BitFenix Shinobi review

The Shinobi is currently the cheapest case that BitFenix produces, but you wouldn’t know it to look at it because the Shinobi has the same soft-touch black finish as its high-end siblings and a monolithic appearance that stands out in its simplicity.

Besides the phoenix logo and three 5.25in drive bays, there’s not much to see at the front of this case. An I/O panel that’s comprised of four USB ports, a headphone output and a microphone input is situated at the top of the case, which means you can easily reach them if you keep your PC under a desk. There are no USB3 ports, which puts the Shinobi at a disadvantage to similarly priced cases from other manufacturers.

Inside, there’s a decent amount of room for building your PC. Pre-cut holes should make it easy to create a tidy interior, although we’d have preferred rubber grommets rather than the exposed rolled steel used here. Seven internal drive bays should be enough for most people, but because there’s only one 2.5in adaptor you’ll need to buy extra disk caddies if you have multiple SSDs.

Its cooling performance is average, but we wouldn’t expect much more from the two preinstalled 120mm fans. There’s room for an additional four 120mm fans and there are ready-drilled holes for a water cooling loop if your components are running too hot, although we had no problems keeping our reference kit cool.

The Shinobi isn’t perfect. The tool-free drive bays, for instance, are made of a cheap plastic, and although they feel secure, they’re a bit fiddly to fit. For an easier build and better cooling out of the box, the Sharkoon T9 Value is a better choice.