Introduction:

Mid towers, they are thick as flies, and it’s pretty hard to make something unique and interesting. The R-4 bulldozer doesn’t have a problem with either however. One look and you can tell that. The semi vertical optical drive, and ‘hydraulic rams’ stand out as they are intended.

Main

side

Packing

GMC makes the R-4 Bulldozer, and it is of course not “General Motors”, though I haven’t been able to find out what the G.M stands for (if anything). According to their product site, they specialize in small/mid cases and power supplies, as well as some noiseless media cases.

well protected

Out

unique

I was actually chosen to review the R-4 Bulldozer for a very simple reason. In my ‘day’ job, I run heavy equipment, bulldozers included, so who can blame them for thinking of me :).

Specifications:

First Impressions:

Side

Back

Optical cage

It’s not often I comment about the actual packing of a product, most times I couldn’t care less. However the stiff airbag packing the R-4 comes in is something else. It’s some very impressive stuff, and should be able to protect against anything but running it over with a truck.

Panel off

Side fan

Rear 120mm

Saying the R-4 is meant to look like some sort of industrial equipment is putting it mildly. It’s not just the pistons, the guarding and rails all give it a very impressive look and feel. I’ve seen some comments, and it seems like people either love it or hate it. I wasn’t quite as swayed one way or another from the pictures available.

Cover off

DVD install

Door cover

Since I have had it, it has grown on me quite a bit, though not just because of its looks. The vertical DVD drive is actually a very effective way to keep things compact. And I is far better than having a drive on its side. You don’t have to fumble around with the disks, in an attempt to keep them from falling over. This is because the drive is not quite vertical, and a DVD will sit happily in place.

HDD sled

cables

Hydraulic, sorta

Other features on the outside of the case are a bit more practical. Near the bottom of the front, just above the front USB/audio ports, there is a small display, and another one right on the side, just behind the fan controls. These 2 displays are independent temperature displays, each with its own probe.

The fan control is unfortunately the most annoying piece of the case, simply because of the two LED’s beside the switch. They blink constantly, depending on how fast the fans are going, and so far, I haven’t found a way to turn them off without disabling the fan they control.

Side

Back

Optical cage

For fans in the case, there is 2 92mm fans, one on the front, one on the side (despite what the specs say) and a 120mm in the rear. It’s hard to tell a difference in noise levels between the low and high settings, there is a slight whine but it’s not piercing.

Opening up the panels, there isn’t much to describe. It is basically an open box. The only things on the inside is a small clip that can hold 2 hard drives, and a 120mm fan. There is an opening at the top for the cables to be routed to the optical drive, other than that, cables will just go wherever you stuff them.

Side temp

DVD tray

Opening

The funny thing is, even though the case is extremely small, it can actually fit a full ATX motherboard, and even 2 or more of the largest gaming cards on the market today. Though I would think that routing cables would become far more difficult with more than one GTX280, but without much to get in the way, working inside the case is fairly easy.

Conclusion:

It’s a simple case on one respect, but it has a few features that make it stand out. The looks definitely will not be for everyone, but there will be a lot of people who will love it. My only real wish, is that those fake hydraulic shocks were actually functional, though I know that isn’t the least bit feasible.

Side lights

Blue

Looks good

According to Newegg, you can get the R-4 for $84.99 after a rebate. That to me seems to be a fair price, with a good quality build. I don’t think anyone will have trouble moving some inventory if they offer GMC’s R-4 Bulldozer.

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