| Rosewill Ranger Mid-Tower Computer Case |  |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Cases | |||||||
| Written by Doug Dallam | |||||||
| Monday, 12 December 2011 | |||||||
Page 5 of 5
Rosewill Case Final ThoughtsI thought the Rosewill THOR v2 was a pretty good case, although I expressed my misgivings at its offering price of 150.00USD, which put it in the middle of the Cooler Master HAF series. I mean it could compete at that price for various reasons, but it would have been a steal for less than 130.00USD. Guess what? You can now purchase the THOR v2 case for 100.00USD, and at that price, it is a steal. Price-wise, I'm feeling the same way about the Ranger. It's not a bad case, but it does have it's rough spots. I don't like the front faceplate and filter design because it's all but impossible to easily clean. I also don't like that the front bay covers only come out from the back of the faceplate, and not from the front.
On the other hand, the side and top fan options are great and bring the total fan count to no less than seven! However, a wide video card may make one of the side fans impossible, and a long PSU negates the bottom 140mm fan option, but you can still use a 120mm fan in the bottom location. So now we're down to six fans, which is still excellent, especially since one is a bottom fan. I would liked to have seen enough side panel width so as to accommodate both fans regardless of video card width, though. That would have been done easily enough by stamping a 1/2” outward bulge on the fan grill. Cable routing is adequate, but just so. I almost forgot to mention, too, that the Ranger has side mounted drives - another big plus! What's a reviewer to do? Look at the price. The Ranger can be had for 70.00USD. That means it will be in the budget to ultra budget price area soon enough, perhaps down to 60.00 or even 50.00ish USD. At that price, it's a good deal, or is it? Remember, the excellent Cooler Master HAF and Storm series are in that range too, along with the excellent Sentey Optimus Extreme Division case. Perhaps if the Ranger were to drop 15.00USD into the 55.00USD range? It's definitely something to think about, and one reviewer on Newegg said he purchased the Ranger for 55.00USD on sale! And, after an hour of looking around at mid tower cases, I'm still on the fence about giving the Ranger the boot, an award, or even a recommendation. If you look at Newegg, there are some very nice cases to be had even at the 50.00USD range. So, step into my conclusion, and see what I do. Rosewill Ranger ConclusionThis is a hard case to rate. It's looks are fine, the red interior is a nice touch, and it's cooling is excellent, which is many times lacking in midtowers. On the other hand, as mentioned in the Final Thoughts Section, the front faceplate leaves much to be desired as far as removing bay covers and cleaning the front filter, and cable space is just adequate. As always, appearance is a matter of taste and is thus subjective. I don't see any aesthetic bloopers on this case, though, and it's a clean look. Conversely, it doesn't amaze me, as he Ranger plays it pretty safe in the looks department. For looks, the Rosewill Ranger gets a Benchmark Reviews Recommendation. Construction is something that we often overlook when buying a case because we can't “kick the tires.” The Ranger isn't made from the heaviest steel, but it has numerous channels, bends, and folds making the steel fairly stiff. For construction, the Ranger gets a Benchmark Reviews Recommendation. Functionally speaking, there are some good and there are some not so good aspects to the Ranger. Cable space is adequate, but just adequate. The front faceplate design and it's almost impossible to clean filters, along with the bay covers coming off only from behind and not from the front, are not so desirable. On the upside, you have a lot of space in the Ranger and cooling, wow, it's a virtual wind tunnel, like it's big brother the THOR v2. With two top 140mm fans, two side 120mm fans, a bottom 140mm or 120mm fan and the back and front fans, this thing would probably take off if you cranked the fans to full power. What you don't get is a fan controller or a PSU filter. You do get a side mounted drive cage, however. For interior space and cooling, the Ranger gets a Gold Tachometer Award. However, for leaving out the PSU filter and the possibility of dropping one side fan due to video card size restrictions, plus limited cable space, the Ranger gets a Benchmark Reviews Recommendation, which splits the two into a final Benchmark Reviews Silver Tachometer Award for functionality. Value is decent to excellent depending on the price you find this case. As of December 2011 Ranger sells for $70 USD at NewEgg, so it's a decent value, not because there is something wrong with it but simply because of the competition. At $60.00, it gets to be a good value. If you can find Ranger into the $50-60 area it gets a Recommendation, and if you need all of the cooling potential this case has, even at $70, it gets a Benchmark Reviews Recommendation, but at $70 just barely. What's a shame is that the Ranger could have gotten a Golden Tachometer Award had it just a little more cable room, if the front faceplate had been easy to clean, and there was enough space to accommodate both side fans regardless of videocard size (even leaving out the nonexistent PSU filter). Overall, I'm giving the Rosewill Ranger a Benchmark Reviews Recommendation because for me, Silver and Gold awards are reserved for cases that go above and beyond and astound us with thoughtful design, functionality, and value. What do you all think? |
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Comments
I still prefer my old 'Thermaltake Armor+MX" case.
I have same problems with the front filters panel, they should have made them same as the rest of the set up, doors just pop open. I am planning on modifying them to open easier.
Ben.
However, over all I really do like this case. It has the features I want even if on the lean side. A few grommets would have helped a bit, and painting the interior black would have improved it as well, but for $70 I think it's a great deal. I think for $70 I could dig up a PSU filter too....