Price-Point Comparing Three-Way Case Shootout
by Joshua Buss on January 13, 2006 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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yacoub - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
Yes, the Antec P150 is the best case EVER. No really, it's awesome. I wish they'd offer it without the included PSU though, since that PSU has issues with some Asus boards. I ended up buying a different PSU ahead of time since I knew that and was getting an A8N-SLI Premium.I highly recommend the P150. No reason for any other case unless you simply need MORE room than it offers.
The best part about the P150 is you can build a silent PC system in it very easily. I have the included 120mm fan on the lowest setting and insulated from the case itself with rubber grommets so it's totally silent, a TruePowerII 480w PSU (has a 120mm fan inside it) which is totally silent, the harddrive isolated with the included grommets, the CPU fan throttled down dynamically with CPUSpeed, and the GPU fan throttled with ATITool.
It's also high quality part and construction-wise.
Live - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
The optional front fans in the P150 are for 92mm.Tamale - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
fixed.xsilver - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
anybody here from Australia? know where I can get the raidmax X1? not sure if there are any australian distributers -- (cant find anybody on staticice.com.au)Cygni - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
My only comment is with the title of the article. Probably should be a bit more descriptive... like "Cases - 3 Way Price Point Shootout" or something,.balilu - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
Is the P150 available in black or any chance of being in the near future?Tamale - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
I haven't seen any indication that antec is going to release other models of the P150.. that being said, you might want to check out their Sonata II reviewed several months back.Avalon - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
Raidmax getting an editor's gold choice award makes me giggle inside.Googer - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
Why does the title of the page sayate: January 13th, 2006
Topic: Cases & Cooling
Manufacturer: 3Com/U.S. Robotics
Author: Joshua Buss
Why is 3Com and US Robotics listed? 3COM Spun them off and they are no longer part of 3COM. Also 3COM and US Robotics do not make PC Cases and there were no other USR or 3COM Components reviewed in this article.
Tamale - Friday, January 13, 2006 - link
no idea. Thanks for point it out....