Date: June 13th, 2007
Article by: Mike Carter (Hardware Reviewer)
Edited by: Nathan Glentworth (Owner / Head Editor)
Product was submitted by: Ultra
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PRODUCT PICTORAL AND WALKTHROUGH
The MicroFly gives a very good first impression. The case is painted a high-gloss black, with no hint of “orange peel” in the finish.
Starting at the front, the MicroFly uses a unique, upward-opening door to cover the drive bays. Push to open, push to latch closed again. The door is translucent plastic, allowing the temperature gauge to show through. Below the door are the requisite USB, FireWire, and audio ports on the left, and power and reset buttons on the right. Visible just below the bays is the backlit temperature readout.
Also visible on this side is one of the two case windows.
Moving to the rear, we find the I/O shield, four expansion slots, the PSU mounting location, and the vent for the 120mm exhaust fan. You can also see the four thumbscrews for the removable motherboard tray.
You can also see the second case window, on the opposite side of the case from the first.
The motherboard tray itself slides out easily, making motherboard installation a snap.
Moving along to the inside, we get to the meat of the MicroFly. Up first is the modular construction. The HDD bays are removable, and hold two HDD's. The optical drive bays and floppy bay are not removable. All bays require screws to mount drives, no tool-free mounting here.
The PSU included is Ultra's XVS 600 watt model, which was designed specifically for the MicroFly case. It's almost a sideways design, wider than it is long, and it features Ultra's modular cabling with FlexForce cables. Not many are included, but for a SFF case, there should be enough. This is a very nice touch, as you only need to use the cables required.
Availiable are:
One 20/24 pin convertible motherboard connector
One 4/8-pin 12v convertible motherboard connector
One 6-pin PCI express connector
Two SATA connectors
Six Molex connectors
One floppy connector
All cables are short enough that any system builder should be able to avoid a “rat's nest” of cabling, while providing sufficient length to reach all of your components.
