Introduction

The Bitfenix Outlaw is a budget mid-tower case, coming with a unique feature: its motherboard tray is located against the right-side panel of the case, instead of against the left-side panel as it is usually. This way, you have to remove its right-side panel and not its left-side panel in order to open it. Costing only USD 50, let’s see if it is a good option for users who are looking for a nice and yet inexpensive case.

Other highlights of the product include a rubber-coated front panel and the support of up to eight fans.

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Figure 1: Bitfenix Outlaw case

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Figure 2: Bitfenix Outlaw case

The right-side panel has a mesh, supporting two 120 mm or 140 mm fans.

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Figure 3: Right-side panel

The Front and Top Panels

Another highlight of the Bitfenix Outlaw is the use of a rubber coating on its front panel. This gives the product an impressive look, making it appear more expensive than it actually is. The front panel has three external 5.25” bays.

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Figure 4: Front panel

The case supports two 120 mm fans on its front panel, as you can see in Figure 5. In order to keep the cost down, the case doesn’t come with these fans.

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Figure 5: Support for two 120 mm fans

The case comes with four USB 2.0 ports, which is impressive for a budget case. These ports are located on the top part of the front panel, together with the audio jacks and the power and reset buttons. The product, however, doesn’t come with USB 3.0 ports.

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Figure 6: Buttons and connectors

The top panel of the Bitfenix Outlaw allows the installation of two 120 mm fans, but the case doesn’t come with them.

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Figure 7: Top panel

The Bottom and Rear Panels

The bottom panel allows the installation of one 120 mm fan. The second mesh you see in Figure 8 is for the power supply fan.

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Figure 8: Bottom panel

The rear panel and the interior of the Bitfenix Outlaw are painted black.

The power supply is installed on the bottom part of the case.

The Bitfenix Outlaw comes with a 120 mm fan installed on its rear panel (BFF-OLW-12025KK-MP), but the manufacturer doesn’t publish its specifications. It uses a three-pin fan connector, so you can install it directly on your motherboard and monitor its speed.

There are seven expansion slots, using vented covers.

This case has two holes for hoses of liquid cooling solutions, which use rubber covers.

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Figure 9: Rear panel

There is a loop on the rear panel for you to prevent unauthorized people from opening the computer by installing a padlock or a warranty seal.

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Figure 10: Loop for a padlock

Let’s now take a look inside the Bitfenix Outlaw.

Inside the Bitfenix Outlaw

Both panels are attached to the chassis using black thumbscrews. The motherboard tray has a huge hole for you to access the backplate of the CPU cooler without having to remove the motherboard from the case. There is not enough clearance between the motherboard tray and the left panel, so you can’t route cables behind the motherboard tray. On the other hand, the motherboard tray has a few clips for you to organize cables inside the computer, and you can still hide cables behind the hard drive cage.

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Figure 11: Overall look

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Figure 12: A view behind the motherboard tray

In Figure 13, you have another overall look inside the case. Expansion cards are fastened using black thumbscrews, which is great. The Bitfenix Outlaw supports video cards up to 11” (280 mm) long.

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Figure 13: Overall look

The power supply is installed at the bottom of the case. Note that it can be installed with either its bottom fan facing up or facing down, so you can decide if you want the fan of your power supply pulling air from inside the case or from outside of it.

If you install a power supply up to 6.9” (175 mm) deep, you can install a 120 mm fan on the bottom panel.

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Figure 14: Power supply compartment

The Disk Drive Bays

The Bitfenix Outlaw has three 5.25” external bays, four 3.5” internal bays, and one 2.5” internal bay. Even though these bays don’t come with tool-less installation mechanisms, the case comes with several black thumbscrews for installing drives, which is a good solution. Two of the hard drive bays have rubber rings to reduce vibration and thus reduce noise level.

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Figure 15: Disk drive bays

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Figure 16: The 2.5” bay

Main Specifications

The main specifications for the Bitfenix Outlaw include:

• Style: Mid-tower
• Application: ATX and smaller form factors derived from this one
• Material: Zinc-coated steel (SECC) body
• Power supply: Doesn’t come with the product
• Available colors: Black
• Side panel: Meshed
• Dimensions: 17.2 x 7.1 x 18.8 inches (438 x 180 x 478 mm) (H x W x D)
• Net weight: 11.5 lbs (5.2 kg)
• Gross weight: 13.5 lbs (6 kg)
• Bays: Three external 5.25” bays, four internal 3.5” bays, and one internal 2.5” bay
• Expansion slots: Seven
• Maximum video card length: 11” (280 mm)
• Maximum CPU cooler height: NA
• Fans: One 120 mm fan on the rear panel
• Optional fans: Two 120 mm fans on the front panel, two 120 mm or 140 mm fans on the right panel, two 120 mm fans on the top panel, and one 120 mm fan on the bottom panel
• More Information: http://www.bitfenix.com
• MSRP in the US: USD 50.00

Conclusions

The Bitfenix Outlaw is a very nice case for its price. It may have a few drawbacks compared to more expensive products, but it will fit the needs of the average user building a mainstream system.

Strong Points

• Vented slot covers
• A huge hole in the motherboard tray for accessing the backplate of the CPU cooler
• Clips for organizing cables inside the case
• Supports a total of eight fans
• One 2.5” bay
• Loop for padlock or warranty seal
• Front panel with rubber coating
• No sharp edges where you could cut yourself
• Thumbscrews for fastening expansion cards
• Thumbscrews for fastening the disk drives

Weak Points

• No air filters
• No USB 3.0 port