Date: December 7th, 2010
Article by: Joe Anderson (Hardware Reviewer)
Edited By: Nathan Glentworth (Owner / Head Editor)
Product was submitted by: Xigmatek
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PRODUCT PICTORIAL AND WALKTHROUGH
The left side panel features ventilation holes arranged in a geometric design that can accommodate two optional 120mm fans. Both panels are secured with thumbscrews for easy access to the interior. Backplane design is strictly conventional with a top PSU mount, a 120mm rear exhaust fan and seven expansion bays. The bay covers will have to be broken out to use the bays, but Xigmatek has thoughtfully provided three replaceable covers if the user changes card placement in the future. This is one of my little pet peeves that I'm happy to see Xigmatek address. The bottom of the case has four rubber feet, but is otherwise unremarkable…so I won't remark on it. Let's get the panels off and take a look inside.
Up front, there are the drive cages and while they are conventionally oriented, all the bays feature tool-free clips to make installation as easy as possible.
The clips are simple and elegantly executed, and the top, big bay clips feature two-position functionality for use with most 5.25-inch devices. As you can see, the black finish carries over from the outside and extends to all surfaces of the Asgard II, inside and out.
Xigmatek provides a large motherboard tray cutout to facilitate CPU cooler swaps and a couple of other openings for cable routing and management. There is also a pair of stamped-out metal clips to aid in running cables behind the tray. The interior is unobstructed, if a bit cramped, but I see no obvious installation troubles looming. We'll see.
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