Article by: Joe Anderson (Hardware Reviewer)
Edited By: Nathan Glentworth (Owner / Head Editor)
Product was submitted by: Moneual
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PRODUCT PICTORIAL AND WALKTHROUGH
With all the packaging removed, we get our first good look at the case. It's black with a high-gloss plastic front panel and steel chassis. Light green accents and crystal-like buttons take the form of a budding plant, further promoting the Sonamu's green computing theme, and ventilation areas on the left side panel aid in cooling this compact chassis. The accessory bag contains a quick start guide, PSU wall cord, installation manual on CD, and some stickers that the user can apply to the case, but that Moneual has thankfully left off.
Inside the case, a cardboard box contains a bag of installation hardware, some zip-ties, a power supply bracket, expansion slot cover and a speaker. I'm a bit perplexed by the PSU bracket because it's not mentioned in any of the supporting literature and I can't see anywhere in the case to mount it.
Up front, the case has some unusual features. From the top down, there is the “Green Mode” button followed by the silver ODD drive button. Depressing the I/O panel door releases a catch, revealing the I/O panel. Here, there's the on/off switch for “Green Mode” followed by a pair of USB 2.0 ports, audio ports, activity and status LEDs, and a 3-in-1 card reader slot (SD, SDHC or MMC.) Then, of course, there's the large crystal main power button.
Four thumbscrews secure the side panels to the chassis and the top mounted PSU conforms to the micro ATX form factor, but as we'll see in a bit, it's not a conventional power unit. The Sonamu sports four expansion bays, but they only support low-profile cards, and the cooling fan is mounted in the topmost placement.
