Overclock.net banner

CASE ROSEWILL / BLACKHAWK Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

878 views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  Overclock Reviews 
#1 ·
CASE ROSEWILL / BLACKHAWK Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Description:
Rosewill’s BLACKHAWK features a good list of specifications: side panel windows, 4x 120mm and 1x 140mm fans for maximum cooling, front accessible USB 3.0 port, top mounted SATA HDD dock and more. It offers better cooling, decent quality and modern design in and out than most of the competitive cases in its price range. And with long VGA card & water cooling support, integrated cable management, CPU backplate cutout, and easy-clean PSU filter, The BLACKHAWK is an overall well-built, feature-rich gaming case on a budget With Power Supply: No Power Supply Mounted: Bottom With Side Panel Window: No External 5.25" Drive Bays: 3 (4) External 3.5" Drive Bays: 1 (0) Internal 3.5" Drive Bays: 6 (also support 2.5" HDD) Front Ports: 2 x USB 3.0 (internal 20-pin connector to MB) 4 x USB 2.0 Audio In/Out (AC97, HD) Side Air duct: No
 

Attachments

See less See more
1 1
#2 ·
Rosewill Blackhawk Mid Tower

review by stickg1

I bought this case a few months ago for my current build. I liked the style of the side panel window and it looked to have a lot of features I was interested in. Overall I really enjoy this case. There is plenty of space and one of the few mid tower cases that can handle dual 240mm rads if you wanted to.

The one major problem for me is that despite the amount of motherboard tray grommets for cable management, there is not much space behind the motherboard tray to route cables. Especially since the side panels need to be slid into place the bulging cables make it almost impossible to put the side panel back on with only two hands.

The dust filters could be a little more fine, they still let in a considerable amount of dust.

I picked it up on sale and with a rebate so I got for about $55. If the case is in the $50-$60 price range it's excellent. I wouldn't pay $90 for it like they're usually asking. For that price there are some better options out there.

ProsCons
Stylish, Reconfigurable HDD racks, Fan layoutSliding side panels, Not much space behind mobo tray, Insufficient dust filtering

Ratings
Overall4
 
#3 ·
Rosewill Blackhawk Mid Tower

review by stickg1
The dust filters are doing fantastic for me and I have very thick carpet. If dust is getting in then make sure one of the filters didn't fall out during installation and pull them out and clean them more often. I usually pull them once a week since it only takes a few moments to have them cleaned and put back in with ease.

I haven't had any issue with cable management behind the motherboard. Are you using the cable ties and routing the cables effectively? I don't care for the way they did the side panel clips but I've run all of my cables as I wanted and was able to get the panel on easily.

IMO, look over your cable management and make sure to spread them around so you don't bunch them all up. Good luck!
 
#4 ·
Fantastic case

review by ricwoodard

This case is fantastic. I had my doubts when I was ordering it but I couldn't be happier especially given the price. I installed a H80i when I moved my components to this case and between the two additions my temperatures have been superb. I switched from an Antec P280 which really left a bad taste in my mouth since it couldn't keep my overclocked components cool enough; I was getting uncomfortably close to the threshold on my CPU and video card. After I switched to this case those problems went away and my video card doesn't even hit 60 degrees under full load...

HIGHLY recommend this case:thumb:

ProsCons
Keeps components very cool; HDD cages are easy to configure on demand; plenty of room for a long video card; USB 3.0 and SATA dock on top; stylishSide panel clips are annoying

Ratings
Overall4
 
#5 ·
Fantastic case

review by ricwoodard
It is a great case but it all depends on what you plan to do. I bought an Enermax Fulmo GT case which is also a very similar case but it can't house what I want to put in it. The unforseen problem was that I underestimated my power requirements. The case supports 2 PSU's but when you put them in the biggest AIO water cooler you can mount is a 140mm unit. If you compare this case to the Enermax case they are very similar in size and mounting support. I have a 1500W PSU but I'm running 4-way sli on an ASRock X79 Extreme11 MB. My CPU is an Intel 3970X and a 140mm unit doesn't cut it. I need 1800W of power for full O/C. For a single PSU case this is a great case for the price.
 
#6 ·
Great Air Cooling Case

review by normpearii

Overall, this is a great air cooling case.

Plus:
  • Great Airflow
  • Fits pretty much any graphics card.
  • Tool Free Drive Bays
  • Great Front I/O
  • 2.5"/3.5" SATA Drive Dock
  • x4 USB 2.0, x2 USB 3.0
  • Front Audio (HD or AC97)
  • Fits 212 Evo (Has about 8mm extra space on standard placed AM3+ Socket Boards.
  • Bottom 3 5.25" Drive Bays if unused can be used as another 120mm fan mount. (Removable metal plates can be reinstalled in the bottom 3 slots.)
  • Bottom Mount Power Supply, great for keeping power supply from overheating.

Cons:
  • Space behind motherboard tray is 18mm, there is a place for a 92 or 120mm fan on the right panel, but only thin (less than 18mm thick) fans fit.
  • Bottom drive cage must be removed to install any bottom fans due to fan mounts being 5mm too far forward for the backward 120/140 place to fit with the cage in.
  • Front I/O cables restrict usage of the top 5.25" bay. I moved the 3.5" adapter to the top slot to solve this. (I don't have 5.25" optical drives anyway)
  • Audio Header with both HD and AC97 ends doesn't look clean in system. Would have preferred an adapter to AC97 with HD Audio being the default.
  • Left side fan may conflict with coolers depending on how far from the top of the motherboard the CPU socket is.
  • Even with A+ Cable Management, lack of right side space makes putting right side panel on very difficult.
  • Realistically cannot support AIO water coolers or Radiators. (Can squeeze an AIO 120mmx140mmxXXmm radiator on the back. Any bigger than 140mm tall and 120mm wide will not fit. Tubes must go straight back, not down/up.
  • Drive dock cannot be truly considered Hotswapable.
Neutral:
  • Dark tinted window. With proper lighting can be some pretty cool shadowy looking builds.
  • Plenty of Cable Management Grommets and tie down points.
  • Back 120mm Fan is Significantly higher RPM that rest of stock fans.
  • Top cover restricts 90% of top airflow out 9 slots at the back so pretty much all standard exhaust ends up out the back.
Recommendations:
  • Great for those not using extreme cooling solutions but
  • Use the 3.5" adapter in the top 5.25" bay to prevent damage to front I/O Wires.
  • Note that some motherboard will require left side fan to be removed for tall (140mm+) CPU coolers to fit.
  • 240mm radiator might fit on the bottom fan mounts with bottom drive cage removed.
  • Bottom fan filter is very easy to damage. Handle with care. Recommend using a high suction vacuum instead of taking the filter off.
  • It is easy to damage the front I/O cables if you install a 5.25" drive in the upper most slot. I recommend reserving the slot 3.5" use or don't use it.
  • Neat cable management in back IS A MUST or the right cover will not close proper.
  • Side panels are very flexable, (and thus hard to get on), use one hand at top center, a knee at bottom center and remaining hard on center front. Use remaining knee to push the panel forward. Use thumb screws to close remaining few mm.
  • If you can get everything to fit without removing the left side panel fan, mine keeps my R9 390 below 60c. Thus my GPU fans on auto never come on, even under load.

Ratings
Overall4
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top