The front of the case actually acts as a door. Opening this door reveals 5 x 5.25" bays and a locking mechanism. Provided with the Colossus is a set of keys, these keys unlock the BitFenix S3 compartment at the top. With this unlocked you can lift a lid up to reveal an assortment of controls.


With the door open access to the 5 x 5.25" bays and the S3 compartment

The first set of controls you will see are below. A reset button, power button, fan control and two lighting control buttons to switch between colours (red, blue or none). Around this area are channels to route cabling from this area, down into/away from the case.


Front panel controls, some nicely finished buttons

Into the compartment there are various ports in the 3 sides. Firstly 2 x USB2 ports, headphone and microphone slots. Then 2 x USB3 ports and lastly an eSATA port. The USB3 ports have USB cables threaded through inside the case - inside is provided a motherboard to USB adapter. The first of this kind I have seen, most USB3 ready cases require you to thread the USB cable to the very rear I/O section of the motherboard. It's good to see this move from BitFenix.


USB ports and headphone/microphone sockets on the Colossus. USB3 indicated in blue

Further along the top there is mesh section, providing an outlet for the airflow from the 230mm fan underneath.


The top of the Colossus with mesh panelling for the 230mm fan