A Computer Case, Or Tiny Life House? A Review Of EVGA’s DG-87 Gamer’s Case

Again, this is one mammoth case.  I actually installed a shelf in my office just above my desk to put this monster on, which worked out very well for my setup.  The case is beautiful, and the engineers at EVGA have worked very hard to give this case a lot of great features.

The main side door opens and closes with a wonderful, premium feel.  The closing latch mechanism works perfectly, and even with every fan in the case (8 chassis fans, plus three in my GPU and one in my PSU) there isn’t a single buzz or rattle anywhere in the case.

Each panel fits perfectly, and it was really easy to work inside, aside from the fact that due to its size, you find yourself walking around the case whereas with a smaller tower you could reach over or around.

The K-Boost function works really well, just a tap of a button on the side or top of the case, or clicking the icon in the EVGA software will give you 100% fan speeds, and changes your Windows power profile to Max Performance. This brings your GPU and CPU clock speeds to full, making your system ready to do some serious work.

The EVGA software is a pretty lightweight program that installed very easily. You can control the front and rear fans independently of each other from in the software, or on the side panel.  There is even a hardware monitoring program included which gives you a line graph readout of your CPU temp, system temp, GPU temp, and your front and rear fan workload.

This however, raises an interesting question: what happens if this onboard fan controller fails?  It doesn’t appear to be able to be replaced, and it is a proprietary controller.  You aren’t likely to find another like it, unless EVGA decides to offer them as a replacement part (which could happen, this is just speculation).  You may just be telling yourself that you will go buy another fan controller.

Well, most (99%) of those fit into a 5.25” bay in your tower, which do not exist in this EVGA DG-87 case.  Upon doing some research, I did find a couple of different fan controllers that would tuck away easily into the basement of this case. These plug in through a USB header and can be controlled through Windows. It’s not a completely crazy workaround, but it is something to consider when choosing a case like this: proprietary parts means limited replacement options.

Overall this is an amazing case, I give it my 100% endorsement as being a fantastic choice.  The HDMI pass through is a really thoughtful addition, and is really just a theme that runs consistent in every aspect of this case: well thought-out design, and fantastic execution.

EVGA DG-87 Gaming Case

Pros

• Gorgeous styling.
• Extremely thoughtful cable management.
• Formula One quality engineering.
• Immense water cooling flexibility.
• Spacious and well thought-out interior.

Cons

• It’s big, it’s heavy.
• Proprietary fan controller (not necessarily a con, but it does raise a few interesting questions).