BitFenix send over their phantom silent computer chassis which promises eerie levels of silence. Will this new case leave us with pleasant chills?
Product on Review: BitFenix Ghost
Manufacturer and Sponsor: BitFenix
Street Price: £74.99 (GBP) (At time of review)
BitFenix have had a great year with the release of some exciting new products and continue to be highly respected within hardware communities. At the beginning of the year we first saw some of these products as BitFenix unveiled Shinobi XL, Ghost and Prodigy. We’ve been very pleased with both Shinobi XL and Prodigy and it falls to us today to deliver our verdict on their latest product launch – Ghost.
Ghost is designed for silence. The silent case category has proven to be a very popular undertaking and BitFenix are not a brand that will sit back and have therefore brought to market their rendition of how a silent case should be. Ghost has been given silencing material and a stealthy look that promises to bode well for those demanding silence as the order of the day – water-cooling support, USB 3.0, hot swappable HDD and clearance for high-end hardware are just some of the features our case in question has to offer and we will be leaving no stone unturned today.
BitFenix take on Ghost
The most dangerous opponent is the one you can’t hear. Designed for silence, Ghost features BitFenix Serenitek™ Silencing material on the front door and side panels to keep unwanted system noise from throwing you off your game. Ghost comes ready for 240mm water cooling radiators, while the top-mounted S4™ storage compartment houses a SATA hot swap port for convenient file transfers. The outside is coated with BitFenix NanoChrome™, a new surface treatment which gives both metal and plastic a uniform look. The dual-hinge door design gives you the flexibility to open the door from the left or the right on-the-fly. Whisper-quiet Spectre™ fans keep both noise and temperatures down, and anti-vibration HDD trays dampen noise even further. With support for long graphics cards, Alchemy LED strips, the latest solid-state drives and USB 3.0, Ghost gives you everything you need to strike fear in the hearts of your opposition.
Technical Specifications
Materials
Steel, Plastic
Color (Int/Ext)
Black/Black
Dimensions (WxHxD)
210 x 522 x 510mm
Motherboard Sizes
Mini-ITX, mATX, ATX
5.25” Drive Bays
x 3
3.5” Drive Bays
x 4
2.5” Drive Bays
x 3
Hot Swap Bay
x 1 (SATA III 6Gbit/s)
Cooling
Cooling Front 140mm x 1 or 120mm x 2 (120mm x 1 included)
Cooling Rear 120mm x 1 (included)
Cooling Top 230mm x 1 or 200mm x 1 or 140mm x 2 or 120mm x 2 (optional)
Cooling Bottom 140mm x 1 or 120mm x 1 (optional)
PCI Slots
x 7
I/O
USB 3.0 x 2, USB 2.0 x 2, HD audio, SATA III hot swap bay
Power Supply
PS2 ATX (bottom, multi direction)
Extras
Serenitek™ silencing material, NanoChrome™ surface treatment, S4™ hot swap and storage, Spectre™ cooling, dedicated locations for Alchemy™ LED Strips, anti-vibration HDD trays, 240mm radiator ready, removable dust filters (front, top, bottom), tool-free drive locking
Steel, Plastic
Color (Int/Ext)
Black/Black
Dimensions (WxHxD)
210 x 522 x 510mm
Motherboard Sizes
Mini-ITX, mATX, ATX
5.25” Drive Bays
x 3
3.5” Drive Bays
x 4
2.5” Drive Bays
x 3
Hot Swap Bay
x 1 (SATA III 6Gbit/s)
Cooling
Cooling Front 140mm x 1 or 120mm x 2 (120mm x 1 included)
Cooling Rear 120mm x 1 (included)
Cooling Top 230mm x 1 or 200mm x 1 or 140mm x 2 or 120mm x 2 (optional)
Cooling Bottom 140mm x 1 or 120mm x 1 (optional)
PCI Slots
x 7
I/O
USB 3.0 x 2, USB 2.0 x 2, HD audio, SATA III hot swap bay
Power Supply
PS2 ATX (bottom, multi direction)
Extras
Serenitek™ silencing material, NanoChrome™ surface treatment, S4™ hot swap and storage, Spectre™ cooling, dedicated locations for Alchemy™ LED Strips, anti-vibration HDD trays, 240mm radiator ready, removable dust filters (front, top, bottom), tool-free drive locking
Packaging & First Look
As is now traditional for BitFenix, Ghost arrives in a recyclable box – the BitFenix emblem clearly visible on the front and around the back technical details and features are highlighted. Within the box BitFenix cover Ghost in a clear plastic sheet and support the chassis with two polystyrene pillars for extra protection during transit. Various detachable panels also have masking tape over them to prevent any damage.
Packaging for Ghost
With the case now out of its packaging we can get gauge our initial impressions. Ghost is fairly tall in its stature, its physical appearance and styling is of course minimalist due to this chassis being touted as a silent solution.
Both side panels are solid and have no significant features, towards the front there is ventilation for the front cooling fans.
A towering computer chassis
Minimalist in appearance
Exterior
Being a silent computer case, Ghost has a closed off front panel. This front section is in fact a plastic door which can be interchanged. There are no significant features except to say this front area bears the BitFenix insignia at the very bottom.
Around the back of the case, at the bottom there is a section marked out for installing the PSU. Above this there are 7x PCI expansion slot covers with some honeycomb mesh ventilation to the immediate right. Further up there are 3x grommet cut-outs – these need to be prepped in order to fully use. Finally at the top there is a 120mm rear exhaust fan, this is a Spectre cooling fan operating at 1000RPM and promising less than 20 dBA.
The front and back of Ghost
The plastic door at the front of Ghost can be interchanged to either open from the left or right. Rather than use magnets, BitFenix have just used clips at the top and bottom – this works well. On the inside of this panel there is “BitFenix Serenitek”. This is essentially a foam lining that looks quite similar to material used on a pair of trainers, the idea with this material is to dampen unnecessary noise.
Having this door open you can see that there is now access to various features. At the top there are 3x 5.25” drive bay covers and beneath a single 3.5” cover – both are mesh.
Covering a large region there is another mesh panel, this is detachable and features a dust filter which can be cleaned/washed. Behind this panel sits another Spectre 120mm cooling fan – this acts as an intake, there is also a spot beneath the fan for adding in another 120mm.
Front door opens
120mm front intake cooling fan
Up at the top of Ghost sit the front panel connectivity. Here there is an assortment of items including: activity LEDs, headphone/microphone jacks, 2x USB 2.0 ports, 2x USB 3.0 ports (via internal motherboard header) and power/reset buttons.
Front panel connectivity includes dual USB 3.0
Over the page we will continue our look at the external aspects of BitFenix Ghost.
Exterior (Continued)
Just behind the front panel controls is a cover, pressing the front of this cover allows it to open up to reveal a compartment for storing items such as mobile phone, keys, USB sticks, SD cards. BitFenix have given this compartment SATA connectors so that you can hot-swap storage.
By now you will have noticed Ghost features lots of plastic, this cover isn’t the best of quality and does feel flimsy.
Compartment at the top with hot-swappable storage support
Further back there is another large mesh panel, this, just like the front is detachable. After removing this panel there is a shallow gulley for attaching cooling fans (dual 120mm) or as BitFenix specify – a 240mm water-cooling radiator (though this does need to be slimmer type – less than 3cm thick).
Ghost boasts itself as being a silent chassis so I’m surprised the top section isn’t more closed off, instead its fairly open with ventilated mesh resulting in the potential for noise to escape. Such a calibre of case should have closed off panelling plus material to extend noise damping further.
The top of Ghost features a detachable mesh panel
Options for air cooling and water
On the underside of Ghost there are four rubber pads that act as feet to prevent the case from slipping on smooth surfaces. In the centre sits a large dust filter that covers the PSU and optional fan placement, unfortunately this has to be removed by flipping the case onto its side.
BitFenix have given Ghost rails on the underside that are specially designed to fit BitFenix Alchemy LED Strips. These LED strips can be purchased separately.
The underside of Ghost
Interior
In order to gain access to the internal elements of Ghost the side panels just need two thumbscrews removing from either side. On the inside of each side panel there is more BitFenix Serenitek for noise damping. Compared to other rival silent cases the side panels aren’t particularly thick and they do flex.
BitFenix Serenitek on the inside of the side panels
With both side panels removed we can see inside Ghost and observe its design layout. Inside we have compatibility for ATX and M-ATX form factors, all features have been powder coated black and there are a variety of tool-less methods for installing kit within Ghost. It’s nice to see a good amount of space within the chassis, this should help with the installation process.
There are cut-outs around the motherboard tray but oddly enough, the rubber grommets are supplied separately in a plastic bag – they do not come fitted.
A look inside Ghost
Behind the motherboard tray
Moving in for a closer look at the various aspects of Ghost we firstly come to the PSU area at the bottom of the chassis. Again, just like the cable management grommets – padding for the PSU does not come factory fitted but rather requires anti-vibration pads to be fitted by the user (these are provided). Next to the PSU is a cooling fan placement for installing a 120/140mm fan.
Both the PSU and optional cooling fan are covered on the underside with a removable dust filter – this has to be removed by flipping the case on its side.
PSU and optional cooling fan area at the bottom
Interior (Continued)
Continuing our look at the inside of Ghost we come to the PCI section next. Here there are 7x PCI expansion slot covers, thumbscrews are provided separately. There is additional ventilation to the side and then directly above there are markings for grommets – these will need to be cut out of the case to make use of them.
7x PCI expansion slot covers
Moving up, there is a 120mm rear exhaust fan which is a Spectre 120 and at the top there are placements for dual 120/140mm cooling fans or a slim 240mm radiator (less than 3cm thick). As I’ve already mentioned and as you can see from the picture below, the top is quite open and susceptible to noise emission which is an odd design choice for a silent case.
Cooling options available at the top and rear
Over on the other side there are 3x 5.25” drive bays for adding in optical drives – all drives have a tool-less method for fixing the drives into place with a push/pull latch.
Immediately beneath the optical storage is the HDD storage. HDD storage is separated into two sections, a smaller 2.5” cage and a lower 3.5” cage. At the top of the 2.5” cage is a 3.5” slot for an optional device of choice to appear on the front panel of Ghost – this 2.5” cage is ideal for allowing good graphics card compatibility.
In total there are total of 7x HDD storage options available inside Ghost from both cages – to install a drive you simply need to drop the drive into a provided tray which are given in the packaging, we shall cover this in the next section.
Both cages are riveted and therefore without modding the front here there is no possibility of attaching water-cooling radiators.
Optical drive bays with tool-less design
HDD storage – 2.5” and 3.5” options
Installation
An empty case only tells half the story so we show the installation to reveal any strengths and weaknesses. Being a mid-tower chassis our high-end ATX system is installed within Ghost.
Installation is pleasant but there are a few slight niggles. Before going ahead with the installation rubber grommets must be fitted to the motherboard cut-outs, this may not take that much time but it’s a hassle and because they aren’t factory fitted or tight the cable grommets do fall out when cables are pushed through so you have to be quite careful.
Apart from this hardware fits into the chassis thanks to the clearance. The tool-less options inside Ghost help to ease installation times too.
Install complete a clean looking system
Cable management behind the motherboard tray
In order to install HDDs into Ghost 2.5” and 3.5” drives must be fitted inside one of the provided plastic trays. Both the 2.5” and 3.5” trays have pins that fit into the sides of the drives for a flush fixing. Thanks to this tool-less method the installation process is that bit easier and faster to perform.
Installing HDDs is easy
Clearance – CPU, GPU, WC, Cable Management
Clearance is an area which is vital for the enthusiast since it helps to identify what hardware can and cannot be housed within a chassis.
Ghost can accommodate high-end CPU coolers like Noctua NH-D14, Thermalright Silver Arrow and Alpenfohn K2 which are 160mm in height. Pictured below is Noctua NH-U12P which is 158mm.
Ghost can accommodate high-end CPU coolers
Thanks to the HDD configuration there is sufficient clearance for long graphics cards. The upper cage allows for more space than the lower cage – lower offers up to 11” whilst the upper cage 12.5-13”. Pictured is XFX HD7970 DD which is 10.5” in length.
Support for high-end, long graphics cards
Ghost supports a 240mm radiator at the top of the chassis but due to the motherboard mounting holes and cavity at the top of the case this is suitable for only thinner type of radiators – those that are less than 3cm thick. Pictured below is Phobya G-Charger 240mm which as you can see does not fit within the cavity or inside the chassis as it overlaps.
Radiator needs to be less than 3cm thick
Radiators over 3cm thick overlap motherboard mounting holes
Behind the motherboard tray there is a generous amount of clearance between the back of the motherboard tray and the side panel – approximately 2cm, plus the motherboard tray is concave in certain areas.
A good amount of clearance behind the motherboard tray
Thermal Performance Testing
Inside Ghost there are 2 pre-installed cooling fans positioned in key airflow positions. Both fans are configured to be push/pull.
To discover the thermal performance of the Ghost I will record idle temperatures after 20 minutes from a cold boot. I will then stress the system and temperatures will again be monitored after 30 minutes have elapsed.
For the purpose of accurate analysis the idle and load temperatures for CPU and GPU will be recorded and the range between idle and load will be calculated to determine how efficient cooling is.
NOTE: Ambient temperature is 20C
System Components
CPU AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.8GHz
Motherboard ASUS M4A89TD PRO
Graphics NVIDIA GTX 480 (Different from card pictured)
Memory 4GB Mushkin EM3-10666 DDR3
HDD Samsung Spinpoint 500GB SATA-II
PSU FSP AURUM GOLD 650M
Motherboard ASUS M4A89TD PRO
Graphics NVIDIA GTX 480 (Different from card pictured)
Memory 4GB Mushkin EM3-10666 DDR3
HDD Samsung Spinpoint 500GB SATA-II
PSU FSP AURUM GOLD 650M
Noise
Spectre fans are known to be quiet performers and the fans placed inside Ghost achieve a good level of silence – that said, I would still have liked the top section of the case to offer better noise damping.
Conclusion
Ghost has been a long time coming, so what is the overall verdict?
We’ve been a huge fan of BitFenix products since they first joined the scene and we genuinely like the brand and what they are trying to do. Their products have thus far been very innovative, unique and of great quality, it is against this backdrop of high expectations that the Ghost underwelms.
The case has a lot of plastic elements and I think this attributes to it looking cheap. Further to this the quality – particularly of the exterior is somewhat mediocre. The side panels aren’t particularly thick and they flex when moved around, usually silent cases have thicker side panels to help dull out noise. The top is another area which is plastic and has a thin lid covering the compartment – further back the top of Ghost is covered with a detachable mesh panel which has no noise damping properties at all. Again, usually a case of this classification would have the top section closed off to help eradicate noise from leaking.
It isn’t all bad news for Ghost, there are some good aspects to this case too. Thanks to clearance there are a variety of hardware options available for installing kit within the chassis and it’s good to see there is a nice amount of space behind the motherboard tray for keeping redundant cables out of sight. I like the option for hot swapping a HDD within the top compartment, this is often something that is of interest to the enthusiast wanting to get quick access to data on another drive other than what is found already connected to their system.
BitFenix know that there is a big market for the customisation of computer cases and have taken the initiative to furnish Ghost with pre-modded strips for attaching Alchemy LED Strips. A variety of colours can be purchased from BitFenix themselves or your local computer hardware store.
Priced at £74.99 Ghost is positioned just under the plethora of silent cases that sit at the £85-90 mark. Being lower in price than these rivals means that it may well stand as an interesting alternative, though the quality and features are still superior on a chassis like Fractal Design R4 – which by all accounts appears to be the benchmark for silent cases.
Ghost is a good chassis with some useful features and clearance. Its price makes for an interesting compromise.
*UPDATE* BitFenix have been in contact and have told us that the pricing at launch was incorrect and rather than sitting at £90, Ghost should be £74.99 instead.
Pros
+ Sleek and minimalist
+ Dual hinge front door
+ Flexible hardware options
+ Hot swappable HDD functionality
+ Pre-modded for LED strips
Cons
– Price
– Cable grommets not factory fitted and loose when applied
– Mediocre quality – lots of plastic
+ Sleek and minimalist
+ Dual hinge front door
+ Flexible hardware options
+ Hot swappable HDD functionality
+ Pre-modded for LED strips
Cons
– Price
– Cable grommets not factory fitted and loose when applied
– Mediocre quality – lots of plastic
