Raidmax has long been known for providing computer cases, and power supplies to the budget minded enthusiasts among us. Continuing along those lines, Raidmax has recently released their Raptor Mid-Tower case. The Raptor sports a red and black color scheme, and adds a few new features to the fold. There is also a blue version of this case available, if red is not your favorite color.

We’ll take a close look at the Raidmax Raptor, and see if the features and specifications make it worthy of consideration for your next system build.

About Raidmax

“Raidmax was founded in 1988 with the mission of providing the best solutions: specifically, meeting your requirements for innovative designs, excellent performance and quality products.

It has been more than 10 years since Raidmax began its work on its unique product lines and market position. The name of Raidmax is synonymous to gaming design and budget cases. In the United States, Raidmax is considered to be the best second tier brand; in Asia, it is said that only Raidmax can offer the budget cases with great designs; in Europe, with almost no brand management, Raidmax’ followers are still showing their loyal support in many ways.”

Below is a “picture” list of features provided by Raidmax. We will go over these features in more detail as the review progresses, but the highlights include the fan controller on the I/O area, the dedicated SSD hard drive rack, and the modular 3.5″ hard drive bays.

Next is the list of basic specifications:

Basic Specifications

• EXTERNAL DRIVE BAYS:  3 X 5.25″
• INTERNAL DRIVE BAYS:  5 X 3.5″ H.D./2.5″ SSD Racks/2 X 2.5″ SSD
• SYSTEM BOARD:  10” X 12” MAX SIZE ATX FORM FACTOR / MICRO ATX
• EXPANSION SLOTS: Standard ATX 7 Slots
• I/O PORTS:  2 X USB2.0 / 2 x AUDIO / 1 x USB3.0
• DIMENSIONS:  541(L) X 247(W) X 502(H)mm
• AVAILABLE COLORS:  Red and Blue

Cooling System

• FRONT:  1 X 120mm LED fan
• SIDE:  1 X 120mm or 1 x 180mm LED fan (optional)
• BACK:  1 x 120mm Black fan
• TOP:  2 X 120mm LED fan

With an attempt at making the Raptor jump out at you from the start – red, white and the big black Raptor grace the front of the box. The back of the box has additional pictures which describe in more detail some of the main features. Both box sides are identical and list some basic specifications.

Cutting open the box top reveals the Raidmax Raptor securely enclosed with a Styrofoam/cardboard block on each side. The case is wrapped in a cloth bag with a large Raidmax emblem printed on it. The front and top areas have a plastic film applied for scratch protection during the shipping process.

We’ll begin the exterior tour with a look at the front panel area of the Raidmax Raptor. There are two vertical “Wings” attached to each side of the Raptor. Both wings have been decked out with an upper and lower rudder with red accents. The wings serve no practical purpose other than to provide aesthetic value. Looks are obviously subjective to one personal taste, but personally I’m so-so about the looks of these wings. I did notice however, that these wings are removable by relieving a few screws located on the back side of the front panel.

The bottom area of the front panel is comprised of a louvered design and has a 120 mm LED fan located behind it. There is an option to add an additional 120 mm fan if desired.

The top area of the front panel is home to the three 5.25″ drive bay covers. The covers are a snap to remove by just sliding the lever to release.

The left side of the Raidmax Raptor has a stamped design applied to the panel, and a large mesh area capable of accepting an optional 120 mm or 180 mm fan.

The right side of the Raptor has the same design stamping as the left, but without the mesh area.

The rear of the Raidmax Raptor features a bottom mount power supply opening, and seven red ventilated expansion slot covers on the lower section. There are three rubber grommet holes for a water cooling system’s tubes to pass through, and an included 120 mm black exhaust fan.

As you can see by the pictures below, each side panel is equipped with a handle to assist in removal.Additionally, each panel is attached with two thumb screws.

The top of the Raimax Raptor has some unique qualities incorporated into the design. The front area has the power and reset buttons, the HDD activity and power LEDs, and the fan speed control knobs for the built in fan controller. Just behind that is two USB 2.0 ports, one USB 3.0 port, and the headphone/MIC jacks.

The rest of the top panel area is made up of what Raidmax calls the “Airfoil Top Panel” design. While the design is appealing to the eye, my first impressions were that it hinders air flow to the top panel fans. Fans are designed to gather air flow in a straight pattern, but the Airfoil design will force the fans to grab air from a side direction. The fans will undoubtedly have to work harder to draw air through the Airfoil design. Much of this issue could have been avoided by adding a much larger mesh area to top of each Airfoil.

Concluding our exterior tour is a quick look at the bottom of the Raidmax Raptor. The four feet are outfitted with rubber strips to aid in anti vibration qualities as well as protecting the surface the case sits on. Also at the bottom of the case is a slide out filter for the power supply’s intake fan.

The Raidmax Raptor version we have today is the red version, and that is no more apparent than having our first look inside. The motherboard tray is completely red, and while this looks pretty cool when looking at an empty case, the reality is once a system is installed you won’t see much red at all. This will especially hold true if you use a full size ATX motherboard for the build.

The motherboard tray features a large cut out just in front of where the power supply gets installed, which will aid in cable management. Above that is two rectangular rubber grommet holes to pass wires through, and a large square hole allowing easy access to a CPU cooler’s retention mechanism.  Unfortunately, there is no hole at the top of the motherboard tray to facilitate a 4/8-Pin CPU AUX power cable.

Five motherboard mounting pegs are pre-installed in an ATX configuration, but always check they align properly with the motherboard to be installed.

The bottom area has a dedicated 2.5″ drive bay which will accept two SSDs. The bay is removable if you need the additional space to fit an extra long power supply. To the rear of the SSD bay is the mesh area to allow air flow to the power supply fan.

The rear section is home to the seven red PCI expansion slot covers, all of which are attached using thumb screws. Just above the expansion slot covers is the included 120 mm exhaust fan.

The interior of the top deck has two included red LED 120 mm fans. The speed of these fans can be controlled by the fan controller knobs at the top of the case.

The front area of the Raidmax Raptor is where the three 5.25″ drive bays are located along with the modular 3.5″ HDD bays. Beginning with the 5.25″ bays, we can see a tool-less design is used for securing a drive in place. The locking mechanism is simple by nature, but effective in result. By turning the dial to the open position you can remove the locking mechanism, and slide your drive in place. Then all you do is replace the mechanism, and turn the dial to the lock position. Provisions have been made to further secure the drive by adding screws from the opposite side of the drive bay.

Moving downward we come to the modular 3.5″ HDD cage. The two piece HDD cage can accept two drives on the upper portion and three on the lower. Once the upper cage is removed you can see another included red LED 120 mm intake fan. Each drive bay tray is easily removable by pressing inward on the two tabs, then just sliding it out. Each tray has the ability to accept a standard 3.5″ HDD or a 2.5″ SSD.

Turning the Raidmax Raptor around, and having a look at the back side of the motherboard tray, shows us the pre-cable management applied to the case’s internal wiring. I was surprised to see the lack of room between the motherboard tray and the right side panel. Actually, lack of room is being too kind, there is virtually no distance at all in some places. If you plan to route cables behind the motherboard tray you will have to pay close attention to the “bulged out” areas of the right side panel, and make sure your wires line up with these areas. If Raidmax is going to place the back side of the motherboard tray this close to the right side panel, then the entire panel needs to be stamped in a manner which allows for more room.

All the usual front panel connections are present and accounted for, including the HD Audio and a USB 3.0 motherboard connector.

Removing the front panel is much more entailed than most cases on the market. You have to remove three screws that are in an awkward location inside the case. Once the three screws are out then you can pop the front panel off. There are four screws each that hold the fan and the front filter in place. The front intake fan has a filter included in the bracket that houses it. However, you have to completely disassemble the bracket from the case, and then the fan from the bracket, in order to get at the filter.

There is an option to add an additional 120 mm fan in this area should one desire to do so.

There is an accessory pack wired to the inside of the case, which includes all the needed hardware to install a system. In addition to a case speaker, there is also a bag of Velcro Hook-and-Loop wire ties. A pretty detailed users manual is also included in the package.

The Raidmax Raptor is an interesting case to say the least. I think the overall looks of it are very appealing, and the red version has the right amount of accents without going overboard. The dedicated 2.5″ SSD HDD cage is a great feature who’s time has definitely arrived, and should be included in most any case now days honestly. The included fan controller is a definite plus as well, and it’s ability to control all three red LED fans is an added bonus. The modular 3.5″ HDD bays is another nice feature that allows you to customize them in order to accommodate longer video cards.

The Raimax Raptor is not without issues though, most notably the cable management. Raidmax claims 25 mm space between the back of the motherboard tray and the right side panel, but this is only true for the areas where the side panel has been bulged out. Sadly, this is a real limitation when trying to organize cables behind the motherboard tray, and in some cases might not be possible at all. I really can’t understand why the motherboard tray was positioned so closely to the edge of the frame, given the fact that several other Raidmax cases have plenty of room there.

The other two main issue to me are the difficulty in removing the front panel, and the Air Foil top panel. It is quite a chore to get at the front filer and fan if you desire to give them a good cleaning, or add the option second 120 mm fan. It’s been a long time since I have run across a case that require removing screws to relieve the front panel. I think the front panel attachment design took a step back in time. The Air foil top panel design looks cool, but it reality will make those two top fans work doubly hard to get the air pushed through those Air Foils.

At the time of this review, the Raidmax Raptor is priced right at $100.00 USD. At that price range the competition is pretty stiff, even against other Raidmax offerings. That’s not to say the Raidmax Raptor is a bad case at all, in fact it may very well appeal to many of you out there with its stylish looks. Not everyone out there is a stickler for top notch cable management like I am, and there is no doubting the Raidmax Raptor has some features usually reserved for cases costing much more than this one does.

Based on price, features, and a couple areas for improvement, Overclockers Tech has given the Raidmax Raptor an 8/10 and the accompanying Silver Award.

Dino DeCesari (Lvcoyote)

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