BitFenix Outlaw Mid Tower Chassis Review

So has BitFenix’s gamble paid off with their unique, inverted ATX Outlaw? Yes and no.

As far as styling goes, the BitFenix Outlaw is surprisingly attractive and likeable. It isn’t marketed as an elegant case, but should look brilliant sat on any desk due to its fairly plain design, lack of flashy lights and minimal amount of ventilated mesh. Obviously the styling won’t appeal to all, but we have seen some far greater monstrosities in the same £40/€40/$50 price range. Internal attractiveness is another strong point. The all black interior can take the credit for this. Anybody wanting to mod a side panel window onto this case should have very few worries about an ugly interior.

The quality is, on one hand, what you would expect from a case of this price and, on the other hand, slightly poor compared to some similarly priced competitors. The widespread use of thumbscrews is a good feature, but sorting between them is very difficult without labels on each bag. The PCI slots are recessed, but non-replaceable covers are used. The exterior features BitFenix’s proprietary SofTouch surface treatment, which in practise didn’t do an amazing job at preventing fingerprints, but did create a ‘SofTouch’. The metal used has a cheap feel to it and is very thin. The exterior consists mainly of plastic. We have to put this into perspective though and understand that BitFenix had no choice but to cut corners to reduce the price. Although the cases aren’t directly comparable, we wouldn’t say the quality isn’t as good as the similarly priced NZXT M59, but we are equally certain that it is much better than plenty of other competitors.

Expansion is very good for a mid-tower case. 4 3.5″ drive bays, 4 5.25″ drive bays, 3 of which are external and a single 2.5″ SSD mount makes up a good set of expandability options. Another 2.5″ mount would have gone down very well, but it is likely that the majority of the Outlaw’s target audience aren’t going to be using multiple 2.5″ drives. Graphics card clearance is phenomenal! Any reference design card on the market should fit in the Outlaw with ease. CPU cooler clearance is more limited at around 158mm, but still allows for the use of highly acclaimed coolers such as the Gelid Tranquillo Rev. 2. 

Cooling possibilities are excellent on the Outlaw. A total of 8, yes 8 fans can be installed! The side panel and bottom fan locations may be blocked if you use a long power supply, 2.5″ drive or tall CPU cooler, so this does slightly dampen the Outlaw’s cooling party. According to BitFenix, one of the main features of the inverted ATX layout was the “unique thermal layout”. It is unique in such a way that the graphics card’s hot exhaust air is removed far more easily, but apart from that, we don’t really see anything revolutionary in the cooling front. Even the graphics card’s hot exhaust air removal is a mediocre point as the top mounted fans would usually be used to remove hot air from around the CPU area anyway. One very disappointing fact was the lack of any dust filters whatsoever. We can live with only a single 120mm fan being supplied, but not a single dust filter? Please.

The Outlaw has some good features, such as, the cooling potential, decent cable management, unique design, stylish appearance and good expansion options. It also has some bad features, such as, the lack of dust filters, single supplied fan, cheap material and slight lack of quality in certain areas. BitFenix have clearly put a large amount of thought into the Outlaw. They tried to create a unique case which will appeal to a large segment of the market with an attractive £40/€40/$50 price tag and we respect them for that. It may not be the completely revolutionary case BitFenix had hoped for and it is by no means faultless. However, the Outlaw is still a good choice for anybody who wants a mid-tower case with good cooling, excellent expansion options, decent cable management, a stylish appearance and an affordable price tag. There just may be a few better options available.