Metallic Gear Neo V2: Higher quality for a fair price

Packaging and exterior

Did you know that under the auspices of Phanteks cheaper PC cases are also made? You can find them under the less resounding brand Metallic Gear. We have received a case for testing labeled Neo V2. It’s been on the market for about a year, but it still hasn’t lost its charm and still looks like a good buy. Although there are always some imperfections, that’s why we’re bringing you this review.

Basic specs

Packaging and exterior

Raw carton has imprinted the basic specifications. At first glance, it does not interest the customer’s eye, but that does not matter, you will not use it. It is important that necessary impact protection is not lacking here – ordinary polystyrene, which fulfills its role.

The accessories are relatively humble and contain only the necessary things for assembly, i.e. screws, cable ties and instructions. All this is located in a box placed in a 3.5″ HDD slot.

On the outside, the case looks very decent. You have an unobstructed view inside through 4 mm thick tempered glass with black frames on the sides. At the bottom are also some ornaments that partially cover the power supply and the slot for 3.5″ discs. The glass is attached in a simple way, four screws with sealing rubber. This requires special caution during (dis)assembly, as the glass is not secured anywhere and slipping can have fatal consequences.

I am talking about an unobstructed view, because the front and top of the case are perfectly smooth, and the used material also helps. The sandblasted aluminum finish adds a touch of elegance to the overall look, and I can imagine how the case decorates more than one computer corner. It gets worse with fingerprints whether on the aluminum or glass.

At the very bottom of the front panel, there is a cut-out, which is used for decent lighting under the case in the entire RGB spectrum and also for its easy removal. Directly above it is the indistinct Metallic Gear logo. I assume that this is the intention in order not to be ”loud” and thus spoil the overall smoothness.

The front panel can be removed completely, there are no active elements on it, which significantly helps for easy cleaning. The case sucks in air from both sides. However, the vent is smaller on the left. Behind all the front openings are fine dust filters that stop even the smallest particles.

Connectors are also placed on the side of the case (in the upper half). It is a less common position and indicates that the manufacturer wants you to place the case on the table, not under. When placed on the table, you have two USB 3.2 connectors and the same number of 3.5 mm jacks right at hand. The status light in the center of this panel glows dimly red, which does not disturb your eyes and you will appreciate it in the position on the table.

Simply remove the front panel with eight studs to get to the cooling. We are talking about two 120 mm fans of the same brand with the name Skiron. But it is a light version of the fans, which are also sold separately under this brand. They are depleted by a 4 pin, i.e. PWM. These can also be replaced by two 140 mm fans or a water cooling radiator up to a size of 280 mm. Under the system fans, there is then rarely a front entrance to the bay with positions for two discs.

An integrated top panel has little to offer. There is only one button on it to turn on the computer and the other to adjust the RGB LED lighting. However, I dare say that sometimes less is more, which is literally true here. Although at the cost of losing the ability to place a radiator or exhaust fans on top.

The back side of the case is quite common. It consists of a cutout for the I/O shield of the motherboard, a blank space for mounting a 120mm fan, expansion card covers and perhaps a bit unnecessarily “complicated” frame for the power supply input. Instead of 4 screws, you must use 8 to place the power supply in its place in the case.

The bottom side of the case is held above the ground by four feet with anti-slip pads. The dust filter under the power supply is located on a sliding grid with a handle, which eases its handling. And it is to be commended that it has a very fine mesh structure. I also tried to eject a disk bay, which is attached with four screws at the bottom, but I could not get to the last screw through the left front foot and I did not figure out how to remove it. There are probably screws under the anti-slip pads that hold the feet to the case.

Did you know that under the auspices of Phanteks cheaper PC cases are also made? You can find them under the less resounding brand Metallic Gear. We have received a case for testing labeled Neo V2. It’s been on the market for about a year, but it still hasn’t lost its charm and still looks like a good buy. Although there are always some imperfections, that’s why we’re bringing you this review.

When thicker cables are omitted

The deep interior has the ability to handle almost all motherboard formats. From Mini ITX through mATX to ATX. Only E-ATX is missing. The lower cable glands are not rubberized, but otherwise a 24-pin ATX cable would probably not pass through them. Processor coolers are suitable up to a height of 170 mm, so you can fit practically all that are available. However, it is worse with this year’s new GeForce RTX 30xx graphics cards. Here, pay attention to the length of the card as well. Many of the cards exceed a length of 320 mm, which is the maximum for the case (with suction fans). However, you can get some extra space by removing the lower intake fan. When you move it to the exhaustion, the cooling is also more efficient as you can see in the tests.

The cable cover is well designed, provided you do not have a power supply with capacitors in the cables. If you have one, there will be a collision because the passage is too narrow. You won’t run the cables through the joint. And this cover can’t even be removed because it’s riveted. The whole cable must go from the bottom passage, which is also not ideal due to the appearance.

The right side gives you an immediate opportunity to mount two 2.5″ discs, with preparation for the third. For easier cable management, there are clips for cable ties to keep everything in place. In the lower tunnel there are 4 anti-slip rubbers to accurate and stable mounting of the power supply.

It is remarkable that not only the left, but also the right side is glass and you can see inside the computer from this side. It can be seen that even here the manufacturer took care to eliminate all traces of cables. This is evidenced, among other things, by the lower part of the glass with ornaments, behind which is hidden all the visual smog. Metallic Gear knows how to get the job done hre.

However, the main cover is the hinged door. Due to the 36 mm space for cable management, they can be envied by many lovers of order. All cables can fit here practically without the need to think about the arrangement. When I add it up, the case does everything for you in this regard.

Did you know that under the auspices of Phanteks cheaper PC cases are also made? You can find them under the less resounding brand Metallic Gear. We have received a case for testing labeled Neo V2. It’s been on the market for about a year, but it still hasn’t lost its charm and still looks like a good buy. Although there are always some imperfections, that’s why we’re bringing you this review.

Testing methodology

With the two fans supplied, you can’t expect much, especially if the top is closed. For more variety and an idea of where it is better to have fans located, I will test two versions of the layout. First one factory-supplied, 2× for suction in the front of the case. The second option is to move the lower fan to the back of the case for exhaustion. I moved the bottom one to this place. This adjustment is also suitable when you need to install a graphics card longer than 320 mm.

Testing runs at home environment, where I try to get the most accurate results. During the testing, the air temperature in front of the case is 23 degrees Celsius and the minimum noise that I can measure with the Voltcraft SL-100 sound level meter is 32.8 dBA. The sound level meter sensor is aligned to the center of the top of the case at a distance of 15 cm, for the best possible measurement of the difference in fan speed, which I adjust using the motherboard. For easy comparison to other cases, they are always regulated to fixed noise levels.

The individual components are heated for 10 minutes in FurMark synthetic load tests and in parallel with Prime95 (custom settings). This time is long enough for all components to heat up sufficiently. Between the tests, there are then 15-minute cooling breaks, during which the temperatures of the components (and also the temperature of the air in the case) return to the initial level.

Noise level modes:

• 36 dBA
• 38 dBA
• 39 dBA

Did you know that under the auspices of Phanteks cheaper PC cases are also made? You can find them under the less resounding brand Metallic Gear. We have received a case for testing labeled Neo V2. It’s been on the market for about a year, but it still hasn’t lost its charm and still looks like a good buy. Although there are always some imperfections, that’s why we’re bringing you this review.

Tests of CPU and GPU cooling

Did you know that under the auspices of Phanteks cheaper PC cases are also made? You can find them under the less resounding brand Metallic Gear. We have received a case for testing labeled Neo V2. It’s been on the market for about a year, but it still hasn’t lost its charm and still looks like a good buy. Although there are always some imperfections, that’s why we’re bringing you this review.

Tests of motherboard cooling

Did you know that under the auspices of Phanteks cheaper PC cases are also made? You can find them under the less resounding brand Metallic Gear. We have received a case for testing labeled Neo V2. It’s been on the market for about a year, but it still hasn’t lost its charm and still looks like a good buy. Although there are always some imperfections, that’s why we’re bringing you this review.

Tests of SSD cooling

Zahrievanie vzduchu pod stropom

Did you know that under the auspices of Phanteks cheaper PC cases are also made? You can find them under the less resounding brand Metallic Gear. We have received a case for testing labeled Neo V2. It’s been on the market for about a year, but it still hasn’t lost its charm and still looks like a good buy. Although there are always some imperfections, that’s why we’re bringing you this review.

Conclusion

Although the case looks decent and looks quite closed, the cooling is at a very good level. Especially after taking into account the price/performance ratio. Either way, it’s worth changing the original fan layout. One for suction and the other for exhaustion. It would be ideal to invest in another high-quality fan so that the graphics card also has a supply of cool air. I took that by changing the position of the factory-located bottom fan, which was pointed directly at it.

Some flaws can be found in other places as well. At least for me, the biggest disappointment is the inability to take full advantage of the well-designed cable management in most places. This is only under certain circumstances with the use of power supplies with thicker bundles of cables, which you might not push through the front cover. Thus, the biggest advantage of the case becomes its weakness. If you avoid this problem, the case can be an elegant addition to your work and gaming table. Attention should be paid to fingerprints to which the surface of the case is particularly prone. The appearance of the case is otherwise very clean and the view of it, from one side or the other side, will surely please the eye of many users.

English translation and edit by Lukáš Terényi

• Contents
• Packaging and exterior
• When thicker cables are omitted
• Testing methodology
• Tests of CPU and GPU cooling
• Tests of motherboard cooling
• Tests of SSD cooling and heating under the top wall
• Conclusion