XPCases.com X-Superalien Case Review - The Case, Features
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The Case, Features
If you did look at XPCases's feature list I think you'll agree with me this case has got a ton of things worth discussing. So I'm just going to go over the X-Superalien's (both good and bad) features in whatever order they come to mind. Why don't we start with the exterior of the case?
Front Bezel:
The front bezel of the X-Superalien case features the basic drive door seen on so many cases today. It has been redesigned however, to give it an "alien" look, and the simple changes do indeed make the case look very unique. Although the idea of a drive door itself isn't exactly new, it's always nice to have a case that comes in so many unorthodox colors to feature one. Who wants a cheepo beige CD-ROM hanging out at the front of their expensive non-beige, aluminum case? The drive door also actually helps keep the case quieter whenever a CD is spinning. The power/reset switches, and power/HD leds are hidden beneath the drive door as well.
Below the drive door is the LCD temperature display, dual channel fan control, USB2.0 ports, Firewire port, and audio ports. The fan knobs spin and feel very smooth, and their shiny silver finish definitely adds to the X-Superalien's outstanding appearance.
Here's a close-up of the holes which allow the power/HD leds shine through from beneath the bay door and the key hole which allows you to lock the bay door.
And at the very bottom of the bezel we have the front air intake. The fashionable grill pops right off when pressed in from the bottom of the case to reveal two of those quad blue LED UV reactive fans. The power cables for these fans come very nicely tucked away at the side.
Rear:
There is one thing worth mentioning at the back of the X-Superalien. See if you can spot it yourself:
Well quite obviously from the second picture the detail is the raised fan grills. =) Like the front drive door, this feature isn't unique to the X-Superalien case as many cases exhibit this design. The use of raised fan grills allows better airflow for the exhaust fans and definitely cuts down on the "whine" normal case grills exhibit. Here's a shot of the completely tooless exhaust fans (blue LED UV reactive) installed from inside the case:
One thing that's missing from the back of the case is the ability to install a PSU from behind. While I can only think of one manufacturer off the top of my head that features this (CoolerMaster), it's definitely something I wish to see in more cases. Swapping PSUs in and out from the side of the case after the rest of your system components have been already installed can sometimes be a real pain. Rear access to the PSU removes any such problems!
Side Intake, Top Exhaust:
While the entire X-Superalien case uses the same quad blue LED UV reactive fans, only the side intake and top exhaust have those famed "alien" fan grills. Pictures don't really do them justice as they simply rock!
The side intake is positioned right over the AGP slot area, so it should prove to be an excellent aid for VGA cooling. I would have preferred a blowhole over the CPU area, but the handle mechanism of the side panel prevents any such possibility for one. Here's a shot of one of the fans:
I believe these are the same fans XPCases's is selling for $3.88 each.
* Dimensions: 80x80x25mm
* Fan Speed: 2500 RPM
* Voltage: 12V
* Current: 0.13A
* Air Flow: 32.5 CFM
* Noise: 28.8 dB/A
Side Panels:
The side panels on the X-Superalien case aren't exactly your traditional side panels. What I mean is, instead of sliding off, the side panels "pivot off." Try this on for size:
While I don't prefer this method of taking side panels on and off, once you take a few minutes to adjust to it, the mechanism does work. It can be tricky at first however. This is the metal beam that the side panels pivot off of. There's one on each side of the case for each panel.
The one bad thing about these side panels is that huge, black handle you see. With that in place, there is absolutely no possibility of making your own CPU blowhole, which I know many of you can't live without. The only upside to such a design I see is the ability to lock the windowed panel down to prevent any unwarranted access to your box.
Here's a closer look at the windowed side panel.
The window is virtually identical to the one seen on the XPCases X-Pider case. While it's very large and sits flush with the face of the side panel, the use of plastic push-pin mounts can be seen as a little cheap. The window in general looks professionally installed nonetheless; it's a difficult mod done better than I ever could!
Case Feet:
The four plastic, black case feet on the X-Superalien case can fold in and out for "extra stability" so to speak.
There's not much to say, except the feet are there. Lets move on into the interior of the case.
5.25" Drive Bays:
To this day, I still don't understand why case manufacturers build in these metal panels beneath the plastic drive covers which have to be twisted off in order to install drives.
The 5.25" drives are installed in the X-Superalien by means of drive rails. But wait! Where are the drive rails?! Right here:
And with five full external 5.25" drive bays, there's not much more you can ask for with the X-Superalien case.
3.5" Drive Bays:
This case hosts two external 3.5" bays and an internal hard drive rack which consists of five 3.5" bays. The two external bays slide out the front of the case as one single tray:
Pretty nifty design and very easy to work. It's worth noting that these 3.5" drive covers are actually made out of aluminum. The internal bays each have their own removable hard drive tray, and are oriented sideways as opposed to inline with the 5.25" and external 3.5" bays.
This sideways orientation should make cabling a little easier.
Next: More about the internals >>
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