Enlight Endura EN-7237 OM3 Case Review
Date : Friday, 05 May 2000
By : Wolfman
Product : Elight Endura EN-7237 OM3 Mid ATX Case

Introduction
Whether you're fixing up a system for your customers, friends, relatives or yourself, the chassis is probably the hardware that is given the least attention, except maybe how it looks like on the outside. You might be thinking, "Heck! If I can put everything in and power it up, I'm a happy man!!" Well, you're almost right!

But then, things starts to get ugly. You can't seem to find a way into the case coz you missed out a tiny screw somewhere and you started to curse coz there's no manual to show you where it is. Hey, what do you expect from a cheapo case? You also lost a few pints of blood being cut by the sharp edges on the case structure. Worse of all, the PSU decided to die out on you after you plugged in everythng!! A little extreme, you might say, but it has happened to me before...and it could happen to you.

Being a puter tech. for almost two years now, I know that a good quality case can make a difference when assembling and even upgrading a PC. And the Enlight Endura EN7237 series is one fine example. Before I go into details, lets take a look at the specs, direct from Enlight;

The Enlight Endura that I got is a new revision of their EN7237. What I meant by this is that the new revision now features a three piece cover instead of the single U-shaped cover of it's predecessor, so you'll ony need to remove one side of the case to gain access to what's inside. I guessed Enlight realised this and changed it to help sell it better! Not that it was doing badly in it's sales!!

Front View Click to enlarge

Rear View Click to enlarge

Rubber Feets
Click to enlarge

The front bezel design of the EN7237 is nothing spectacular, nor is it dull. And how many Mid ATX case you know offers 4 5.25" external bays and two 3.5" external bays?? That's a lot for a Mid ATX! I also have no complains about the "Power" and "Reset" buttons on the EN7237. Not too big, but not too small either. Four rubber feets are located at the bottom of the case and helps to ensure the case stays firmly seated where you put it.

Accessories and Getting Inside
As with many other good quality cases, the Enlight comes with it's own bag of goodies. You will find 4 pairs of railings for the 5.25" bays, a power cord, I/O Shield (one is already attached to the case), a small plastic bag of screws and motherboard stand-offs and an instruction manual (a PLUS!!). There is even an instruction sticker at the back of the case telling you how to remove the front bezel and side panels.

Accessories Click to enlarge

Instruction at the back of case Click to enlarge

Getting into the case was fairly easy. Just look at the bottom front of the case and you will find a latch. Pull up on the latch and the front bezel will come off the case. Once that is done, you have to remove 2 screws that locks the side panels in place. Unscrew them both and remove the side panels py pulling it forward towards the front of the case.

Latch under the front bezel Click to enlarge

Remove these two screws to get inside Click to enlarge

When I got inside the case, I was surprised to see that the motherboard stand-off were already pre-installed for you! Of course they did missed out one location as you can see in the bottom right picture. I don't have a spare mobo to test it on but from experience, I can see that they are in the correct position for an ATX motherboard!! All you have to do is put the mobo in place and screw in down! Another good feature is that there are no sharp edges on the case structure, so you would not cut your fingers. The whole structure itself is very sturdy, unlike some generic case with flimsy gauge steel.

Pretty spacious huh? Click to enlarge

Stand-offs pre-installed!! Click to enlarge

I looked on the reverse side of the motherboard tray and saw 6 screws that held it down onto the case structure. I removed the screws, thinking that I could easily pop out the tray. Tried as hard as I could, but I can't seem to remove the damn thing! It seeems to be locked in place by some grooves at the bottom. If any of you have a solution for this, tell me!! THE PSU that comes with the case is an Enlight 235W model, but I would gladly trade it up for a 300W one.

Location of the 6 mobo tray screws Click to enlarge

Enlight 235W PSU Click to enlarge

Drives Installation
Fixing up your drives was also a no-brainer. In fact, it was made easier with the use of drive rails for the 5.25" bays. You just need to press down on the clips and remove the drives when you want to upgrade.

To install a CD-ROM, DVD or CD-Burner drives, all you need to do is screw on the drive rails provided onto the side of the drives you want to install. Be sure to use the correct hole on the rails to ensure that your drives are flush with the front bezel. The instruction manual will give a detailed description on this. Slide your drives all the way until the spring clips snaps into place and locks the drives in position.

Fixing the rail onto your drive Click to enlarge

Slide the drive into the bay Click to enlarge

Check the alignment with the bezel
Click to enlarge

For floppy and hard disk installation, you will need to remove the 3.5" cage from the case. You can also do it without removing the cage, but it just seems easier with it removed. You will find 2 spring clips on the 3.5" cage, press down on it and slide the cage out towards the front of the case.

2 spring clips on the 3.5" cage Click to enlarge

Slide out the 3.5" cage Click to enlarge

Once the cage is removed, install your floppy drive and hard disks into the it. Slide the cage into the case until the clips snaps into position. There, you're done!!

Install the FDD onto the cage Click to enlarge

Slide the cage in until the clips locks Click to enlarge

Cooling and Mods Possibilities
Being a cooling freak that I am, I am pretty impressed with the cooling capabilities of the Enlight. The case has a fan cage right the bottom front of the structure and this serves as a fan mount for your air intake. Installing a fan there is as easy as snapping the clips of the cage out, slapping on an 80mm fan into the cage and snapping the cage back into location.

Front fan cage Click to enlarge

Snap locks of the fan cage Click to enlarge

The cage locks the fan in place Click to enlarge

Another view of the fan cage Click to enlarge

The air from the front gets in through small holes on the front bezel. Although they are too small too my liking!

The case also has a fan mount at the rear of the case, right next to the I/O shield. The fan here will draw the hot air from your CPU out of the case. This is also another improvement made to the case from the previous design. The fan mount is for an 80mm fan and all you need to do to install a fan here is to screw in on! One of the side panels has cooling vents to either let cool air comes in or exhaust hot air out.

Ventilation holes in the bezel Click to enlarge

Rear exhaust fan mount Click to enlarge

Vent holes at the side panel
Click to enlarge

Did I hear someone say "mods"?? I thought so!! Although the stock fan mount location would do just fine, some of you mod freaks might have some other ideas!!

First of all, You might want to make the intake holes on the front bezel just a tad larger with a drill and a 6mm drill bit. The fan cage for the 80mm fan on the front might not be enough and you're thinking of slapping on a 120mm monster there. But beware, it's gonna be tight putting on a 120mm fan there as the drive cage will present some difficulties. The front of the structure isn't Dremel or Jigsaw friendly either!! You could accidentally cut away the locking area for the front bezel latch!

120mm fans?? Gonna be a tight one!! Click to enlarge

Even tighter here!! Click to enlarge

How about a chimney fan? As you can see from the pic above, that one is gonna be even tighter!! I have only about 4mm clearance on both sides of the fans after installing the CD-ROM drive. I have seen some drives longer than mine and they could prevent you from fixing a 120mm fan at the top. One alternative is to fix a 92mm fan. You could also put 2 80mm fans side-by-side as a chimney exhaust. If you still want a 120mm fan as your chimney exhaust, you could always install your CD-ROM drive lower down the 5.25" bays.

All this has been done before, so you might want to check out the Cool Cases page for more ideas!

Conclusion
With the revision made to the case, Enlight has a winner in it's hands. The EN7237 is made of high quality gauge steel with no sharp edges, it offers easy access to its internal, easy hardware installations and upgrades and an excellent cooling capability.

This is not to say that it is without downsides though. I would love for it to come with a 300W PSU for starters. Thumbscrews is also very much welcomed on the side panels for tool-free access to the inside. The stock intake holes on the font bezel could also have been made larger for better airflow into the case.

The EN7237 is suitable not only for the overclocking and mod freaks out there, but also for the regular home user and office use. If you're in the market for a good MID ATX case, I strongly suggest you put the Enlight EN-7237 in your list. And only for a retail price of S$90, you really can't go wrong!!

Any comments about this review, please mail me.

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