BitFenix Portal Mini ITX Chassis Review - Final Words & Conclusion

Final Words & Conclusion

Before we begin with the conclusion let me first state that the majority of photos do not really do this product any justice. The issue in a white studio we already mentioned, but there is another factor you should take into account. You cannot understand how small this chassis really is. If we deduct the stand you are looking at a a fully enabled PC with high-end graphics card that measures up at 18.5 x 38 x 41 cm :) It really is a very unique product that you can use to house a PC as powerful as you like it to be. 
  

 
Small form-factors are getting trendy fast and as such this product will make a lot of sense, especially since you can house heavy duty performance gear in it. Overall a good chassis, nice space thanks to the retractable tray, okay enough cable routing for what you need to do, and albeit a little more difficult to install it can hold some 120 mm rads for AIO coolers. The product feels sturdy, the design overall seems well done, with a lovely aluminum finish that on its end also helps with cooling. You remain confined to the limitations of a small form factor chassis of course, but honestly this is as good as it can get with even enough space to mount up-to 3 SSDs or a combination with HDDs

Aesthetics

While I would have loved to have received the black version, this white design with subtle black stripes and elements look nice. the overall style, cable management options, pre-installed fans and the top see-through window make this product unique. The curvature is absolutely something you need to like though, but I can appreciate the design effort that BitFenix applies here.

The Innards

The rounded design are a nice feature. Another plus is the aluminum design. As shown it all is tight fit, but it is a fit but thanks to the retractable tray, you simply take it all out and work outside the PC on the innards. This works really out really well as that gives you the option to build a high-end rig with the ability to mount large graphics cards of up-to roughly 300 mm, again a nice plus. Alternatively a 120 mm rad mounted at the front for CPU cooling, albeit that is a tight fit alright. Inside there is space enough to work in, you can mount three storage units. A nice SSD and a TB HDD would be plenty for most of you, right? There is no option to mount 5.25" opticals so if you need DVD/ Blu-Ray, an external USB unit would be your only alternative. 

Final Words

The Portal is a super cute and lovely chassis. It's been thought through really well, offers installation of even the highest end components as long as you stick to the right mITX motherboard and a proper SFX power supply of course. The BitFenix Portal also offers a bit of flexibility in LCS unit mounts for this Mini ITX build, you are confined towards 120 mm though. However with a AIO LCS unit you can cool your high-end and even overclocked processor properly. That means you can pack a whole lotta horsepower inside an incredibly small chassis. The airflow is certainly good enough for mainstream components, however can become a challenge with components that ooze out a lot of heat, please do keep that in mind when making your design choices. Looks are always trivial, but the Portal certainly feels very original with the new round and curved design, I do like it very much. Though not 100% silent the two fans are quiet enough and you can easily adjust fan RPM as you lead the fan HUB wire towards a PWM FAN connector on your motherboard (and regulate it there). The chassis might be small but the pricing is substantial at 129 Euro /139 USD/EUR due the niche design, rails for the component tray and obviously the aluminum design. Bitfenix has brought a proper, sturdy and very unique curved looking mini-me chassis to market. Aside from a few points we raised we do feel we can wholeheartedly recommended this product.

• Sign up to receive a notice when we publish a new article
• Or go back to Guru3D's front page.

This chassis has nothing to do with the game Portal eh ? uh-huh :)