External Examination (continued):
The rear of the case is all business; no fancy knobs or glossy paint back here. From the left we have the standard I/O panel with some ventilation holes above it, four expansion slots, and the back of the 430W power supply. The right side of the case is where the dual 120mm TriCool fans are located. They are in the perfect position next to the CPU area, which allows the hot air from the CPU to be exhausted from the case. Each fan has a switch to control the flow of air, and as a result, the noise it will produce. You can see below the RPM, dBA, and CFM values each setting will produce in the list below:
» Low - 1200RPM - 25dBA - 39CFM
» Med - 1600RPM - 28dBA - 56CFM
» High - 2000RPM - 30dBA - 79CFM
Taking a look at the bottom of the case reveals some rather large rubber feet (which help eliminate vibration noise and scratching any other home theater components or furniture). The larger white feet are placed in the rear of the case, while the smaller black feet are in the front. In the second image you can see the bottom of the case where ventilation and silicone grommets are located for the installed hard drive's. The maximum number of hard drives that can be installed is two, and you can see there are two sets of rubber grommets for each drive. These should eliminate any vibration noise caused by the drives.
Internal Inspection:
To access the inside of the
Antec Fusion Media Center Case there is one thumbscrew to loosen, and the top panel can then be removed.
In the below left image we see the area where the power supply rests, and there are four rubber circles that silence any vibration noise from the power supply. The below right image shows a cage to be used to install an optical drive. Notice that there are two more rubber circles on top of the cage that help silence vibration noise between the cage and top cover. This cage lifts up from the back and slides out for drive installation.
