BitFenix Merc Alpha: Just How Much Can $39 Buy?
by Dustin Sklavos on October 5, 2011 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- mid-tower
- bitfenix
Noise and Thermal Testing, Stock
Honestly I'm not expecting miracles from the BitFenix Merc Alpha. It has one whole fan, a 120mm exhaust fan, and then ventilation in the side and top panels. That said, there's nothing about the internal layout that strays too far off the beaten path, so hopefully the fairly sensible design pays off.
That one exhaust fan is doing the best it can and by and large, the Merc Alpha's middle-of-the-pack thermals really aren't bad at all. Ambient temperatures look to be a bit high, but at least the Merc Alpha can hang.
Noise is in the same category. Surprisingly that single 120mm fan responds well to the fan control of our test motherboard, and is remarkably quiet on its own. Individuals looking for a quiet enclosure on the cheap might actually be well served by the Merc Alpha's slightly more closed off twin, the Merc Beta.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
35 Comments
View All Comments
piroroadkill - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
But would you want to use that?Also, fuck, those cases were basically scrap metal. No rolled edges. Hope you like bleeding all over your new machine, and then blowing it up after plugging in the tin-pot POS PSU.
piroroadkill - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
Not I don't mean this case of course!This case actually looks pretty decent, and they even bothered coating the inside instead of leaving it bare. Damn fine for $39, no matter how you slice it.
aguilpa1 - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
Aw the good ole days, when you weren't hacking unless your fingers were bleeding...., wait maybe not so good.Thermalzeal - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
This ^Spazweasel - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
Oh, you still can. You can get a case + PS for as little as about 25 dollars.You would want neither case nor power supply, though. The lowest cost power supplies worth having, even for a budget build, seem to start around 40 dollars (Antec and Corsair both make very nice 400-watt class power supplies in that range).
JonnyDough - Thursday, October 6, 2011 - link
With the extra $20 spent on a better PSU, we're not only saving the environment a little, but helping to ensure longevity of our motherboard and components by going higher end. Yep, around $40 is my minimum, as that's basically the starting point for a 300w 80+ Bronze certified from Seasonic. Most systems don't use that much, and amps are much more important than total wattage anyway. There need to be better standards regulating power supplies. In fact, they should have to list certain factors on every OEM PC sold as well. The big mass market PC builders should be unable to fool consumers by not listing the gpu specs for instance.CloudFire - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
Good budget case indeed, the only other one I would recommend near this price range is the CM Haf 912.CrystalBay - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
Coolermaster 690's were 30-40 back a couple/few years .Thanks Dustin, keep posting the deals!
Vepsa - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
Would make a great case for my home server (so I could swap its 80mm fans out for 120mm fans) but Newegg doesn't have any BitFenix cases :(xcomvic - Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - link
Yea, as soon as I finished this review, I tried to look it up on Newegg, very surprised that they aren't on there...maybe they are "too" cheap for the egg, can't make any profit on the resale...