Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Case Review

By Meng Vang

Manufacturer: Phanteks Co.
Product Name: Enthoo Pro M
Model Number: PH-ES515P_BK
UPC: 886523300472
Price As Tested: MSRP $79.99

Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by Phanteks.

The Phanteks Enthoo Pro M has a few similarities from both the Enthoo Pro and the Evolv ATX case but in a mid-tower form factor. The front of the case includes just one 5.25″ ODD bay and a large air intake similar to the Enthoo Pro. The interior frame looks almost identical to the Evolv ATX due to the 2.5″ drop-N-lock mounts and the lack of interior HDD bays. Built specifically to target water cooling enthusiasts, the top and front of the case can support up to a 360mm or a 280mm radiator with plenty of space for a large reservoir.

The Enthoo Pro M features Phanteks innovated radiator bracket at the top of the case. This means system builders can easily install large radiators and fans without having to worry about space limitations during installation. Coming into the market at an affordable price, this case makes a great alternative to the similarly priced Fractal Design Define S. Benchmark Reviews is excited to review the Enthoo Pro M, so let’s go over a quick overview of what this case has to offer.

Case Specifications
Dimension	235 mm x 480 mm x 500 mm (W x H x D) 9.25 in x 18.9 in x 19.7 in
Form Factor	Midtower Chassis
Material(s)	Plastic Exterior, Steel Chassis
Motherboard Support	E-ATX *(up to 264mm wide), ATX, Micro ATX, Mini ITX
Front I/O	2x USB 3.0, Mic, Headphone, Reset
Side Window	Yes
Expansion & Drive Bays
Expansion slots	7
Internal 3.5″	8x (2x included)
Internal 2.5″ (dedicated)	3x (1x included)
Cooling	120mm fan	140mm fan
Front	2x (3x without ODD cage)	2x
Top	3x	2x
Rear	1x	1x (included)
Liquid Cooling	120mm radiator		140mm radiator
Front	Up to 360		Up to 280
Top	Up to 360		Up to 280
Rear	120		140
Clearance
Graphic card	420 mm (16.54 in) No HDD brackets 300 mm (11.8 in) HDD brackets installed
PSU	318 mm (12.5 in)
CPU cooler	194 mm (7.6 in)
Cable management	35 mm (1.38 in)
Memory clearance (motherboard – fan)	120mm: 68 mm (2.68 in) 140mm: 48 mm (1.89 in)
Packaging Information	PH-ES515P
Package Dimension	315 mm x 545 mm x 585 mm (WxHxD)
Net Weight	7,4 kg (15.4 lbs)
Gross Weight	9,0 kg (19.8 lbs)
Warranty
Length	5 Years Limited

In terms of accessories, we have the installation guide as well as all of the standard screws needed for installing HDDs, a power supply, and radiators. A few cable ties are also included for cable management. It is great to see 12 radiator screws out of the box for installing a 360mm radiator with three fans. A modular 3.5″ HDD bracket is also included for an extra storage drive but more can be purchased separately.

The front of the case has a nice brushed-aluminum finish along with a 5.25″ ODD bay and a large surface area for air intake. Removing the dust filter behind the front intake for cleaning can be done by popping off the front panel.

The Enthoo Pro M has a single 140mm fan preinstalled at the rear of the case. This adjustable fan mount can also support a 120mm fan. Ventilation holes are present throughout the rear of the case allowing the highest possible air flow for the internal components. Water cooling retention holes are not present on the Enthoo Pro M.

The main side panel includes a non-tinted window to show off the internal components of the system. Finger prints and dust will show on the surface of the window but can be easily cleaned off with a microfiber cloth. No sound dampening materials are included under the main and opposite side panel making the case more prone to vibration. Also note there are no captive thumbscrews on both side panels.

The top of the case features a large magnetic dust filter, which can be easily removed for cleaning. It also supports a 360mm or a 280mm water cooling radiator. Phanteks maintains a clean and minimalistic look with only the large air intake under the magnetic dust filter and a power button.

The Enthoo Pro M stands one inch off the ground due to the four rubber coated feet. This ensures a firm grip on a smooth surface. Water cooling pumps can be installed using the pre-drilled mounts near the front of the case. The power supply unit is also filtered with an easy to remove dust filter.

In terms of the front I/O ports, the power button is located at the top of the case and glows white when the system is powered on. Two USB 3.0 ports, standard headphone and microphone jacks, and a reset button are all located on the side of the case. The reset button also doubles as the HDD activity light. Having these ports located on the right side of the case gives better accessibility to these ports in most setups.

Now that we have seen a quick overview of the Enthoo Pro M, let’s take a look at the features this case has to offer.

Removing the main side panel reveals an internal frame design similar to the more expensive Evolv ATX case. Motherboard standoff screws are already pre-installed for an ATX motherboard. A large CPU cutout is available on the motherboard tray as well as five mounts for the 3.5″ modular HDD bracket. The top 5.25″ ODD bay can be unscrewed and removed to accommodate a 360mm or 280mm radiator at the top or at the front of the case. The power supply chamber has a cutout to showcase the brand of the power supply unit. It also has a small Phanteks logo as well as a 2.5″ SSD mount, which requires a separate bracket for installation.

For cable management, three Velcro straps are included to tie down even the largest cables. The power supply chamber hides the cables coming from the power supply unit and includes two 3.5″ HDD caddies near the front of the case. Behind the motherboard tray are two more 2.5″ SSD mounts with just one bracket included out of the box. The bracket features a drop-N-lock mechanism for easy installation and removal.

Taking off the front panel, we can see that the wires to the front panel I/O ports are nicely tied together to reduce any interference with the front fans if they were to be installed. The front will support a 360mm and 280mm radiator. This can only be done when the top 5.25″ ODD bay and the two 3.5″ HDD caddies in the power supply chamber are removed. A 240mm radiator should fit just fine at the front without removing anything.

Installing a 360mm or 280mm radiator at the front of the case also requires you to remove this metal plate. This metal plate is part of the power supply chamber and has mounting holes for water pumps. If removed, pre-drilled mounting holes are still available at the bottom of the case for a water pump.

The built-in radiator bracket simplifies the installation of large radiators and fans. It can slide out once the five silver screws are removed. Phanteks also made sure to design the radiator bracket so radiators and/or fans do not come into contact with the motherboard components.

Now that we have seen the interior layout and the innovative radiator bracket, let’s talk about storage in the next section.

The modular 3.5″ HDD bracket can be installed by removing a drive opening at the back of the motherboard tray. A few screws are needed to secure the HDD into place. The bracket can then be aligned with the drive opening and secured with another screw.

Behind the motherboard tray, the HDD connection ports align perfectly with the drive opening. This allows for easy installation when using a right-angled power and SATA cable.

The HDD caddies can easily mount 3.5″ drives without any screws. Mounting 2.5″ drives will require four screws for installation.

The HDD caddies can be easily inserted back into the HDD cage. The entire cage can be removed to make room for a 360mm radiator at the front of the case. Keep in mind there are only two 3.5″ drive caddies in the Enthoo Pro M.

SSD drives can be screwed into the SSD drop-N-lock bracket. There are two drop-N-lock mounts behind the motherboard tray and another one on the outside of the power supply housing. Unfortunately, only one drop-N-lock bracket is included with the Enthoo Pro M. Using right-angled power and SATA cables may not be suitable for storage devices mounted here.

Let’s go ahead and build a system with the Enthoo Pro M after seeing all the great features it has to offer.

The Enthoo Pro M is designed for water cooling setups, so that is exactly what we are going to take a look at in our build. Using the Raijintek Triton liquid cooling unit, we will see how much room is left in the case for a reservoir, pump, and extra storage drives. Cable management will also be something to look at to see how much effort is needed to manage the cables behind the motherboard tray.

• Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3
• System Memory: 4x4GB 1600MHz DDR3
• Processor: AMD FX-8350 @ 4.6GHz
• Audio: Creative Labs SB X-Fi
• Video: MSI GeForce 780 Ti Twin Frozr
• Disk Drive 1: Crucial MX100 256GB SSD
• Disk Drive 2: Seagate Barracuda 500GB HDD
• Enclosure: Phanteks Enthoo Pro M
• PSU: Corsair CX750M 750W Modular
• Monitor: HP 23bw 23″ IPS display
• Operating System: Windows 8.1 Professional 64-Bit

Building with the Enthoo Pro M was very straight forward. I did not run into a lot of problems as there was a lot of interior room to work with. Mounting the top two 140mm fans was a lot easier to install thanks to the removable radiator bracket. The 240mm radiator to the Raijintek Triton liquid cooling unit fits well at the front of the case without any stress or kinks to the tubes. There is still enough room for a reservoir to be installed behind the radiator when working on a custom water cooling setup. Airflow through the front of the case is nonrestrictive as there are no HDD cages to worry about.

During the build, I used only two cable ties to clean up the few cables to the top 140mm fans and the CPU power cable. Because of the three Velcro straps included with the case, cable management was not a problem with this build. I was very happy to see Phanteks had already zipped tied the cables to the front I/O ports.

Installing a radiator at the front of the case blocks the five HDD mounts for the modular 3.5″ HDD mount. This can become a limiting factor for a user who is still using multiple storage drives. In a situation where there is a 360mm radiator mounted at the front, you will lose these five drive mounts, the hard drive cage in the power supply chamber, and the top 5.25″ ODD bay. This leaves you with only the two 2.5″ drop-N-lock mounts at the back of the motherboard tray and the one on the outside of the power supply chamber. But then again, the Enthoo Pro M only comes with a single 2.5″ drop-N-lock bracket, so you are limited to installing only one 2.5″ drive out of the box in this situation.

The wires for the front I/O ports do come close to touching the front radiator fan. Removing the front I/O ports to install a fan here can be done by unscrewing a few screws. Although the wires may not touch the fan, double checking to see if the fan spins before putting the front panel back into place is a good idea.

The build turned out better than what I was expecting. Having a radiator at the front of the case is not the best way to go when using multiple storage devices. In my case, I did not need to use the modular 3.5″ HDD bracket. A push-and-pull configuration at the top of the case seems possible for a 360mm radiator, but just make sure there is enough clearance between the RAM modules, water block, and radiator. The Enthoo Pro M does not allow for 360mm radiators to be mounted simultaneously at the top and the front, which was a given in the first place.

Let’s go ahead and finish up with my final thoughts and conclusion.

The Enthoo Pro M is a great case with lots of interior space for water cooling or air cooling setups. With features from both the Enthoo Pro and the Evolv ATX case, this makes the Enthoo Pro M a great alternative case to the Fractal Design Define S. The only major things I would have liked to see was a larger side panel window and sound dampening material in the side panels. I really enjoyed using the radiator bracket and the idea of not having any HDD drive cages in the way of the 240mm radiator. The internal components stay nice and cool thanks to the large air intake at the front of the case and without HDD cages restricting airflow.

When it comes to performance, the Enthoo Pro M does great in this area. Because of the large air intake at the front of the case and the lack of HDD drive cages, air can simply flow into the case to cool the internal components. There is a lot of space to mount a 360mm and 280mm at the top and front of the case giving flexibility to system builders, but doing so does require the removal of the top 5.25″ ODD bay, the HDD cage in the power supply chamber, or both. The 140mm fan at the back can also be replaced for a 140mm radiator and fan. The rear of the case is all ventilated for the best possible airflow.

The case looks great with its simple exterior look. There is not much to say about the appearance of the Enthoo Pro M as it speaks for itself. I would have liked to see a larger side panel window that extends further towards the front of the case. This way if there were a reservoir or SSD installed, we could see them. Other than that, the clean looks of the case is enough to give it a thumbs up.

I was a little disappointed in the build quality of the Enthoo Pro M. The side panels would bend without much force and the side panel window could cause vibrations as it is not fully secured. Some sound dampening materials could have been nice to have under each side panel, but this would have increased the price. The CPU power cable cutout at the back of the motherboard tray could have been bigger to insert a cable without having to remove the motherboard and the 5.25 ODD could have been removed completely from the case. This would make the front of the case cleaner with the possibility of a larger air intake. But once the side panels are installed, the case becomes sturdy enough not to bend in any way and sits flat on a smooth surface without sliding.

The Enthoo Pro M does exactly what it should do. Supporting up to a 360mm radiator at the top or the front gives a lot of cooling flexibility to the system builder. Reservoirs can be mounted where the modular 3.5″ HDD bracket can go to improve the looks of the system. Because there are only two 3.5″ HDD caddies and three 2.5″ drop-N-lock mounts with only one bracket available, storage can become limited especially when using a 360mm radiator at the front of the case. In a situation like this, you can only use one 2.5″ drive out of the box; just something to keep in mind. I would have also liked to see some USB 2.0 ports in the front panel as well.

As of July 2015, the Phanteks Enthoo Pro M is set to hit the market at a price of $79.99. This makes the case competitive to the Define S and even the S340 from NZXT, but spending only a few more bucks can get you the Enthoo Pro. Do keep in mind that HDD and SSD mounting brackets are limited on the Enthoo Pro M, so if you do want to add more storage, extra mounting brackets will have to be purchased separately. Overall, the Enthoo Pro M is a great case for a basic water cooling system if you are not looking into installing multiple storage devices.

+ Lots of interior room
+ Slick and simple exterior design
+ Supports large 280mm or 360mm radiators at the top and front
+ Nonrestrictive airflow throughout
+ Radiator bracket, drop-N-lock design, and modular 3.5″ HDD mount
+ Excellent cable management system
+ Flexible mounting areas for water pumps and reservoirs
+ Removable dust filters for easy cleaning

– Side panel window may potentially cause vibration and could have been larger
– Limited storage space with 360mm radiator at the front
– No captive thumbscrews
– Must purchase more HDD/SSD brackets separately for more storage

• Performance: 9.50
• Appearance: 9.00
• Construction: 8.25
• Functionality: 8.75
• Value: 8.25

Quality Recognition: Benchmark Reviews Silver Tachometer Award.