ENERMAX HOPLITE ST ECA3261-W ATX Case
A Closer Look – Components and Design
Exterior Impressions:
The front and upper covers are solid ABS type plastic, sturdy and thick with little worry about breakage while handling. The color is solid through the plastic. The white color is perfectly matched between the plastic covers and the metal frame which is a rather hard task to do. The powder coat paint job is a good covering, but I wouldn’t call it perfect.
Nice style, detailed molding, formed molded mesh.
At the upper rear of the case it has molded mesh above the 140mm fan area. A SATA Drive docking area has a hinged door that covers the connection points when not in use.
The case controls are located towards the front section of the top panel which includes the following:
~ Power reset
~ 2 x USB 2.0
~ Audio Headset
~ Microphone
~ 1 x USB 3.0
~ 3 position fan control slide switch
~ Drive and Power LED
~ Power controls.
The non-standard looking side acrylic window has plenty of vents for air flow and you are able to mount up to two 120mm fans for extra cooling. The window is removable by using reusable rubber pop rivets which is a great feature if at some point and time you might like to change out the window.
Taking a look at the front of the HOPLITE we can see that it has four removable 5 1/4″ front bay sections that have formed mesh for air flow. At the lower half of the front section we can see a single large removable front panel with more of the formed mesh.
The sides of the case have a smooth solid metal side panel with finger grip indentations that are used to help slide and remove the panels. The side panels are secured with two thumb screws in rear of each panel.
Let’s move to the rear of the case and see what it has to offer. It looks like a pretty standard case sporting the following options:
120mm fan grill.
Two upper 17mm (.7″) and 2 mid rear 25mm (1″) access ports with grommets for cable or cooling tube routing.
I/O section seven grill style expansion slot covers.
The Black rectangle piece in the center right is the side panel assist handle that folds flat or out.
Both side panels are secured by 2 thumb screws each.
Lower PSU opening.
The bottom of case shows some rubber anti-vibration/slide pads and a nice footing rise for better air flow for those of you that might place your case on the floor and on some 70’s style shag carpet…Yeah Baby. A Black tool-less removable filter panel for the PSU is located on the outside of the case. Personal note: I’ve found that these sponge type filters do not last forever, even on the High End cases, but are easily rebuilt with some thin sponge material and some glue. 
