Supermicro Gaming S5 Mid-Tower Chassis Review @ [H]

FrgMstr

Just Plain Mean
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Supermicro Gaming S5 Mid-Tower Chassis Review - The Supermicro name is synonymous with mainstream enterprise servers and all sorts of rack and chassis equipment. Today however we see the desktop side of Supermicro in a product designed and marketed to PC gamers. The enthusiast PC case market is chock full of solid competition, so let' see if Supermicro can compete at the desktop level.
 
I had higher hopes for a product like this.

Supermicro is great in the server space.

I guess there is a learning curve, and jumping into the "gaming" marketplace isn't as easy as it might look, even if you have lots of server/workstation experience.

I'm still curious about their new line of "gaming" motherboards though! Would love a review of those.
 
Good article I think you are dead on with the review. it seems like an okay case, but not at $99

Enthoo Pro kind of set the bar for the $99 case
 
Can't stand the red on the front of the case

99 is too much for what it is. Several, equal or better, antec and corsair cases go on sale below that. Even not on sale might be cheaper.
 
I think the pricing reflects SuperMicro being used to charging a premium for their rep in the server/workstation markets.

That said, I like that their aesthetic approach doesn't go down the slap-bizarre-plastic-shapes-on-a-case road.
Red might not be my favorite color, but I like the way they employ it; as a tasteful accent.

The bottom filter will always have a downside.
If they make it a slide-out version, they lose the advantages mentioned regarding magnetic filters.
Designing it to slide out the front, however, would have been smarter.

If they brought out versions with additional colors, addressed the bottom filter, fan hole placement and thin panel issues, and dropped the price to $75, they'd have a winner on their hands.
 
The thing that was not looked at is the overall manufacturing quality and materials used, thats where supermicro cases are a bit better.

Their cases while not super flashy or full of fancy features, are usually spot on.

I recently bought a 750d and was not pleased with the mfg quality, but it fit the bill everywhere else, so I dealt with it and finally corsair released a mesh front to replace the solid front and that smoothed things over for me a bit.

I would probably consider this as a replacement for another machine over another 750d!

Here is another reason.
http://www.supermicro.com/products/chassis/tower/S5/SCGS50-000R.cfm?parts=SHOW

An actual parts list with part numbers so you can order replacement parts as needed without having to deal with sub-par tech support like some other mfg's.
 
Good article I think you are dead on with the review. it seems like an okay case, but not at $99

Enthoo Pro kind of set the bar for the $99 case

I'd also look at the Fractal Design R5. It is commonly available for $99.00, and is an excellent case as well.
 
Good article I think you are dead on with the review. it seems like an okay case, but not at $99

Enthoo Pro kind of set the bar for the $99 case

Completely Agree.
 
this case is just a reskin of the Thermaltake V41 is it not? the frame, the top fan mounts and filter, the side wall behind the HDD cages... this is definitely a thermaltake. V41 I'm thinking because the V51 is bigger.

edit: I was thinking too big. this case is a reskin of the Versa H34/H35. no way in hell I'd recommend anyone shell out $100 for this. never.
 
Supermicro has been my favourite case manufacturer (currently have 5 cases at home; more at work), so I'm glad to see they do some things, like cooling, fairly well in the S5... but their recent 'gaming' case designs (SC732G and S5) were designed by someone 10-20 years out of touch with their market. I don't see them succeeding in penetrating this market unless they do something revolutionary. And they can, but I'm not seeing that happen, and it's pretty sad to see where they are heading.
 
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