Assembly

Installing the mainboard is done by using the includes spacers and screws. It should become apparent at this point, that the case is very compact and that you will not have a lot of space to work with. For those, who plan to pack this chassis to the rim, make sure to plan your assembly process carefully.


Installing a hard drive does not get much easier than with the system found in the Gladiatior 600 and does not require any tools at all. Simply place the plastic rails on the sides of the drive and slide it in until it snaps into place. As mentioned before, you will need to remove the front cover to gain access to the drive slots. This entire piece feels much better than on the CM Scout, but the clips holding the covers in place are thin and fragile, so you have to watch out not to break anything. The optical drive stays in place quite nicely with the supplied sliding locks, but you should still use a single screw on the adjacent side, just to make sure.


Installing the power supply is nothing out of the ordinary. Just screw it down with four of the black case screws and you are done.


After installing all the parts, there is still a bit of space left to work with. You will be able to store any unneeded PSU cables on the bottom of the Gladiator, but large graphics cards will block most of the mainboard and the SATA or IDE connectors. The Gladiator 600 is a very compact chassis in this regard, maybe too compact for some. The other side of the chassis does look quite clean, but you have to watch out if these cables interfere with the side panel or not. Unlike the CM Storm Scout, there is not enough space behind the mainboard tray to route or hide any cables, so it will look a bit messy unless you get really creative.

Finished Looks

After turning the case on, you can see the blue light of the LED fan shimmering through the side of the case. The light of the fan up front can clearly be seen up front. It is quite bright, but those who do not want the light, can easily turn it off with a press of a button. This makes the case feasible for a bedroom PC.