Assembly

Before diving into the assembly, let's take a look at all the cables of the Guardian 921. The first two sets are what we would expect to see. Connecting power, reset and LEDs as well as all the front connectivity in form of two USB, one eSATA and the usual audio input/outputs. The third set belongs to the front LCD. A Molex connector supplies the unit with power, while the three thermal sensors can be placed in the appropriate location within the case. Each sensor is clearly labeled for HDD, SYS & CPU.


Installing the mainboard is done with the use of the included spacers and screws. There is quite a bit of free space above the board, so large CPU coolers should fit nicely. The GPU can be locked in place with the black plastic unit, but does not really hold well. You may want to use a normal screw to further secure it, especially if you plan to take the PC on the road.


Prepping the hard drive is easily done, simply place the appropriate rails on the drive and slide it into place. The connectors face outward toward the window and you won't be able to turn the drive around, as the rails will not allow it.


The optical drives are also held in place by plastic locks. Once again, these locks are used by various case manufacturers and do work quite well, but you should still use traditional screws, especially on the side without the lock.


After everything is installed and connected, it becomes apparent that this chassis gets crowded quite quickly. A graphics card will get in the way of the external 3.5" bays, so you should install the drives first and then put the GPU into place. There are very few options to route cables or to hide them nicely. You will have to be quite creative to get this case cleaned up. This is a shame, especially as the interior can be seen by everyone due to the windowed side panel.