It's been an interesting week around here for PC cases. Antec announced its Lego-eqsue LanBoy Air on Tuesday, we published a review of Thermaltake's Level 10 this morning, and BitFenix joined the fun today, introducing its new "Survivor" gaming chassis. The Survivor is intended for frequent LAN goers, balancing good looks and a functional, sturdy design.
"We wanted to design a PC chassis that had ruggedized features, but didn't necessarily look like a tractor," said BitFenix product manager David Jarlstedt. "Will you be able to throw it in front of a moving bus or down the stairs? No, but you won't have to worry about damaged hardware while driving to your friend's house or LAN party."
The Survivor has a proprietary coating to prevent bumps and scratches, a retractable handle for easy transportation, as well as a security system to lockdown your peripherals at public venues. The on/off button is placed inside a concealable front I/O panel along with two USB 2.0/3.0 ports, one eSATA port, logo lighting controls, and audio jacks.
It can house up to seven 3.5-inch or nine 2.5-inch drives via two modular drive cages (removable in case your GPU can't fit), three external 5.25-inch drives, a 200mm fan in front and on top, and a 120mm fan in back. Other features include a CPU hole in the motherboard tray, dust filters, a cable management system and seven tool-free expansion slots.
BitFenix plans to ship two versions of its new case sometime in November. The standard "Survivor" will have all the features described above for $109, while the $89 "Survivor Core" axes some features. The Core drops two USB 3.0 ports, one 200mm fan (and the included fan doesn't have LED lights), as well as the cable-locking mechanism.