External Examination:
Let's start the examination of the M775 by taking a look at its most touted feature, the hinged front panel. The swinging front portion is constructed of plastic, unlike the majority of the case, which is constructed out of steel. Decorating the front panel is a faux diamond plate design that might look good in aluminum but just doesn't exude the same feeling in plastic. Had this been sculpted from aluminum, it would surely have made this a case to drool over. A neat feature located near the top are two built in DVD/CD drive bay doors with LED lights running across the bottom and eject buttons.
As you can see in the images above, the front panel provides four external 5.25" bays and two exposed 3.5" bays. Make note that one of the 3.5" bays is being used by the I/O ports, leaving only a single external bay available.
As shown in the below left image, when the spring-powered flap just below is pushed opened it reveals 2 USB 2.0 ports, a headphone jack, and a microphone jack. It would be nice to see a few more USB ports in there to give the user a few more options. The square power button is also noticeable in the middle lower portion of the case, with the smaller reset button not much farther down.
Taking a look at the backside of the case in the above right image reveals nothing much out of the ordinary. The back surface is unpainted, as is in most cases, and it contains the typical expansion slot openings. There is room for an optional 80mm or 120mm exhaust fan, and also includes a pre-installed motherboard backplate. As you can see, the power supply is held in place by ordinary steel screws, while the side panel utilizes the only 3 thumbscrews on the entire case, which will help hasten the panel removal process.
Overall, the case is finished in a sleek looking black matte finish, and aside from the plastic front panel this color scheme works well. The access panel includes a vent located above the expansion slot area where a 120mm or 80mm fan can be placed to help draw in cool air. There is also another 80mm circular vent positioned approximately where the processor sits, and this vent has a duct on it to help direct the airflow to the CPU cooling fan. However, if you are using an aftermarket upright style CPU cooler, this vent will likely have to be removed to accommodate the oversized cooler. This is done simply by unscrewing the 4 small screws that hold the vent into place.
