Assembly

While I had the HDD cage removed I decided to install a 120mm fan up front to help keep cool the WD Raptor I would be using. Since I did not have any extra fans laying around, I used one of the Core Fans. I then reinstalled the HDD cage with the four screws mentioned earlier.


To install the optical drive I removed the front cover from the top 5.25” bay. The drive was slid into position, then the latch was pushed forward. Finally the clip was pushed down to secure the drive in place. The process was repeated with a floppy drive in the lower 3.5” bay. To remove the drives just reverse the process.


To install the hard disk two rails were required. Each rail has two pins on it which fit into the screw holes on the drive. While holding the rails against the drive, the assembly can be slid into place. When pushed all the way in, the rails will click into place. To remove the drive, just squeeze the two tabs together and pull out the drive.


Next I installed the power supply, motherboard and Core Fan assembly. The only problem I had was with the Karajan audio module on the DFI board being right up against the rear 120mm fan. However, this is not a new issue, and one that has been solved many times before by cutting a small notch in the fan or by using an add-in sound card.

Finished Look

I did not have any black media drives to install in this case, but using the lighter colored drives helps to show the appearance and position a bit better due to the bezel being all black. This case would look great with either black or silver devices installed.


When everything is installed and the side panel is put back into place, it is hard to see any of the internal components. This is mostly due to the Core Fan and the smaller side window. When using the DFI board the VGA vent is well over the top of the video card.