|
A
Closer Look:::...
In
addition to the 80mm fan in the side panel, there's also
one in the top of the case. It's also equipped with the
same custom fan grill and is illuminated with integral blue
LEDs.
The
two top 5.25" bays are stealthed to hide those multicoloured
drives you've collected and an strip of acrylic beneath
each spring-loaded door transmits colour from the drive's
activity LEDs.
I
had no problem with drive door jamming but one of the drives
on test didn't align with the eject button and thus couldn't
be used with this setup.
Aspire
have kept colour consistency in mind with the floppy drive
too by providing a molded bezel behind which it can hide.
You don't have to mount the drive this way if you don't
want to, as indeed I wouldn't because my floppy has a built-in
memory card reader.
Here's
the front LCD feature up close and personal. It's actually
quite nicely done with the power button at 1 O'clock, the
reset button at 5 )'clock and the power and HDD activity
LEDs over on the left. The rounded acrylic cover helps give
a more classy look, kind of.
The
prime function of the LED is to report temperature from
a thermal probe you'll find lurking inside. There was no
obvious way to switch from Celsius to Fahrenheit unless
it was tucked away around the back, though I believe cases
for the US market read in Fahrenheit by default.
Like
the fans, the LCD temperature readout lights a cool blue
colour.
And
while we're talking lights, the acrylic front fascia has
six of them embedded around the edge behind small, raised
circular lenses or diffusers.
 |
|
LED
Location
|
The
overall effect is rather cool if you like that kind of thing,
and because the temperature display and fascia LEDs have
separate power feeds, something that seemed silly to me
at first, it does mean you can have one, both or none working
at your whim. It's not as convenient as a couple of switches
but will at least let you show off to your mates then get
some sleep when they've gone if your PC lives in your bedroom.
 |
|
Case
Front Lit
|
The
holes in the front panel may not be exactly build for airflow,
but a large, open vent on the underside should help.
 |
|
Rear
Air Vent
|
|
