Next in line is the FlexiBay , which has a set of rubber grommets to stop vibrations, as well as screws on the actual bay for drives so they aren't lost in transit or over time. In addition, one of the interesting things about this drive bay is that it can be installed in many different configurations - the bay can be turned 90 degrees in either direction and installed that way, so that if a person wanted to have their cables towards the left side of the case, hidden away from view, all they would need to do is turn the FlexiBay and install it that way.

To make sure the FlexiBay doesn't move, there is a locking mechanism below it. In the above picture, it is unlocked.

Here we see the drive bay locked into place.

The case sans drive bay - the front 120mm fan is easily accessible.

The side bars on the case are rather interesting, instead of being solid metal, they're somewhat hollow, having gaps in-between a divider in the metal. Also in this picture it's easy to see the types of nuts used in the case - just as the included screws and standoffs, the nuts are highly polished.

Even so, I practically stood on the case and didn't feel it buckle or even flinch at the weight, so I'm confident that Chenbro produced a solid case.

Here we see the case from the top-down view, where the top blowhole is easy to see.

One thing I didn't like about the top blowhole was that it was meant to only support a 92mm fan. I tried getting an 80mm in there, and it did fit, but it was crooked and didn't look very good at all.

Similarly to the other fan housings, the top blowhole assembly was easy to remove, simply by pushing a small tab and lowering the housing. Unfortunately, once I had installed a full sized CD-Rom along with it's respective cables, the fan housing interfered with the drive. However, a quick release of the locking mechanism and a little sliding and the housing had no more interference. While it wasn't too hard to resolve this problem, I still would have preferred to never run into it.

Removing the motherboard tray is very easy, simply unscrew the four tray screws and pull backwards on the tray. I found that the tray was somewhat tough to remove and insert while the case was upright, as is true for most of the cases I've used with removable motherboard trays.

No case would be complete without some sort of branding, Chenbro decided to etch their name into the metal on the bottom of their case.

The expansion slots are covered with plates that have holes in them. I've heard controversy over plates such as these, people arguing it disrupts the airflow in the case, however I do not believe this to be true, and in fact believe, especially with the front mounted fan, helps to cool off the expansion cards.

One of the features that Chenbro advertises with the case is its ICM technology, the Integrated Cable Management. Chenbro purposefully left space behind the motherboard tray, and cut out two ovals from the tray, past where most ATX motherboards would lay, so that PSU cables could be routed behind the motherboard, and then drawn through the ovals whenever there was a need for power.

Also included are plastic cable organizers and fixtures for cold cathode tubes, which can be attached to the back of the motherboard tray or the bottom of the case via included double-sided tape. I attempted to use the ICM style of cable management with only limited success - my cables had no problem fitting behind the motherboard tray, but they were certainly pushing out on the side panel, which wasn't exactly easy to get on with all of the cables back there. I also tried putting an IDE cable behind the tray, but there wasn't enough room to fit the IDE cable and the power cables.

Another problem I encountered with the ICM is that if the motherboard tray needs to be removed, every device needs to be disconnected from both data as well as power, making the removable motherboard tray somewhat useless if the ICM is used.

Additionally, screws and standoffs were included with the case. For some reason, there are standoffs included to compliment some permanent standoffs on the motherboard tray. I'm not sure why Chenbro did this, but I personally took it to be somewhat of a design flaw, however minor it may be.

Also, I can't quite figure out what the metal piece enclosed with the accessories is for… I will be in contact with Chenbro to figure this out and hopefully update this review as soon as possible once I determine what it is for.

The case that the Gaming Bomb II is going to be compared to is Cooler Master's ATC-220B VX1, a case that I reviewed in February of 2003. Both cases are made of aluminum, and both feature blowholes on their tops. The ATC-220B is however significantly shorter, and does not sport a front fan, nor are its fans as large as the Gaming Bomb II's.

Cooling

Benchmarks were performed by running Folding@Home, Prime95, and SiSoft Sandra's CPU Arithmetic test continuously. Each of the maximum and minimum temperatures were sustained for at least 30 seconds.

The Gaming Bomb managed to surprise me keeping the minimum CPU temperature a full 6 degrees (Celcius) hotter than the ATC idle, while still managing to keep the CPU temperature 6 degrees colder than the ATC under load.

When it came to keeping the motherboard cool, the Gaming Bomb II performed leaps and bounds better than Cooler Master's offering. I believe this is primarily due to the lack of a front fan in the ATC, as well as its smaller area for cables, which both killed total airflow in the case.

Many people worry about sound when it comes to a case - the Gaming Bomb II is not for those of you who have sensitive hearing, with 2 120mm fans, the Gaming Bomb II is loud, not annoyingly so, but it's significantly louder than any of the Dell systems I have, and was significantly louder than Cooler Master's ATC-220B.

Final Words

Chenbro came out a winner with this case, its' cooling capabilities are great, the handles make it a dream to move around, and the tool-less installation of drives makes swapping drives in and out a breeze. The case itself is rather light, as would be expected with an aluminum case, and the brushed metal and rounded curves look great. The case doesn't have any sharp edges, or noticeable problems other than the small ones I have pointed out before.

Pros: Tool-less installation of drives, removable motherboard tray, overall a quality case

Cons: Drive bay needs screws, top fan can get in the way, cheesy rear grill.

Bottom Line: A Chenbro representative told me that the case would be dropping in price to sub-$200 USD. At that point, this case is a steal, but at its current price of $250 USD, it's got a somewhat steep bang-for-buck ratio. If you're looking for a great aluminum case and don't mind shelling out the cash, this case is for you.