Internal Inspection (continued):

The below left image shows a close up of the 3.5" bays and the three foam blocks included with them. The installation information suggest that you do not let the blocks come in contact with drives as they aren't intended to absorb heat, just noise. Therefore is seems that you could install one 3.5" hard drive in the middle slot of the removable cage and have a gap between it and the two foam blocks. In the externally accessible 3.5" there is one block of foam, which will obviously touch whatever is in the adjacent slot. Contact shouldn't be a problem here, as I would expect that the typical items installed (card reader, floppy drive, LCD panel) shouldn't generate any significant heat. The below right image shows a close up of the 5.25" bays and the two foam blocks included with them. Again, the intention seems to be to allow one drive, an empty bay, and then two foam blocks to fill the remaining bays.


The image below shows the 3.5" drive cage removed from the case. This is accomplished by loosening a thumbscrew at the bottom and releasing a latch at the top. Taking a closer look at the cage shows that each hole provided for hard drive mounting is lined with a rubber grommet to isolate the drive and reduce noise. In front of the drive cage is where the optional 120mm intake fan could be mounted.


The images below show the inside of the case's backside. In addition to the typical features, the application of more AcoustiPack can be seen to the left of the expansion slots, above the power supply mounting location, and on the opposite side panel behind the motherboard tray.


Even more AcoustiPack can be seen in the next set of images. The entire bottom and top are covered, and a very good job has been done to trim it to fit flush at all edges. In addition, the below left image shows all of the front panel connectors which are well labeled and of adequate length to reach anywhere on an installed motherboard.


While the intake fan may be accessible from inside the case, there is a dust filter included that has to be accessed by removing the front bezel. The bezel comes off rather easily by releasing two latches near the bottom and prying it out and up. Removing the bezel is also necessary is you want to use something other than the top 3.5" and 5.25" drive bays externally. The steel plates that cover the bays aren't quite typical, as they do not just get punched out, they are actually affixed with screws on either side.


These drive bay covers are just part of the "Additional EMI shielding included" described in the features for the case. In addition to shielding the drive bays, extra attention has been paid to the expansion slots and around the doors on either side. This allows the PC to operate in close proximity to other electronic components with a greatly reduced risk of interference.