The case was packed nicely as is the case with everything we've recieved from Ultra. They like to ensure that the package arrives in one piece so kudos for that. Nothing was broken but there was one issue with their packing: we found a piece of foam right above the PSU. While we don't feel that this piece of foam would heat up enough to ignite it certainly isn't going to help ventilation and is in an obscure enough place that we imagine many people would miss it and not remove it.

As you can see the case doesn't look bad at all. The gloss paint job, chrome colored fan guard, and the mesh front door fit together quite nicely. The door allows one drive to be accessed with it closed. The trick is that it doesn't allow access to the top drive but instead the hole is for the second drive bay. And so whichever optical drive you use the most install it in the second drive bay and not the first one else you will not have access to it without opening the door. We like this feature but to some degree wish it would give access to the top drive and not the second in line. With the common P-ATA opticals usually the master drive is the top one and the slave sits in the second bay and often we find ourselves installing the drive that we use more often (DVD burner with faster read speeds, etc. versus the older drive in the second, something similar to that). With S-ATA opticals you really won't have to mess with this because a.) all the drives are masters and b.) the cables are independent not 2-in-1 strings like P-ATA which gives you added mobility. Also on the front panel is a 120mm intake fan which matches the 120mm rear exhaust fan. The benefit of using fans this big is that they don't have to spin as fast to move amounts of air comparable to that of an 80mm or 92mm fan. Lower RPMs means that the amount of noise generated is also decreased.

The side panel has an 80mm fan hole (no fan though) and a ventilation tube that ends up directly over the CPU fan (as usual).

On the right side of the case just below the power/reset switches is an access panel carrying USB2.0 as well as audio output, microphone input, and the potential for Firewire. The inclusion of panels like this is always welcome as it makes connecting portable peripherals and other external devices much easier and quicker.

Included with the case is a 500w V-Series PSU as well as the usual set of screws required to take care of installation needs. The PSU proved capable and sturdy so as long as it fits your needs you should be set to go. Also as you can see in the image below there is a tool-less drive installation system which we're going to cover next.

Above is a closer shot of the drive installation system for the optical, floppy, and HDD bays. A lot of times when we run into tool-less designs we've had issues with the system — usually with stability. When you're not using screws you usually forfeit a solid securing mechanism on the motherboard side which can give the drives a little bit of room to move or jiggle. Often the cage is shaped so that there is some kind of resistance to help keep the drive in place but often we find that it's not enough to keep the drive completel still like a few screws would. This can cause noise from vibrations and potentially cause damage to the device. With that said we were surprised when we found out the Ultra Grid system works quite well and is the best tool-less design that we've encountered to date. It works essentially like many others but seems to have a much better fit and design which keeps the drives nearly immobile.

The Ultra Grid is a fairly standard case which is both a good and bad thing. It's good because it has a lot of modding potential and maintains a simple, clean design but it's also bad because it may not provide enough appeal to those who want a pre-modded case. While we prefer DIY and certainly encourage it, modding isn't for everyone. Luckily the Grid case is offered in three varieties and the addition of a window in one of the versions is a nice add-on. All things considered the Grid isn't a bad case. It has aesthetic appeal, a good included PSU, an excellent tool-less drive system, as well as two large 120mm intake/exhaust fans and more. It doesn't over do anything which keeps the case design clean and simple. The price is a little high and the packing foam above the PSU is a bad decision but overall the Grid is a case that is worth purchasing if you like what it has to offer. Therefore the Ultra Grid case is awarded a Bronze Award.

Thanks goes to Ultra for making this review possible.