Enermax Hoplite Mid Tower Case Review

Final Thoughts of the Hoplite

Overall I have mixed feelings about the Hoplite. I like the build quality. The case is solidly built and the fit and finish is also very nice. The Hoplite has loads of features. It can hold up to six 120mm fans, hot swap bays, external hard drive dock, SSD support, and the very important off switch for the LED fan. It has plenty of room as well. The Hoplite ECA3220 can accommodate video cards up to 315mm (13.77) long. It can also support CPU coolers up to 178mm tall without side panel fans, 160mm with side panel fans. So that means just about any CPU cooler on the market will fit in the Hoplite series and can still use the side panel fans.

The internal hard drive cage is nice as it is tool-less, but the air flow through the drive cage is restricted due to the way the cage sides are designed. Air does move through the cage, but not very freely. Same for the hot swap bays having to rely on the exhaust fans in the rest of the case to cause a draft and pull air through.

I really like the ease of removing the top bezel for adding top exhaust fans, or even a dual 120mm radiator. Having access through the top case was handy for installing parts, as well.

I cant say I care for the expansion slot covers, though. In a case full of high-end features, having non-replaceable slot covers just doesnt fit.

When it came to the wire management the placement of the wire routing holes was fine; the grommets stayed in place. I like that Enermax added the extra hole at the top rear of the motherboard tray. Where it lacked was in the space behind the tray. The space is limited, I was able to route my wires, but I had to push on the side panel to get it back on. That being the case, in a fully loaded system it could get real interesting running all the cables behind the tray.

For coming in at around the $100 mark the Enermax Hoplite ECA3220 has tons of features for the price and is well built. With the right planning you can put a lot in this case. There are 3 versions of the Hoplite, so getting the right combination of drive bays and USB options can be done, but will make shopping confusing when all the models hit the shelf. Currently, I was only able to locate the model we reviewed today the Hoplite ECA3220. It can be found for a little as $99.99 plus shipping with a 1 year limited warranty.

Legit Bottom Line: The Enermax Hoplite is a solidly built case with nice features at a good sub $100 price point.