W
e haven’t seen a beige case ‘round
these parts in a coon’s age—after all,
outrageously styled cases are currently all
the rage. Take these two enclosures, for
example: They are, as Steve Martin might
say, two wild and crazy cases!
—CLAUDE MCGYVER
MGE DRAGON
The dragon is certainly one of the most,
um, “creative” case designs we’ve seen
lately. Yet despite its overt cheesiness, it’s
a better-than-average PC enclosure with a
lot going for it—just not enough to justify
its steep price tag.
Let’s start with the front: A huge dragon
is emblazoned on the brushed-aluminum
front bezel, and it’s lit by several blue LEDs.
Below is a display that shows fan activity,
temperatures, a clock, and system uptime.
That’s all good, but the display would be
much more useful if it was positioned near
the top of the case, where you could actu-
ally read it. A sturdy, built-in handle on top
of the case terminates at a pop-up panel
that hides USB, audio, and FireWire ports.
Building a system in the Dragon is effort-
less, thanks to its removable
motherboard tray and tool-less
assembly. Drives are secured
using über-nifty latches that pop
on or off in a New York minute.
The sliding clips that hold down
PCI cards, however, aren’t secure
enough for our tastes.
Two blue LED 8cm fans—
one front intake and one rear
exhaust—provide an average
amount of cooling. We prefer
bigger, quieter fans, however, so
it’s lucky the included ATX 2.0
500W PSU, which the manufac-
turer claims is SLI-ready, boasts
a 12cm belly fan.
With its crazy lighting and
lightweight construction, the
Dragon is ideal for LAN-lovers.
We just don’t know how many
gamers will be won over by the Dragon’s
price, which seems rather steep for a
case made from thin aluminum and plas-
tic. For this kind of money, you can get a
super-sturdy case with more panache.RAIDMAX RX-9
With its racecar-inspired design, the
Raidmax RX-9 looks snazzy, and makes
for an overall impressive enclosure,
despite the presence of a couple question-
able features.
The front bezel is made from “tinted”
plastic. A gentle push on the bezel door
allows it to open, revealing five 5.25-inch
bays. Above the bays is a fanbus with an
LCD display that’s rather miniscule. This
provides temperature readouts and lets
you control up to three case fans. The dis-
play also contains the power button andthe sensor for the included remote control.
Whazzatt? Yes, an included remote about
the size of the iPod Nano lets you turn the
system on or off and control fan speeds
remotely. Of course, we wonder why you
really need a remote for this? The whole
concept is ridiculous.
The interior is fully tool-less, which
makes for a hassle-free building process.
Preinstalled clips secure up to three 3.5-
inch drives, as well as all of the 5.25-inch
bay devices. The clips are easy to use and
provide a secure hold. There are even idiot-
proof clips for PCI expansion cards. Cooling
is more than sufficient, with a 12cm intake
fan, a 12cm rear exhaust, and an 8cm side
intake fan that’s lit with blue LEDs.
Overall, the RX-9 has what it takes,
where it counts. The plastic shell is a bit
flimsy, but it covers the basics and looks
good doing so.ATX Argument
Two gaming cases go bezel-to-bezel
Subtlety is not the strong point of the RX-9You’ll either love or loathe the Dragon’s
styling, but there’s no disagreement that
its innards are well-designed.$200, http://www.xgbox.comMGE DRAGONPOWER PLAYER
500W PSU included; tool-
less; strong handle.POWER OUTAGE^7
Sub-par cooling; poorly
placed display; pricey.$120, http://www.raidmax.comRAIDMAX RX-9CASES
Solid cooling; easy install;
racy looks.BRACES^8
Useless extras and lots of
plastic.APRIL 2006 MA XIMUMPC 81