A Closer Look - Inside

To gain access to the interior, simply remove the thumb screws holding each side panel in place. Before we dive right in, let us take a quick look at the large side fan. As you can see, it is firmly attached to the little control box, so exchanging it means that you will either have to take off the box as well or to vandalize the cables. Surprisingly enough, the fan is not Enermax branded. The interior of the chassis is all black, but interestingly enough, the mainboard tray is rather small, leaving a large opening towards the bottom, instead of running the full height of the case frame. While this saves money and reduces the weight slightly, it also means that you will have a hard time with cable management. Behind the tray, you have around 15 mm of space for cables. I am a bit worried that this may not be enough for thick, sleeved ATX cables, but we will know for sure shortly.


The entire front of the chassis is utilized for the numerous drive bays. Two cages on the bottom of the chassis, taking up four slots of the 11 slots, allow for up to eight hard drives to be installed within the chassis. There is no native way to install 2.5 inch drives anywhere within the SpineRex. The remaining seven bays are intended for 5.25 inch devices.


In the rear, four rubber knobs hold the PSU in place. A simple dust filter keeps the worst particles outside of the chassis. As this filter has been placed within the case instead of the outside, you will have to disassemble the system to gain access to it. The seven expansion slot covers are held in place by metal thumb screws, so you can install the biggest parts without having to worry about things staying in place. On the very top, a 120 mm fan may be installed.


Enermax has constructed the top panel in a way, so that you may easily remove it. Two spots for fans here allow you to place them above the frame instead of under the ceiling. In terms of spacing of the mounting holes, a radiator should fit as well.


Before we get to the assembly part, let us take a quick look at the cables. The USB 3.0 one is black instead of blue, while all other cables are of the standard variety. Since Enermax uses their LED VEGAS fans, you will also receive 3 pin to Molex adapters with these units, while the large side fan has to be connected directly to the power supply.