Exterior
As we said before, this chassis features aluminium panels, all of which are finished in a sleek brushed black on the exterior. There are two vertically arranged fan vents on the side, each of which is pre-fitted with a high quality 120mm fan. This huge panel is held in place by three thumb screws on the back of the chassis.
The right side panel is also held in place by three thumb screws, but is otherwise just a plain panel.
The front panel features 12 removable 5.25″ bay covers, all of which are well ventilated and are made from aluminium.
Around the back we see a shiny aluminium finish, a 120mm exhaust fan that also features break-off cut-outs to make the mounting compatible with external water coolers.
The fan features a nice fan guard on the rear and to the left we have the motherboard I/O cut-out. There are two thumb screws just above the fan and the motherboard I/O and a further three at the bottom of the chassis, these are for releasing the slide out motherboard tray which we will take a look at shortly.
Here we see that there are 11 ventilated expansion slots, each covered with a high quality and reusable cover. To the right we have four cut-outs used for cable routing or water cooling.
The top panel features a large ventilation panel with a slide lock mechanism, when unlocked the back of the panel pops up to allow for easy removal.
Behind the mesh there is a simple mesh cover that can be easily lifted out for cleaning.
Below the mesh we find a pair of fan mounts which support 2 x 120mm, 2 x 140mm fans or an (up to) 240mm radiator.
The front I/O panel features a slide back protector on the left and a pair of switches for power and reset on the right.
Behind the cover we find eSATA, four USB 3.0 ports and HD audio connections.
The chassis is huge, so users will be pleased to see two wheels at the back that will help with slotting the system into place when fully loaded. The front features two heavy duty metal stands and overall the chassis feels stable even when light and empty.
The PSU air intake is filtered and the filter can be slid out sideways with relative ease for quick maintenance.
I think it has a con, 4 casters (2 locking) would’ve been better.
Agreed, but they’re designed to help you slide it under your desk and pull it back out again rather than wheel around the office. But yeah, four wheels would have been sweet, or at least a logical gripping point to lift the front end up easier.
I only mentioned it because those front feet look ugly and horribly out of place on such a sleek design. Then again I haven’t seen this chassis in the flesh (metal) yet.
+
Better chassis than Dell; HP; Lenovo, ACER; ASUS