Chieftec DX-02B Full-Tower Chassis Review

Final Thoughts

Price

The Chieftec DX-02B isn’t cheap, clocking in on average at around £90 here in the UK. This puts it along side some tough competition from the likes of NZXT, Coolermaster and Corsair to name but a few, but as an alternative it does offer all the major features for around the same price as its competitors.

Overview

The Chieftec DX-02B ticks a lot of boxes, it is packed full of features that make it ideal for a high performance system, be that gaming, rendering or any other professional use. It’s a little rough around the edges compared to some rival brands, but overall it’s still a rock solid case for the money and that’s no bad thing for those who want something that looks unique compared to the current range of high-end gaming chassis.

A few minor gripes with the case would be that it only features a single USB 3.0 port, the side panel windows are a little odd, the side fan mount should be filtered or come with a cover for those who don’t need it and the internal cables are a rainbow of colours that break up the otherwise smart black interior. They’re all minor issues and while I picked up on them, they many not be issues for your own build.

Build quality is rock solid, all the panels are chunky and tough, so I’ve no doubt it’ll take a few knocks and bumps in its stride.

The real winner here are the extras, the fan controller is a welcome bonus; even if it is pretty basic, there are easily accessible dust filters on all major intakes, there are five good quality fans pre-installed, which is way more than you’ll find in most other chassis on the market, all the hard drive bays can be accessed from the front panel and two of them being hot-swap ready is a big win, internal space is vast and ideal for large graphics cards, coolers and motherboards. If you’re looking to build a monster mining or rendering rig, then the DX-02B is going to reap big rewards for you.

There is clearly room for improvement here, but I do like what I have seen so far and it’s a promising start for Chieftec as they return to UK shores. It just misses out on an award this time around, mostly due to the price and the minor details listed above, for this price I would like to see it a little more presentable and organised, but the chassis is still a great solution regardless. For those thinking about buying one, I doubt you would be disappointed with it, and personally I look forward to seeing what Chieftecs upcoming new range of products will contain when they hit the market over the coming months.

Pros

• Durable build quality
• Built-in fan controller
• 5 pre-installed fans
• Dust filters
• Hot-swap drive bays
• Support for EATX motherboards
• Room for large graphics cards
• Plentiful cable routing space

Cons

• Brand is fresh to market and the name will no doubt be unfamiliar to many (for now)
• Price is a little high
• Minor tweaks to internal cable colour and left side panel would go a long way
• Exposed PCBs and cabling for fan controllers looks messy

Thank you Chieftec and Target Components for providing us with this information.