Bit-Tech Review
Overclock3D.net
Bjorn3d
Eteknix
Now along to my setup. I got the case off Newegg for $80. I plan on keeping the case for a while so in my mind justified the price.
Exterior: The case is brushed aluminum with nice fitment. All the panels fit well with everything looking level. The sidepanels do not lock onto the case. 4 screws hold the panels to the side. A downside it taking the panel off many times will surely ruin the screw threads which even new feel poor. The case has two USB 3.0 connectors on top with audio jacks. Ont the top of the case is room for 2 120mm fans which I have as intakes. There is a dust filter on top but can only be removed by opening side panel to release. I may try and rig a magnetic system for quicker access. My case has a small side panel showing the cpu and ram area. It does show the optional HDD mounting bracket. This is poor design as the mounting system could have been moved up or make the window smaller. In the future I will move the 3.5 hdd to the bottom of the case but more later. The right side panel also has room for a slim optical drive. The front power button is white LED lit and red for HDD activity.
Interior: I'm using a microatx board and standard ATX psu so right off the bat I'm crowding the case. The case does come with a 120mm exhaust fan which seemed to be quality made but I used my older Xigmatek. The PSU is mounted at the front of the case exhuasting down. This means that the psu will most likely be sucking in hot case air. I'd get a 50C rated psu which if I do replace I will get a more quality unit. The bottom of the case also has room for a 3.5hd and 120mm fan. I was unable to mount the 3. hd there as the CPU tower cooler fan brackets blocked the space. It is possible to simply replace the fan with a 120 and not 140. I did not have a static pressure 120 so this will be a future change. Cable managemtn is quite difficult as there really isn't much room. I wish there was 1/3-1/2 inch more space on the motherboard side panel to route cables. As it is now the majority of cables I have are cramped on top of cpu. This cannot be seen through the side panel but annoying and impedes airflow. I would recommend and SFX psu or custom short cables on an ATX psu. Other than hat build quality is top notch and so far my temps are quite good. I do have an NZXT Grid V2+ digital fan controller which really makes it easy to control fans. Now onto some pics (I suck at photos)
Cooler pushing air through VRM heatsink.
Hard Drive mounting removed
Top dust filter removed. You can fully remove this top panel as well.
Back of motherboard panel for 2 2.5 drives. No rubber mounts
Picked up some inexpensive BeQuiet Pure Wings2. Works well with the fancontroller and pretty quiet. The SilentWings 2 version comes with rubber mounts and lower noise claimed but were twice as much.
Crammed in with ok cable managment. Have a few cables to get so I can remove a SATA chain but it's not the friendliest for cables. Also the USB 3.0 connector is huge and does not like to bend.
Mount in. This hard drive will be placed on the bottum mount when cpu fan replaced and mounting system will be taken out.
All put together. Notice the mount at top of windows
Comparison with NZXT Source 210 midtower case
Feel free to ask any question or tests you would like me to run on it!
