Installation
Installation is pretty simple for this case as there wasn’t a lot hardware to be installed. The first step is to install the motherboard standoffs, which I found them difficult to install at first. Then I looked inside the part bag and found a black cap which fits over the standoffs and allows them to be fastened either by thumbscrew or by screwdriver. After getting all nine standoffs installed securing the screws was quickly followed. Luckily there were no clearance issues with the motherboard/CPU cooler and fans inside the case; unlike the Antec One Hundred we just reviewed.
Installing an expansion card was just as easy. Remove the screw and slot cover, attach the card, and reattach with the screw.
I then found myself moving onto the 5.25” drive installation, where I encountered some issues. The first issue was removing the front panel. The front port cables were taken from the front panel and routed to the back of the motherboard panel, which were then tie wrapped to the panel, thus giving you next to no room to remove the front panel. After some wiggling I was able to get my hand inside to remove the front cover.
The second issue I had was actually installing the 5.25” drive in the top drive bay. For some reason the top slot was slightly narrower, which disallowed me from pushing the drive in the whole way. I just decided to use the second slot and didn’t have any issues there. Simply remove the tool-free latch before you insert the drive, align the holes and secure the device back on the bay.
Since I have a 2.5” drive I was just going to use my 2.5” to 3.5” converter that came with the SSD, but I found the words “2.5 HDD” and four holes on the bottom of the case. As you can see, the 2.5” drive didn’t fit; perhaps a 3.5” would though.
Getting all of your 3.5” drives into their slots only takes a few seconds by removing the tool-free device, sliding in the drive and reattaching it. The only down side to these tool-free devices and the case itself is that you have to use the screw holes closet to the front of the drive, rather than the back two, thus leaving your drive hang out in the open. However, having it this way does give you clearance between the hard drive and the front panel to install two front 120mm fans.
