Summary
The real question to me for the S8 Test Bench is who will buy this case. It is more expensive than most Test Benches as it retails at $259.95 + shipping. LN2 benchers would want a second power supply, and many choose to run without any kind of bench anyway. Reviewers would in general be happy with the case, particularly those that test with custom water cooling loops like myself. However the lack of HDD accessibility is a frustration, and this means that while I would consider buying the case strongly if I didn’t have a Test Bench, I don’t have the urge to rush out and sell my existing benches to get this one. In other words it’s a good option, but sadly not a strong and compelling one like most of the other CaseLabs cases.
I think the biggest potential sales for this would be if this was to have a wider front panel that matched the pedestal, optional side panels and an optional top panel so that the case can be used as a shorter S8 case rather than as a Test Bench.
Because of all these near-misses I have to give the Test Bench version of the S8 a silver award, even though the regular S8 gets a gold award. CaseLabs charge a premium price for a premium product. This one is not premium enough and the design porting from the S8 and the many shared panels just end up not perfectly suiting the needs of a test bench. It’s still a solid option though and recommended if it fits your needs, it’s just not the one and only test bench you’d ever need.
Where to buy: CL Store – $249.99 + options
