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External
Features :::...
I
must admit that when I first opened the case up, I sat for
several minutes scratching my head wondering about how you'd
go about fitting your optical drives. The drive cages definitely
looked like they would only work with some kind of drive
rail system, but could I find a drive rail anywhere? I looked
in the box of screws, I looked underneath the case, I poked
and I prodded. Nothing!
Don't
tell me they've forgotten to put them in!
Nope,
they put them in alright, tucked away safely out of sight
where they can't get broken or go missing stuck on the rear
of each external 5.25" blank.
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Rear
Of Fascia
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Damn
that's clever! I love it when a company has an idea like
this that's so obvious it's just pure genius!
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Drive
Rails
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Quick!
put the front fascia back on! As you can see, any illusion
of quality takes a bit of a hit with the front off, but
I can't recall many cases that look good in a state of undress
like this. Unlike the Tsunami, the front fascia isn't hinged
on this case and instead uses plastic locking tabs to hold
it in place. Not a big negative but it does mean you have
to remove both side panels to get to the clips when removing
the fascia, which has to be done every time you need to
access the fan's dust filter for cleaning.
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Fascia
Removed
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The
floppy cage is the quick-release variety, just press in
the two spring clips either side and the whole thing slides
out.
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Floppy
Cage
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The
dust filter incidentally mounts directly on to the fan this
time which ensures any airflow has to pass through it. As
most of the air is drawn in through that ground-level cutout
we looked at earlier when the front door is closed, people
with carpets will probably find that filter needs a good
cleaning on a regular basis. It is washable but like I mentioned,
isn't that easy to get at.
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Fan
and Filter
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Plastic
clips hold the filter in place locking to the edge of the
fan frame. Maybe if the filter had a small magnet on each
corner it would attach to the heads of the fan securing
screws but still be easy enough to remove and slide out
of that lower cutout in the fascia, which would probably
have to be a little wider to get it through.
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Fan
Filter Locking Clips
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There
is a bit of a design flaw with the filter though. The filter
frame on the review sample, and on others I've looked at
since, has a slight bow to it which causes it to touch the
fan near the hub and make a noise. Fitting the fan the opposite
way around would help because the motor support arms would
keep the filter clear but this is pointles as it naturally
reverses the airflow too. It's easily corrected with a little
flexing but Thermaltake need to look into finding a different
fan design or a more robust filter.
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