Manuf. LinkI just completed a new build and ordered this case out of curiosity as it had recieved good reviews mostly at gamer's Forums. Although i'm not a gamer my needs for a roomy well built case that is easy to work in made me give this one a whirl. I was not dissappointed
Features:
* Glorious mirror shine paint job
* Custom LED effect lighting
* Retractable side panel with handles for easy access and upgrades
* Fully removable motherboard tray, and hard drive cage
* Integrated slide out toolbox for case part storage
* Integrated click lock technology for tool-less drive installation
* Sliding PCI-E/AGP/PCI cooling fan
* Side & Rear Mounted 80mm Fans (w/ Blue LED)
* 2 x 120mm Fans (Front & Rear)
* USB 2.0 & Audio Ports
Specifications:
* Chassis Material: SECC Steel
* Motherboard Form Factor: ATX (12" x 10.5" Max)
* Drive Bays:
o 5.25" External: 4
o 3.5" External: 2
o 3.5" Internal: 4
* Expansion Slots: 7
* Dimensions: 20.5" x 8" x 17.75" (L x W x H)
I'll start with the features i love and end with the few minor quirks i didn't like...
Room: Plenty big enough for my needs. 2 burners and 3 SATA drives along with an IDE i couldn't part with plus a floppy drive ( i'm a purist OK ? ) all fit nicely and i can add more down the road.
Construction: Very well built steel case. Solid rounded edges and nice hinges on both sides. One of the knocks on this case is that it was heavy...i see this as a plus for me. He must have been a LAN Party gamer.
Features: Both case sides open all the way down and or can be removed...this to me was the slickest feature as the build could not have gone smoother. It's a dream to have the MBoard tray lying flat for the assembly. The only drawback was the 4 pin ATX power plug from the OCZ 750W PSU would not allow it opening all the way after everything was connected...this was remedied bu making an extension using a spare i had lying about.
I also added an EVGA 8800 GTX video card to this and for those that have one i don't need to tell you how BIG they are...this fit suprisingly well and created no issues at all with opening and closing the MBoard side of the case.
Toolless Design: Also a nice feature that i was skeptical of at first...drive installs take seconds and the plastic cam design on the drive holders themselves are sturdy and well thought out.
Cooling: Best i've seen in a stock case in a long time. 120MM stock front case fan blows directly over the HDD bay...nice thinking.
on the open side there is a removable rail that contains an 80MM fan that can slide into position so it winds up over the vid card. With the 8800 GTX i'm sure this will come in handy.
A 2nd 80MM is well placed directly opposite the CPU/Heatsink location...also well thought out. This vents to the outside of the case.
80MM rear case exhaust fan.
Cons: IDE clik rails are tricky to figure out the first time but a breeze after that.
Removeable swing-out HDD box is tricky the first few times as well but fine afterwards.
Rear case exhaust fan should have been a 120mm but i'm adding that later so no big deal.
Plastic case feet. For a case this well thought out i'd have preferred to see rubber but again i'm replacing those myself.
With the size of the 8800GTX i lose one PCI slot but this is more of a MBoard issue than a case issue.
Overall: I'd recommend this case to anyone doing a new build or a first time build as well. You need room for it as it's bigger than most. But with solid construction and well thought out features i give it a 9 out of 10.
patio.
