Final thoughts:
We’ve been using this Thermal Grizzly der8enchtable for several weeks now, and we’re going to give you our impressions. Let’s start with the positives of this bench table, which comes with an active PCB. First of all, the finish is perfect, both on the PCB and on the various parts that need to be assembled. The screws and nuts fit together without any difficulty. The various parts are perfectly machined. This is a very high-quality product.
The manual provided in the bundle is very clear, and assembling the der8enchtable is child’s play that anyone can do. One of the features we particularly like is the location of the power supply. It’s not just slipped under the bench table. It’s raised and held in place, so you can easily move your der8enchtable wherever you want. While we’re on the subject of how easy it is to move, let’s also highlight its compact size, especially if you’re not using a liquid cooling system. In fact, it’s the most compact bench table in our lab.
The active PCB is no slouch either, with fan management, plenty of storage space, and USB ports on both sides being a real plus. The supports for holding a water cooling radiator do the job perfectly, allowing you to keep your cooling system permanently installed and within reach. While I’m not a fan of RGB backlighting, the one on the der8enchtable isn’t distracting and can be turned off if desired.
So what are the positives? Nothing. Even though there are plenty of storage options, many of us already have M.2 SSDs. Overclockers often have numerous 2.5″ SATA drives containing different Windows ISOs depending on the processor or benchmarks to be tested. It’s also a shame that the USB ports only support 2.0.
The motherboard mounting system, with barrel nuts, is definitely what we liked the least. It’s far from easy to screw and unscrew, where simple Phillips screws would have been more effective. Finally, the price of €229.90 is not the most affordable for this type of product.
But even if we won’t ultimately use all the features offered by this der8enchtable’s active PCB, we greatly appreciate this innovation from Der8auer. It’s a segment where we didn’t think we’d see any more developments, but this der8enchtable proves otherwise. Thank you to Thermal Grizzly for giving us the opportunity to share our opinion on this der8enchtable! We should also be bringing you a review of the Thermal Grizzly WireView Pro II shortly.