Cubitek HPTX ICE Review: How Far Aluminum Can Go
by Dustin Sklavos on May 11, 2012 1:20 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Full-Tower
- Cubitek
- HPTX
Noise and Thermal Testing, Overclocked
Our stock settings are admittedly going to be a bit underwhelming for an enclosure like the Cubitek HPTX ICE, so hopefully when we move to our overclocked testing it will have a chance to redeem itself. Keep in mind that the Antec Eleven Hundred it's essentially butting up against is just a third of the price.
The differences in thermals aren't quite as pronounced under our overclocked load, but they're definitely there. Antec's case still does a substantially better job of keeping the overclocked processor cool, and a slightly better job at keeping the GeForce GTX 560 Ti under control.
Cubitek's enclosure gains some traction once we look at fan speeds, which are basically comparable between the two enclosures. There's definitely some thermal headroom left in the HPTX ICE to eke out some more performance.
The HPTX ICE also doesn't get any louder under our overclocked testing. A large part of that is, I suspect, that the case fans are already drowning out the processor and graphics coolers. That doesn't change the fact that the HPTX ICE is finally beating Antec's case under load.
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Samus - Friday, May 11, 2012 - link
I've owned this case for nearly four years.It's called the Silverstone FT02, as you referenced to in your weight analysis. This Cubitek company completely stole the design schematics and made it out of pure aluminum (the Silverstone unibody is steel, panels are aluminum.)
So now that we're on the same page, how is the build quality compared to the FT02? Did they manage to copy that? If so, it's quite a compelling alternative when cost is considered.
Samus - Friday, May 11, 2012 - link
Wait, it's $359? Fail.JarredWalton - Friday, May 11, 2012 - link
Interior design is different, materials are different, and build quality is different, hence it's not just a clone of the GT02. Unfortunately, it's also worse in almost every respect.randinspace - Friday, May 11, 2012 - link
LOL You just spoiled the restraint Dustin was trying to show by saying exactly what he seemed to be thinking. But GT02? Long day?JarredWalton - Friday, May 11, 2012 - link
Meh, fat fingered it. That's what happens early in the morning after being sick all week. :-pImSpartacus - Saturday, May 12, 2012 - link
I know! Mr. Sklavos wrote the nicest negative review ever.Sunburn74 - Friday, May 11, 2012 - link
Its an FT01 clone, not FT02. And using the word clone is somewhat of an understatement when you look at the 2 side by side...JarredWalton - Friday, May 11, 2012 - link
As I said before, internals matter. Here are three shots showing the interiors.HPTC ICE: http://images.anandtech.com/doci/5816/Small%20(8%2...
FT01: http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/cases/2008/sil...
FT02: http://images.anandtech.com/doci/4620/internals.jp...
Calling something a clone because it's a big case with rounded corners is a bit much, considering everything inside looks different. And we're talking cases, so there's not a whole lot you can do -- especially with conservative styling -- that would be "different". Big, black, rounded corners. Yup. But again, FT01/FT02 generally seem like better cases and cost a lot less.
Alecthar - Friday, May 11, 2012 - link
If by "FT02" you mean "FT01," then yes, you're correct.lbeyak - Friday, May 11, 2012 - link
I just don't see any reasons at all why I would want this over the PC-90 "The Hammer".Another good review Dustin, I appreciate it.