Enermax Hoplite ST Mid-Tower PC Chassis Review

There we have it, the Hoplite ST White Edition from Enermax and while I do really like what Enermax have done, I feel it could have been just that little bit better. Lets break it down and see how this all adds up.

First off lets get the things I didn’t quite like about the Hoplite ST. The top SATA dock for the chassis could have been designed a little better, while the exterior aspect is great, it’s cables are poorly placed within the chassis, so too are those for the front fan controller. While this is of course a minor issue, it seems silly to have cable management cut-outs and then fit the chassis with cables you can’t manage properly.

Next up is those cable management cut-outs, while they are just about up to the job for this build, the end result could have looked much tidier had the holes been a little wider. Were we to install a few more hard drives, a 2nd GPU and maybe some more fans, I’m no sure the cut-outs would have coped all too well. This is again a minor issue as airflow was reasonably clear in the build for a chassis this size, but when you could have had better airflow and a better looking build at the cost of a bigger hole, it seems strange to have the cut-outs so slim in the first place.

The included cooling fans are of a fairly low quality too, while they are more than up to the job, I would have expected a little better in this price range in terms of style as the clear acrylic fans do tend to be synonymous with the low budget end of cooling fans.

With those issues out of the way, what did I like about the Hoplite ST? quite a lot actually, the overall style of the chassis is in my opinion the biggest selling point here. With everything installed and the side panel in place it’s a fantastic looking design. The high contrast while and black styling really makes the chassis stand out. It’s also fairly functional and while it isn’t over loaded with features it does provide everything you need. There is some USB 3.0 support, an external hard drive dock, more than enough room for storage drives, room for a little water cooling and good build quality.

Overall I think there isn’t anything that really stands out other than it’s style, which isn’t enough for me to give it an eTeknix award. That’s not to say it isn’t a great chassis, because it is and if you bought one I’m sure you would be very happy with it. I’m just not sure it’s worth £70+ and had it been around the £50 price point it would have our eTeknix Bang for Buck award. Of course this is all just my opinion and surely that is the purpose of me reviewing it. It’s a great product overall but it’s just not quite as good as it could have been for this price range.