of dust filters. It’s also massive, and your build will need an
extensive cable-tidying session. Your PC will be really heavy
as well, even with just an air-cooled interior.
The biggest issue, though, from an everyday point of view,
is that the fan speed can’t be controlled. This is compounded
by the fact that the fan speeds seem to fluctuate regularly,
which could be annoying if you’re sitting next to it. As an
occasional showcase to wow people at LAN parties, the Big
Chungus is fantastic, but we’d swap out the fans if we were
going to use it on a daily basis.
ANTONY LEATHERVERDICT
An outlandish-looking and easy-to-build showcase, but it has
some niggles as an everyday home for your PC.OVERALL SCORE
79 %%
COOLING
28 / 30
FEATURES
13 / 20
DESIGN
25 / 30
VALUE
13 / 20There are no dust filters, for example, so dust ingress will
require the regular use of a vacuum cleaner or air duster. Also,
while there’s plenty of space for cable tidying, there are no
cable covers to hide the spaghetti – a feature that we’ve seen
in numerous premium cases recently. Given that both panels
are made from see-through glass, you’ll need to be a cable-
tidying ninja to avoid creating an unsightly view.Performance
The fans churn through a decent amount of air, and with
four of them acting as intakes, dust will only likely get in
through the front panel, with air pressure leaning strongly
on the positive side. With so many open vents and a battery
of reasonably powerful 120mm fans, it wasn’t surprising to
see the Big Chungus hit some impressive cooling numbers
either. The CPU delta T of 53°C was better than the mighty
NZXT H700i on its full speed setting, and 6°C cooler than the
Cooler Master SL600M.
Meanwhile, the GPU delta T of 49°C was also excellent
and only second to the Cooler Master SL600M’s exceptional
result of 48°C, bettering the NZXT H700i by a couple of
degrees too. It’s a shame, then, that the included fans
couldn’t be a bit more powerful under high loads, then rein
themselves in at other times, as the cooling results could be
even more impressive.Conclusion
In spite of its unique design, there are fewer compromises
with the Big Chungus than we’ve seen with other uniquely
designed showcases. You get USB Type-C support, plenty of
airflow, lots of places to stow and route cables, and the case
comes mostly pre-assembled. We’ve seen kits comprising
hundreds of parts and poor instructions with similar cases in
the past, so the Big Chungus is comparatively simple in this
respect. The RGB lighting is extensive and good-looking,
and there’s ample water-cooling support as well.
There are several negative points, though, which are that
like most cases of this ilk, there are big open areas devoidTEMPERATURE RESULTS
CPU DELTA T
Kolink Big Chungus 53°C
0 25 50 75 100NZXT H700i 54°C
0 25 50 75 100Cooler Master SL 600M 59°C
0 25 50 75 100Phanteks Enthoo Lux 2 66°C
0 25 50 75 100Kolink Big Chungus 49°C
0 25 50 75 100NZXT H700i 51°C
0 25 50 75 100Cooler Master SL 600M 48°C
0 25 50 75 100Phanteks Enthoo Lux 2 55°C
0 25 50 75 100GPU DELTA Tofdustfilters.It’salsomassive,andyourbuildwillneedan
extensivecable-tidyingsession.YourPCwillbereallyheavy
aswell,evenwithjustanair-cooledinterior.
Thebiggestissue,though,fromaneverydaypointofview,
is thatthefanspeedcan’tbecontrolled.Thisis compounded
bythefactthatthefanspeedsseemtofluctuateregularly,
whichcouldbeannoyingif you’resittingnexttoit. Asan
occasionalshowcasetowowpeopleatLANparties,theBig
Chungusis fantastic,butwe’dswapoutthefansif wewere
goingtouseit ona dailybasis.
ANTONYLEATHERVERDICT
Anoutlandish-lookingandeasy-to-build showcase, but it has
somenigglesasaneverydayhome for your PC.OVERALLSCORE
79 %%
COOLING
28 / 30
FEATURES
13 / 20
DESIGN
25 / 30
VALUE
13 / 20Therearenodustfilters,forexample,sodustingresswill
requiretheregularuseofa vacuumcleanerorairduster.Also,
whilethere’splentyofspaceforcabletidying,thereareno
cablecoverstohidethespaghetti– a featurethatwe’veseen
innumerouspremiumcasesrecently.Giventhatbothpanels
aremadefromsee-throughglass,you’llneedtobea cable-
tidyingninjatoavoidcreatinganunsightlyview.
Performance
Thefanschurnthrougha decentamountofair,andwith
fourofthemactingasintakes,dustwillonlylikelygetin
throughthefrontpanel,withairpressureleaningstrongly
onthepositiveside.Withsomanyopenventsanda battery
ofreasonablypowerful120mmfans,it wasn’tsurprisingto
seetheBigChungushitsomeimpressivecoolingnumbers
either.TheCPUdeltaT of53°Cwasbetterthanthemighty
NZXTH700ionitsfullspeedsetting,and6°Ccoolerthanthe
CoolerMasterSL600M.
Meanwhile,theGPUdeltaT of49°Cwasalsoexcellent
andonlysecondtotheCoolerMasterSL600M’sexceptional
resultof48°C,betteringtheNZXTH700ibya coupleof
degreestoo.It’sa shame,then,thattheincludedfans
couldn’tbea bitmorepowerfulunderhighloads,thenrein
themselvesinatothertimes,asthecoolingresultscouldbe
evenmoreimpressive.
Conclusion
Inspiteofitsuniquedesign,therearefewercompromises
withtheBigChungusthanwe’veseenwithotheruniquely
designedshowcases.YougetUSBType-Csupport,plentyof
airflow,lotsofplacestostowandroutecables,andthecase
comesmostlypre-assembled.We’veseenkitscomprising
hundredsofpartsandpoorinstructionswithsimilarcasesin
thepast,sotheBigChungusis comparativelysimpleinthis
respect.TheRGBlightingis extensiveandgood-looking,
andthere’s ample water-cooling support as well.
There are several negative points, though, which are that
like most cases of this ilk, there are big open areas devoid
TEMPERATURE RESULTS
CPU DELTA T
KolinkBigChungus 53°C
0 25 50 75 100NZXTH700i 54°C
0 25 50 75 100CoolerMasterSL600M 59°C
0 25 50 75 100Phanteks Enthoo Lux 2 66°C
0 25 50 75 100KolinkBigChungus 49°C
0 25 50 75 100NZXTH700i 51°C
0 25 50 75 100CoolerMasterSL600M 48°C
0 25 50 75 100PhanteksEnthooLux 2 55°C
0 25 50 75 100GPU DELTA T