A Closer Look - Outside

The case itself is made of steel, but the entire front is plastic. The usual I/O can be found toward the middle right of the top of the case. This is one of the worst placements for these connections. These are hard to reach no matter if you place the case on or under the table. The PCB was not placed correctly into the cut-out on top, but a gentle push snapped them back into place perfectly.


The door opens to the the left, which is not the best choice either. Considering the window on the left side of the case, odds are the case will be placed to the right of your chair or keyboard. This means that the door should open the other way to allow easy access. The door itself is fairly thick and does hold a few surprises.


Behind the cover, a total of five 5.25 inch drive bays and two 3.5 inch bays can be found. The bottom part of the X-Jupiter Jr. front is used as an air vent, but Apevia has chosen not to include a fan in the front of the case.


A thick black cable runs into the door at mid-height. This is needed, as Apevia has placed lighting effects, the status LEDs, a temperature LCD and a fan speed control on the outside of the door. The only thing missing are the reset and power button, which can only be accessed by opening the door. A little switch on the back of the door is used to go back and forth between Celsius or Fahrenheit for the Temperature LCD. I thought it was used to turn the light on and off at first, as there is no label on or around the switch.


Both side panels are made of steel and feature a clean paint job. The right panel is void of any air vents or windows, while the left one has a very nicely shaped plastic window and a 12 cm blue LED side fan as well. It, like the other fan in the rear, uses Molex connectors. It would have been good to see mainboard headers with Molex adapters instead.


The rear of the X-Jupiter Jr. does not hold any major surprises. The PSU bay is located on top, while the rear fan can be found in the mid-section. Your mainboard will be installed upright in the traditional position with the expansion bays toward the bottom of the case.


The PSU bay can only hold the power supply with the fan facing downward inside the case and Apevia has placed a 12 cm semi transparent blue fan in the rear, behind a honey comb grill. This fan does not feature LEDs, but has a lower rotational speed than the side fan, which makes it quieter as well. In fact, both fans run slower than the single 12 cm fan found in the X-QPack series.