Corsair TWINX4K
Corsair Hydrocool
MSI MEGA 651
MSI FX5900-VTD
RocketRAID 1520
RocketRAID 404
FIC AU13 nF2
LanParty KT400A
AS Ceramiqué

CPU Testing Results

    So how does the case fair when we put a load on it, first the hard drive and then the CPU?  Does changing the power supply yield any improvement in temperatures compared to the Enermax and the Generic Power supply?  Lets see.

InWin Q500 - Enermax Power Supply	Windtunnel IV - Enermax Power Supply
RaidMax - Enermax Power Supply	RaidMax - Generic Power Supply
RaidMax - RaidTronics Power Supply

    What can we see with the temperatures of the different cases/power supplies?  The RaidMax case isn't all that bad when it comes to cooling a CPU, as the added three degrees from the ambient temperature directly impact the CPU temperature, when compared to the InWin case which only has two fans, the one on the front and the only other fan is on the back of the case.  When compared to the Windtunnel IV, the difference in ambient temperature doesn't explain away the difference between the two cases.  The 6-7ºC difference in case temperature, even after the ambient temperature is leveled out is very big.  The difference between the CPU temperatures isn't as much as the case temperature, with only about three degrees difference between the two cases.  When the power supplies are changed in the RaidMax case, the CPU temperature doesn't change at all, however what we want to look at is if the power supply can lower the case temperature.  The Generic and Enermax power supplies are very similar when the ambient temperature difference is factored in.  The RaidTronics power supply doesn't fair that well, with it being about four degrees higher than either of the other two power supplies.  What about the hard drive temperatures, which case cools the hard drive the best?

Hard Drive Testing Results

    The hard drive is a major heat producer inside a case, some hard drives have failed because of overheating.  So a case that can cool the hard drives as well is definitely something worthwhile.  So how do the three cases perform in this test?

InWin Q500	Windtunnel IV
RaidMax Case

    We see the InWin case win the tests here, why?  Simply put I modded the case so that a 80mm fan would blow right on the hard drive bays, so the hard drive gets maximum cooling from the fan.  Looking at the Windtunnel and the RaidMax, we see the Windtunnel beat the RaidMax by about 6-7ºC in these tests.  The most logical reason for this is that the Windtunnel has more in the way of fans, compared to the two side fans of the RaidMax case.  Thus in these tests it seems that the RaidMax doesn't fair all that well, and the two fans don't seem to do much, but can these two fans, be quieter than the competition, let us take a listen.

Sound Tests & Voltage Results

    How loud are the cases, does the Windtunnel IV sound like a wind tunnel?  Do the other two cases, by simple fact of having just two fans perform the same?  The results, taken from about 47cm (18 1/2") from the front of the case, are real life tests with the Enermax power supply being used.

    Here we see the RaidMax case take the lead with a great silence.  The sound level meter used could not detect anything below 50dBA and thus this is the reason for the RaidMax's less than result.  The sound results from the other two cases, which were audibly louder than the RaidMax, each produced a different sound.  The InWin was more like that of a shaking, which could easily be a lose fan screw, while the Windtunnel sounded just like its namesake, with a loud continuous sound coming from it.

    How about the voltage, was the Raidmax much better in keeping the voltage stable, lets see.

    The Enermax power supply has a better 3.3v line as well as the 12v line.  With the RaidMax power supply, it places second on the 3.3v line, only .01v off of 3.30v, and first in the 5v line with a .16v overflow.  Lastly on the 12v line the RaidMax loses to the Generic power supply, with a .18 lower voltage than 12v or about 1.5% off of the supposed voltage.  The generic power supply does the poorest but provides voltage within 1.5% of the standard voltage.

Conclusion

    So having looked at the case itself, and its cooling performance, what can we conclude about this case?  What about the power supply included with it, does it work as well as it looks?

    First looking at the case we see a few things.  When it was shipped there was a good amount of care taken, with the plexiglass being covered so as not to be scratched before it arrived. The overall look was one of plexiglass and rivets, which was very nice, though this look is also prevalent in low end cases as well.  The fans included with the case had good placement, though the actual airflow was in the wrong direction for where the fans were.  The rear 60mm fan point was offset mostly by the inclusion of four 80mm fan points at the front of the case, for hard drive cooling.  The inside of the case was nice with a lot of hard drive rails (6 internal/external), however the lack of a removable motherboard tray was very disappointing.

    The performance of the case was just adequate, with the CPU cooling performance below that of the Windtunnel IV and about that of the InWin Q500.  With the hard drive tests, the RaidMax case couldn't keep up with the InWin, which had a fan blowing directly on the hard drive, or even the Windtunnel IV which didn't have any fans blowing on the hard drive.  The one test that this case excelled at was the sound level tests, where it was lower by a noticeable amount compared to the other cases.

    What about the power supply?  The design of the power supply is not like that of a standard power supply but more like that of a car amplifier.  The fan on the front of the power supply has a clear path to the rest of the power supply.  There is also no other air holes in the power supply, thus allowing for a straight path for the air to cool the power supply.  The cables included are much like that of the Enermax power supply, in that they are very long, and the ATX power connector is sheathed in a black mesh.

    How did the power supply perform?  The cooling of the power supply was worse than that of a generic 300 watt power supply, and much worse than that of the Enermax power supply.  In voltage, the RaidMax places in all three locations, with the lowest 12v score we measured.  The 5v performance was very nice, so most hard drives should be running well.  The cooling performance was fairly bad, about four degrees higher than the Enermax power supply and even the generic power supply in the case temperature, with no difference being measured in CPU temperature.

    The price of the case isn't all that expensive, about $70(US) shipped, and comes with the power supply, which is somewhat rare compared to the more expensive cases.  I would like to thank Raidtronics for providing this case and power supply for testing.

ATX-268WU Pros

• Good looking case
• Has window
• Front USB ports
• Four hard drive fan points
• Quiet

Cons

• Only one rear 60mm fan point
• Non removable motherboard tray
• Poor cooling performance
• Seems Generic
• Fans pointing out when should be in

RaidMax Power Supply Pros

• 400Watts
• Good 3.3v and 5v lines
• Good Looking
• Extra 80mm Fan
• Long Cables

Cons

• Low 12v line
• Bad cooling

Overall

    This was an adequate case which doesn't have much in the way of features apart from the window and case color.  The Power supply did well, supplying a good amount of voltage.  A good combination but nothing to get extremely excited about.

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