though I'm a bit doubtful of the construction materials... since it is so cheap and has so many cool things.
 
If this Enermax mid-tower is as good as it looks, it will surely give the other better known brands a run for their money especially at the $100 price point. I know a number of full tower cases that don't even have that amount of clearance for large graphics cards.
 
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