Introduction:

Apart from steel and aluminium, the other material used to make PC cases is acrylic. While the metallic materials have an obvious strength advantage, acrylic cases are still alive and well today. In fact, they've been around since the modding scene began to take flight about 4 years ago. There's just something about being able to see everything inside your case that makes them special. Large organisations used them too to showcase their latest products or for educational purposes and not to mention the number of modders who have done an awesome job modifying them.

Currently, the acrylic case available today are mostly of the Mid Tower or Mini Tower variant. We've also seen MiniITX or SFF style acrylic cases but that's all about to change courtesy of ClearPC. Being one of the first, if not the first, companies to offer acrylic cases, they help revolutionize the PC case market and are about to do it again with their latest offering, the Secret Agent Acrylic Briefcase enclosure.

As the name implies, it's an clear acrylic case that's designed to look and feel like a standard briefcase but don't be fooled by it's appearance. This baby accepts standard ATX motherboards and standard size ATX PSU, despite being relatively smaller than it's older brothers. In fact, this is the only acrylic briefcase enclosure available in the world. Let's take a look at the specs first.

Specification

• ClearPC "Secret Agent" Briefcase: Manufactured by ClearPC

• Case Dimensions: 6 1/4" (W) x 14 1/4" (H) x 18" (L)

• Drive Bays: 4 (2 x 5.25 external, 2 x 3.5 internal)

• Expansion Slots: 7

• Chassis: 3/16" & 3/8" Cast Clear Lucite

• Form Factors: Micro ATX and Full ATX

• Fans: 5 (2 x 40mm rear exhaust, 2 x 40mm HDD and 1 x 120mm side intake)

• Power Supply: None included

• Side mounted dual USB 2.0, Firewire and one set Audio/Microphone/Line-in jacks

• Special Features: Pre-assembled and includes all mounting screws and cables

I didn't take pics of the packaging but the case was shipped assembled, unlike other acrylic cases, which are flatpacked. But believe me, ClearPC took a lot of care and precaution to prevent any kind of damage to the case. The case itself was wrapped in clear protective platic film and in the packaging box, it was surrounded by tons of foam peanuts. Outside, labels were placed for handling/storage instructions. Now lets' take a closer look at the case...