Installation:

Time to get some hardware installed into the Enermax Chakra! The hardware setup I used for the installation included the following:

» AMD Opteron 148 processor
» DFI LanParty NF4 SLI-DR motherboard
» 1024MB G.SKILL Extreme DDR (2 x 512MB)
» (3x Striped) Hitachi 80GB 7200rpm 8MB SATA-II
» eVGA GeForce 7800 GT CO 256MB GDDR3 PCI-E SLI
» Pioneer DL DVDRW IDE
» Maxtor DiamondMax 10 300GB 7200rpm 16MB SATA-I
» D-Link Wireless G PCI card
» SB Audigy 2z Platinum
» SB Audigy 2z front panel

The installation of the motherboard was a little tight but it fit just fine. The hard drives and expansion slot devices were tool-less and installed very quickly. Just pop the rails into the hard drive and they slide right into the cage. The only components that needed a screwdriver were the PSU and top DVD Burner. The reason for the top two bays to be manually screwed in is that different CD/DVD ROMS will have different locations for the open/close button. My Pioneer DL DVD Burner was pushed all the way in and screwed into the last set of screw holes. Here is the system fully installed and running.


The I/O panel on the front is pretty useful. The reset and power buttons are easily accessed, as are the microphone and headphone jacks. The eSATA port and USB ports are also in a great location for a quick plug-in. The top folds down to protect these inputs from any dust or debris that can get inside the ports. The feature of integrated CD-ROM flip covers is a pretty cool idea from Enermax. The CD-ROM drives are hidden and are shielded from debris from the plastic 5.25" bay cover.


The installation went pretty well. This case will definitely be the home for my main system for a good length of time. Here is a shot from the front of the case powered on with the Pioneer DL DVD burner in the top bay and the SB Creative Audigy 2z front panel.


Testing:

The only real testing I was interested in was related to the monster fan mounted on the side of the case. For testing I overclocked my Opteron 148 to 290x10 @ 1.5v and my G.Skill RAM to DDR590 2.5-4-4-8 @ 2.62v. To reach a maximum temperature for the CPU and chipset I ran Prime95 for half an hour and took a reading of the temperatures using Smart Guardian software.

» Monster fan off: CPU = 48 - chipset = 54
» Monster fan intake: CPU = 43 - chipset = 47
» Monster fan exhaust: CPU = 47 - chipset = 54

The fan can make a huge difference in system cooling, and as we can see it is better to use it as an intake, blowing a good deal of cool air onto the components.