XG Viper 2 Case Review - The Viper 2 Revealed

After removing the case from the packing materials, we get our first glimpses at this sleek case.

As you can see above, the Viper 2 case has a glossy red finish.  The silver highlights and the odd-shaped window go a long way in giving this case a cool and distinctive look.

The front of the case is hinged, and swings open to allow access to the external drive bays as well as the front panel USB, Firewire, and Mic/Headphone jacks.  To be honest, the placement of these front panel jacks is a little inconvenient, since you are unable to have any of them plugged in while having the front of the case closed.  If the case does get forced shut very hard for some reason with wires plugged in, you have the possibility of breaking the door, the jack, or the wire itself.

Finally, here are pictures of the back and open side of the case.  One important thing to note here are the black PCI lockdowns above each of the expansion slots.  I would also like to point out how the contents inside the case are situated.  The cable cluster for the PSU and the black box holding all of the materials are both free to bounce around inside the case while shipping.  This is normally not that big of a deal, but in a case with a side window, it can cause undue scuffing on the inside of the window before the user gets a chance to scuff it up on his/her own.  Looking at the image on the right, there was a very long white twist tie (about 14 inches long) that was connected to the back of the case.  It seems like this large tie might have been intended to hold the PSU cable cluster in place, but was just never attached to it.

Opening the box that came inside the case, we find the following:

• Users Manual
• Power Cable
• Hardware bag with screws and standoffs
• Entertainment Book
• Entertainment CD
• Cable ties
• Drive Mounting Clips

The drive mounting clips, pictured on the right, are a cool tool-less innovation that lets you quickly install and remove drives from the Viper 2 case.  There are enough clips to fill every bay in the case to capacity.  You will see these clips in action when we are installing the components.

Next: Did someone say install? >>
 

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