Looks are everything, especially when you DON’T have the fastest PC at the LAN party. A case is the most visible part of your computer, and it should have some style. An enclosure should also have great functionality, allow for expansion and make you the envy at the next LAN bash. Today we check out the RAIDMAX ATX-868WBP from Extremecase.
Packaging:
The shipping box had a 2 inch puncture hole in the window side of the case, and showed some concave shape due to the blow it must have received during shipping. I asked the delivery driver to wait while I opened the box, and to my amazement, the case was completely fine! Luckily the engineered packaging did its job! As I inspected the front bezel of the case, I noticed all plastic parts, were taped with masking tape to prevent friction damage during shipping.
Specifications:
Since there were no printed materials in the case, I got the specifications from the RAIDMAX website
-Stylish front panel with blue and red LED lights.
-2 x rear 80mm temperature control fans.
-See-through clear window with 1 x 80mm tri-color LED fan.
-ATX 12V 420 watts power supply included.
-Front mounted 2.0 version USB ports.
-Cooling capacity up to 7 x 80mm fans
-External Drive Bays: 4 x 5.25" and 2 x 3.5"
-Internal Drive Bays: 4 x 3.5" H.D.
-System Board: ATX Form Factor 12" x 10.5" or smaller
-Expansion slots: Standard ATX 7 slots
-Material: 0.7mm SECC
-Power Supply: PS2 size/ ATX12V P4 ready Power Supply
-Dimension(WxDxH): 200 x 450 x 430 mm
Installation:
The first thing I noticed was that all the inside edges were rolled. Nothing is worse than a sliced finger while installing hardware in a new case. Pulling off the side panels proved to be a little more difficult than I had imagined. The window side panel handle was removed with the window mod installed. There was no where to grab on to the side panel.
The side panel retention mechanism held them on quite snug, which prevents vibration, but it was difficult to pull off, especially the window side panel. The side panels had normal screws which I immediately replaced with thumb screws.
As you’ll notice in the previous pic, the window was mounted to the case with screws, which made a removable but secure connection. The power was delivered by a 420W ATX 12V power supply. The molex connections were too few for my liking, but I am comparing it to my Antec power supplies that cost more than this entire case. More on this later. Also the extra fan was mounted external on the front of the supply instead internally mounted in the bottom of the PSU.
Installed Hardware List:
Asus A7M266-D
AMD Athlon MP 2000+ w/ Thermalright SLK 700 & TMD
AMD Athlon MP 2000+ w/ Thermalright SLK 700 & TMD
Kingston 512Meg DDR
EVGA GeForce FX5200 LE 128MB DDR
3COM 3C905-TX
Maxtor 20 Gig
Maxtor 20 Gig Low Profile
Lite On 16X DVD
Iomega Zip 250
Mitsumi Floppy
Since the advent of case window mods, I have become a real stickler about having a clean and tidy case. In previous reviews, I had docked cases for not having a removable tray. However, due to all the zip ties in my case, I would not be able to move the tray anyway. The RAIDMAX motherboard tray was not removable but it did not pose any problems. I do suggest installing the motherboard before you install any drives. It is possible to install it after the drives are in place, but it is a tight fit.
While installing the motherboard, I noticed I only had 7 tray standoff posts, which with most standard motherboards, this is fine. My motherboard required 9 tray standoff posts, but I was able to rob 2 from HSF mount. Luckily I did not use the HSF posts, so I did have sufficient. After installing the motherboard, I hooked up the power supply and found only 4 molex plugs in the 420 Watt power supply. With my 2 TMD fans this case would have the capacity for 9 daisy chained fans hooked up not including any IDE hardware or the IDE/Power light. This is too few for the maximum fan and drive capacity of the case. I understand this is not much of an issue, but cleaning up all the wires was a mess!
I noticed that as with most cases, the top drive bay had plenty of room, and my DVDRom in bay 2 had plenty of room between it and the motherboard.
The full length HD Rack was nice with the 4 80mm fan mounts in front for case cooling and HD cooling. Air intake for cooling potential was great considering the overall case size.
When I installed the fans, I noticed the front bezel could be completely removed. It was nice to be able to detach the bezel and pull all the cables out of the case. Obviously if you have all the cables hooked up to the motherboard, you can remove the bezel, but movement is limited to the length of the cables.
The fans included were 2 80mm temp sensitive exhaust fans and one LED window fan. The LED fan added a very nice touch with the included custom fan grill.
Since I have small children, it is essential that I have covered front bays. Since my kids are used to my current Antec cases with locks, they did not bother trying to open the RAIDMAX. Even though it does not lock, it is still a deterrent to little fingers.
The case came with 2 front mount USB2 connections and speaker/mic connections; however, my motherboard does not have USB headers so I was unable to use them.
I did use the sound connections, and I found the cables to be too short and I had to route the cables via the middle of the MB to the special PCI slot cover provided by RAIDMAX. I did tie up the cables, so they would not lay on the MB or get hot by lying next to the HSF’s.
The other side of the Sound and USB connections were located on the front of the case in the bottom of the bezel. The latch was easy to open and was a useful place for connections.
Conclusion:
Overall, this RAIDMAX case was very nice for all the Mods at the rock bottom price of $69.99! It has great cooling potential, room for expansion and it looks really good. In most of my reviews, I complain about the length of the cables, this case is no exception, but it is something I am willing to forgive due to all the extras this case provides.
I was really impressed with the blue power light and the red half moon shaped IDE lights. I also liked the window, LED fan and grill combo mod. I would have given this case a perfect 5 star score, if it has longer sound cables and a little better PSU.
I want to thank Extremecase for sending us this unit to review.
Pros:
- Large & bright power & IDE lights
- Nice window,LED fan and grill combo
- Room for Expansion
- Front mount USB and sound
- Full height hard drive rack
- Door covering drive bays
- Sound cable PCI slot cover
- Fan Capacity
Cons:
- Short Cables
- Few molex connectors
- No thumb screws
- Few mounting posts
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