Wokehh, at long last I'm writing this long overdue review of the Encloxure Wi2 otherwise known as the Wizard. Anyway, I'm sure most of you haven't heard of this brand yet. It's a totally new brand which is brought in by Inter-Asia Technology Sdn Bhd(will be referred to as IA from here on). You all probably know by now that IA is the distributor for Silverstone cases. Silverstone IMHO is the Mac Daddy of cases. So why is IA bringing in the Encloxure range of cases? It's an affordable range meant for the mainstream market. IA knows that a lot of gamers and enthusiasts love nice cases but not everyone can afford the prices that Silverstone commands. This is where the Encloxure brand comes in. A series of nice looking yet affordable cases.
Let's get on to the Wizard. It's made entirely out of steel. It's priced at rm199 and we can't expect aluminum at this price range. The steel used is of a good grade n gauge too. The thickness of the steel sheets are nice and thick as per industry standards. I would say the steel panels are the same like cases such as Coolermaster's C5. Let's move on to the specifications.

Specifications:-
Dimensions(mm): 200 x 510 x 430 (W x D x H)
Material: Steel
Colour:Black
Weight:6.8kg
Front Panel:Power and reset switches on the side of front panel, 2xUSB, Stereo+Mic minijacks
Internal features: 9 x 5.25in bays, 1 x 3 in 1 HDD module for 3 HDDs.
Form factor: ATX, MATX
Cooling:1 x front blue LED 120mm fan in HDD module, 1 x blue LED 120mm side fan mount, 1 x black 120mm rear fan.
PSU:Not supplied









Here's the box it comes in.














It's very well packed and protected to prevent damage during shipment. Just take a look at the styrofoam blocks in there. It covers almost 2/3 of the case. Most cases come with styrofoam blocks which are only about half the size of these units. This is good for people who buy through online shops. It will be well protected on it's way to your home.














This is how the case looks like from the front. The whole front is made up of 5.25in slot covers which are made out of mesh for superb intake. The doors swing out for access to the DVD drive and also the 3 in 1 HDD module at the bottom. There's a blue LED 120mm intake fan in the HDD module for intake. There's an option to add more 3 in 1 HDD modules too if you have more than 3 HDDs.















Left side of the case. This is the only part about the Wizard which I don't like. The function is good but it looks really ugly in my opinion. I reckon they should have made the blowholes uniform. Either 2 squares or 2 round holes would be much nicer. I don't understand why they went for 1 square and 1 round. Just doesn't look right. However, the side panels are totally reversible. The left and right side panels can be swapped around after the 120mm fan n intake duct are removed from the holes. If you prefer a solid side panel, just use the panel from the other side and put the right side up against the wall so you don't see the holes. If it's all about performance then I suggest leaving the panel alone as it will be really good for the case ventilation.
















Right side. Nothing special here. Just a normal side panel. Note the Encloxure logo on the door. The logo looks nice, simple and classy. No ugly logos like dragons or spiders on typical "gaming" cases. The power and reset switches are located on this side of the front panel. A very nice touch as it keeps the front panel nice and neat, you also don't have to go through the trouble of opening and closing the doors just to switch on the PC.















Rear. A normal rear panel with 120mm exhaust.













Top.






¾ view.





This post has been edited by ianho: Oct 18 2007, 04:32 AM

Let's take a look inside the case. The 9 x 5.25in bays are good. It allows you to add more HDD modules. Up to 3 HDD modules can be added for a total of 9 HDDs. It looks good too with a uniform monolithic look to it which goes straight from top to bottom. The internal panels are painted in silver. Another nice touch by Encloxure. A lot of cases come with matt grey interiors nowadays and I really dislike them.


















Here's another great addition from Encloxure. I've never seen this on any other cases. I've worked on and modified plenty of cases but I have never seen such a feature. See that black clip(marked in red circle) on the motherboard tray? It's meant for the PSU wires. It's a superb idea and will be great for wire management. Hopefully more case manufacturers come out with something similar, that's if Encloxure hasn't patented the design yet.













Inside the case is a box which contains the screws and accessories. It comes with 2 slot covers that have 4in openings for people who want to install a floppy drive or perhaps 3.5in fan controllers on the front panel.













The case comes out of the box without the "feet". You have to install them yourself as I did here.
















This is how the side panel looks like on the inside. The lower hole is equiped with a 120mm fan while the top hole is an air duct for those who are using stock Intel or AMD coolers. The air duct is removable for those who prefer big tower coolers. You can also take off the air duct and install a 120mm fan there. I think it would be better to put 2 x 120mm fans there and also reverse them to make them exhaust air. This should work better as the front is entirely made up of mesh and the negative pressure will surely suck in a lot of cool air from the front.














Moving on to my favorite part of the case. The front intake n HDD module. This feature is the most awesome part of this case. Swing open the doors, pop off the 3 slots covering it and you get access to the module. The white frame has a nice nylon mesh filter on it.

Remove 2 screws on the side rails and you can slide the whole module out of the case.




This is the 3 in 1 HDD module by itself.






Here's another brilliant touch by Encloxure's designers. The fan filter slides off easily for cleaning purposes. No more dirty, dusty HDDs that look like they just came out from the Batcave. It should keep our HDDs nice and shiny for cooler temperatures.















The fan can be removed too. I doubt you will need to do this often as the filter will catch most of the dust before it gets to the fan. However, it's very easy to remove if you need to. Just remove 4 screws and the plastic frame and fan comes off.











3 HDDs installed in the module. Nice gaps all around the HDDs for cooling. Some modules are designed for 4 HDDs which I think is bad because the HDDs will be begging for more air.












I was curious to see if this case could accommodate a high end rig. Most fellas with high end rigs probably wouldn't buy this case in the 1st place but some people will, so they can save money for their hardware perhaps. The most basic thing a high end rig needs is a nice fat power supply. So I decided to plonk in a Silverstone Olympia 1000W PSU to see if it'll fit. This PSU is as big as PSUs get now. Only the DA1200 which I'm using now is bigger by 1cm. The case took in the OP1000 with no problems. Here's how it looks like.

Finally, we get to the end. I closed up the panels and powered up the fans to show you guys how it all looks like.


















Conclusion.
This case has great cooling ability with all those fans and a great big mesh front panel. It should be great for Quad core CPUs with all that cooling ability. Accomodates a 1000W PSU without problems. Good build quality comparable to all mainstream cases within the same price range. Looks nice without being overboard like a lot of other so called gaming cases. Has good quality speckle paint which doesn't scratch easily.
In conclusion I'd say this is a fantastic case for the price of only rm199. Just imagine the features you're getting for the price. HDD modules usually sell for about rm120. 2 x 120mm LED fans are about rm35 each. 1 x 120mm black fan is about rm15. Let's see............ 120+70+15=205. That's just for the stuff you get with the case. So in effect the case is free! Well, I know it doesn't actually add up that way but if you think about it that way, it does make the case look really affordable doesn't it? I'd say it really is the best bang for buck casing right now for those with a budget of rm200.

This post has been edited by ianho: Oct 18 2007, 03:07 PM

hmm it has it's own pro and cons .. but I wouldn't want to get it for sure ..

hahaha .. have deep love with aluminum case ....

monolith design is very good for mounting large amount og 5,25" hardware hehe............and the front with mesh is a good idea for massive air intake at low velocity

btw the hdd case is really nice piece of work........ i said it;s better then CM SECC 4 in 3 module.......... even come with a filter

if this case was aluminum, Lian li in big trouble

Beng...~!~

My KL01 also has the black clip lol:P

For other Encloxure Casing,

http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?act=ST&f=37&t=512883

Uncle...How you want to mod it??

no doubt... this is a very budget and yet nice case~ for it~

but if its alu sure its more tempting...

If alu...the price is not RM199 liow lo...

But if alu with RM199...woo..

The only downside of it is the material used.
If it was built full Alu, it would have shaken most of the casing makers out there.

And for that 1 single reason, i will still go for a Lian Li...

yalor... if it was lian li the price will be more like around rm400 mark...

but now i have more interest in how Ianho gonna mod this case with those goodies...

The case not bad le .. Summore the price also not costy ..

yummy.... i like it please show us how does it look if you fill all the 5.25" with opticals/hdd

LOL...You can do it yourself wa..yours is coming wa...

I havent been here for a long time. This case with the front panel open looks fugly

is there a chance of reviewing the SHINOBI after this ?that case also mighty sweet...

You can check some of the lowyat.net forumer talk about the casing.

http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopi...post&p=13239028

http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopi...post&p=13419453

But of coz...Ask Uncle review it..lol..but i don't think he has the casing with him now

why those exp casing always doesnt come with psu?

If comes with psu then more expensive lo:P

hahhaa:)