Introduction:

When it comes to cases, there is no shortage of options available to end users. While many consider a chassis to be an afterthought, for some the selection of case is as important as the choice of components that are housed within. With that in mind, it becomes difficult to decide which case to use for one's next system. Often, the selection is immediately limited to the big names - Antec, Coolermaster, Lian-Li, etc. just to make the task a bit more bearable.

Sigma is one of the lesser-known manufacturers, but they seem to have a decent lineup of cases, all geared towards the enthusiast/gamer crowd. Today, we'll have the chance to look at the Sigma Luna Type W chassis, one of their newer entries and we'll see if it has the style and substance to compete with the bigger names out there.

Specifications:

The Luna Type W, besides having a weird name, is about standard when it comes to features for a mid-tower ATX case. The dimensions, as measured, were 17"x8"x20" (HxWxD), easily comparable to most mid-tower cases. The Luna provides five 5.25" drive bays and two 3.5" external drive bays, somewhat more than most mid-towers, but has only three internal 3.5" HDD bays. The extra 5.25" bays will be helpful if you have a lot of extra devices there, but with most systems just having the single optical drive, the advantage may not be universal.

• Full specifications

The Luna Type W is made out of aluminum and as such, is very lightweight. Without a PSU (or even with a PSU, for that matter), it can easily be picked up with one arm without any strain. In fact, the heaviest part of the case was the front door, which is made of thicker aluminum than the rest of the case; picking up an empty case feels unbalanced because of all that weight up front. Other notable features include a window and side-mounted 80mm LED fan as well as tool-less component installation.

Out of the box, the Sigma Luna Type W looks very nice and stylish. The front door gives the case a very minimalist and sleek look and is contrasted by the inclusion of a side window and 80mm LED fan. The window comes protected on both sides with plastic film to prevent scratches.

The Luna Type W.

Windowed side.

Other side.

The front door features a single silver accented line and an LED dead center. The front door is made of thicker aluminum than the rest of the case and thus feels very durable. It is held in place with magnetic latches, one at the top and one at the bottom. However, because of the weight of the front door, the latches have a problem holding the door shut. You won't have any problem in day-to-day use, but if, for example, you hold the case up with the front door at the bottom, the magnets are unable to hold the door shut.

Opening up the door reveals five 5.25" drive bays and two 3.5" external drive bays, along with front USB and audio ports. You can also see that there are adequate ventilation holes for an optional (not included) front fan.

Front door is sleek.

Door open.

Window protected.

The biggest problem with the door is that it doesn't open much beyond 90 degrees. This creates a problem if you have the case on the "wrong side", since then the door always be in your way. I suppose this is a problem with all cases that have doors, but if the door could not open past 90 degrees there should've been an option to mount the hinge on the opposite side.

The inside lower front of the case has the power/reset switches and power/HDD LEDs. Below these are the USB and audio ports; there are no Firewire or eSATA ports. In addition to the LEDs here, there is the previously-mentioned power LED on the door itself; internally, it uses a separate 4-pin molex connector for power. Behind the ventilation holes you can see the wires that run from the front panel.

Back.

Front accents.

Lower front.

The back of the case shows a rear 120mm exhaust fan and a standard setup with the PSU at the top of the case. There's nothing really innovative here, but it's worthwhile to note that both side panels are removeable and held in place with thumbscrews. Any case nowadays should be expected to use thumbscrews or other tool-less method for entry. Also, we'll see later that removing both side panels is necessary for installation.

Drive bay covers.

Front LED wiring.

Latch insert.

The inside front bezel is made out of smooth and shiny plastic. This makes it fit in nicely with the rest of the case, but it isn't as nice as the Lian-Li cases, which feature all-metal front bezels. Looking more at the door, you can see the wiring that connects the front LED to the case, as well as the metal inserts used for the magnetic latches. The door hinge itself is also made of metal and with all of this, the door is quite heavy.

This creates a large contrast between the door and the rest of the case. While the door is thick and sturdy, the rest of the case is made of thin aluminum, giving it a less than sturdy feeling. While the aluminum is anodized to a nice black colour, both on the inside and the outside, I would've liked to see it be a thicker gauge for durability, even at the expense of extra weight.

Front LED wiring.

Inside of door.

Bottom.

The bottom of the case has a fairly standard four rubber feet. You can see a small gap between the front panel and case, which may help in pulling off the front panel, but as we'll see, that is much more complicated.

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