Assembly

Installing the motherboard is done by traditional means, with the use of spacers and a screwdriver. The opening in the ceiling should allow you to reach everything. CPU coolers of up to 180 mm in height should fit within the chassis, so you could even opt to stuff a 140mm tower cooler into the AI7m.


Installing the graphics card is an easy task as the one we used is well below the 310 mm maximum the chassis is capable off.


The plastic hard-drive trays are for either 2.5'' or 3.5" drives. You won't need any tools to install 3.5'' drives since the metal pins of the tray will hold such a drive in place. However, you will need to use the supplied screws and a screwdriver with SSDs.


Once the trays are filled, simply slide them into the chassis until they snap into place. This is not an issue for those filled with a 3.5" drive, but SSD-equipped trays have a bit more play due to the somewhat soft plastic these trays are made out of.


Installing an optical drive is done by removing the front cover and sliding the drive into place. Traditional screws are supplied to secure it in place.


The PSU is also held in place by its normal screws, but its fan should really be facing outward to make sure it can draw cool, fresh air in through the dust filter instead of working with what warm air there is inside the chassis.


With everything installed, the area around the motherboard is reasonably clean, while the big cable mess can be found by the PSU bay. Those who go for the windowed version of the chassis will just have to make sure to hide as much as possible so that the GPU-equipped side looks clean.

Finished Looks

As soon as you turn it on, the blue glow of the large front fan can be seen. This is great for those who want a bit of bling and use the chassis as a gaming rig. Those how do not, however, may find the blue glow slightly irritating.


You can clearly see the entire fan through the front, which also means that the cooler has unobstructed access to fresh air through the meshed front panel. Look closely at the side with the air vent and you can see that I have applied the magnetic dust filter onto the thinner side of the panel to make sure the PSU is somewhat protected. In the rear, everything is where you would expect it to be, with the PSU cable out of the way toward the bottom.