Introduction
Everyone goes on about how 'this is teh most important part evah!' and whilst everyone is bound to have differing opinions, not all parts can be the most important. But if you are going to be spending a fair chunk of change on your PC to get quality, it's always nice when whilst window shopping, you come across something that is both good quality and good value. Also, with temperatures from systems forever rising as speeds increase, cooling is essential, and I'm not talking heatsinks here. I am talking system cooling, which for the basis of a good interior cooling flow, must begin with the design of the case itself. Having things like front USB ports integrated, thumbscrews or other time saving abilities and options are also something to think about. Quite a lot to base a design for a case on when you think about it.
I should think that by now, everyone has probably either read a review on or seen a chassis case, and whilst not perfect, they do have a lot going for them. Adding to Line-up is there BX series which is what we shall be looking at today, which features a few updated features from the usual.
Specifications
Dim : 473 x 205 x 522 mm (D x W x H).
Drive Bay : 4 x 5.25"FDD + 2 x 3.5"FDD, 4 x 3.5"HDD
Material : 1.0mm SECC
Fits varying size motherboard inc. ATX
For PSII PSU or PSII Redundant PSU
7 standard expansion slots
Optional 4 x 80mm cooling fans. (Two front, two back)
Optional 2 x 92mm HDD and system cooling fans (Side panel and front Motherboard tray)
Optional 360 or 420W PSU
Gross Weight 14 Kgs w/o PSU
Features front USB and E1394 / Firewire ports !
Additional features include :
Built in Removable Filter
Smart screws for 5.25 FDD
Spring design bay to reduce vibration
HDD cooling fan cage increasing cooling ability
PCI card clipper
The Case
The Case itself comes in a normal brown box, and packed in polystyrene foam inside. On the box you will find the instructions for the case. Now usually I would show you a picture of the box, but sorry folks, I actually forgot to take a picture of this vital component, so you'll just have to imagine a brown box with blue writing and pictures on it.
Out of the box, you can't fail to notice the distinct gradient style slats that adorn the central front from top to bottom so we shall start our tour at the front. At the very bottom we find a door imprinted with the Chieftec logo that hides (from left to right) 2 USB Ports, a speaker port, microphone port and also a Firewire port. This little door flips up at a pull, is spring loaded and retracts almost halfway into the case when open.
It might have been a better idea to have the door flip down, as those who stand their cases on the floor will have to bend down to see and use the ports, but it shouldn't pose too much of an issue. Above this door begins the gradient slats that continue up the front of the case.
