HighSpeed PC has been a stomping ground of mine for sometime, today I get to look over their latest creation, The HSPC Tech Station. The Tech Station was designed and built to be a technician's bench for quickly building and ripping down a system.

Picking up the box, you realize this case is something substantial, no aluminum in here. Opening the shipping container I was confronted with a slim cardboard box. I thought that it had to be some accessories, I was wrong.

There is basically two shelves, supports and a few standoffs to this case, albeit this is not truly a case you would use to build your home system in.

Specifications

Size: Good question (Std: 14x8x8.5 / Lrg: 14x13x8.5)
Construction: Non-Conductive High Grade Polymer, Supports up to 160lbs
Drive Bays: Umm, one, Holds up to 2 HD's
Power Supply: Not Included (installed on top)
Available Colors: Orange / Green / Yellow / Blue / White / Black
Fan Configuration: 1 120mm Rear.
Front I/O Interface: None
Misc: Rubber Non-Slip feet / ATX Control Kit (PwrOn / Reset etc) / Anti-Static Foam motherboard cushion

Overview

There is not a lot to this case, two shelves, some supports and a mat to protect your motherboard while testing it. As I mentioned, this is not a full time case for your system to live in, it is designed and built to allow for easy access to a system you are testing. For this purpose, it appears to hit the mark dead on.

Installation

Piecing the case together takes a little bit of work, and some basic construction skills, which means yes; you need to read the instructions. It took me ~25 minutes to get everything together (I had to do one section over again because I went too fast :P).

Once you have pieced the case together, you need to take two or three looks at how the components fit together to make sure you are not redoing that section as well. After you have installed one or two motherboards into the case, you get it down pretty quick. By the time I installed my third motherboard, it took me all of 3 minutes from scratch. There is no front panel for the power on / reset switch, or even the Power on / HDD lights.

The Tech Station comes with the ATX control kit (pictured below) to perform these tasks. It's a simple yet very effective design, it gets the job done and I was impressed at the simplicity of it.

Installing the Drives and Power Supply was even easier than the motherboard. The Power Supply simply lies on top of the case along with the DVD/CD-ROM drive. The Hard Drive is positioned under the upper shelf where there is a "3.5" rail.

If you are planning on installing a 3.5" floppy drive, you just threw a slight wrench into the mix. You can do it, but it causes you to route cables slightly differently, and depending on your PSU, you might not have enough.

Installing add on cards, like the Graphics card etc, takes a little bit of maneuvering on the motherboard. You see, the motherboard does not secure into anything, it sits on the Anti-Static foam padding and can be easily positioned, but in the same vain, can easily be re-positioned out of alignment and tweak your Graphics card. I don't see this as an issue in a typical situation, due to the fact that you would not permanently install a system into the Tech Station.

Let's take a look at a few temps (full load) while we are here:

Test Hardware - FIC P4M-RS350, Intel P4 2.4C (Cooler Master Aero / Cool Jag Skivving HS), Hitachi 80GB 7200RPM 8MB Cache SATA Hard Drive

Obviously there is no issue with keeping components cool with the HSPC Tech Station. The Hard Drive and Motherboard get a good amount of air from the 120MM rear mounted fan (it even gets a little cool in my seat next to it). The CPU benefits from getting fresh outside air and not slightly warmed up stagnant air that is inside a typical case.

Final Words

High Speed PC has brought us a case that, well, isn't truly a case. Nonetheless, it is a solution that bodes well for those of us that have to perform reviews, or even harder, be the "go to" techie for your family. With more than adequate cooling and the ability to build a system in a matter of minutes, the Tech Station fits the technician much better than OJ's glove did.

Pros:

- Open Design for ease of access
- Good cooling with minimal noise levels
- Once built, quick install of new equipment
- Supports up to 160lbs.

Cons:

- No way to mount in the motherboard
- Takes a little work to get the add on cards lined up properly
- A floppy can throw a slight curve

Bottom Line

The Techie in me rejoices, a case that I can quickly build a system in and test its function, rip it down as quickly and start all over again. HighSpeed PC has hit the mark with the Tech Station. Not only does it fit the bill, you can rest assure your components are cool and protected from static shock the short period of time it will reside there…