Introduction

Chieftec needs no introduction when in comes to cases. They've been making cases since 1990 and have been one of the leaders in the market. Their cases are known for their build and quality and have been used by numerous vendors for their own PC line. They are also well known amongst the PC enthusiasts, especially the case modding crowd, with the Scorpio, Dragon and Matrix Series of cases. With the popularity of their case lines, it's no surprise that you sometimes see "Clones" or "Copycats" that looks the same as their cases. Anyway, it's been a while since Chieftec released a new version and they did just that a few months ago. I've been looking at it trying to see the kind of improvements they did to the previous series and now it has landed in Singapore and VH got first dibs on it! :O)

Specifications

No fancy names this time, Chieftec just calls their new version the BX Series. Before we taka closer look at the case, here's the specs.

• Dimensions: 470mm x 205mm x 524*mm * without feet (with +18 mm)

• Drive bays external: 4 x 5.25", 2 x 3,.5"

• Drive bays internal: 4 x 3.5" HDD in cage

• 7 Standard expansion slots

• Material : 1.0mm SECC

• All Fans are optional: 2x 80mm (back side) 1x 80mm (front side) 1x 80mm (HDD cage) 2x 90mm (side panel)

• Weight: 14kg w/o powersupply

• Specials: 2xfront USB,1xIEEE 1394 Firewire, Audio ports

• Dust filter behind the front panel

On the exterior, the BX Series looks almost the same as the Dragon series I reviewed here previously, with the exception of the front bezel. Chieftec created a totally new bezel for the BX series. In fact, they have 3 different bezels altogether and the good thing is that the middle part of the bezel is interchangeable with each other. As usual, the case is available in all 8 colours that they're known for. So that gives you a total of 64 possible colour combinations!

Looking at the back gives you the familiar Chieftec case look, except that the large fan openings of the two exhaust ports have been replaced with smaller honey-combed shaped ones. I prefer the former as it provides a better airflow and thus less turbulence and noise generated. In fact, the two side 92mm fan ports have these same honey-combed shaped openings. OK, now that's you've seen part of the exterior, let's begin to dissect the case part by part.