Final Words & Conclusion

Conclusion

Let's get the very clear elephant in the room out of the way now, shall we? Did Bitfenix achieve what they set out to do when they re-designed the case? Yes, absolutely. I could really end this conclusion here, as practically everything else you have seen about the original Enso applies here. On the face of it, you have a high airflow, compact, well-built, and pretty looking modern ATX mid-tower. It has excellent support for RGB, Asus Aura, and perhaps the only 'hardware' let down is the lesser support for larger radiators up top. Other than that, I really have very, very few major gripes. That said, I do have some I would still mention, so shall we move this conclusion on?

Why Should You Buy The Enso Mesh?

There are many reasons why I would recommend this case for your next build. The first? Build quality. Despite being a relatively light chassis, the build quality throughout is superb. At no point did I encounter something 'cheap,' or else that might have seemed out of place on a near 100 USD chassis. Yes, the lighting hub was a little bit bare, but once you close up the side panel, do you really care that much? I certainly don't, though it would have cost Bitfenix all of a few cents extra, so I can understand this annoying some more than others.

Looks are another major factor to consider in 2019. I think this chassis looks excellent, and whilst many cases in this year look very good, the Enso does just enough to be quickly recognisable (in my view). Perhaps this is down to the heady combination of the tinted glass, 4 RGB zones, mesh, and sleek design, but I really like it. I will admit, no, it doesn't yet beat the Meshify C Mini (Dark TG) that I did really adore, but - as we say time and again - personal preference here is king.

Leading on from looks, we have the other elephant in the room. The lighting. On this case, the lighting is extremely tastefully implemented. I counted perhaps 20 or so different modes for the fans/lights. Static, rainbow, breathing, etc. I'm not much of an RGB fan yet that I will constantly leave it in 'rainbow vomit' mode, but even when on static, the Spectre RGB fans are designed in such a way as to give a 'dithering' effect to the lights they cast around. Truly lovely to look at, genuinely.

Airflow, in this case, is excellent, as it should be. The combination of a nearly open front, exposed top, and relatively small inside area mean that a lot of air can make it through this case without much effort. I do think you would see much better airflow when using some better fans. My money would be on Noctua's NF-A12s, BeQuiet's Silent Wings 3, or Corsair's ML120s. Sure, you'd lose out on the RGB with two of those choices, but that's up to you. Either way, I'll make it clear that with Bitfenix' Spectres, case performance and thermals are very, very respectable.

Finally, I think Bitfenix should be applauded for the very wide range of hardware support. E-ATX (below the 272mm width mark) is present, and I can see some maybe being interested in the case as a nice 'gamer' oriented theme for a workstation build. PSU support is a little lacking, but given the sheer compactness and efficiency of modern PSUs, I really don't think more than 850-1000W or so for even a dual GPU build with (say) a 2950X or 9960X is out of the question.

Why Shouldn't You Buy The Enso Mesh?

So, any negatives? Well, sure, but aren't there always some? My first is perhaps the biggest. In fact, it is 'the' biggest, and is really the only one to do with the case as 'a case.' Cable management, for me, is lacking. There are plenty of tie-down points, sure, and there is ample room behind the mainboard tray... but that is really it. The included back panel grommets are, for lack of a better word, a little weak. Small and prone to being jostled about, they really haven't got much capacity for extra cabling. I also didn't like how there is no presence of a PCIe cable cut-out in the PSU basement. Finally, I don't like the lack of cable spacing below the mainboard. It makes routing USB3.0, HD Audio, and front panel IO cables somewhat of a drag.

The included fans are, for one part, great. For the other, they're poor. Why go to all of the trouble of emphasizing how good this case can look with Spectre fans, and then hamper the buyer by including the most bargain basement one in the front, where its lack of RGB would be highly (not) visible? I guess the argument would be that you can probably afford extra or will be using your own, but that's really not the point.

This next point might be very nitpicky, but I'd like to raise it. For nearly 100 USD, I would expect an accessories box, at the very least. Going the extra mile would be sorting them by type. This sounds very '1st World Problems,' I know, but I think it's fair enough to at least bring up. It's a small point, but the screws and the like in the 275R (the yardstick by which I have been measuring this chassis' merits) were sorted and boxed.

Finally, you might be surprised at why I haven't raised my annoyance re. the drive cages being riveted? Well, a good point. However, I realise that not only are PSUs getting smaller and smaller but realistically speaking, nobody is going to do an ultra high-end build in this case. If you really want a 9900k and 2080Ti's in your PC, then chances are you're going to be looking at cases in the 200+ USD range, not here. At such a price range, PSU space doesn't matter, either because you're looking at full ATX towers, or because you're using a notably bigger mid-tower. That said, next time, Bitfenix... make the cage removable as a whole?

Final Words

I think you can tell, by now, that I like this case. Sure, it's not perfect, but then show me a product that is? It has a couple of problems, naturally. If anything were to 'put me off' this case, it would be the little cable management issues I described. That said, they're really not a major problem, and I was very easily able to work around it. The rest, again - as mentioned - is really not strictly to do with the case.

For 89.99, you get looks, airflow, solid build quality, and perfectly reasonable hardware support. What's not to like? The Enso Mesh is perfect, really, for any PC builder who wants a little 'flair' with their build. Should you buy it if you want a very subdued/minimalist approach? No. If you want that, there are plenty of options. Go look at BeQuiet or Fractal Design. If, however, your next build is wanting for a little flair and 'wow' factor, the looks of this case combined with its truly excellent lighting should definitely be on your shortlist.

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