Joined in 2023 
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63 About this deal
I like the idea that you can easily install multiple long PCIe cards and still have enough space for at least 8x HDD/SSD. 2x 3.5" spots on the bottom may interfere with long PSUs or their cables. In most cases that I have, drive bays near PSU are removed as they cause problems with installation. On pictures, almost all manufacturers show installation without cables and try to install there 1000W+ PSU with all the cables, so they won't have anything on the way.
When Phanteks revealed the Enthoo Pro II earlier this year, I was in two minds about what to think of it and wondered whether people still want a full tower chassis for their home PC these days. However, since spending some time using the case and building a system inside, my mind is firmly made up, this is a great chassis! Since the shroud is entirely enclosed and only extends about two-thirds of the length of the case, there’s not really any more space inside than there would be in a typical mid-tower. The shroud is closed-up with a hinged metal cable cover designed to take some stress off of the steel side panel. This cable cover is necessary, but we found it annoying to work with: cables must be split up into small groups to fit through the cutouts in the cover, or else the edges of the cover will bite into cables and potentially cause damage. This problem was worse than it would usually be for our review system because we didn’t connect any of the front panel USB cables, and therefore had to route all that cable clutter behind the cover as well. In trying to arrange cables around the cutouts and mash the cover down into place, it’s easy to accidentally slide the cover off of its hinges and be forced to start all over again. The cable cover can also be ignored completely, but if someone is having difficulty putting the cover on, then they probably need the cover. It’s a frustrating experience having to carefully choose where to place cables in a case this gargantuan to begin with.With so many radiator mounting options available in the Enthoo Pro II, a full custom water cooling loop should be easy to install inside. However, we have chosen two separate 280mm closed Loop liquid coolers, one for each CPU. Up top is a 280mm NZXT Kraken Z63 which fits with room to spare, so using tall memory modules shouldn’t be an issue with a top-mounted radiator. A view from the rear gives away the non-traditional layout, and the vertical PSU is key to enabling dual-system and dual-PSU support. The high-end aspirations are reaffirmed by the eight PCIe slots and the three neighbouring vertical ones. At 240mm across, the Enthoo Pro 2 is wider than most but not bloated, and keeping both height and depth comfortably below 600mm is impressive given what can be housed inside, though it’s by no means small. Building a dual system inside the Phanteks Enthoo Pro II was an absolute breeze and went much better than I was expecting. Phanteks has thought of everything with the Enthoo Pro II. Users have so many options and the case can be utilised for different scenarios with the support for dual systems, dual power supplies or a storage configuration that offers huge capacity for SSDs and HDDs. To the left of the front panel are four removable SSD covers that allow 2.5-inch drives to be mounted on either side. With all the SSD covers removed it opens up another mounting point for radiators and fans at the front of the case, with support here for up to 480mm radiators or four 120mm fans.
One of the many stand-out features of the interior is the extensive support for water cooling. At the front of the case are two radiator mounts. The front panel can support radiator installation of up to either 480mm or 420mm long, alternatively up to four 120mm or three 140mm fans can be installed in the front panel. At the bottom right corner of the front panel is also a drain port. That said, we didn’t have a problem with the cable management features of the case with the configuration of the system we installed. There are a generous amount of cable cut-outs, pre-installed Velcro straps and additional cable tie-down points to use with zip ties. Adding more hardware to the system would mean more cables, which could get a little tight with the space provided.Phanteks claims to have improved the design of Enthoo Pro II over the original, while the company has also added a tonne of new features. Users can now install dual systems or dual power supplies inside the new case and there is also an abundance of options for storage devices and exotic custom water-cooling solutions. For standardized fan testing, we used the same kit of Noctua fans we always do in the same configuration: two 140mm front intake and one 120mm rear exhaust. We chose the upper two slots for the intake fans. The average CPU temperature with this arrangement was 49 degrees Celsius over ambient, the first instance we’ve seen where the Pro 2’s thermal performance falters slightly. Taking one look at this fan arrangement makes the problem obvious: even though these 140mm fans would take up most of the front panel of a mid tower, they only cover a fraction of the cavernous interior of the Pro 2, and they’re far away from the CPU cooler. That said, performance isn’t that far behind the 46 degree baseline result, and it’s good-to-average relative to the rest of the standardized fan chart. The glass-fronted Corsair 465X RGB is tied at 49 Celsius, and the O11 XL is actually several degrees warmer at 54 Celsius thanks to the bottom-intake layout we had to use in that case. If going with an air cooler in this case, you’ll either want top intake or fans that can push a tunnel of air. It seems as though Phanteks has thought of everything with the Enthoo Pro II, even the front I/O ports and buttons can be shared and split between two systems. Four USB 3.0 Type-A ports on the front panel can be split, so two for each system and the reset button/HDD LED on the front panel can be connected to the second system to use as a power-on switch and power LED. Find our noise normalized & fan normalized testing methodology here: https://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/3477-case-fan-standardization-tests-noise-normalized-thermals
The Enthoo Pro 2 however has some unique features to differentiate it from the others. For one thing, it features a ‘High-Performance Fabric’ mesh front panel. Building a powerful Gaming PC will of course generate a high thermal load. The fabric solution Phanteks offers not only looks great but enables superior airflow filtration over metal or plastic front panels. Extensive interal capacity for components When it comes to hard drives, Phanteks offers tons of possibilities. Included with the chassis are four HDD caddies, which you can also hang from the side of the case in pairs of two. These are incredibly easy to hang up here, as they just slot into place, but they rely fully on gravity to keep them in place. As such, we would only install drives here if you have absolutely no intention of moving your system. In a car, it’d only take one bump for them to drop out of place and fall down, which isn’t something you want happening with your hard drives. We will compare the system’s thermal capabilities with a liquid-cooled solution for both CPUs, using NZXT Kraken Z63 and Fractal Design Celsius+ S28 280mm AIOs. Another feature of the case that I was very impressed with is the extensive radiator support. With four positions for mounting large radiators, custom water-cooling enthusiasts should love this case. Alternatively, if custom water cooling is not your thing, then the radiator mounts can be populated with up to FIFTEEN 120mm fans, which should be more than enough to keep everyone happy. With fan mounts in the front, rear, bottom, roof, and side, users can install up to 15 fans (or up to 14 if you prioritise 140mm). The massive cutout in the front panel gives ample space for air to enter, and it’s covered by Phanteks’ High-Performance Fabric mesh, said to offer superior airflow compared to typical metal mesh designs.For our thermal tests, we decided to focus on the front panel that Phanteks is so proud of. Since there were no fans included with the case, we used three of Phanteks’ own 140mm SK series PWM fans as front intake for baseline testing. We consider that a normal starting point for the target audience of this case. Again, we recognize that most users will install some form of liquid cooling in this case, so we’re primarily comparing the case against itself to test the front panel and various airflow configurations. Even with liquid cooling, air still flows the same way. Not only does the Enthoo Pro II offer an excellent opportunity for water cooling, but it also provides users with the option of installing two systems inside one case. In the top section of the case is a typical motherboard tray that can support up to E-ATX form factor with a total of eight PCIe slots available, while the bottom of the case can house a completely separate mini-ITX system mounted on the power supply shroud. The major negative consequence of rotating the PSU is that vertical space is bizarrely limited given the size of the case. The O11 Dynamic cases deal with this problem by moving the PSU behind the motherboard, but the Enthoo Pro II must fit the full height of an ATX motherboard and the full width of an ATX PSU and shroud into a body approximately 55cm tall (minus legs), leaving whatever’s left over for fans, radiators, and cables. There’s only 3cm between the top edge of the motherboard and the roof of the case, and about 1.5cm from the bottom edge of the motherboard to the PSU shroud. Fan mounts at the top of the case are offset away from the motherboard to mitigate the problem, but it’s a jarring limitation to hit in one of the largest cases we’ve ever reviewed. Routing CPU power cables and fan connections to the top edge of the board isn’t any harder than it would be in a mid tower, but it’s a far cry from the huge wide-open space above the motherboard in the O11 Dynamic cases and even the Anidees AI Crystal. Conversely, space at the front of the case is wide open from top to bottom. For once, the full advertised length of the front radiator mount can be used easily, up to 480mm.
The following configurations will be used to test the effect they have on thermal and acoustic performance: It is much of the same at the top of the case with a fine perforated metal mesh dust filter attached to the case via a flexible magnetic strip. Beneath the mesh is a mounting point for fans or radiators and a more open perforated metal vent, with a power button that combines a power LED towards the front of the top panel. The fact that there are so many options with the Phanteks Enthoo Pro II is its strongest selling point in my mind. The case can be used for so many different scenarios in various configurations. If you are using a high-end PC for work during the day but want a separate system to use for gaming in the evening, it works for this. The integrated power supply shroud is also very spacious which means slotting the PSU into position is a stress-free task. The addition of a flap to cover all the excess cables is a great idea and does its job very well, even with the additional cables of this dual system setup.There is so much going on inside the Enthoo Pro II, it is difficult deciding where to begin. The Interior of the Enthoo Pro II is based on the Phanteks Enthoo 719. It shares the same motherboard compartment which means that dual systems or dual power supplies can be installed inside, as well a vast amount of options for placement of storage devices and water cooling components. The top section of the case features a more traditional layout with a large motherboard tray that supports installation of up to E-ATX form factor motherboards. At the rear of this upper section is a typical I/O cutout, eight horizontal PCIe slots, three vertical PCIe slots and a mounting for single 120mm or 140mm fans or radiators. With its exceptional performance capabilities, unmatched compatibility, and extensive storage options, we believe the Enthoo Pro 2 Server Edition will empower professionals and enthusiasts alike to create powerful server systems without compromise. Likewise, in the right-hand side of the case, cables are easy to manage. The main cable management channel down the centre allows almost all the front I/O panel and system power cables to be routed. The generous amount of pre-installed Velcro straps means only a few zip ties are required which makes the end product look very neat.
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