Got it finally all set up, this thing is a real treat to work with! I just wish the toolless drive bay holders were a bit sturdier, they don't hold my optical drive in real well. I've more parts and plans for the case in the near future including window, more lights, possible paint job, new fans, decals and other ideas but for now, this will have to do. My mATX mobo sure looks small and puny inside this case, but owell...
Well figures, I get my new toy and someone already claims before I even get to open it lol! But its here!
Even the box itself is sexy and rich feeling, has a smooth, slick texture to it! The case is well protected by the stiff cardboard box and plenty of styrofoam padding all around, UPS/FedEX would have to try hard to damage the case
Oooh very nice! First thing I noticed is that the cases paint texure has a very durable feeling to it, almost like a spray on truck liner, you will have to try to scratch it! The unit feels incredibly solid when I took it out, gotta freaking love cold rolled steel, aluminum can never beat the tight, strong and firm built of a quality steel case!
The handles feel GREAT and makes moving the XB is so SMOOTH and easy! They are supported by the steel chassis behind the panel, so even fully loaded, this sucker aint gonna fall apart on you transporting it around, LAN partying with this thing in the future is gonna rock!
I didnt' realize exactly HOW big this XB was until I put it next to "Night Fire" my Antec mini-P180. The pictures speak for themselves! Thats a 20'' Viewsonic monitor for comparison sake to give you an idea of this bad boys sizeMoving inward, my faithful furry assistant decides this cases needs a complete check through with cat senses!
Again, the interior paint job feels awesome, VERY solid and well done! Again, it reminds me a spray on truck lining, thats how tough it feels, it has a very nice rough feeling to it but not sandpaper like. Corsair could learn something of how to paint/powerdcoat their cases from coolermaster, their interior paint jobs are easily damaged/scratched in my experience with them
Yep, looks kitty approved!
Ok, time to take it apart and see the inside of this ultimate bady boy cube!
With the side panels removed, the front comes off with 7 tabs fairly easily. The plastic feels durable enough the front benzel doesn't flex much, but be mindful, it feels like it could be easily scratched. The front panel Power and reset buttons ARE NOT spring loaded, they are more modern "tap" style button which you find on todays tablets and smartphones and frankly, I like this as a nice change from decades of spring loaded buttons on computer cases, time for a change. Weird, how they have enough room for a PCB to have 4 USB jacks, but only went with 2 *shrug* Owell, I never use more then one at a time in my usage.
Moving on, the typical part bags, screws andzip ties are here, but a rare thing, an optional speaker for those who really want to hear the troubleshooting mobo BIOS beeps. You can see the insulation foam to keep PSU vibration down into the case, a simple but nice touch, stuff like this helps case makers and their products stand out from the competition and we, the case consumers really look for this kinda stuff.
The case panels like the rest of the case chassis have a tough powder coating all over. They slide on and off with a nice smooth feeling and attach with a nice solid "thud" and are hard to flex, meaning the chances of vibration and reverberation in the case are low. Again, quality steel just flat out beats aluminum in this department, especially in the cost department and Cooler Master does a great job in this. Corsair, are you taking notes?Outa curiosity, I wanted to see if recycling my Antec Big Boy was possible with the top panel mesh. Sadly, it was a no go. I looked into why the mesh panel didn't have mounts for 120/140mm fans for radiator setups and the CM rep stated because the weight of using radiators would cause the mesh panel to dislodge because its only using push down based tabs to hold it in place. So that basically means it would require installing nuts and bolts if you really wanted to use the top mesh panel for a radiator and modding the mesh as well. And of course, I can't overlook something this rare in most cases nowadays, the removalable mobo tray. Some people truly desire/live for this *cough, 3DGAMERMAN* I personally have never cared or had use for them as I always chose cases over the years that makes it easy to install mobo's in and out. Last case I had with a removable mobo was a Lian Li PC-68 way back in 2002 and I think I used it "once" just cause I was bored.
Anyway, with 4 simple thumbscrews, the tray comes right out. Like the side panel, it feels very rigid and hardly flexes at all. Again, you can only get this very nice firm feeling with quality steel cases, aluminum just can't touch it. The tray fits in nice and snug with the thumb screws, so its not possibly for it to vibrate into the chassis itself at all. Looking more into the interior, thankfully, all the cables are a nice even black, so no worried gawd awful rainbowed colored calors ruining the interior case look, well, except for that stupid legacy sound connector which im just gonna cut off personally. The stock front intake fans are 3pin with molex convertors. Dunno how great they are but i'll be replacing then with my Gentle Typhoon 120mm's anyway and or using a new 200mm intake fan on the top if I decide against ordering the top panel with built in window that I may end up making my own anyway. Decisons, decisons....
My furry assistance spotted something as I went along. Removing the exterior PSU holder reveals that you CAN NOT install a PSU without it as the chassis doesn't have any mounting holes without the extended bracket. This kinda sucks, considering I have a standard sized modular PSU, I wanted to keep the back flush but I guess not anymore, so keep this in mind.Finally, I wanted to see how much spacing I had between the panels and mobo tray itself. Thanks to this chassis unique design, there is well over 1'' space between the side panels. I'm thinking of adding some sound insulation material for "Night Fire II" so this gives me plenty of room to add this. Also noting that if someone was really in the mood, you could easily cut out the side panel mesh and add your own side windows for a trick look. Hmmm........