Enermax has enjoyed a long and illustrious career in the PC enthusiast industry. Their products are featured prominently in venues all over the world, such as the recent Computex 2007 event in China, which our very own Rich Caporali attended. Enermax continues to push the envelope giving PC enthusiasts the tools they need to take personal computing to the next level.

“Enermax Technology Corporation, founded in 1990, is a leading manufacturer of high-end computer products. Established with a passion for progress, Enermax believes that the needs of our customers drive our design and development. Our aim is mutual growth and strength, enabling our team to help solve the most complex business challenges.”- Enermax / Coolergiant

With the updated Chakra line of PC tower enclosures, called the Uber Chakra, Enermax aims to introduce an enclosure that is affordable yet feature rich. Sporting the moniker “uber” in its name, can Enermax prove that incorporating the latest features into a case while ensuring top notch build quality should not cost an arm and a leg? Let’s find out if this case lives up to its “Uber” name!

Enermax provides the necessary items for a successful build in their enclosure. The standard plastic rails for the optical, floppy, and hard drives are included, as well as the manual, motherboard standoffs and screws. One notable inclusion is a little mainboard speaker, which was quite a surprise considering that very few, if any, enclosure manufacturers are including these in their part bags anymore. Something that came as a bit of a letdown, however, is the single zip tie with an adhesive backed mounting plate. With cable management on the forefront of most enthusiast's minds, we disappointed Enermax didn't include a couple more of these in their accessory package.

First and foremost, the Uber Chakra is solidly constructed. Weighing in at a hefty 24 pounds sans components, this case is not one to be lugged around at a LAN party. With its brushed aluminum accents and unique use of curves to give it definite sex appeal, this case screams for attention.

Unfortunately, while the enclosure is painted in a very attractive glossy black finish, the review sample we received had some some spots where the paint was marred.  After contacting Enermax about this, we were told it was just our sample, and a result of a very early version sent out to review sites only.  We were assured that any currently shipping units, as well as those already on e-tailers' shelves, will not suffer from the same imperfections.

Behind the front façade, every empty 5.25” and 3.5” bay opening, as well as the front 120mm fan is covered with a removable, mesh-like material to prevent dust and debris from taking residence within the enclosure. This kind of attention to detail speaks volumes about the designers behind the Uber Chakra, as some of the most notable (and expensive) enclosure manufacturers do not include something as vital as dust filters in their cases (Antec 900, anyone?).

The 120mm front intake fan, made by PowerCooler, is removable and contains a blue LED for those that enjoy eye candy in their enclosures.

The front I/O area of the case is one the best designed we have ever seen. Its layout is clean and extremely functional. The highlight here is the inclusion of the eSATA port that is just now starting to make waves in the PC enclosure arena. With the same data transfer speed of 3.0GB/s as its internal SATA cousin, the eSATA port is much faster than USB 2.0 and handily outperforms FireWire 1394. This means that transferring files and performing backup duties has become more convenient and faster than ever. We would definitely like to see more enclosure companies adopt this feature into future case designs, and further kudos goes to Enermax for mounting these I/O ports conveniently at the top of the chassis.

However, considering that eSATA is relatively new, many people are still using FireWire 1394 to do a lot of their file transferring with. Not including such a port into the Uber Chakra design is a glaring oversight, one which we feel Enermax should have considered before depending solely on eSATA alone for high speed data transfer duties. It's a tradeoff we can live with, we just don't feel it's necessary to choose between the two.

Moving to the back of the case, we see the standard layout that is common for all current enclosures today. A removable PSU bracket is included to accommodate those that use different power supply solutions. The one thing that was not included, however, was an 80mm, 90mm, or 120mm fan for the optional exhaust area at the back of the case. It would have been nice for Enermax to have included one in the accessory kit for those that wanted a little extra with their Uber Chakra enclosure. Seven PCI slots and an I/O plate round out the back end of the case.

Probably one of the most understated and overlooked aspects of an enclosure are its support system. The feet of the Uber Chakra are solid and very functional. They can be arranged so that they are positioned at 45, 90, or 180 degrees, with 90 degrees being straight out, and 180 degrees being folded away. For a case this large (and heavy!) it is nice to see that Enermax ensured that it had a stable platform on which to operate on.

Here, we finally arrive to the bread and butter of the Uber Chakra enclosure. If one considers a monster (and we do mean that literally!) 250mm fan uber, then this case has it in spades. This behemoth cooling solution packs a wallop, and has a bevy of control options. The round button all the way to the left controls the blue LED operation, and the switch in the middle has three positions: intake, off, and exhaust respectively. Let’s remove the side panel and take a closer look at the fan.

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Guess you thought we were kidding, didn’t you? Like we alluded to earlier, this 250mm fan is freakin’ huge. This monster pumps out 90CFM at 650RPM with a noise footprint of only 17dB. The fan runs off a 4-pin molex connector, and like the front 120mm intake fan, is also made by PowerCooler.

The inside of the Uber Chakra is relatively unremarkable, save for the fact of the double rail system that supports the PSU. This was obviously designed to hold heavy redundant PSU’s and to accommodate the larger 1Kw power supplies that have started making their rounds throughout the computer enthusiast industry. Also worth noting is the wire bundle for the top I/O ports of the enclosure. This bundle is very long and able to reach the most oddly placed connection points on a motherboard. The construction of the inside of the case is very well done, with all edges being either milled, rolled or folded over. This resulted in a near perfect paper napkin test where a napkin is run along all edges to identify sharp or rough spots.

Upon closer inspection of the wire bundle, we see the standard connections of hard drive and computer activity pin-outs, as well as the power and reset wires as well. Also included in the bundle is the vaunted eSATA cable, and a single block, two port USB 2.0 connection. The four pin molex connector you see on the right is for the front 120mm intake fan.

If there is one thing that will cripple this enclosure from receiving a perfect score, it will be the tool-less PCI latch system. (I'm personally not a fan of tool-less PCI schemes). Using a latch and lock system, the tabs hold and semi support add-in cards. Those of you who like good old fashioned screws can simply remove the latch system.

The overall build experience for this enclosure was definitely an enjoyable experience, other than the issues encountered with the PCI latch system. There is plenty of room to work with inside, and once finished, wire routing and management can easily be performed: there is oodles of space to stuff, hide, and otherwise tidy up a messy bundle of wires. Also worth noting is that due to this enclosures’ rather large size, it will accommodate the largest of videocards without nary a problem, such as the protruding 8800GTX series. As pointed out earlier, the lack of sharp edges in the case resulted in a blood-free environment, and no fingers or knuckles were harmed during the building within this enclosure.

Our Recommendation

Simply put, the Enermax Uber Chakra does indeed live up to its uber name. This case has a lot going for it, and at a price point that people can afford. Offering features that many other cases on the market today have yet to do, the Uber Chakra trounces its competition by including a 250mm fan, an eSATA port, a bevy of motherboard and PSU installation options, and Enermax’s legendary customer service and support system. This case will appeal to all levels of computer enthusiasts, from the first time buyer, to the seasoned professional.

Other than a few annoyances, namely the PCI latch system, lack of a FireWire port, and the paint job (which has been addressed by Enermax), this case will undoubtedly become a fast favorite for the enthusiast crowd looking to save a little green and yet still obtain premium features. Not to say that this enclosure is cheaply made, because it most certainly is not. Enermax took the original (and highly successful) Chakra design, adopted some new features, added a little of their own flavor and came up with an enclosure that will be hard to beat. Its name? The Enermax Uber Chakra.

Other Reviews of Note

It's always nice to have more than one opinion on a component before you spend your hard earned money. For one, we may see something others missed, or vice versa. As with all reviews published at HardwareLogic, we'll not only give you our recommendation, but also point out reviews from some other great sites around the web.
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