X-bit labs

Four Mainstream Cases Reviewed: New Models in Middle Tower Class (page 6)

Category: Other

by Vasily Melnik

[ 08/07/2007 | 06:45 PM ]

We were somewhat surprised to find different sorts of fan connectors. Some are standard 3-pin plugs and others are Molexes.

There are pressed-out protrusions instead of poles for the mainboard.

We told you how to fasten your expansion cards above. When assembling the system we found that this fastening mechanism allowed to easily fasten two-storied cards.

Alas, this doesn’t make the locks any more reliable. That’s why you may prefer to fasten your heavy top-end graphics card in the good old way, with screws.

It takes mere seconds to install an optical drive. Just put it into the bay and close the lock.

The only trouble is that the optical drive wobbles in its seat, giving you the impression of unreliable fastening. Moreover, these locks do not work with short panels (rheobuses, displays, etc). The devices do not fit well together:

There is a large gap between them, which is unacceptable in a system case of this class. HDDs are installed in the same way. You insert your HDD into the bay and fix it with a wire clip.

The assembled system looks good enough…

…if you put up with the unreliable fastening of the drives and expansion cards and with some problems related to the rigidity of the chassis.

So, the cute and original exterior is combined with a very cheap chassis in this system case. It won’t do to shell out $150 for a thing like this. We don’t think ASUS wants its system case to get the name of a “mediocre product in a pretty wrapping”, but it will be surely producing it while it is being bought for its appearance only. If you want a system case that is good externally and internally, you should consider the other products reviewed in this article or other system cases in this class that may have a less brilliant exterior, but deliver much higher quality.