Recently, the German company Inter-Tech introduced two new enclosures. In addition to the S-3901 pulse, which will be examined in more detail in this report, the manufacturer also presented the case S-3906-Renegade, which we have also subjected to a practical test.
Both models will be advertised as suitable for high-end systems, and also as optically particularly outstanding enclosures. The following test report will clarify whether this promise can be kept in relation to the impulse housing.
Scope of Delivery
The housing is delivered in a cardboard box lined with foam. Due to the fact that a side window made of glass is a central component of the housing, safe delivery is of great importance – after all, no customer wants to receive a damaged side window. For this reason, the choice of unbreakable foam appears to be extremely wise. Another positive aspect is that the side window is covered with two protective films, so that it is also protected from scratches and other minor damage.
In addition to the housing, which is already equipped with a control board for up to seven RGB fans and a pre-installed RGB fan, there are numerous screws, cable ties, a tool for fastening the spacers and an operating manual in the box.
The equipment is therefore not only well packed, but also extensive.
Design
Visually, the case wants to impress with its RGB elements and the large side window, which allows a comprehensive view into the interior. In fact, it is a comparatively conspicuous model that knows how to attract attention in any case.
On the front side, there are two RGB strips that extend into the lid and can be illuminated as desired. In addition, the side window allows a view of the interior, where an RGB LED fan is also pre-mounted. All in all, it’s a comparatively colorful sight – the case shines in various places.
The lighting is controlled via a digital 3-pin connector of the built-in mainboard or via an LED button. The colour scheme and lighting effects can therefore be adapted to the individual preferences of each user, which is certainly advantageous.
The exterior and interior of the housing are otherwise painted black, which creates a pleasant contrast to the colourful lighting of the RGB elements.
All in all, the case has an appealing design – Inter-Tech keeps the promise of an illuminated, technically sophisticated device in any case.
Workmanship
The workmanship of the case appears flawless to us in the test. The paintwork looks extremely professional – no deviations or smudges can be seen at any point on the case. The case seems to be processed faultlessly. We do not notice sharp edges or poorly processed transitions in the test. We don’t like that much that the black of the right side wall doesn’t match with the black of the plastic strips and also the material thickness is relatively weak, but definitely still sufficient.
The side window is made of tempered glass and is therefore also well suited for everyday use. It is fastened with four rubberized screws so that there is no danger of accidentally falling out. The lighting elements of the housing are also fixed and have a high-quality effect. Here, too, the manufacturer seems to attach great importance to the use of flawless materials.
Overall, the quality of the workmanship is high. We can hardly find points of criticism here. Only the partly comparatively small thickness of the material and the colour deviation of the right side part can be mentioned negatively.
Equipment
The equipment of the case seems quite appropriate for a midi tower in the mid price range. The product has not only two 3.5-inch drive bays and two 2.5-inch bays, but also two USB 3.0, two USB 2.0, one microphone and one headphone jack.
There are also mounting options for up to six 120 mm fans. Such a fan is already pre-installed. As an alternative to the five other 120 mm fans, four 140 mm models can also be fitted. Installation possibilities exist both in the front and in the cover. The standard fan is located at the back of the case.
| Model: | S-3901 Pulses |
| Housing type: | Midi Tower |
| Dimensions: | 215 mm (W) x 505 mm (H) x 455 mm (D) |
| Weight: | 6.78 kg |
| Material: | Steel, Plastic, Tempered Glass |
| Color: | Black |
| Front connections | 2x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0, 1x loudspeaker, 1x microphone |
| Drive bays: | 2x 3,5″, 2x 2,5″ |
| Extension slots: | 7 |
| Form factors: | ATX, mATX, mini-ITX |
| Ventilation: | Front: 3x 120 mm, 2x 140 mm Rear: 1x 120 mm cover: 2x 120 mm, 2x 140 mm |
| Radiators: | rear: 1x 120 mm Cover: 1x 240 mm Front: 1x 240 mm |
| Max. CPU cooler height: | 175 mm |
| Max. Graphics card length: | 275 mm |
| Max. Power supply length: | approx. 200 mm |
| Special features: | dust filter, glass viewing window, RGB control board |
| Price: | € 82.79 * |
The CPU cooler may be a maximum of 175 mm high, while the length of the graphics card may not exceed 275 mm according to official specifications. However, we were able to accommodate our ASUS ROG GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Strix with 298 millimeters despite the front radiator and fan. As already mentioned, the device also has a control board and an LED button for controlling the lighting effects. There is also the possibility of manual fan control via a device in the lid. Unfortunately, it is hardly possible to connect further products to the control board through the proprietary connections, since Inter-Tech itself does not currently offer any. Depending on how the housings with the control board arrive in the trade, however, this can still change. Only four additional 3-pin fans can be connected.
The housing also has openings for easy cable routing, a separate cage for the power supply unit, which is located in the bottom of the housing, and dust filters, which are located below the power supply unit. If required, a water cooling system in the size of 120 or 240 millimetres can be installed.
All in all, the case actually offers a very wide range of possibilities. It is therefore actually suitable for setting up extremely high-quality PC systems. In detail, this system construction will be considered in the next point.
System Construction
In this section, the possibilities of system construction in the S-3901 pulses from Inter-Tech will be examined in more detail. The manufacturer promises to offer the possibility of setting up a high-end system.
First of all, it should be mentioned that four spacers are already fitted as standard in the housing, which is a great advantage for the installation of further hardware components.
Of course, additional holders are required for the permanent installation of a system. Therefore, we mounted the other spacers with the tool that was also included, which was no problem. It is positive to note that Inter-Tech ships the required special tool with the housing.
We have installed the following products in the housing:
- MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon
- Intel i7-8700K @ 5,2 GHz
- 32 GB Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB RAM
- ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Strix
- Samsung SSD 960 EVO 500 GB
- Noiseblocker eLoop Fan in 120 and 140 mm
- Halos Lux Digital RGB Fan Frame in 120 and 140 mm
- be quiet! Silent Loop 240 mm Complete Water Cooling
- Modular Seasonic Focus Plus Platinum 750 Watt Power Supply
Cooling
The installation of CPU coolers is also easy. With a maximum height of 175 millimeters, InterTech’s housing offers a comparatively large amount of space so that customers are free to choose their CPU coolers. All common models should fit easily into the case.
Water coolers can be mounted in the front as well as in the cover. In both cases there is no impairment of other components due to offset mounting rails – especially the RAM coolers remain unaffected, which is not the case with all housings.
The housing has a pull-out dust filter under the power supply unit on the underside. From here no dust penetrates into the housing. Even if the case looks quite closed otherwise: This is not the case. To the right and left of the lighting strip is a metal grid with a fine mesh that lets air through while at the same time acting as a dust filter. However, these cannot simply be pulled out, but must simply be wiped off the housing in order to clean them.
Graphics Card and Hard Drives
The situation is different with the graphics card, whose maximum official length is 275 millimeters. Other midi towers offer more space here, which leads to greater freedom of choice. However, Inter-Tech has indicated this value rather conservatively. So it was also possible for us to install a 298 millimeter long graphics card without any problems. The elevation of the cable shaft caused us some doubts at first, but it fitted without any problems. It became only a little narrow, because we have installed a radiator with appropriate fans in the front also. If you only use fans in the front and don’t mount SSDs next to the mainboard, you should be able to mount about 32 centimeters.
As already mentioned in the previous section, there are four slots available for hard disks. Two 2.5-inch models and two 3.5-inch models can be mounted decoupled. The larger models fit under the power supply cover, while the smaller hard drives can be mounted on the front or back above the hard drive cage.
The hard disks can only be screwed from the front, which is not necessarily advantageous if water cooling is to be installed in the front. In this case the hard disks must be installed first. Much more sophisticated is the possibility of attaching the 3.5″ hard disks directly to the housing with a screw. This should be important for users who want to rebuild their PC more often.
Cable Management
Openings are available for cabling the system. In the sense of effective cable management, this should ensure that the cables are routed through the housing in an orderly manner, which not only leads to organisational but also to optical advantages – after all, nobody wants to look through the side window at an unsorted cable jumble.
In the test, the controlled cable routing works very well, which is also due to the clever placement of the openings. It should be noted, however, that the storage space behind the mainboard tray is a little tight, so we had problems with the 8-pin CPU cable, for example.
Conclusion of the Inter-Tech S-3901 Impulse Review
The housing offers a comparatively wide range of system construction options and at the same time impresses with its RGB-stressed design and large side window made of tempered glass. Also the workmanship of the Midi Tower is good for the most part. High-end systems can be realized in this housing.
Both positively and negatively we noticed the combined control unit for RGB lighting and fan. The RGB lighting can be controlled via switch or mainboard, which is very good. Due to the proprietary connections, however, no further devices can be connected at present. It is the same with the fans, so it has to stay with one RGB fan at the moment. Only four 3-pin fans without lighting can be connected. Also a pass-through of the control signal from the mainboard would have been super.
In view of the price of the Inter-Tech S-3901 Impulse, however, this is bleating at a high level. The price-performance ratio of the eye-catching mid-range case is good and can therefore recommend it with a clear conscience.
Inter-Tech S-3901 Impulse
Workmanship
Features
Structure
Cooling
Value for Money
A good mid-range enclosure with RGB lighting, side windows and many installation options.
