A Closer Look - Outside

Upon unboxing the Setto 1000, I was impressed by the well constructed front of the case. Considering this price class, this is certainly a nice touch, as it is made of aluminum with a steel mesh air grill. The rest of the chassis however can be considered of "good OEM" quality. Nothing out of the ordinary, but still better than the average OEM case you will get when buying a standard, unbranded PC.


The front of our sample is completely black. The entire front is made of brushed aluminum, while thin steel sheets have been used for the drive bay covers as it seems. These are still very durable and do not bend easily, even though they are not thick at all. The rear on the other hand is very basic and the OEM roots are more than apparent from this angle.


The same goes for the side panels, which are both removable. One features the standard opening above the CPU area, with another square cutout over the mainboard expansion slots. This panel can be found on many, many other cases on the market. The other side panel is competely solid. A small, but positive aspect are the thumb screws, which have been used to secure both panels.


Taking a closer look at the front, starting on the bottom, Gigabyte has printed the Setto model name on the very bottom. The power supply button - which doubles as a power LED has been placed in the center, while the reset button and the large HDD access LED can be found on other side of the main switch. Above that, you will find the usual front I/O in form of a pair of audio plugs, two USB 2.0 and one Firewire 400 connector. The top half of the chassis is taken by four 5.25 inch bays and one 3.5 inch one - pretty much the standard in a mid-tower chassis.


So, this part may be a bit boring for some, as the rear does not hold any real surprises what its features or layout is concerned. Before I go on, remember, that the Gigabyte Setto 1000 is priced similarly as some plain OEM cases out there. That said, the bottom of the rear has the standard seven break out PCI expansion slots. It would have been nice to see the use of removable covers instead. Next to them are two rubberized water cooling holes to route your loop to the outside of the case. Above that you will find an exhaust 120 mm fan, while the PSU has to be mounted all the way up top.