Date: May 4th, 2005
Article by: Josh Williams (Hardware Review)
Edited By: Nathan Glentworth (Owner / Head Editor)
Product was submitted by: RAIDMAX
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PRODUCT WALKTHROUGH AND PICTORIAL (cont'd)
In the front of the case, we see four internal 3.5" drive bays. Plenty of space for a raid setup with a storage drive. These drives can be cooled by either an 80mm or 120mm fan that is sadly not included. Thankfully, we can pick up another one for a few bucks to keep those drives nice and cool.
In front of these fans, the case allows for excellent airflow coming into the case. As we all know, it is vital to have a good source of cool air coming into our cases.
The side panel comes off via two screws in the back of the case. With the side panel off, we can get a good look at the side fan and duct that will bring fresh air to our CPU. The duct is large and adjustable. It should easily adapt to many different motherboards and processors.
On the opposite side of the case, the other panel comes off too. I immediately began searching for ways to remove the motherboard tray but unfortunately rivets held it securely. One big plus is the fact that there is a lot of room to hide your wires on this side of the case. This doesn't only improve airflow, but it can help keep your case looking nice and clean.
Seen here are the front USB, audio, and thermal display hookups. You will need to consult your motherboard manual to hook up the USB but the thermal probe and audio jacks are rather easy to set up. I still find it unfortunate that there is no documentation explaining how to setup even the most basic things in this case.
To hook up the front audio is extremely simple. Run the two audio plugs through a PCI slot in the back and use the bracket supplied to secure the cables. From here, you simply plug the audio out and microphone into your sound card or onboard sound. Walla! You have front audio.
On the front of the door that hides the optical drives sits a very handy thermal display. Unfortunately, when the case arrived, there was a small crack in the display. They promptly sent a new door and it was up and running in now time. I admire the way they spiced up the door with the thermal display. It’s sure to turn a few heads.
