Installation:

That side rail is the only obstacle you will find when working inside this chassis. It can be a little bothersome reaching around those center fans to get to power and cable connections especially if you have several drives to install in the 5.25" bays. Installing the motherboard isn't a big deal with the rail in the way. The board can slide past the fans as long as no wires are connected. Otherwise, it will be easy to get hung up on the fans. It was worth the time to remove the three screws till the motherboard and drives were all installed. Wires can still fit around the fans afterwards if you choose to put the fan rail back in.

Removing Rail

Rail Removed

Motherboard

Installed

The upper bay is just as simple. Reach inside and remove the metal plate blocking the bay access if needed and then remove the black bezel bay cover. Simply slide in your optical storage drive till it is flush with the front and push the side tooless rail forward. Once it can't go any further, push down the thumb lock which prevents the rail from sliding back releasing the drive. Installing drives in to the lower hard drive bay is really easy. Simply, remove two rails from the case accessories box and align the rails with the hard drive holes. Then slide the drive in at which point the rails clip in to place.

Drive Slides In

HDD w/Glides

PSU Installed

Front Panel Wires

When power is applied to the fans it's right then your realize that the inside fans do not light up. They are very, very quiet and almost don't seem to be working until you get real close to them. The side window fan does have built in blue LEDs which somewhat light up the inside chassis. While this always a cool effect, you can't see inside the chassis or any of the components due to the rail with fans and the vented holes and fan blocking the view.

Side Window & Fan Up Close

Case & LED Fan Powered Up

Unfortunately, when you have a nice acrylic window modded case but can't see the contents, it seems a bit of a waste. If the window were a little wider and taller, it would be easier to see inside. And if you're going to light up the insides, it almost takes two LED fans to do a decent job of it. Another two inches or so all around would really increase visibility and the effect of the case.

Conclusion:

The Sunbeam Quarterback Case is a decent looking case that is a good alternative to generic cases. It has some pretty basic features as well as some tool-less features that make it more than just a common case. Moving your system over to the case may have a couple quarks here and there mainly with the vertical fan rail which may be an obstacle in getting your hands in to connect cabling. However, the rail is removable and the fans are adjustable which should help simplify the situation. It isn't an extreme Lan Party style case, but it is attractive case that warrants consideration.

Increasing the window size and adjusting it to show more of the motherboard area of the case would be one improvement I'd like to see as well as another LED fan to help illuminate the inside more. The construction is simple, clean, and presents good air flow despite its size. At its current $60.00 average, the price is pretty close to the cost per feature ratio. A couple quick changes would make it a really good deal not to mention improve it's appearance.