The Exterior
The front of the case has a metallic looking finish, which is semi-reflective, but does not attract finger prints too badly. Once we open up the door, we can clearly see the two 5.25″ bays, the dust filter, and one of the two 140mm fans. Note the small fan speed selector switch above the drive bays, and to the left of the LED. It is a 3 position slide switch, which the lowest setting on left. This is where I will probably leave it when reviewing the case. The dust filter can be removed for cleaning by pushing the latch on the top downwards and pulling it forward. This case lacks an exposed 3.5″ bay. Even though FDDs are long gone from the mainstream computing world, 3.5″ bays are still used for card readers. This is a minor nitpick, though, since USB card readers are readily available, as are 5.25″ card readers and 5.25″ to 3.5″ bay adapters.
At the back, we have the fan and IO panel at the top, with the PSU mounted at the bottom. Also visible on the back is the quick release for the left side panel. To release it, simply slide the small lever downwards and the side panel swings out.
The side panels are about as plain as they come. Note the cover installed over the vent on the left side panel.
The covers installed over the fan vents are visible from the top of the case. Unlike most cases, the switches and front ports are also located on the top. This is fine for some users, but it won’t suit everybody. For instance, some users have desks which have a dedicated space for a PC tower. Such desks sometimes don’t have much clearance on top and would make it difficult, if not impossible, to access the buttons and ports without leaving the PC sticking out a few centimeters.
The USB3 ports are labelled, although personally, I would prefer the blue colour coding to be present as well. The bottom has two fan vents, as well as a vent for the power supply intake. A large removable dust filter, which slides in and out from the front of the case, covers all of them.
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