Raidmax Seiran Case Review

[nextpage title=”Introduction”]

The Raidmax Seiran is a mid-tower case that is offered in three different versions: white with blue fans, red with red fans, or black with red fans. Let’s see if it is a good product.

We reviewed the black version, which comes with fans that glow red when turned on.

Figure 1: Raidmax Seiran case

Figure 2: Raidmax Seiran case

The left-side panel has a huge mesh with a 180 mm fan installed. This fan comes with red LEDs on the black and the red models of the reviewed case, and with blue LEDs on the white model. No technical specifications for this fan are provided. The fan is connected to the analog, single-channel controller that is available, and you can control the brightness of its LEDs through a knob available on the top part of the front panel. There is no air filter for this fan, however, the holes on the mesh are very small, and the mesh can work as an air filter.

Figure 3: The left-side panel

[nextpage title=”The Front Panel”]

The Raidmax Seidan has nine external 5.25” bays, which are also used by internal 3.5”/2.5” devices. The top-most bay cover has a cutout for an external 3.5” device, but the case comes with an extra cover in case you are not going to use an external 3.5” device. All covers are meshed with air filters.

Figure 4: Front panel

The reviewed case comes with one 120 mm fan on its front panel. This fan comes with red LEDs on the black and the red models of the reviewed case, and with blue LEDs on the white model. No technical specifications for this fan are provided. The fan is connected to the analog, single-channel controller that is available, and you can control the brightness of its LEDs through a knob available on the top part of the front panel. The covers available in front of the fan work as an air filter for it.

The front fan is attached to two of the 3.5”/2.5” racks. This means that you can easily move the fan up to any other 5.25” bay.

Figure 5: Front fan

The reviewed case has two USB 2.0 ports, one USB 3.0 port, the traditional audio jacks, a single-channel, analog fan controller, and a knob for adjusting the brightness of the LEDs of the fans. The left and front fans are connected to this controller. It allows the installation of a third fan, however, the rear fan can’t be attached to it because it uses a peripheral power plug, not a three-pin fan power connector. Since this controller is a single-channel model, you will change the speed of all of the fans at the same time. The USB 3.0 port uses an internal connector, so make sure you install a motherboard with an internal USB 3.0 header. We can’t understand why there is only one USB 3.0 port, since the connector that is installed on the motherboard supports two.

Figure 6: Buttons and connectors

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

The top panel of the Raidmax Seiran is plain, with no fans or meshes. The bottom panel has an air filter for the power supply fan.

Figure 7: Top panel

Figure 8: Bottom panel

The rear panel and the interior of the Raidmax Seiran are painted black. On the white and red models, the rear panel is painted with the same color as the rest of the case, while the interior is painted black.

On the Raidmax Seiran, the power supply is installed at the bottom of the case.

The case comes with a 120 mm fan installed on its rear panel. No technical specifications for this fan are available. This fan doesn’t glow when turned on, and it can’t be connected to the fan controller, since it uses a standard peripheral power connector instead of a three-pin fan power connector.

This case has seven expansion slots with vented covers, painted red.

The Raidmax Seiran has three holes using rubber covers for hoses of liquid cooling solutions. These holes are 0.7” (17 mm) in diameter.

Figure 9: Rear panel

The side panels have handles for you to remove them. See Figure 10.

Figure 10: Handle for removing the side panel

Let’s now take a look inside the Raidmax Seiran.[nextpage title=”Inside the Raidmax Seiran”]

Both panels are attached to the chassis using black thumbscrews. The motherboard tray has a huge hole for you to access the backplate of the CPU coolers without having to remove the motherboard from the case, several holes protected with rubber covers for you to route cables behind it, and a couple of metallic clips for you to fasten cables using cable ties.

Figure 11: Overall look

Figure 12: A view behind the mo
therboard tray

In Figure 13, we have another overall look inside the case. Expansion cards are fastened using regular screws. We always prefer to see thumbscrews here. In its default configuration, the Raidmax Seiran supports video cards up to 17.3” (440 mm) long, but if you install a hard drive in front of the video card, this clearance is reduced to 9.8” (250 mm). If you move the front fan, and one of the racks that hold it is in front of the video card, you can install video cards up to 11.4” (290 mm) long.

Figure 13: Overall look

The power supply is installed at the bottom of the case. It 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 already discussed, the case comes with an air filter for the power supply fan.

Figure 14: Power supply compartment

[nextpage title=”The Disk Drive Bays”]

The Raidmax Seiran has nine external 5.25” bays, all using tool-less installation mechanisms. These bays are also used by 3.5”/2.5” devices, using the four racks that come with the case. (According to the manufacturer, from the second production batch on, the Seiran will come with six racks instead of four.) One of these racks can be used for holding an external 3.5” device. The 3.5”/2.5” devices must be installed using regular screws.

Figure 15: Disk drive bays

In Figure 16, you can see one of the 3.5”/2.5” racks. The support for only four storage devices is one of the main drawbacks of this case.

Figure 16: One of the 3.5”/2.5” racks

[nextpage title=”Main Specifications”]

The main specifications for the Raidmax Seiran include:

• Style: Mid-tower
• Application: ATX, and smaller form factors
• Material: Zinc-coated steel (SECC) body
• Power supply: Doesn’t come with the product
• Available colors: Black, white, or red
• Side panel: Mesh
• Dimensions: 18.9 x 7.3 x 18.9 inches (480 x 185 x 480 mm) (H x W x D)
• Net weight: 12.5 lbs. (5.8 kg)
• Gross weight: 16 lbs. (7.2 kg)
• Bays: Nine external 5.25” bays with four internal 3.5/2.5” bays converted from the 5.25” bays (from the second production batch on the case will come with six of them), one of the 3.5”/2.5” bays can be converted into an external 3.5” bay
• Expansion slots: Seven
• Maximum video card length: 17.3” (440 mm) long, 9.8” (250 mm) if a hard drive is installed or 11.4” (290 mm) long if the front fan is moved
• Maximum CPU cooler height: NA
• Fans: One 120 mm fan on the front panel (red LEDs), one 180 mm fan on the left panel (red LEDs), and one 120 mm fan on the rear panel
• Optional fans: None
• Extra Features: Single-channel, analog fan speed controller and analog brightness control for the LEDs
• More Information: https://www.raidmax.com
• Average Price in the US*: USD 90.00

* Researched at Newegg.com on the day we published this review.

[nextpage title=”Conclusions”]

On paper, the features of the Raidmax Seiran seem great. But after a closer inspection, the construction quality is not on par with its price tag. It would be a good USD 60 case, but at USD 90 we can’t recommend it. We believe there are better products in the same price range, such as the Cougar Evolution, the NZXT Phantom 410 and the Corsair Carbide 400R, just to mention a few.

Strong Points

• Air filter for the power supply fan
• Vented slot covers
• Single-channel, analog fan controller supporting three fans
• Analog brightness control for the fan LEDs
• Support for video cards up to 17.3” (440 mm) long
• Handles for removing the side panels
• A huge hole in the motherboard tray for accessing the backplate of the CPU cooler
• Holes protected with rubber covers for routing cables behind the motherboard tray
• Metallic clips for fastening cables using cable ties

Weak Points

• Supports only four storage devices (on the first production batch)
• Expansion cards are fastened using regular screws
• No air filters for the left fan
• Rear fan can’t be connected to the fan controller, even though the fan controller supports the installation of one additional fan
• Only one USB 3.0 port even though the case uses an internal connector
• Could have a better construction quality for the price