Closer Look:

When you place your order for any of the Acrylic case models, you will find that you have several colors to choose from. These colors are all UV reactive and include, Red-Orange, Yellow, Green, and blue. And they also offer Black and Clear acrylic for users who don't want the UV acrylic. I've seen the black cases in person and it was actually really cool looking. It offered up sort of a unique perspective to the on-looker. The UV can be really bright if you choose to use a more powerful UV cold cathode light, or you can minimize the glow to a very cool ambient glow by using a smaller 6" UV light or LED. All their cases are laser cut for a beautiful clean end product.

Clear, Black, UV Orange, Yellow, Green, and Blue

The clear acrylic is a very good basic staple choice mainly for aesthetic reasons. With the clear case, you can add any color LED or Cold Cathode Light and the case reflects that color. So, essentially you could keep changing the color theme based on whatever your mood might be. Since a lot of the hardware I've used is chrome and sometimes quite colorful, the clear Torture Rack also remains neutral and not over imposing. You'll see more of what I mean in the installation pictures.

All of the acrylic case models come unassembled and very well packed inside a simple box with the Danger Den logo. Inside you'll find the parts well wrapped and a set of easy to read directions. The only thing you don't get in the box is a little extra dexterity for all the small parts. My hands are bit above the typical size which makes for a fun time assembling anything small. The reason the screws and bolts are so small is because you don't want to take away from the case appearance with unnecessarily large parts. A little patience is all you really need, as well as the enclosed pair of white gloves. You don't want to get finger prints all over case parts.

Open

Contents

Is that Michael?

Danger Den includes a small Allen wrench needed to tighten all the bolt heads. For the sake of assembly and review, I chose to use the enclosed tool. For those users very, very skilled with power tools, you may opt to use a small clutched drill and matching bit when possible. The reason I say "very, very skilled" is because too much torque can ruin your case. If you don't fall in to that category, you might want to try using the included wrench. You'll need it for the PCI I/O Plate anyways since it's recessed and a little awkward tightening the screws. When assembling the Torture Rack, use standard hand tightening to finish off the turn and you'll be just fine.

Removing Paper

PCI I/O Plate

Moving Along

After about thirty minutes, the Torture Rack was completely assembled and was absolutely sturdy. The 3/8 laser cut acrylic parts assemble and connect very, very well which further accounts for how solid the case feels when complete. Now that it was completely, you can see what other features the Rack has to offer. All over the case, you can see holes for tubing, screw holes for mounting radiators, lots of fans, and Drives. A user can mount up to three dual 120mm radiators, or up to eight 120mm fans if you forego the water cooling! The top left and right walls are specifically machined for dual 120mm Danger Den radiators which also has two one inch laser cut holes on each side for tubing.

Front

Back

The top has laser cut handles cut to make carrying the case easier. There also screw holes machined for an optional Lid that can be ordered to close off the case. The Lid can be a good way to secure the contents if you like taking your Torture Rack to LANs or if the case is on display. If you order the optional Top and Front panels, it will definitely more fully secure the case not to mention, allow for some optional modding at your own discretion. It looks really cool if you have your game name cut in to the front panel, if you feel so inclined.

Right Angle

Left Angle

And finally, the Reset switch can be mounted in one of two holes. I guess you could also use it as a power switch as well, as long as it's plugged in correctly on the motherboard. If two of these came with the case, then it would be about as perfect as you can get it. And again, I can't say how nice and clean the laser cuts appear. There wasn't one burnt edge or any part to suggest they skimped during fabrication.

Radiator, Tubing, & 120mm Fan Holes

PSU & 120mm Holes

The final touch included attaching the motherboard standoffs and Reset switch. This doesn't require a lot of torque to tighten, so take your time. You will need a small enough socket tool or careful use of a small wrench. Since I happened to have a computer tool kit on hand, a small standoff socket driver worked perfectly. You can find affordable, good tool kits just about anywhere, especially from local E-Tellers like Performance-PCs or FrozenCPU where they also carry many Danger Den water cooling components to go with the Torture Rack.

Top View

Reset Switch

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