Introduction
When you’re planning a new system build, sometimes a common mid-tower chassis just isn’t enough. If you’re planning on something big, with large radiators, huge graphics cards, monster size power supplies and more, then you’re going to need a big chassis! Fortunately, BitFenix has got us covered, with their Shinobi XL, a feature packed full-tower that should fit virtually any hardware you can think of.
As the name would suggest, this chassis is similar to the BitFenix Shinobi, the XL obviously defines that this is the extra-large version of the original, giving you even more room to play around with for your new build.
BitFenix is one of the most recognizable chassis brands on the market, having had huge success with several chassis over the years; such as their Prodigy and Colossus series. I’ve been very impressed with their products in past reviews, so I’m expecting great things from the Shinobi XL.
The XL is very capable, with room for a vast range of air and water cooling solutions, E-ATX and XL-ATX motherboards and all the popular BitFenix extras such as FlexCage, SofTouch and more!
I have the windowed edition at my disposal today, which features a huge side panel window. What’s interesting is that the window held into the panel with plastic push-click pins, this means you can easily take the window out of the panel. While this won’t be something your average user will need to do, it’ll no doubt please chassis modders.
Both the left and right side panels are made from thick steel and held in place by a pair of thumbscrews at the back.
The chassis is quite wide, but certainly proportionate to its height. There are two strips of ventilation, one down each side. The front panel has also been treated to that lovely SofTouch coating, which gives the Shinobi XL a sleek and rather stealthy appearance. Finally, we’ve got a staggering five 5.25″ drive bays! Not sure who needs that many, but they’d be great for converting to hot swap drive bays.
Around the back, you’ll find four rubber grommets at the top, a 120/140mm fan mount, with a 120mm fan pre-installed, nine expansion slots and the PSU cut-out; the PSU cut-out alone should give you some impression of the scale of this chassis.
The top panel has a large ventilated section, as well as two strips of ventilation near the edge; matching the design of the front panel.
The main I/O section has four USB 3.0 ports that are fed by dual USB 3.0 headers on the interior of the chassis, there’s even a high-power USB charging socket; perfect for charging your tablet/phone.
There are four large with rubber grip base and three washable dust filters on the base of the chassis. The PSU filter slides out, while the other two clip into place, which are great for anyone planning on mounting a radiator in the base of the chassis.
