The Basics (continued):
Once the film is removed you can get a good look at the excellent finish on this case. In the picture on the left, you see that the IR/VFD area is also covered in plastic, yet another layer of protection. The picture on the right shows the only available indications and controls available with the doors closed, a power switch, power LED, and a hard drive activity LED. The front of this case is clean and uncluttered.
On the right hand side of the lower door is an indentation to allow you to pop the lower door open and access a headphone jack, microphone jack, 2 USB 2.0 ports, and a single 1394 Firewire port. Next to the jacks and ports is the external 3.5" drive bay for either a floppy disk drive or better yet a multi-format card reader. The external 3.5" bay has a black aluminum cover in place for times when you do not want to install such a device. The picture on the right shows where the optional VFD/IR module would go.
The upper door is opened a bit differently than the lower one; a simple press of the center and it glides down smoothly. Behind this door is space for two 5.25" devices. Out back you get two 60mm fans, 4 expansion slots with removable covers, a color coded generic back plane, and a large opening for a standard ATX power supply.
Although
Cooler Master says this is a tool-less case, there were 2 regular screws and a thumbscrew holding the top cover on. In service, the two screws would provide little assistance in holding the cover in place as it fits very snugly and locks down on both sides and at the front. The picture on the left shows the bare insides of the CM Media 250. The picture on the right shows the available case to motherboard connectors including the dual shielded USB 2.0, Firewire, microphone and headphone jack, and the connectors for the LED indicators and power switch.
