BitFenix Dawn TG
Light it up
BITFENIX’S OFFICIAL description of the new Dawn TG case is a little… peculiar. It might be slam poetry. There’s something in there about a “breeze of sunlight,” whatever that is. It also mentions a “new era of renaissance” when it comes to case design aesthetics, and it actually might be right. The Dawn TG is surprisingly innovative, with some good ideas, and an appealing visual design that brings a lot of lighting without looking obnoxious.
Of course, the lighting is the main selling point. We’re frequently skeptical of cases with integrated lighting beyond RGB fans, but BitFenix has come up with a solution that looks great without being complicated; a concealed lightstrip runs up the front corner of the case, shining through the diagonal patterns on the front and right-hand glass panels. It’s understated and stylish.
There’s a lot of cables in this case, which makes pairing the RGB lighting with your mobo for software control a hassle. Three fans means more cables, too, with two plain black fans at the front of the case and an RGB fan at the rear.
Fortunately, cable management in this chassis is nice and easy. The rear of the motherboard has plenty of anchor points for cable ties, and the cavity as a whole is quite deep, leaving enough room for thick PSU cables. There’s also an inelegant but undeniably effective solution here: a large, solid metal plate that routes cables vertically, with open space either side. It’s a little ugly, but invisible once the side panel is back in place, and it does a good job of keeping the I/O cables tidy (or at least hidden).
The motherboard mounts with plenty of space for a radiator and fans in the roof of the case, although it leaves little room at the bottom. With a power supply in place, two of the holes in the top of the PSU shroud are effectively blocked from use, which is frustrating. The shroud also conceals a drive cage, which is mounted a little too far back in our opinion; using a modular power supply with HDDs fitted will leave you precious little space to work with.
Speaking of the drive cage, it’s a strange one. Rather than easily removable plastic brackets that slot into the cage, the whole cage must be removed, allowing for two hard drives to be screwed in; one inside the cage, and one on top. Elsewhere, there are two flat mounts—one behind the motherboard, and one on top of the PSU shroud. These clip into place and are held down with a single thumbscrew, allowing for either two SATA SSDs or one 3.5-inch HDD per mount. Unfortunately, they do rattle around somewhat, regardless of how firmly they are screwed down; we wouldn’t really want to mount a full-size HDD on them.
In fairness to BitFenix, the Dawn TG does use thumbscrews where possible, making building in this case a pretty straightforward process. Cleaning the dust filters is also an easy undertaking— large filters on the front and base of the case slide out smoothly on rails, while the top of the case has a magnetic filter, which can be swapped out for a solid cover if you would prefer to have more directional airflow.
The front I/O supports USB-C as well as packing two USB-A ports and audio jacks. The buttons are somewhat tacky, made of cheap plastic; in fact, the whole steel frame feels flimsy in some areas, particularly the perforated roof and rear of the case. It’s not ruinous, but given the $130 price tag, we do wish the case felt a little more robust.
There are a few innovative design choices on show here, such as the funky lighting patterns and a rear bracket for vertical GPU mounting, but on the whole, the Dawn TG feels relatively expensive for what you get, especially when BitFenix is already offering the Enso Mesh and Saber cases, which get you RGB case lighting but for under 100 bucks. In the end, this is a choice of aesthetics over value. If you like the Dawn’s look, go for it; otherwise, you could spend your money better elsewhere.