Inside:

Inside	250mm fan	Power Cooler
Reversing circuit	PCI Clips	Drive Bays
5.25" locking clips	Wire connections	120mm intake

    The inside of the Enermax Phoenix is not the flashest of interiors in the enclosure field, but I'm typically more about function than style in certain situations. The inside is plain but functional. Let's start off up front with the bays. As mentioned in the outside portion of the review, there are six external bays: five are 5.25" and one at 3.5". For internal bays we have four additional 3.5" slots. There are four preinstalled tool-less locking clips on the bays, and three more tool-less clips in the accessory box for the 3.5" drives. Just in front of the lower bays is a single opening for an 120mm intake fan.

    Moving around the inside of the case in a clockwise manner, we get to the large 250mm fan. The wiring for the fan is nothing fancy, just using a standard molex plug on the end. Continuing around, we get to the back of the case, and here we have an 120mm opening for an exhaust fan. The 7 PCI slots have tool-less snap clips preinstalled, and lastly the right side panel, which is left untouched. 

Installation:

Mobo installed	HDD Rails	Snap pins in
Almost locked	rail secured	Spring load door

    Component installation is simple and straight forward on the Phoenix enclosure. There are plenty of motherboard stand off's included. The tool-less clips for the drive bays function easy and work well. Simply slide the clip toward the front of the case to create a friction fit, and then slide the tab down to lock everything in place. The tool-less clips for the expansion cards are also easy to use: by pushing in the little tab, the clip swings out of the way. When the card is installed, just swing the clip back in place and push on until it snaps into place, locking the card. For the hard drives the rails snap on to the side of the drive and then everything slides in to the bay.

Conclusion:

    We all know that Enermax has a fine line of computer related items in their lineup. The Phoenix certainly fits right into that category. The Phoenix enclosure is a simple case with some nice key features to keep component installation quick and easy. The front fan grill is removable and has a foam insert that can also be removed and cleaned.

    One of the key features I want to give some time to is the 250mm fan. When I saw this thing up close and personal for the first time, I was a bit shocked. Then I thought perhaps they had stuck a desktop fan in the side panel of the case. If that was so, I knew it was going to be loud despite the 17db rating given on the box. Well, was I wrong about the noise... it was quiet! Very quiet and moving a good bit of air as well. The fan seemed slightly louder when it was trying to suck air from the case as opposed to blowing air into it. The reversing switch on the fan is nice, but I don't feel it's needed, especially when there is a 250mm fan is blowing across most of the motherboard and its components. With the help of the 120mm exhaust fan and PSU fan blowing out, there shouldn't be any pockets of trapped hot air. For the owners of large heat-sink fans on their CPU's: there may be a clearance issue between the side panel fan and the top of the HSF. So far, that is the only possible issue I encountered with the Phoenix case.

    When I fired up the computer for testing, I kept the 250mm fan off for about 10 minutes. When that time had passed, I powered up the side fan and placed my hand by the exhaust ports on the rear of the enclosure. I was definitely surprised at the heat it was pushing out. Next, I repeated this process, this time while watching PC Wizard 2006 for temperatures. The motherboard temperature dropped 2C when the side panel fan was used, and, of course, any drop inside the case is a positive.

    I know this is a lot of talk for just a side panel fan, but it's a 250mm fan. Without this fan, we would be stuck with just a simple, average case. Now, a simple case is not bad, but for some, they want all-out bling. The Phoenix is not about bling, but rather making a statement with a large, low-speed, high-velocity fan. If you are OK with that, then the Phoenix could just be the case for you. I would like to extend my thanks to Enermax for bravely sending out the Phoenix enclosure for critique by VH.