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Written by [t0rc]
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While pre-mod's are a blessing to some, others would rather have a
clean case to start with. A case with very little or no modifications
to it, leaving creativity, design, and much more to the discretion of
the consumer(A.K.A. "The Boring Beige Case"). This is where modders
show their ingenuity, taking a plain bland case and transforming it
into a creative and stunning masterpiece. Pre-modded cases have
pervaded a large portion of the cases manufactured today; at times
severely occluding the search for a plain case. I've found a simple
case sporting a medium price-tag, a fan with grill and having small
modifications, making it a perfect candidate for modding projects.
| Product: | GamerzStuff Standard Case - Black |  | | Submitted By: | GamerzStuff | | Manufacturer: | Logisys Computer | | MSRP: | 59.00 USD | | Where to Buy: | GamerzStuff.com | | Form Factor: | microATX and ATX | | Extra's: | 80mm Fan on left side panel | | Material: | Thin/Sheet Metal | | Warranty: | N/A |
This review is going to start with the exterior of the case first, so if you'd rather see the interior first, click here.
Opening the door, I was handed the large package and was immediately
surprised by it's weight; a very light package indeed. Packaged in it's
own personalized box describing the contents, the case was well
packaged and sustained no damage, it just had a few out of place 5.25"
bay covers.
The case is aptly named "Standard - Black" but you can still see a
little creativity in the front bay area. Some acrylic/plexiglass was
curved to the face of the case, inside a blue LED serves as the power
light. There are two chromed buttons that are for reset and power.
Unfortuantely what I noticed about the plexi on the front is that at
the bottom, it's not closed off and as a result packaging foam and dust
were able to slip under the plexi. When the LED lit up, all the dust
and particles inside are made easily visible.
Right under the plexiglass front, theres a small hinged panel branded
with the USB logo. After opening the panel it reveals two USB 2.0
jacks, a microphone jack, and a headphone jack as well. Obviously,
these jacks in the front allow easier and quicker access to plugs that
are normally found in the back of computers; a nice feature. There's
also plenty of room for you to add other switches/buttons and jacks for
various mods(Lights, Fans, etc.). The power and reset buttons are a
nice chrome color. The reset button is recessed to avoid accidental
restarts.
The left panel has an 80mm fan w/ grill mounted on it. For power it
comes with two 4-pin Molex connectors, one male and one female, to keep
it from stealing your plugs. The fan itself runs on 12v DC and is
pretty quiet for a stock fan. No specs for the fan were included. Each
side panel also has an indented handle to assist in the removal of the
panels. Theres also some air-holes centered along the bottom of each
panel.
The back of the case is fairly average. It has seven PCI slots, 6 of
which are the pop-out type. It comes with two screw-in PCI covers (one
in a box, the other is already put in the case) to cover slots that
become vacant. The rear has a removable (via 2 screws) I/O shield just
in case your motherboard doesn't use the same configuration. You can
see that there's a hole to mount a fan. The case allows for an 80mm,
92mm, or 120mm fan to be mounted. I found the grill on the metal to be
more air-restrictive than it should. I would suggest cutting out the
circle grill and replacing it with one that mounts on to the fan. In
the lower right there's some more holes for airflow purposes. The power
supply hole is normal and properly cut. As you can see, the right side
panel fastens with up to 3 screws, while the left(mobo side) fastens
with four.
One small problem I did notice with the case is that the side panels
don't fit 100% flush against the others. Seen here, the right side
panel doesn't quite make contact with the front panel edge, allowing
aluminum to shine through.
There's an included box of goodies that come for the case.
- Package Contents
- 1x PCI Cover (Screw In)
- 4x Case Feet
- Bag of assorted screws
- Piezo Buzzer
- Pin Assignment Sheet
Attaching the feet was pretty easy but removing them was a little more
challenging. It's good to know that your feet won't fall off.
One last note before moving on to the interior of the case, the paint
easily scratches with a screwdriver. When putting in or removing screws
or whatever it may be, keep your tools steady else they will most
likely scratch the case.
Now that the exterior has been dealt with, lets take a look at the insides of the GamerzStuff Standard Case - Black.
After grabbing my screwdriver and taking out the 3 screws from the
right side panel, I was introduced to the inside of the case. As I
opened it I was blinded by the intense reflection of light... er, not
quite, but it does have a pretty shiny interior, creating a good
housing to put lights inside. I actually ran into some nice giant
bubble packing(which make pretty loud booms when they are popped). Here
you also get a view of the wires for the USB 2.0 ports, buttons, and
LED's. The blue LED on the front uses the 4-pin Molex connector you see
in the photos for power. You can also see the 6 3.5" bays(4 internal)
and the 4 5.25" drive bays. In front of the 3.5" bays, there's 2 spaces
for 80mm fans, again with the stock grills.
In order to take out the motherboard tray, you have to take off the
left side panel. After doing that, you can see that the motherboard
tray allows for both microATX and full ATX mounting. When putting the
tray back on, I found that the I/O shield got in the way and could
potentially damage your motherboard during installation. Thus using the
one that is found with your motherboard is probably a wiser decision.
Out of the 7 PCI slots, 6 are the pop-out type. There is one screw-in
already installed when the case arrives, and another screw-in to fill
vacated slots can be found in the box.
To go back to the Exterior, click here.
The GamerzStuff Standard Case - Black is a high modding potential case.
While it does have some flaws, most are conquered by the positive
aspects. However, the price of 59 USD seems steep for this case. If it
was constructed out of thicker metal and/or had no flaws it would then
be deserving of 59 USD. The addition of USB 2.0, headphone, and mic
ports help the case out somewhat, but not extensively. I like how the
front plexi/LED panel is designed and how the power and reset buttons
are situated. Overall, it's a good case, with lots of potential. If
your looking for a strong, sturdy case however, I would spend the money
elsewhere. All things considered, the GamerzStuff receives a 86% rating
and the Silver Award.
ProsCons - Clean Paintjob
- Large Modding Potential
- Very Small Pre-mods
- Mounting screws for everything
- Easy interior access
- Front USB/Mic/Headphone jacks
- No assembly required
| - A bit overpriced
- Panels not quite flush
- I/O panel interfere's with mobo tray
- Bad stock grills
- Thin materials; not sturdy.
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Thanks to GamerzStuff.com for making this review possible.
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