BitFenix Colossus Venom Edition review

The Colossus certainly lives up to its name, completely overshadowing other, smaller cases. Striking angular white lines slice through the matt black front and side panels, giving the case a unique look that’s even more menacing when you turn on its green LEDs.

There’s ample room inside to build, thanks to seven 3.5in internal drive bays and five external 5.25in bays. All the internal drive bays have caddies that hold both 2.5in and 3.5in hard disks, and the 5.25in drive bays use tool-free mounting mechanisms. The motherboard tray has pre-cut cable routing holes and a sizable cut-out for installing CPU cooler backing plates.

Despite its cavernous interior, the Colossus only has two preinstalled fans. Happily, they’re both huge 230mm models that kept our reference kit reasonably cool without making a racket. Very high-end components may need additional cooling, so BitFenix has sensibly included an additional three 120mm fan mounts. You can also remove each 230mm fan and replace it with two 120mm fans if you prefer.

It isn’t immediately obvious how to turn the Colossus on because the power buttons and I/O ports are hidden within a cavity underneath a flip-up panel. Front panel I/O includes two USB3 ports, two regular USB2 ports, one eSATA, and 3.5mm headphone and microphone jacks. Conveniently, the cavity is arranged so that you can place a smartphone or MP3 player within it while it charges. The Colossus is lockable, which could come in handy if you regularly lug your case to a LAN party.

If you want your case to make a statement then the Colossus is difficult to beat, but its high price and huge dimensions probably won’t suit everyone.