A Closer Look - Inside

Before we dive into the interior of the GMC H-80, let us take a quick look at the 250 mm side intake fan. It is lit by several red LEDs, about an inch thick and comes with a Molex connector. While such a fan is a nice touch and certainly adds to the overall air flow, it will also make it impossible to use 120 mm tower coolers within the chassis.


The interior looks rather clean and simple and has the same excellent paint job found on the exterior of the chassis. Due to the way the hard drives are stored, you will not be able to place the longest GPUs in the case. Turning the bare H-80 around, we have a large opening allowing access to cooler backplates without having to remove the entire mainboard.


As mentioned before, the hard drive cage holds up to five drives at a 90% angle to the case. Luckily you may remove the entire cage by unscrewing a single thumb screw and pulling it out. This gives way to the 120 mm front intake fan and makes the use of any graphics card possible - no matter how long. You will then have to install the hard drives in the 3.5 or 5.25 inch bays. Considering the fact that the top 5.25 inch one is not accessible from the the outside anyways makes it a good alternative choice for a hard drive.


Turning our focus to the rear, the PSU bay is on the very bottom. As mentioned before, you can install the unit with the 120/140mm fan facing up- or downward. The latter is the best option, as it gives the power supply access to dust filtered, fresh air. Above that are the seven expansion slots for the mainboard. They are individually protected by generic clip-on covers, which do not require any screws to be held in place. In the very top you will find a 120 mm exhaust fan, which does not have any lighting elements and the two openings for water cooling tubes.


Taking a quick look at the top fan, we can clearly see, that GMC has cut a large hole into the ceiling of the H-80 and encased the cooling unit into the plastic dome. This means that the thickness of the fan does not interfere with the already tight interior dimensions in this area.


To gain access to the front, simply pull off the entire piece with a firm tug. This also reveals the dust filter on the front fan, which means that all openings with active air intakes are covered - good job GMC!


Before we continue into assembling everything, a quick check of the I/O cables reveals nothing out of the ordinary. You receive a single thermal diode which is actually round and bulky. This makes it impossible to sandwich between the cooler and CPU/GPU. A Molex connector for the thermal display is also present, to be connected directly to the power supply.