Supermicro Gaming S5 Review

H

HardOCP News

[H] News
Joined
Dec 31, 1969
Messages
0
The Supermicro Gaming S5 mid-tower case is on the test bench at ocaholic today. For comparison purposes, you can see our evaluation here.

The Gaming S5 is the first gaming case from Supermicro, a company which is best-known for it's server components. This particular case offers space for high-end components and also offers a lot of flexibility when it comes to custom watercooling gear. In addition there are interesting features like washable dust filters, PWM fans and an interesting price tag.
 
$100 for a flimsy steel case.. no thanks.

For my personal systems I don't even bother with a case unless it is Aluminum.
 
cyclone3d said:
$100 for a flimsy steel case.. no thanks.

For my personal systems I don't even bother with a case unless it is Aluminum.
Click to expand...

Good for you? $100 is nothing for a case these days. Actually it's the average you spend anymore. There are tones of solid steel cases for $100.

Case looks great, supermicro has put out some nice consumer product recently.
 
Supermicro making anything for gaming is like Caterpillar making a supercar. I dunno if I'd trust it.
 
I think it looks good. I prefer more plain looking square cases, none of that gaudy plastic shit that is common in some cases. Looks like a bunch of drive bays, overall seems quite nice. $100 might be a LITTLE bit spendy for this case, but hey not too bad. Really love my Corsair 650D though, but it is a bit of a behemoth.
 
dgingeri said:
Supermicro making anything for gaming is like Caterpillar making a supercar. I dunno if I'd trust it.
Click to expand...

vs4JW7N.jpg
 
It seems well built and looks okay, but the feet should be taller to allow for more air flow at the bottom and I do not understand why they have an SSD drive cage. A good first attempt, but I do not think the design is up to par with Corsair and Phanteks
 
walwalka said:
Good for you? $100 is nothing for a case these days. Actually it's the average you spend anymore. There are tones of solid steel cases for $100.

Case looks great, supermicro has put out some nice consumer product recently.
Click to expand...

For a steel case, it is not worth it.

I've had my share of many different steel cases.

Maybe I've just grown tired of all the plastic crap that they use in cases as well as super thin flimsy metal. Even the review of this $100 case says that the side panels are flimsy.

For $100 I better be getting something that is very well made.

If I am spending good money on a case, I expect it to last and had the side panels go on easy, be tight when installed so they don't rattle, and not bend when all you do is look at them.

Oh, and the lame razor sharp edges that are a staple with most steel cases is a turn off as well.

Just because a lot of cases are horrendously overpriced doesn't mean that $100 should be an ok price for a mediocre product.
 
cyclone3d said:
For a steel case, it is not worth it.

I've had my share of many different steel cases.

Maybe I've just grown tired of all the plastic crap that they use in cases as well as super thin flimsy metal. Even the review of this $100 case says that the side panels are flimsy.

For $100 I better be getting something that is very well made.

If I am spending good money on a case, I expect it to last and had the side panels go on easy, be tight when installed so they don't rattle, and not bend when all you do is look at them.

Oh, and the lame razor sharp edges that are a staple with most steel cases is a turn off as well.

Just because a lot of cases are horrendously overpriced doesn't mean that $100 should be an ok price for a mediocre product.
Click to expand...


I think you are being too critical. You like aluminum and that is fine, but it tends to be very expensive and most aluminum cases I have seen or used have horrid internals. Many of the Phanteks, NZXT and Corsair cases have great internals, no sharp edges and appealing outer looks.

Rigid side panels are overrated IMHO, its not like I am flexing those panels all the time. I just want them to close properly and easily. I have never used a case and said wow this case is awesome but the side panels are too thin.

If you know of $100 aluminum cases that have the same quality internals please link them because I would actually be interested in buying one.
Today's quality cases should have all of the following:
Side mounted and removable drive cages with sliding tooless mounts
unrestricted front fans ( nothing between fan and internals)
all intakes filtered with easily removable filters
wire holes with grommets for hiding wires behind the motherboard.
tooless SSD mounts behind the motherboard and/or on PSU shield
tall feet so that their is good airflow under the case.
 
I'd agree with most of that, but the tall feet isn't too big a deal unless someone has severe clearance restrictions in which case the taller feet can often hurt anyhow. Bottom-mounted psu fans can draw in plenty of air so long as they have ~1/2" of clearance. If someone sets their case on a carpeted floor attempting to use it as a vacuum, that's on the user. It's a simple thing to place a plank or some such on the ground to provide an unobstructed gap and most people these days seem to have at least a fleeting concept of dust being bad for electronics.

Personally speaking, I place my monster of a case on my desk, despite the excellent dust filtering and our pet-free frequently cleaned hardwood floors.

Regarding steel vs aluminum, my current Lian Li is pretty spiffy, but I'd have no problem going back to a steel case (brushed/anodized steel looks nice) if it met my needs. I'm 6ft tall and rather strong tho, so I'm biased. I've watched my 5' 5" buddy struggle with even mid towers, so everyone's got their preferences.
 
zaniix said:
I think you are being too critical. You like aluminum and that is fine, but it tends to be very expensive and most aluminum cases I have seen or used have horrid internals. Many of the Phanteks, NZXT and Corsair cases have great internals, no sharp edges and appealing outer looks.

Rigid side panels are overrated IMHO, its not like I am flexing those panels all the time. I just want them to close properly and easily. I have never used a case and said wow this case is awesome but the side panels are too thin.

If you know of $100 aluminum cases that have the same quality internals please link them because I would actually be interested in buying one.
Today's quality cases should have all of the following:
Side mounted and removable drive cages with sliding tooless mounts
unrestricted front fans ( nothing between fan and internals)
all intakes filtered with easily removable filters
wire holes with grommets for hiding wires behind the motherboard.
tooless SSD mounts behind the motherboard and/or on PSU shield
tall feet so that their is good airflow under the case.
Click to expand...

There are a few Lian Li cases that come pretty close.

PC-7HB
PC-9NB
PC-10NA
PC-9F

My Retro rig is in a PC-100 and my main rig is in an old PC-767 that I modified for better cooling and better wire management.
 
cyclone3d said:
There are a few Lian Li cases that come pretty close.

PC-7HB
PC-9NB
PC-10NA
PC-9F

My Retro rig is in a PC-100 and my main rig is in an old PC-767 that I modified for better cooling and better wire management.
Click to expand...

They do come close and I appreciate you listing them. I do happen to like aluminum cases, but sadly the ones I like are always at least $200 if not more. I have a really old Lian Li with top mounted PSU and all the old school internals that I still use for one of my older systems. I am mostly happy with a simple black box as long as the internals work well and it doesn't cost me too much.

Lol you can still buy my old case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112099 LIAN LI PC-7B plus II, hate the internals, single fan in the front HDD mount is horrid, but it works and looks nice from outside
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top