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Cooler Master HAF

David Murphy — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 11:05:49 -0600

Cooler Master’s newest HAF (High Air Flow) chassis is the company’s magnum opus. It successfully unifies the best bits and pieces from a wide variety of Cooler Master’s previous cases under one roof. But more than that, the HAF features a number of unique and helpful additions that truly raise the bar for case design.

Hit the jump for more of this air flow goodness.

SilverStone KL03

David Murphy — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:00:01 -0500

We often jest that SilverStone makes but one case a year—a slight modification of its most recent TJ series case. The company has since proven us wrong with the release of its Kublai series KL03 chassis. But after testing this midtower case, we find ourselves clamoring to go back to the familiar ground of SilverStone’s TJ cases. Given the TJ line’s high level of excellence, the KL03’s deficiencies stand out even more and make this chassis look like an ill-conceived side project.

Find out why we're not vacationing in Xanadu anymore after the jump!

Gigabyte Poseidon 310

David Murphy — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:00:00 -0500

Instead of a god of the sea, Gigabyte’s midtower Poseidon 310 chassis is a petite prince. But that’s merely a reflection of this case’s size, not its prowess. It clocks in at 7.75”x17”x20”—small enough to fit into that nook in your desk or the space under your bed.

Even given its small size, the Poseidon supports up to five 5.25-inch devices. We’re unsure why this case—or any case, for that matter—still bothers with multiple external 3.5-inch bays. You get two helpings of them on the Poseidon. We would have rather sacrificed these and an additional 5.25-inch bay in favor of more internal hard drive space. Though we’re not complaining about what we get for internal storage: three hard drive bays with included rails.

Full review (with a verdict and everything!) after the jump.

NZXT Khaos

David Murphy — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 01:44:26 -0500

The NZXT Khaos looks like it would be a sleek addition to Maximum PC’s “best of” case club. We like how NZXT is attempting to bring an aesthetical refresh to case construction by toying around with the thick aluminum exterior of the chassis itself: curved edges and indented, grilled valleys add a modernistic look to the otherwise drab framework of a traditional rectangular case.

Check out our full review after the jump!

Antec Twelve Hundred

David Murphy — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:00:25 -0500

You will not find a more powerful air-cooled case on the market than Antec’s Twelve Hundred—not unless you strap a box fan to the side of your chassis. That’s what it would take to challenge the cooling prowess of this full-tower enclosure, which features one 20cm fan on top and five 12cm fans placed throughout the interior. These six blue LED fans are attached to individual switches that allow you to tweak the strength (and sound) of each fan to suit your needs.

In Win B2

David Murphy — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:24:20 -0500

In Win can’t resist building gimmicks into its chassis. We first encountered the company’s design oddities with its F430 case (reviewed July 2008), which emits the superloud sound of a car engine when you hit the power button. The company’s B2 chassis isn’t quite as ostentatious—unless you think the motorized front panel that conceals the drive bays is over the top.

So what's to like (or hate) about the B2? Find out after the jump.

Lian Li PC-P80R

David Murphy — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:56:33 -0500

In July 2008, we tested six sub-$100 budget chassis. For comparison's sake, we also tested one of the most expensive consumer cases on the market—Lian Li’s PC-P80R.

There’s no denying that the PC-P80R makes a statement. And we’re not just talking about its avid ATI affiliation. Regardless of our personal graphics-card preferences, we have to admit that Lian Li’s fanboy chassis looks awesome. What’s more, minus a single, irritating lapse in design judgment, this enclosure’s internal layout is a stunning combination of beauty, foresight, and ease of use.

Hit the jump to see what all that extra jingle gets you.

Antec Three Hundred

David Murphy — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:36:00 -0500

We find ourselves wondering how a company like NZXT can do a better job of creating a budget version of Antec’s gamer line than Antec itself. That’s not to say the Three Hundred is a bad case; it just has little that’s special.

Hit the jump to discover what, if anything, the Three Hundred has to offer.