The Shinobi XL takes many styling tips from the Shinobi and is their first case to support XL-ATX form factor motherboards.
The Shinobi XL takes many styling tips from the Shinobi and is their first case to support XL-ATX form factor motherboards.
The BitFenix Shinobi PC Chassis was one of the budget hits of 2011, combining innovative features such as native slim radiator support with a straightforward aesthetic that wouldn’t look out of place on a gamers or businessman’s desk. The Shinobi Window Edition was a worthy winner of our Vortez.net Gold Award; the Shinobi Core added trim modding accessories allowing the end-user to customise their case without expensive tools and paints. It’s no surprise that they would want to build on this success with the Shinobi XL, the company’s first foray into catering for XL-ATX motherboards and expansive levels of internal space.
Eschewing the aggressive styling of the Colossus and Raider in favour of clean lines, the Shinobi XL is immediately recognisable as an offshoot of the Shinobi. It should come as no surprise that BitFenix have chosen to retain the SofTouch coating on the Shinobi XL – SofTouch gives lower-cost plastic trim cases a quality feel which they wouldn’t otherwise have and is an innovation which has since been taken up by other more established brands.
Cooling appears to be excellent, as you would expect. A 230mm BitFenix Spectre fan intakes at the front drawing air over the HDD’s, with rear 120mm and roof 230mm fans providing plenty of exhaust; naturally all intakes are dust filtered. BitFenix also boast native water cooling support for 360mm radiators in the top as you might expect, but also either a 240mm radiator in the floor or 360mm radiator in the front. This would make the Shinobi XL one of the best out-the-box cases for water cooling currently available.
A nice touch are the removable and rotatable HDD bays, which should improve clearance for front water cooling and add system flexibility. There is space for up-to five 5.25″ devices, seven 3.5″ HDD’s or eight 2.5″ HDD/SSD’s, which whilst not the number seen on some other XL-ATX chassis should nonetheless be plenty for the vast majority of configurations.
Consumers who utilise USB charging will benefit from the BitFenix SuperCharge™ Port, providing up to 2.5A over USB for fast-charging of phones, tablets and portable consoles. The Shinobi XL doesn’t skimp on USB connectivity, including four USB 3.0 ports via internal motherboard headers; if your motherboard only has USB2.0 headers do not fret, 9-pin USB plugs are also included.
This overview will be updated when we can release pricing and availability information. In the mean time, enjoy the following video showcase Bitfenix have put together:
Source: BitFenix.com
