Raidmax Blackstorm Mid-Tower Case Review

1. Introduction2. Packaging and Bundle3. Raidmax Blackstorm: Exterior4. Raidmax BlackSotrm: Interior and Installation5. Testing Methodology and Performance6. Closing Thoughts7. View All Pages

Overall, we are left with negative impressions of the Raidmax Blackstorm. We like the use of side panel latches rather than screws as it lets the user access the internal components easily.  The case also offers average cooling performance, but many cases at this price point will perform better.

There are far to many problems with this case for our liking, however.  Firstly, the case looks terribly dated, rather ugly and the materials don't justify the £70 price tag.  We also don't like the top mounted PSU which means there is no roof exhaust. There is also no support for 2.5″ drives or USB 3.0 on the front panel, both of which we would expect as standard on a case of this price.

We also found that the fan at the front makes a very unusual clicking noise that is extremely annoying, so this would need to be replaced.  We cannot be sure whether this is just a defect on our particular sample, though.

Despite the fold down motherboard tray being an interesting feature, it complicates the rest of the installation procedure as it means there is no room for cable routing and there is no cut out in the motherboard tray for installing a CPU cooler backplate.  Also, it makes it impossible to install the vast majority of aftermarket CPU coolers as they just won't fit in.

While we weren't able to find the Raidmax Blackstorm for sale in the UK, we were able to find it for sale at CaseKing.de for about 85 euros. This means the Blackstorm will cost around £75 in the UK which is much too expensive for a case with this many issues.

At a price of around £30-£35 we might be able to recommend it, but it has a poor internal design, it looks terrible and offers very poor value for money. Avoid.

Pros:

• Side panel latches

Cons:

• No 2.5″ drive support.
• No USB3.0 support.
• Most Aftermarket CPU coolers won't fit.
• No CPU Cooler Backplate.
• No Cable routing support.
• Top Mounted PSU.
• No thumbscrews for expansion devices.
• Weird aesthetic design.
• low quality fan.

KitGuru says:  There are many superior cases out there at this price point, buy one of them instead!

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