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Internal
Features :::...
As
we so often see, there's no provision to align the rear
of the optical drive eject button so if it misses completely,
well, tough basically. There are way to mod the button to
work, usually involving the gluing on of some kind of paddle,
in fact the hollow button would be perfect for Aspire to
supply a small paddle that secures by slipping inside that
slot in such situations.
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Optical
Drive Eject Button
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Aspire
have split the difference between a solid dual-USB connector
and a handful of tiny single-wire connectors by having a
separate connector for each of the two ports.
Front
panel audio is provided using traditional jack plugs rather
than connecting directly to the motherboard. This seems
like a great idea but it means you loose a line-out at the
back and may have to connect your speakers to the front
instead. A pass-thru design may have been a better option.
The
audio jacks feed out through a pre-cut hole in one of the
rear expansion slot blanks, unfortunately the cables are
too short to feed around the edge of the case out of sight
and this means they stretch untidily across the case, visible
though the side window.
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Audio
Cable Cutout
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Temperature
data for that front LCD display is fed by a flat type thermal
sensor which can be tucked almost anywhere. A small sticker
to help hold the sensor securely in place would have been
a nice touch.
The
last thing I want to look at is the power supply. The supplied
unit according to the specs is a moderately beefy 350watter,
though the actual label claimed a DC output of 400 watts.
Either way, the very conservative 15Amps on the 12v rail
isn't going to set many pulses racing. As usual I'm going
to suggest replacing this power supply for a more reputable
offering as soon as your funds allow.
The
connectors supplied by this PSU are barely enough to cover
the fans and lights it has already, let alone all the bits
you'll want to add when you build your system in it. Fill
all six fan locations and you're really struggling.
Just
four 4-pin Molexes is pretty much a joke these days, though
on the plus side it does come with a 4-pin auxiliary power
connector and a pair of floppy connectors. The main ATX
plug is a 20-pin variety with no 24-pin adaptor supplied.
In
Use:::...
The
X-Dreamer II was a surprise of the more pleasant variety
when it came to using it. I've seem pictures of the case
before and while gladly admitting it looked nice enough,
I'd pretty much convinced myself that looks were its only
selling point. I was wrong.
The
paint finish, build quality and general design are all excellent
for a case of this price. It's not going to challenge high-end
cases for fit and finish but it's no toy case either.
The
fans were quiet in use, by 80mm fan standards, and the look
when all the LEDs are blazing will certainly attract attention.
Thermal
performance wasn't too great considering the number of fans,
though I honestly feel that the addition of a front 80mm
fan would help balance the airflow.
Finally,
where's the instruction sheet? Yes, I know it's only a case
but at the very least there should be an exploded diagram
to help with things like front bezel removal and motherboard
tray removal. It may be easy for for more experiences users
who've done it a thousand times, but less experienced users
may well struggle. Is a simple quick-start sheet really
too much effort?
Conclusion
The
3DVelocity 'Dual Conclusions Concept' Explained: After discussing
this concept with users as well as companies and vendors
we work with, 3DVelocity have decided that where necessary
we shall aim to introduce our 'Dual Conclusions Concept'
to sum up our thoughts and impressions on the hardware we
review. As the needs of the more experienced users and enthusiasts
have increased, it has become more difficult to factor in
all the aspects that such a user would find important, while
also being fair to products that may lack these high end
"bonus" capabilities but which still represent
a very good buy for the more traditional and more prevalent
mainstream user. The two categories we've used are:
The
Mainstream User ~ The mainstream user is likely to put
price, stock performance, value for money, reliability and/or
warranty terms ahead of the need for hardware that operates
beyond its design specifications. The mainstream user may
be a PC novice or may be an experienced user, however their
needs are clearly very different to those of the enthusiast,
in that they want to buy products that operate efficiently
and reliably within their advertised parameters.
The
Enthusiast ~ The enthusiast cares about all the things
that the mainstream user cares about but is more likely
to accept a weakness in one or more of these things in exchange
for some measure of performance or functionality beyond
its design brief. For example, a high priced motherboard
may be tolerated in exchange for unusually high levels of
overclocking ability or alternatively an unusually large
heat sink with a very poor fixing mechanism may be considered
acceptable if it offers significantly superior cooling in
return.
The
Mainstream User ~
I
must admit to rather liking the X-Dreamer II, and it's certainly
one of the better midrange pre-modded cases I've looked
at to date.
I'd
have preferred to see a spare blanking plate in the box
for single optical drive users, which is most mainstream
users, but apart from this, the lack of an instruction sheet
and the slight worry that your optical drive's eject button
won't line up (most should) I've no major moans.
A
quick, easy and cheap(ish) way to a great looking PC.
The
Enthusiast ~
As
an enthusiast you no doubt have a list of features you expect
from your next chassis, and based on my own checklist the
X-Dreamer II does surprisingly well.
The
provision for a 120mm fan, albeit only at the rear, five
3.5" drive locations, premodded and pre-lit, removable
motherboard tray, solid construction, good paint finish,
good airflow, pre-stealthed bays and front mounted temperature
reporting all make for a very interesting little midrange
case.
I've
seen much more expensive cases with less to offer, and I'd
love to see an aluminium version hit the shelves. If you
don't want to face the extra cost of a "proper"
high-end chassis, the X-Dreamer II is well worth the asking
price!
We're
always looking for ways to make our reviews fairer. A Right
To Reply gives the manufacturer or supplier of the product
being reviewed a chance to make public comments on what
we've said. They can explain perhaps why they've done the
things we were unhappy with or blow their own trumpet over
the things we loved. It's easy for us to pick a product
apart but sometimes things are done a certain way for very
specific reasons.
Should
AOne or Aspire decide to exercise their "Right To Reply",
we'll publish their comments below:
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