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As we said at the start of this review, modern thinking suggests that less costs more. With products like mainboards, you can understand the increased effort needed to avoid electrical issues, but it's less clear with chassis.
Let's hit the positives first.
The BitFenix Colossus M is a good looking chassis with integrated lighting where the colours can be adjusted and even set to pulse, should you be so inclined. There's enough space for a decent graphics card and you can fit a 240mm radiator. Data storage is well taken care of with mounting available for five full hard drives or up to eight Solid State Drives.
BitFenix has tried to make assembly easier by including features like the FlexCage that can be removed completely for added flexibility, but there are some inner secrets to building with this product that are not immediately obvious.
First on the negative side is the unusual mounting mechanism for the power supply at the front of the chassis (with an integrated power cord to a pre-installed PSU power socket at the rear), can be fiddly. If you make the mistake of screwing your power supply in hard before attaching the power cord (as you might with a conventional build) then you will need to undo it and try again.
Essentially, there are several ‘options' when you build the case and choosing the wrong one will mean, a short while later, that you realise you've gone the wrong way and will need to backtrack in order to get it right.
Lastly, to get all of the front panel lights/switches etc connected without a struggle, you will need to ensure that they have been connected before you install a ROM drive and finalise your hard drive enclosure.
Traditional builders fit the drives etc early – then plug in at the end. Resist that urge. Professional builders, creating more than one PC, will learn the inner Kung-Fu of the BitFenix Colossus M and life will get easier with every PC you put together.
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Pros
- Can be assembled without tools
- Second build experience will be much quicker/easier than the first
- Decent temperatures for a small chassis
- Enough room for a CrossFire/SLi gaming specification
Cons
- Costs a bit more than rivals
- Build must happen in the right order or you'll need to disassemble and repeat steps
KitGuru says: If you're building just the one system, then you might want a dry run to get the hang of its idiosyncrasies and to make sure you know the order in which you will be putting the various components together. Pricewise, the BitFenix Prodigy and Aerocool DS products are £5-£10 less, but without so many illuminations and, as such, offers reasonable value. If you want your Micro ATX handiwork to glow in the dark, then the BitFenix Colossus M Micro ATX is worth buying.
