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Packaging and The Case
Case packaging is pretty standard these days, being just a cardboard box, with Styrofoam inserts to protect the case.
The case was wrapped in a plastic bag, but in my excitement I took the case out before I took a picture, but here is the case in all its glory.
As you can see the front panel has a layer of protective plastic sheeting to protect the acrylic covered front from scratches.
Once the plastic wrap is removed you can see the front of the case. Located at the bottom of the case is the front USB and audio connections hidden behind a silver colored plastic door. A thing to notice about the front of the case and the USB door is that the case is covered with an acrylic sheet with aluminum behind it where the USB door is just silver colored plastic, so it does stand out quite a bit. Personally I would have liked to see it either be hidden a little better, or totally remove the door and just inset the connections into the acrylic.
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Looking at the back of the case you will notice the lack of included power supply. Being from Enermax I had hoped for them to include a power supply. This is not that large of an issue, as most users plan on replacing this part of the setup anyways with one that is more reliable. You will also notice the almost industry standard stamped grills. This case does however feature room for two 80mm fans in the rear. If you have a good eye you can see that the CS-5107 does not include thumbscrews. This feature though small is a truly important item. It is the difference between a quick in and out of your case and a whole event of getting your screw driver out, etc.
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You can now see the inside view of the case. First thing that is shown on the right hand side is the drive bay allotments. Four 5 ¼ inch spaces and a total of six 3 ½ inch, two external and four internal. Also shown in the pictures is the cable for the front audio and USB, as well as the allotment for two front mounted 80mm fans. The same stamped grills are included.
The back side of the front panel includes some interesting items. The 4 silver colored items are where the four blue LED’s are located. It allows for an interesting effect, where the LED’s are barely visible from the front, but the light is totally shown through. They remind me of the guide around a flashlight, which helps direct the light. Just below the lights is the front USB and audio piece. I really liked the fact that this piece is covered in plastic, where most are just open circuit board. Although unnoticeable from the front, it leaves less of a chance of shorting the board when pulling off the front panel.
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The next series shows some of the nicer features of the case. Seeing as this case is an empty slate in the area of windows, it was nice to see that the top panel can be removed using a screw driver. My previous case was riveted on and it was a large hassle to remove. The other picture shows the removable motherboard tray. (Yes you read it right) Almost extinct in today’s market, the removable motherboard tray is a favorite of a lot of computer users. I personally never liked them (always found it hard to line up the board properly) but some users use them a lot and it was a nice addition.
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Enermax CS-5107 Tower: With stunning good looks, good usability, and performance to boot, it looks like it will be hard to beat.
