Rob has a new review up on a flashy little case from the folks at Xion (http://www.xionusa.com). When are manufacturers going to FINALLY ditch that haze grey interior?



Check it out here.

Quote: Originally Posted by GlitterKill Rob has a new review up on a flashy little case from the folks at Xion (http://www.xionusa.com). When are manufacturers going to FINALLY ditch that haze grey interior? Check it out here.

You know, I've been pretty impressed at how solid these gaming cases have been. Unfortunately, it all boils down to tiny little things that bring it down. A good example on this case is not labeling the motherboard standoffs. I know we keep yelling about the luxury of removable motherboard trays but to not even label the standoffs goes too far. For the person...well, even the experienced builder is going to have a little difficulty in trying to remember every standoff.

In short, I like this case except the front was way too comparable to another case I recently reviewed. Doing some research, I found out that they both use the same manufacturing company.

All in all, I enjoyed the case.

Rob

EDIT: Guess one thing I forgot to mention in the review is that the light design on the front when lit up has an even distribution. I was just rechecking the photo and it looks brighter in some spots than it does others, but that isn't the case. When looking at it with your bare eyes, the glow is distributed evenly among the entire design.

all lian li 6xxx series cases have the speaker under the HD cage and i've never heard anyone complaining of it hurting a hd. so i wouldn't worry about that.

Great review Rob! Not my taste in cases but it seems to do the job.

good looking review rob "almighty". Thoughtful comments on a pretty nice case for a premod. My questions for a case like this go beyond wirring as well as rear and front fan options. My list would include; noise of installed fans and powersupply, ease of installation, heat factors. The only reasons i suggest this is because it's a pre-moddified case and I suppose your going to be doing many more reviews as far as cases go given the quality of this one. Keep up the good work, and hopefully you'll be the first to review the next Lian Li killer
.

Thanks for the kudos, Wellmont.

As far as noise goes, I had stated in the review that the psu is hardly noticable and as far as trying to determine the noise levels of the only installed fan, it would be quite impossible. I've searched on and off for a sound meter but for one that test noises below 50 decibels, you're talking around $200 minimum. I'll look this morning when I get home from work to see what the decibel level is for the 120mm fan.

I've also come to the conclusion that many of the cases today on the market have the same basic airflow setup...that is, unless they use the poorly designed Intel AirFlow guide. This case was perfectly capable of having a front 120mm or two front 80mm with the same options on the rear, not to mention the 80mm side fan. Given that this case has the proper vent holes, temps should not be that far off from other cases of a similiar design. The only time I would be concerned about case temps is the lack of fan mounts and the unavailability of vent holes. Also, with the type of consumer that is going to be interested in this case is not going to be concerned if this has a case temperature of 2 degrees C lower than a different case.

The ease of installation was descrbed throughout the article...i.e., the lack of a removable mobo tray, lack of standoff labeling, the rail design, and the lack of sharp edges (always a plus in my book) on the inside of the case.

Rob

Quote: Originally Posted by chairman666 all lian li 6xxx series cases have the speaker under the HD cage and i've never heard anyone complaining of it hurting a hd. so i wouldn't worry about that.

I believe the Lian's use piezo speakers without magnets.

BA, I think the older PC60 and PC75 speakers did actually have the magnets (at least the wife's 60 and my 75 do/did, until I just quit using them). The newer cases like the PC V1XXX and V2XXX (my 1200, for sure) series do, however, have the miniature speakers (piezo) like you mentioned...

You do seem to put a lot of time into reviewing this Case, especially testing and reviewing the PSU. But in all honesty, how many of us OCers actually use the generic PSU that comes with a case anyhow ? I personally wouldn't even touch those 25$ PSUs with a 10 foot pole.

As far as the rest of the case goes, its not bad for the money but I have seen better cases at the same price range, with better mod potential.

Quote: Originally Posted by Xphobe You do seem to put a lot of time into reviewing this Case, especially testing and reviewing the PSU. But in all honesty, how many of us OCers actually use the generic PSU that comes with a case anyhow ? I personally wouldn't even touch those 25$ PSUs with a 10 foot pole. As far as the rest of the case goes, its not bad for the money but I have seen better cases at the same price range, with better mod potential.

You'll find that a lot of kids who game and attend LAN parties do use these types of power supplys and yes, they can be shaky but if you don't overload them, they can suit the average user just fine. The review of this case was geared towards our gaming community rather than our modding community. The perfect case to mod would be one with no side window, some medium thickness aluminum, and a nice strong, steel cage.

Rob

Quote: Originally Posted by Rob ....they can suit the average user just fine. The review of this case was geared towards our gaming community rather than our modding community...... Rob

Ah, that makes more sense now. For some reason, when I look at cases, the only thing I tend to notice is the mod potential. I guess most towers with a couple of fans and a nice looking side window can easily suite the needs for your ordinary Joe. =)