Enermax Ostrog Giant Case Review
By
Gabriel Torres
on November 26, 2012
The Ostrog Giant is the latest mid-tower case from Enermax, featuring eight expansion slots. It should arrive on the market this December. Let’s see what this new case has to offer.
The Enermax Ostrog Giant is only offered in black, with red or blue trim.
click to enlarge
Figure 1: Enermax Ostrog Giant case
click to enlarge
Figure 2: Enermax Ostrog Giant case
The left panel of the Enermax Ostrog Giant has a big tinted window. You can’t install fans on this panel.
click to enlarge
Figure 3: Left panel
The front panel of the Enermax Ostrog Giant is completely meshed, as you can see in Figure 4. There are three external 5.25” bays with meshed covers with air filters. The case comes with two 140 mm fans on its front panel, which glow in blue or red (depending on the color of the trim) when turned on. There is a switch on the top panel for you to turn off the LEDs of the fans. These fans use a standard three-pin fan power connector, and the case comes with adapters in case you prefer to connect them directly on your power supply. No technical specifications for these fans are provided. There is an air filter for these fans.
click to enlarge
Figure 4: Front panel
click to enlarge
Figure 5: Front panel
The top panel of the Enermax Ostrog Giant is meshed, supporting one 200 mm fan, one 230 mm fan, two 120 mm fans or 140 mm fans. According to the manufacturer, the top panel supports a 240 mm or 280 mm radiator.
click to enlarge
Figure 6: Top panel
The case comes with two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, and the traditional audio jacks. The USB 3.0 ports use an internal connector. As mentioned, there is an on/off switch for the LEDs of the front fans.
click to enlarge
Figure 7: Buttons and connectors
The bottom panel of the Enermax Ostrog Giant has air filters for the power supply fan and for the optional bottom fan.
click to enlarge
Figure 8: Bottom panel
The rear panel and the interior of the Enermax Ostrog Giant are painted black.
On the Enermax Ostrog Giant, the power supply is installed at the bottom of the case.
The product comes with a 120 mm fan installed on its rear panel. This fan uses a three-pin power connector, and the product comes with an adapter in case you want to connect the fan directly to the power supply. No technical specifications for this fan are provided.
This case has eight expansion slots with vented slot covers. (Computer cases usually have seven slots.) There is one perpendicular expansion slot for you to install a blower (fan to remove hot air from inside the computer) or an I/O bracket.
There are three holes protected with rubber covers for hoses of liquid cooling systems. One of them is 0.5” (12 mm) in diameter, while the other two are 1” (25 mm) in diameter.
click to enlarge
Figure 9: Rear panel
Let’s now take a look inside the Enermax Ostrog Giant.
Both panels are attached to the chassis using black thumbscrews. The motherboard tray has a huge cutout for you to access the backplate of the CPU coolers without having to remove the motherboard from the case, a few holes for you to route cables behind it, and several clips for you to fasten cables using cable ties.
click to enlarge
Figure 10: Overall look
click to enlarge
Figure 11: A view behind the motherboard tray
In Figure 12, we get another overall look inside the case. Expansion cards are fastened using regular screws, but at least they are black. The Enermax Ostrog Giant supports video cards up to 11” (280 mm) long on its default configuration. If you install a 120 mm fan on the top hard drive cage, this clearance is reduced to 10” (255 mm). By removing the top hard drive cage, you can fit video cards up to 16.1” (410 mm) long.
click to enlarge
Figure 12: Overall look
The case supports the installation of one 120 mm fan at each of the hard drive cages. See Figure 13.
click to enlarge
Figure 13: Place for optional 120 mm fans
The power supply is installed at the bottom of the case. 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. As shown before, there is an air filter for the power supply fan.
click to enlarge
Figure 14: Power supply compartment
On its default configuration, the Enermax Ostrog Giant comes with a cage for 2.5” hard drives and SSDs installed on the bottom panel. With this device in place, you can install power supplies up to 7.9” (200 mm) deep. This cage can be easily removed, as it is attached to the chassis using four thumbscrews. Without it, you can install power supplies up to 11.8” (300 mm) deep or can install a 120 mm fan on the bottom panel. With this optional fan installed, you can have power supplies up to 6.7” (170 mm) deep. As already shown, there is an air filter for this optional fan.
The Enermax Ostrog Giant has three external 5.25” bays, eight internal 3.5” bays in two cages, and two internal 2.5” bays. Installation of 5.25” and 3.5” devices can be done without the use of tools or screws, but installation of 2.5” devices require the use of regular screws.
click to enlarge
Figure 15: Disk drive bays
The top hard drive cage can be removed for you to install longer video cards or to improve the ventilation inside the case.
click to enlarge
Figure 16: Case with the top hard drive cage removed
click to enlarge
Figure 17: The 2.5” cage
The main specifications for the Enermax Ostrog Giant include:
The Enermax Ostrog Giant is not bad at all for its targeted price range. Although it uses lower-quality plastic parts compared to other mid-tower cases with the same set of features, it costs less, providing a good value for users who are looking for an affordable case with features usually reserved for more expensive products.
Strong Points
Weak Points
Originally at http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Enermax-Ostrog-Giant-Case-Review/1677