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[nextpage title=”Introduction”]

The Hoplite is the latest mid-tower case from Enermax, coming with a fancy “VEGAS”  fan, an external SSD/hard drive dock, and two external 3.5”/2.5” hot-swap bays.

We are reviewing the ECA3320 version of this case. On the international market Enermax also offers the ECA3321 (no SSD/hard drive dock) and the ECA3322 (four 2.5” bays instead of two, but three 3.5” internal bays instead of four).

Figure 1: Enermax Hoplite case

Figure 2: Enermax Hoplite case

The left-side panel of the Hoplite is meshed, supporting the installation of one 180 mm or two 120 mm fans.

Figure 3: Left panel

[nextpage title=”The Front Panel”]

The front panel of the Enermax Hoplite can be seen in Figure 4. It has four 5.25” bays, all with meshed covers with air filters, one 120 mm “VEGAS” fan, and two external 3.5”/2.5” hard drive bays with hot-swap connectors.

Figure 4: Front panel

The “VEGAS” fan used on this case has two colors, red and blue, and through a button you can change its pattern. We made a short video showing the possible patterns. A knob is available for you to control its speed.

Figure 5: “VEGAS” fan

In Figure 6, you can see the two external hard drive bays.

Figure 6: External 3.5”/2.5” hard drive bays with hot-swap connectors

[nextpage title=”The Top, Bottom and Rear Panels”]

The buttons and connectors of this case are located on its top panel, as shown in Figure 7. The Hoplite comes with an eSATA port, two USB 2.0 ports, and the traditional audio jacks.

Figure 7: Buttons and connectors

The top panel of the Enermax Hoplite can be seen in Figure 8. It supports two 120 mm or 140 mm fans and comes with an air filter, which is overkill, since the top fans work blowing air from inside the computer to the outside, and thus the chance of dust coming in from the top panel is minimal.

One of the highlights of the Hoplite is the presence of an SSD/hard drive dock on the top panel (see small slot in Figure 8). In Figure 9 we show a 3.5” hard drive installed in this dock.

Figure 8: Top panel

Figure 9: Hard drive installed in the dock

The bottom panel, seen in Figure 10, has an air filter for the power supply fan, which is easy to be removed from outside the case.

Figure 10: Bottom panel

The rear panel and the interior of the Enermax Hoplite are painted black. The power supply is installed on the bottom part of the case, and it comes with seven expansion slots with vented covers. A small mesh is available to improve the ventilation of the case. Two holes protected by rubber covers are available for hoses of liquid cooling solutions and a small square hole also protected by a rubber cover is available at the top part of the rear panel, and this hole should be used in the case you want to install the SATA connectors of the eSATA or the SSD/hard drive dock to an eSATA port located at the rear panel of the motherboard. One 120 mm fan is available on the rear panel using a standard peripheral power connector.

Figure 11: Rear panel

Let’s now take a look inside the Enermax Hoplite.

[nextpage title=”Inside the Enermax Hoplite”]

Both panels of the Hoplite are fastened to the case using black thumbscrews, which is nice to see. The motherboard tray has a big hole around the area where the CPU is installed, allowing access to the backplate of the CPU cooler, so you can replace the cooler without having to remove the motherboard. The motherboard tray also has several holes for you to route cables behind it (most protected by rubber covers), and lots of metallic clips for you to fasten cables using cable ties. The motherboard tray has an opening behind the hard disk drive cage, making it easy to route and hide the hard drive cables.

Figure 12: Overall look

Figure 13: A view behind the motherboard tray

In Figure 14, you have another overall look inside the case. Expansion cards are fastened to the case using regular screws, but at least the screws that come with the case are black. The Hoplite supports video cards up to 12.4” (315 mm) long and CPU coolers up to 7” (178 mm) tall.

Figure 14: Overall look

Note that the power supply 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 mentioned before, the case comes with an air filter for the power supply fan, located outside the case.

Figure 15: Power supply compartment

[nextpage title=”The Disk Drive Bays”]

The Enermax Hoplite comes with four external 5.25” bays, four internal 3.5” bays, and two internal 2.5” bays, plus the two external 3.5”/2.5” with hot-swap connectors and the external 3.5”/2.5” docking bay. The 5.25” devices are fastened using big thumbscrews, but other devices are installed using regular screws, except, of course, the drive to be installed on the external docking bay located at the top panel.

Figure 16: Disk drive bays

To have access to the internal 3.5” and 2.5” bays, you have to unscrew a thumbscrew and open the door that protects these bays first.

Figure 17: Two 2.5” bays and four 3.5” bays

In Figure 18, you can see the drawer of one of the external 3.5”/2.5” hot-swap bays.

Figure 18: External 3.5”/2.5” drawer

[nextpage title=”Main Specifications”]

The main specs for the Enermax Hoplite case include:

• Style: Mid-tower
• Application: ATX and smaller form factors derived from this one
• Material: Zinc-coated steel (SECC)
• Power supply: Doesn’t come with the product
• Available colors: Black
• Side panel: Meshed
• Dimensions: 19.4 x 7.9 x 19.3 inches (493 x 200 x 490 mm) (H x W x D)
• Net weight: 16.5 lbs (7.6 kg)
• Gross weight: 19.5 lbs (8.8 kg)
• Bays: Four external 5.25” bays, four internal 3.5” bays, two internal 2.5” bays, two external 3.5”/2.5” external bays with hot-swap connectors, one 3.5”/2.5” docking station
• Expansion slots: Seven
• Maximum video card length: 12.4” (315 mm)
• Maximum CPU cooler height: 7” (178 mm)
• Fans: One 120 mm “VEGAS” fan on the front panel, one 120 mm fan on the rear panel
• Optional fans: Two 120 mm fans or one 180 mm fan on the left panel, two 120 mm or 140 mm fans on the top panel
• More Information: https://www.enermax.com
• Average price in the US*: USD 100.00

* Researched at Newegg.com on the day we published this review.[nextpage title=”Conclusions”]

The Enermax Hoplite comes with an impressive number of drive bays for a mid-tower case, and is a nice option if you want the convenience of having external access to some of your hard drives or SSDs.

Strong Points

• The 5.25” bay covers are meshed featuring air filters
• Air filters for the front and top fans
• One 3.5”/2.5” hard drive/SSD docking bay
• Two external 3.5”/2.5” bays with hot-swap connectors
• Supports up to five 2.5” devices
• Holes with rubber covers for liquid cooling solutions
• A hole in the motherboard tray for accessing the backplate of the CPU cooler
• Holes for routing cables behind the motherboard tray
• Vented slot covers
• Sturdy construction

Weak Points

• No thumbscrews for fastening expansion cards
• No tool-less installation mechanisms for the hard drives/SSDs
• No air filter for the optional side fans
• It could be a little bit cheaper