Computing on Demand PC News & Reviews
When it gets down to it, the BitFenix Colossus Mini ITX is a very interesting case. You can’t deny that SofTouch isn’t one of the coolest things to happen to computer case. The Colossus Mini ITX looks great, it has plenty of configuration options, and it is inexpensive to boot. The case costs somewhere in the neighborhood of $90 USD.
As far as system configuration goes, this case can handle almost anything. I very much like the fact that I can remove all the HDD cages and free up space for water and wiring. Although some may have a need for a 3.5″ HDD (or five of them), I don’t. As far as those cages go… Good riddance, there will be a nice little reservoir placed in their memory.
However, that doesn’t mean that this case is perfect.
For me, I can’t get used to having the controls on the side panel. I know “I” am clumsy and that is not BitFenix’s fault, but I am sure there is more than one clumsy person out there that may be considering this case. I would have much rather muddied up the front, even behind the door, with the power and reset buttons than have them on the side panel. Move the USB ports somewhere else and just let the side panels be side panels again.
Again, the PSU cage is just a bit too small. I would have liked to see BitFenix add at least a half of an inch more here. This would allow me to have 2.5″ HDDs installed vertically and still have enough room to work with PSU wiring. Had I used a traditional PSU (not modular), I would have ran into some troubling wiring issues.
Although building a mini ITX rig can sometimes feel like putting a Revell model car together, the overall build experience wasn’t incredibly painful. There were a few of those “ugh” moments, but it wasn’t anything I would consider a deal breaker. If you are in the market for a mini ITX case and want something you can grow into, the Colossus is a good choice. Its modular design allows plenty of configurability and can accommodate even the largest of video cards. If water is your thing, you don’t need to break out your hole saw/Dremel… BitFenix has you covered. This isn’t the cheapest mini ITX case on the market, when you grab one you can easily see why. Bottom line… would I buy one? Yes.
