Assembly

Installing the mainboard does not bear any surprises or difficulties. I used a mATX board in this review, but the case will also take a full size ATX board without any troubles. There is plenty of space for a large CPU cooler and large graphic cards. As you can see, there is no real good way to route the cables within the chassis. Using the included zip ties to hide any excessive or unused cables behind the hard drive area is your best bet here. Locking down the expansion cards works surprisingly well. The excessive force needed to operate the system pays of in form of a firm grip on every card. Even heavy, dual slot graphic cards should stay in place nicely. If you go to a lot of LAN parties, there are still holes to use traditional screws in addition to the locking bar. Ikonik has informed me, that the locking mechanism has been improved in the retail version of the chassis, requiring less force to open, but still holding the cards in place nicely.


Installing the hard drive can be achieved without the use of a screw driver as well. Simply place the rails on the drives and slide the unit into place. The downside of the rails, which do work well within the hard drive cage is the fact that they do not stay in place on the drive itself. So you need to hold unto them while you slide the entire contraption into place.


The installation of the optical drives is also done without any tools. slide the drive in from the front, line it up and press the locking button. The system holds the ODD in place reasonably well. The PSU on the other hand requires a screw driver, as there are only traditional screws in the package. It would have been nice if Ikonik could supply thumb screws here as well. This would then translate into a completely screw-less installation after the mainboard has been put in place. The side fans are partially covered up by the power supply, which is of minimal length. Using a larger one will also cover up the second unit as well. The main purpose of these two fans is to draw out hot air from the case, as warm air rises to the top. As soon as they are covered by the power supply, this thermal benefit is lost.


Once everything is installed and connected, we are left with quite a cable mess. Granted, I did not really invest any time into cable management here, but you will not have your work cut out for you with the Zaria A20. If you are into neat interiors, you need to muster up some creative thinking, put aside an extra half an hour and also grab some extra zip ties to get the job done - especially if you choose to go with the included window panel.

Finished Looks

Once the cover was placed back on the Ikonik Zaria A20, the unit was turned on for the first time. Trust me when I tell you, that kick start panel is addictive. Turning on the PC has never been so easy and - to be honest - fun. Imagine yourself getting up in the morning, making your way to the PC, kick it while still half asleep and then make your way to the bathroom - priceless! The fans light up blue right away, but all this can be changed, read on!