Gelid Solutions DarkForce Computer Case Ultra

Absolutely awesome case!

Except the space for cable management - at least 3-5mm wider could come in handy. It was difficult to put the lid back in place as the power and sata cables for the hdd were sticking out a bit. I recommend to use right angle sata cables. And, depending on the PSU size (in my case a FSP HydroG 750W), a 140mm Fan (slim or regular) may not fit in the holes near the PSU.

Overall I can thoroughly recommend it.

Or as my son put it “that case is f***ing huge”! It also looks good in an understated, unobtrusive way.

I bought a pair of these to replace Antec 902s. This is bigger than the 902 but nowhere near as heavy. It is somewhat easier to work in and a lot more flexible. I would recommend using a modular PSU if your budget permits as there is limited space for spare cables. Space behind the motherboard tray could be better - another 5mm would probably be sufficient increase and 1cm would be a massive help.

Others have remarked about the difficulty in connecting hard drives: an additional 1cm here would be enough of an improvement to warrant the fifth star. On the other hand with a bit of ingenuity hard drives could be mounted in spare 5 1/4” bays and both drive cages removed leaving space for two or three of the most humongous graphics cards imaginable!

The feet are very tall so that even on carpet the PSU can breathe through the bottom of the case - a major plus. The front panel is easy to remove, the top (which has to come off to allow for fitting of fans) less so. The top is further restricted by the wiring for the various external connectors. That wiring also makes it impossible to install an optical drive in the topmost 5 1/4” drive bay.

To me the PCBs allowing connection of a bunch of 3 pin fans are a waste of space. No one, surely, is going to want to install 6x 3 pins fans and have them all running at full speed. The lower one gets in the way whichever of its two fitting positions is used. I simply removed both. I used the two supplied fans as intakes, each run off a mobo fan header and used a Gelid 1-to-4 PWM fan splitter to power and control the CPU, rear exhaust and pair of top exhaust fans.

On second thoughts, although I’ve not revised my words above, I have given it the fifth star because despite my criticisms above I know of no other case that I would prefer to use for a moderate to high power rig. It is that good. I want an excuse to build another two rigs!

This Gelid case came at a brilliant price. It’s well-designed and built, very easy to work on, spacious, quiet case fans. You even have a choice whether to admire your LED fans through an acrylic case side, or hide them discreetly.

I can thoroughly recommend this kit.

At first i would like to thank you quietpc for another smooth transaction. Case it self is great, I dont think you can find anything better for this price, Gelid made there first PC case and its almost perfect, I cant wait for another. One thing 3.5” HD trays should be moved a little bit to the left side so sata and power cable have more space on right side, i had to use 90 degree sata and bend pretty hard HD power cables, apart from that no down sides for me.

The case it self is solid and has a nice touch to it, has plenty of space and I really liked the hdd caddies with the rubber pads. The attached screws were packed in plastic bags with labels to indicate their purpose (e.g. HDD screws, MB/power screws..) so even inexperienced builders can get everything done fairly quickly. All openings for cable management on the back plate have rubber covers so you don’t have to worry about cable cuts. But there is on small issue; the space for cable management is quite small and it was very difficult to put the lid back in place as the power and sata cables for the hdd were sticking out a bit . I had to use quite a lot of force to push the lid in place, I recommend to use right angle sata cables and either a power supply with right angle power connections or making sure that the cables are flexible enough. Other than that It is really a nice case.

It actually has 2x240/280 mm radiator slots on top and on bottom (you need to remove bottom HDD Cage). It comes with 2 nice fans and 2 nice fan expansions, you can fit lot of fans on it! Totally on front you can fit 3 Fans, if you remove front doors you will see what i mean, there is a precut 120mm fan holes, so it will fit, like mine. on side panel (behind motherboard side) there is also fan slot but it only fits a 120x120x15mm fan. Dust filters are a bit hard to take out and take in again, but easy to clean. About spacing i had lot of problems cuz I’m using 1 5990 and 1 5970 they are longest cards ever i think but with gtx770 or gtx 295 i didnt get any issues. 10/8.

I ordered this to replace my Xclio Touch case because all the fans on it just stopped working one day. I took a bit of a risk with this as I had never heard of Gelid before (they are an up and coming company) and with a little research I discovered that this is their first and only case so far. However confident on being able to return it to Quiet PC if it didn’t work, I ordered it anyway. It arrived the next day, a little bigger than expected (same size as the xclio) but it’s not huge. It has a highly superior build quality and is a mix of metal and plastic, which helps with the durability and weight. The case is solid and sleek, with all the features of a much more expensive model. It is mostly tool-less and has a small cavity behind the motherboard panel for a slim 120mm fan* behind the CPU, and space for cable routing to make the main area of the case much tidier and cleaner which I also believe helps with airflow.

I have a lot of short cables in mine and couldn’t quite get them to spread out a little more, so the side panel on my case was hard to get on and bulges a bit when it is finally on, but it should be fine if you are good at cable routing or have longer cables, however even then it still looks good. The main downside is that I found the fans included in the case are not as quiet as I would have hoped, so I will be having to replace those in the near future. Also the main side panel that comes with the case, is not very attractive. It is the same colour and metal as the rest of the case but instead of having a nice viewing window in the case, its just a big square hole with a piece of perspex just plonked on top of it. this side panel really let down this case however it also came with a plain black metal side with no window which is much nicer. Please Gelid if you make a windowed side panel please try and make it nicer?

In summary it might be the first case by Gelid, but my god what an entrance into the market. If your future cases are as good as or even better than this one then you have a new lifelong customer. I would happily recommend this case to anyone whether on sale or not! It Is high quality, fits a lot of equipment and full of ingenious little features that you find as you go along, I won’t spoil the surprise for any of you :) Thanks a lot to Gelid and Quiet PC!

At time of writing, this was the only one thin enough on this site - Scythe Slip Stream 2000 RPM 120mm Slim Case Fan, SY1212SL