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Price-Point Comparing Three-Way Case Shootout

 by Joshua Buss on January 13, 2006 12:05 AM EST
69 Comments | Add A Comment
69 Comments
Dynapower E68 (cont’d)

The bezel doesn't just have the ability to slide at the bottom either; in addition to hinging to reveal the drive bays, the main portion (the top door) also slides along a couple of slits so that after opening, it can be further moved out of the way. While some people might consider such a dynamic front gaudy, it's still undeniable that it's a very nice front panel, especially given this unit's cost.


Click to enlarge.

With all the attention that the front of this case has received, it's a good thing that the rest of the case is almost entirely devoid of anything that needs a lengthy explanation! This last picture of purely the exterior of the chassis really doesn't differ much from the other two cases that we've looked at all. Again, the side-mounted 120mm fan shows up, but besides that, there are no other elements of cooling to investigate here.


Click to enlarge.

With that investigation over, let's dive into this value-oriented case. First off, as is probably to be expected, there are no tool-less elements in the E68. Also, we should mention that we actually routed the cables from the front through a different opening to help our cable management.


Click to enlarge.

Even so, the actual expandability of the Dynapower case is just as good as the other two cases. Four hard drives, one external 3½“, and four external 5¼” drives can all be accommodated in the E68.

Support for different motherboard types is even more limited in this case, but again, the standard ATX types shouldn't be much of a problem, if at all.


Click to enlarge.

Standard knock-out expansion card covers are the name of the game here, but unlike other incarnations, these won't sever an appendage when attempting to remove them. And considering the lack of tool-less options here, it's tough to beat the tried-and-true method of using a single screw to hold each add-in card in place.


Click to enlarge.

Really, that's about all there is to the inside of the E68. With a steel construction, the case feels just as sturdy as the X1, and if one wants, they can add another 120mm fan in the back and 80mm in the front. Installing our test bed was entirely void of surprises. The side-mounted IDE cable was neither easier nor harder than in the previous mid-towers.


Click to enlarge.

Dynapower E68 Benchmark Comparisons
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  • Tamale - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link

    Lol.. I've gotten this several times now. It's a solid, quiet, dependable, modular unit that's made by NEC. It's a great unit that we've chosen OVER similarly priced and even much more expensive units from antec, ocz, and thermaltake.

  • photoguy99 - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link

    I'm sure the first time I read the article it warned that people have been having problems with the P150 powersupplies.

    I've also seen reports of this.

    Has it been removed from the article?

  • yacoub - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link

    If the article doesn't mention it, here you go:

    Antec has been aware of the problem with the NeoPower 430W PSU (with Asus motherboards) that happens to be the one included with the P150. They have fixed the problem but no idea if all the P150s that were already stocked at distributors have been sold by now and the new ones have worked into the system.

    Either way, Antec support will work with you to swap you an updated model of the PSU.

  • puddnhead - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link

    For me thre are four standards to evaluate a case: cooling, noise, installation proagmatics, cost, and "interface" (getting stuff into and out of external ports and removobale media drives mounted in it). While I realize it's a subjective thing, IMO the last is too often ignored. THis review did a good job in one aspect, noting how far the USB ports are spaced apart. But it failed to notice what I immediately saw as a HUGE flaw in the "edotors choice" case, the X1: the USB, etc ports are BEHIND the door! SO if you have anything plugged into the port, the door MUST stay open. A door is nothing more than something that gets in the way if it can't be closed. AM I the only person in the world that has things plugged into front USB ports for more than a few seconds at a time (the amount of time the door on my current Sonata case is open, to insert and remove CDs & DVDs. The front ports, not behind the door & including firewire, is a big reason I went with the Sonata.

    What I would really like to see is a case that has USB/firewire/audio/etc ports AND one 5 1/4" drive bay not behind a door, and the rest of bays hidden behind the door. Like most people I suspect I pretty much have one CD/DVD drive I need access too a lot, and another less frequently, & of course other bays with no external access needed at all. That would be cool.

  • Zepper - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link

    Why was the front fan mount on the X1 ignored in the review. Looks like it can hold a 120mm there too. Personally I'd mount the front and rear fans and block off the side fan (unless I was going to duct directly to the CPU) and any other large area of ventilation holes like those at the back. Looks (from the limited view in the one picture - should have taken the front bezel off and taken a shot of the naked front so we could see what's there for ourselves) like the front fan grille is very restrictive and would need to be cut out for best cooling. No real technical-level user or reviewer would have missed that.

    For the fellow in Australia looking for Raidmax, those cases are sold here under several names like Fudin and Logisys as well as Raidmax. I suppose that anyone that wants to can import them from Korea (I believe) and sell them under their own brand name. Another little item that any reviewer with any level of perspective on the PC market would know...

    One would hope to get better than superficial, FANBOY-style reviews from AT. <rolleyes>

    .bh.

  • Zepper - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link

    Another question I have is why is there a Mad Dog PSU in there? That is one of CompUSA's in-house packagers. Raidmax usually uses L&C-type bottom-feeding junkboxes...

    .bh.

  • Zepper - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link

    re. the Mad Dog PSU - OIC, the X1 can be had either with or without PSU. The OE one is a junky old design w/ only 14 Amps on the +12, so now we know the why of the PSU swap.

    And the 0.7mm metal thickness is marginal in my book. Can't imagine how that case could not feel flimsy and have ringy acoustics.

    .bh.

  • Tamale - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link

    Actually, we couldn't use included power supplies because the P150's unit would not allow us to boot the test bed.

  • yacoub - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link

    For a review of the P150 based on what it was designed for (silence and usability) read this review: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article272-page1.htm...">http://www.silentpcreview.com/article272-page1.htm...

  • Tamale - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link

    I'm sorry, but spending $150, and then going to a lot of extra effort on top of that, all to get a computer as quiet as the X1 would've been in the first place for a third the price seems a little silly.

    I compared these cases for a reason... I really like the P150 too, but I really feel people need to know that there's much cheaper options that are just as/almost as good.

    As for usability, you do have a nice point. The P150 definitely is a nice advancement in this regard. Still, please use some common courtesy and don't use the public comment space to advertise for other websites. Thanks.
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