A closer look

The front of the case is made of sturdy steel. It is perforated which adds a nice look to it. There is one drive bay exposed, so you can use your most commonly needed drive or a VFD without opening the door. The door does not open more than about 100 degrees, which is plenty for every day use. It would have been nice if the user could mount the door the other way as well. You may notice that there are no latches for the door. It has three magnets attached to the inside, which hold the door in place. A very nice touch. The power and HDD activity LEDs are covered by the door so you will not see if the system is on without opening the door.


The side of the case has the hole of the fan duct, which is covered by a perforated metal plate as well as an Ultra fan grill. The combination of black and chrome looks really nice here. Below that you will find a vent for the graphics card to draw fresh air from. The paint job of this case is just phenomenal. It comes close to car paint quality.

The back is nothing out of the ordinary. One thing to note would be the thumb screws to secure the side panels.


The front already houses a 12 cm fan, which is - once again - hidden behind a perforated metal plate. This makes the use of a fan grill obsolete. Even with the door closed the fan will get enough air, as the front door has a round hole in the back plastic. Users can add a LED fan if they like, which will surely look great in the front of the case.


The hinge of the case is quite sturdy, so you do not need to worry about the door breaking off. The front I/O is located on the right side of the case. It would be prudent to place the case to the left of your chair or monitor, as the door opens to the left and the USB and audio ports are on the right side. There is a possibility to have a firewire connector as well, but Ultra left that out, most likely to reduce cost.


The side panels are secured by afore mentioned thumb screws and have handles, making the opening of the case a breeze. Quite simple and very effective. The case itself is made of SECC steel.


The side houses the duct, which is placed right above the CPU. This will definitely help with temperatures, as the CPU gets more fresh, outside air. All the drives can be secured using plastic locks. These locks can be taken off and the drives can also be held in place with normal screws if you wish.


The back also houses a 12cm fan. Both of the fans have 12V pass-through molex connectors. 3 pin mainboard connectors would have been much better here, even if they do not include an RPM signal. It saves the user a lot of trouble when connecting all the power cables. The case comes with the usual front connectors. The audio connector is an AC '97 one. Some manufacturers have started to include a HD-Audio header as well. The header from the Grid case worked fine on the nForce 4 audio connector nonetheless.