MaximumPC 2007 04

Choosing the

Perfect Case

Before purchasing your next case,

consider the following

CONSTRUCTION

The materials that make up your prospec-

tive case don’t really matter that much.

What does impact the equation—and your

arms—is the case’s weight. If a case is

cumbersome before you put anything into

it, imagine its heft once it’s stuffed with

optical drives, hard drives, videocards,

water-cooling reservoirs, etc.

With that said, you’ll only infrequently

tote your case, so don’t skimp on quality

just to get a lighter case. It’s also important

that the outside of your case is durable. If

it gets all marked up the second you run

your fi ngernail across it or if it feels fl imsy to

the touch, move on. What good is a sweet

enclosure that turns ugly—or worse, bro-

ken—within a few weeks?

COOLING

Whether your cooling solution will involve

water or air will have a major bearing on

the case you purchase. For the most part,

modern case designs tend to favor air

cooling, but models can be found that

make allowances for water setups. At the

very least, look for a case equipped with a

number of potential fan locations—better

yet, look for a case that comes with fans.

A fan’s size dictates the speed—and

thus noise—necessary to produce

proper airfl ow; we like 12cm fans

because they move lots of air while

spinning relatively slowly and quietly.

You’ll want air to be sucked in through

the front of your case and over your

hard drives, with one or more exhaust

fans located elsewhere to suck the

air out of your case. Vacuum cleaners

need not apply.

FEATURES

Your case’s features can range from the

truly useful to the simply cool. A slide-

out motherboard tray, for example,

is a feature we’re always keen on.

Toolless drive bays are also welcome.

You should also take into account the

accessibility of a case’s I/O ports—if

you know your case will be sitting on

the ground, top-mounted ports are

handy. Then, of course, there’s all the

whiz-bangery (or lack thereof) to con-

sider: We’re talking LED fans, built-in

gauges, locking systems, etc.

Case innovation can be a slippery

slope, though, as sometimes these

features are actually more irritating than

useful (we can’t count the number of

poorly implemented screwless PCI hold-

ers we’ve broken). A feature doesn’t

have to be new to be unique—the sim-

ple addition of changeable side panels

to a case kicks ass, and there’s nothing

overly fancy about replacing a window.

AESTHETICS

Simply put, you don’t want an ugly case.

But far be it from us to decide what’s

atrocious versus what’s attractive, as

everyone has his own personal sense

of style. While we personally hate cases

that look like they were pulled straight

out of the X-Files prop shop, some peo-

ple are into that sort of thing. Of course,

these same people might very well hate

a case that’s covered in branding for a

particular professional gamer.

While we try not to give a case’s

overall looks a lot of weight in our

reviews, we certainly do consider the

quality of the craftsmanship and the

achievement of a unifi ed aesthetic—be

it slick and simple or extraterrestrial.

42 MAXIMUMPC APRIL 2007

$160, http://www.thermaltake.com

8

THERMALTAKE EUREKA

A SPOTLIGHT ON

CASES

THERMALTAKE

EUREKA

A dream come true for the indecisive

Even though it’s a server case,

Thermaltake’s Eureka manages to

include some gamer-rig-style good-

ies—think

out-of-the-

box water-

cooling sup-

port—but the

Eureka’s only

“fancy” add-

ons are 12cm

blue LED fans

at the front

and rear of

the case.

That’s not to say the Eureka is with-

out any neat bits. For starters, the case

is extremely easy on the eyes, espe-

cially for a full-tower case. The swing-

ing front door is astonishingly sturdy

and opens to reveal a front panel that

epitomizes the term “ease of use.”

Popping off the bezels to install devic-

es is as easy as, well, popping them off

by using a handy little tab.

While adding drives to the

Eureka’s six 3.5-inch bays still

requires screws, the pull-out drive

bays make the process relatively

simple. Too bad Thermaltake couldn’t

have been as thoughtful in the design

of its hideous, screwless PCI-card

holder, which forces you to quasi-

unattach every card whenever you

make an adjustment.

With built-in support for water cool-

ing and EATX motherboards, the Eureka

caters to all crowds. It might not be a

20th-level fi ghter in any one category,

but it certainly makes for a solid bard.

8”

21.25”