XPCases.com X-Superalien Case Review - Finished Case
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Finished Case
Why don't I let you take a little break to drool over these images before we go on to examine the front LCD and test the PSU. =) The X-Superalien is definitely an attention grabbing, eye-boggling case.
LCD Display
Due to where I actually placed the thermal sensors, the temperatures reported by the LCD are probably a little lower than actual. At idle my video card sits at 33°C and my CPU 36°C. While the LCD display looks cool and is pretty neat to have come preinstalled, there are two things I can think of which it could improve upon. The sensors are arbitrarily labeled CPU and HDD. The LCD thus displays a "CPU" beside one temperature and HDD beside the other. It would have been nice to somehow have the ability to change the label of each sensor/temperature. The other feature which ought to be added is the ability to report the temperatures in Fahrenheit.
In these shots below the CPU temp is really my Radeon and the HDD temp is the CPU (I mixed up the sensors when installing them..). 3DMark was running which is why the temperatures are a little higher than what was previously mentioned for idle.
Power Supply Testing
To make sure the power supply which comes with the X-Superalien is the real deal, I busted out the trusty multimeter and measured voltages along the 12V, 3.3V, and 5V rails. I also used Motherboard Monitor 5 to keep track of high/low voltage readings through the motherboard sensors. I did this all while having my CPU overclocked and folding, in an attempt to pull as much power out of the PSU as possible.
Test Setup
Abit IS7-E (Bios 14, F1 acceleration)
Intel PIV 2.4B @ 3.06, 1.525V, retail sink and fan
2x512 Kingston HyperX PC3200 RAM @ 2.8V
FIC Radeon 9600 Pro, AGP @ 1.55V
2x Western Digital ATA100 40GB 7200rpm
Verbatim 40/12/48X CD-RW
D-Link 10mbps PCI NIC
Creative SB Live! PCI
6x80mm Blue LED fans
12" Blue CCFL
Temp. LCD screen (blue backlight)
And here are the results:
MBM5 is reporting that voltages along the 12V, 3.3V, and 5V lines are all within spec. That's certainly a good start. And while the max voltages along the 12V and 3.3V lines never exceed what they are theoretically supposed to be (not good), the accuracy of MBM has to be questioned before any conclusions can be drawn over this data. Here's a graph representing the data collected from the multimeter:
Now this is certainly pretty to look at. The multimeter I used showed the voltages along all three rails are basically dead on. This is a very high quality PSU, as I've never seen readings so close to their theoretical counterparts. Good stuff.. I say!
Conclusion
The XPCases.com X-Superalien case is definitely not your typical case. The number of extra goodies that come bundled with the case really makes it exceptional. It's a fairly large tower, has an incredible exterior look, and features a number of extra items that would normally cost you a ton to install yourself.
The aluminum case chassis itself, manufactured by Turbo Case, has its ups and downs. Overall, it's light and sturdy, and once you've got your components installed in there, you are basically set. However, the motherboard tray has much to be improved, and although this is a relatively big case, there actually isn't much room to work with inside.
The X-Superalien comes with six case fans. If you're worried about noise, keep worrying. This thing sounds like an airplane! The only way to quite it down to a considerable noise level is to disconnect the top exhaust fan, have the back two exhaust fans wired to one of the fan control channels, and turn both fan channels to their minimum settings.
The PSU which comes with this case, is probably the best feature out of all of them. While the case costs about $160, the PSU alone is worth $70! It's very quiet, even with two LED fans in it. It's see-through casing looks incredible, and aluminum cast has to help cooling in some way. Oh and most importantly, it delivers strong and steady power along all three rails. Out of all PSUs I've come across, this one delivers voltages closest to what they are supposed to be.
I've said this before, and I'll say it again. The case you choose to buy is really all about personal preference. Cost and style are probably the two most important areas of concern for any case you purchase. The X-Superalien does have a hefty price tag, but considering all the extras it comes with, it should be viewed as an excellent deal. You've seen the pictures and all its features... if it's still what you're looking for, then there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't be heading over to XPCases.com right about now. =)
Highs
Awesome looking case
Aluminum construction; fairly light
Top notch, see-through 500w PSU w/ LED fans and UV reactive components
6 Blue LED UV reactive case fans
Two thermal sensors with blue backlit LCD readout
Front I/O ports
2 Channel Fan Bus
A ton of 5.25" and 3.5" drive bays; easy to mount drives too
Very large window
Lows
That's about it guys. I've said everything I possibly can about the X-Superalien case. Special thanks goes out to XPCases.com for providing the unit for review. We'd also like to thank you for joining us here today.
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