The Enermax CS-10182 entry-level chassis.
The front panel has an industrial look to it.
The rear is pretty much the same as previous Chenming-made cases.
Xoxide Enermax CS-10182-BA Full (Server) Tower Review
Date : Saturday, 05 July 2003
By : Stygian
Provided By : Xoxide
Introduction
In the past I've reviewed several aluminum cases, that, while being mid-towers, were perfect for LAN systems, some even good enough for one's main system. However, while some of them may have been of quality construction, because of the lightweight materials used they fell short of the sturdiness of a well-made steel chassis. Because of this, many people still fall back to a steel case when they require strength and durability - despite the pains associated with the weight. There are just some situations where hardiness is put above all.
One such situation is seen in the entry-level server market. Such systems probably won't be physically moved too often; their main requirements are of a different nature. In addition to being of sound construction, they must also provide quick and easy access, in case an administrator or technician must perform a hardware upgrade or switch due to a component failure, in order to minimize downtime. Additionally, because entry-level servers can typically house dual-CPU systems with multiple HDDs, these cases must be able to provide adequate cooling and proper airflow to ensure proper operation of critical services. In short, the quality of these cases lies in their ability not to dazzle, but to perform a case's most basic functions in the best possible manner.
It was somewhat of an inevitability then (and perhaps a little coincidental) that entry-level server cases would eventually fall into the limelight of the case modder and enthusiast market. The features of such cases made them ideal; a decently-sized interior able to house multiple HDDs and large motherboards, while at the same time not taking up too much space in one's room and an excellent cooling ability. But perhaps the most prized quality was their industrial look; after all, these cases were designed to perform a function (or set of functions), and those functions were placed high above form. This gave the cases an overall plain-Jane industrial-strength look that made it a dream to modify - in short, these cases were very much like a plain canvas upon which the case modder could create his or her masterpiece. One need only look at the success and proliferation of the Antec/Chenming series of entry-level server towers to get an idea of what I'm talking about. You can find these cases almost anywhere, but more importantly, case mods of almost every dimension, size and shape have been done to these cases, and there's no shortage of ideas floating around for you take a peek at - everything from basic add-a-blowhole mods, to all-out full-body paint jobs that would impress an auto body shop.
The makers of these cases however, were not content just to keep producing their products as-is; they had found a new market for their products, perhaps by mistake, and were now willing to capitalize upon it. They quickly starting adding new features to their "entry-level cases", such as windows, additional fans, up-front USB/firewire/audio ports, and other features not indicative of the entry-level server market, signalling a desire to capture more of the enthusiast market. Additionally, update chassis designs followed, improving upon an already excellent interior layout. All of this has practically transformed most of the "entry-level server" market into an arena for hardware enthusiasts, each desiring a quality and easy-to-use case. Today, I'll be looking at one such case from this class, the Enermax CS-10182-BA Server Tower, provided by Xoxide.
Specifications
This Enermax chassis is most likely manufactured by Chenming, like all of the other cases similar to it; I believe this is true, but I cannot confirm it. It features an updated design that is quite a bit different than previous cases, such as the SX1000-series and subsequent cases from Antec; most of the differences are internal, and so they cannot be seen by the exterior pictures on this first page. The internal design is pretty much the same as that of the ThermalTake Xaser-III series. This is probably due to the commonality of manufacturers. However, the basic specifications remain almost the same. There are room for four 5.25" drives, as well as two 3.5" external drives; up to six internal 3.5" drives can be mounted, which is a little improvement over previous cases of this sort. In addition to there being room for two front 80mm fans and two rear exhaust 80mm fans, this case has added a top 80mm 'chimney' fan and room for two side 80mm fans, for a total of capacity of seven 80mm fans! As was configured in the case I reviewed, there were three 80mm fans included; two in the rear exhaust positions and one in the chimney/top position.
From the outset, the CS-10182 has the industrial-strength look and appeal. This almost plain look conceals the added functionality it has over other cases in the same class, and at the same time, prevents the case from being too flashy or disconcerting to your room. The front panel is plastic, but has an aluminum faceplate attached, covering most of the front. As is the case with entry-level servers, a door blocks access to the external drive bays, and can be locked using the provided keys. This lock also bars the opening of the entire front panel - in addition to the door, the entire front panel can swing out, as we'll see later, providing access to the front fans and more. The vents in the lower part of the front panel aren't the best, but they do a decent job of allowing air into the case. And, lest I forget, this case is heavy! It came well-packaged surrounded by 2" of foam (even UPS couldn't damage this one ;) ), and to remove it from its box, you'll most likely have to just turn the box on its opening and remove the box from the case. I'm willing to bet that the two removable side panels of this case weigh more than a lot of aluminum cases. The contributing factor to this is of course the 1.0mm steel used, which is rolled-over and folded in many areas to eliminate sharp edges, but this process also adds weight and strength to the case.
| The Enermax CS-10182 entry-level chassis. |
The front panel has an industrial look to it. |
The rear is pretty much the same as previous Chenming-made cases. |
The rear of the case should be a familiar site to those of you with an Antec case. Two 80mm exhaust fans dominate the field here, and the punch-out fan grills do a pretty good job of facilitating airflow, IMO. Any power supply you use with this case will have to be attached to the PSU plate, and then the plate is secured to the chassis. This way, you can be sure that you can slide the PSU in from the back of the case, and not having to go in sideways. This does make PSU installation a bit easier. The left side of the case features a handle to help you remove it, but there is no latch like on other cases. The handle is merely a grip. Next to the handle are the intake vents for one of the side fans, and below this are the vents for the second side fan. As you can see, the vents are not all that big, and hamper the airflow to the side fans. Both side are held in place by easy to use thumbscrews that can also be secured by a screwdriver - so you've got tool free access.
 Side grip to aid in side panel removal. |
 Side fan vents aren't all that great. |
 Lock secures both door and front panel. |
The door has space for the two LEDs to shine through, and below this is the lock. Opening the door (which is held in place by a single plastic clip) reveals the external drive bays, and the cover of the first 5.25" drive bay along with the chassis shield is already removed. One thing I didn't like is that the door only opens 90 degrees; I would have liked it if the door opened the full 180, as if you have the case to the right of you, accessing the drives can be hard with the door only opening up 90 degrees. To the right of the 3.5" drive bays are the LEDs and the standard ATX power switch and reset buttons; the LEDs were green and amber, and both were 5mm and non-socketed. The reset button was not difficult to press at all. The front door is removeable - you just need to turn it most of the way out, and then it will slide off of its hinges. You can see the bolt heads holding the aluminum plate in place - these add to the industrial look that is reinforced by the actual strength of the case.
 Door only opens 90 degrees. |
 Power/Reset & LEDs. |
 Door is easily removed. |
 Aluminum faceplate covers the door and front panel. |
On top of the case, near the chimney exhaust, we find the USB, firewire and audio ports, a curious position to put them. This is contrasted with the typical location of these ports on cases being in the front - these two positions really represent a trade-off of sorts. If you put this case on the floor (as many, but not all, of you would because of its size and weight) having the ports on top can almost be better than having them in the front, especially if they were at the lower front of the case. However, if you put the case upon your large desk, it'd be quite a bit more troublesome to access the ports on top of the case. This is just something to keep in mind, depending on where you put your case. Nevertheless, they are nicely integrated with the look of the case, and are hidden behind a small push-to-open door. The ports located here are a feature that really makes this case not just an "entry level server", but a fully-featured chassis for almost anyone. As with most cases from this class, there are four swing-out feet to give the case stability, especially on carpeted or other soft surfaces. You can also see that the bottom provides some airflow to the front intake fans.
 Ports are nicely integrated and hidden behind a door on top. |
 Firewire, USB and audio ports are provided. |
 Case has four swing-out feet. |
The outside of this case can be summed up as a professional sleek look, that is not too fancy and will go well in almost anyone's room, as the case exterior is almost all a solid, dark black. But, as we all know, things get more interesting on the inside, and the inside is what truly makes or breaks a case.
Accessories
and Getting Inside
The CS-10182 came with pretty much the standard accessories. Two keys were provided, along with a small baggie of screws/standoff/tie-wraps. P4 HSF mounting standoffs and screws were separated into another baggie, a nice touch. The ATX I/O panel is pretty much a standard one that'll fit most motherboards, though a lot of new motherboards (such as those from Asus) are features a different layout, however most Asus mobos come with a new panel to reflect this.
As mentioned before, you can easily open the front panel. The keyhole again serves a purpose here. Turned all the way up, the lock holds both the door and front panel in place; turned halfway down, only the front panel is held in place, and when the lock is turned all the way down, both the door and front panel can be opened. Both of these swing out to the left, as seen in the picture below. This made for *very* easy access to the front fans and drive bays. Once that's done, you'll see a small black latch on the left side of the front chassis; this latch holds/locks the left side panel into place. Turning this will allow you to remove the side panel. You can choose to lock the left side panel in place this way, preventing people from stealing your stuff. After that's done, you only need to remove two thumbscrews per side to remove the side panels. (The right side panel cannot be locked into place but you'll be hard pressed to remove anything from the case properly just by removing it.)
 Accessories. |
 Front panel swings out easily. |
 This latch locks the left side in place for security. |
 Two thumbscrews hold each side panel in place. |
In addition to swinging out, you can also completely remove the front panel. Similar to how the front door is removed, when the front panel swings out all the way, it simply slides up and then it is removed. The ease with which the front panel can be removed is something that cannot be ignored; contrast this with the front panels of some other cases which require you to sometimes remove screws and press 6 clips at once to get the thing removed. You'll also notice that the front face placements and their filters are accessed from the front, behind the front panel. Sliding out the left side panel is easy thanks to the handle. Once it's removed, you're treated to the nice interior view, which is partly covered by the blue translucent side fan holder. As mentioned before, the case is a bit longer than previous cases of this type, so there is ample room for you to work inside. This is good, because the motherboard tray is not removeable. A removeable motherboard tray wasn't necessary for me for this case, but it definitely would have made installation easier.
 Interior view. |
 Front panel held in place by plastic latches. |
 Front panel can be removed from its hinges. |
 Front door removed from panel. |
Removing the side fan holder is pretty intuitive. Pressing in two clips, one on top, and one on the bottom, allow you to swing the fan holder out to the left, towards the back. If you're resting the case on its side, horizontally, the fan holder swings out enough that it won't fall back into place on its own. You can remove the fan holder completely by pressing another clip that sort of hinges it in place. One little attention to detail on the fan holder was the inclusion of foam feet around the points where the fan holder contacts either the chassis or the top of expansion cards. This should not only cut down on the rattle of the fans one may put in the holder, but ensures the fan holder doesn't make a 'hard' contact with your expansion cards. Additionally, the height/length of the foam feet above your expansion cards is adjustable - I believe more attention to detail was given to the fan holder in this case than is given by some other manufacturers for the entire case!
 Pressing in the clip to swing out the fan holder. |
 Depressing the hinge clip allows you to remove the fan holder completely. |
 Foam feet cushion the fan holder between it and the chassis. |
 Foam feet above expansion cards are adjustable in height. |
Once the fan holder is out the way, you can see truly how much space there is in this case; the extra depth contributes to most of this. You can also see that two filters are provided for the side 80mm fans; this way all of the four intake fans (including the 2*80mm at the front) are provided with washable and reusable filters. As you can tell from the picture below, the 5.25" drives are attached using drive rails; they are not mounted directly to the chassis. As we'll see on the next page, attaching the drive rails and mounting the drives is even easier with the CS-10182 because the rails can be attached without screws.
 Ample room within. |
 5.25" drive bays. |
 3.5" drives go in sideways, and are at the front near the intakes. |
 Motherboard tray not removeable. |
The 6 internal 3.5" drive bays are mounted in such a way that HDDs must be installed sideways. This has its pros and cons. The good effect is that the drives don't stick out towards the motherboard anymore, and thereby don't block off access or conflict with long expansion cards; the bad side is that IDE or other data cables will have to make a slightly longer trip from the controller interface to the HDD, because the back end of the HDD will be sticking out towards the side. Power cables will have to be similarly adjusted. What really surprised me though, was the fact that HDDs are also mounted using drive rails - so two types of rails are provided, one for 5.25" drives and one for 3.5" drives. The 3.5" rails also attach using a tool-less method. Because of the ease of 3.5" drive installation here, the 3.5" drive cage is not removeable, and I didn't find this to be a problem.
Just above the height of the 2 rear 80mm fans is the crossbar, which adds stability to the case. This, and the folded top edge of the motherboard tray, provide support for the PSU. The PSU itself is attached to the PSU plate mentioned previously, and the PSU plate is then held in place by four screws to the case chassis. The PSU is slid in from the back for installation, and this makes changing out a PSU quite a bit easier. Additionally, there is quite a bit of room between the top edge of any motherboard installed in this case, and the bottom of the PSU, which should aid in installation.
 Rear interior view. |
 PSU plate. |
 PSU has support from beneath. |
 Tool-less expansion card installation. |
What really amazed me was the system in this case for tool free expansion card installation. Not simply a thumbscrew solution, the system instead uses plastic push-down latches of sort. Basically, you install your AGP/PCI cards normally, but then you push down the plastic pin and turn it to lock it into place, thereby securing the card. It maybe wasn't as good as using screws, but I found to be secure enough that I wasn't worried about my cards coming out of place while moving this case.
The USB and firewire wires for the top ports were, surprisingly, all coalesced into one connector. This makes attaching them a lot easier, as with most other cases you have to deal with individual wires/connectors; I assume that the layout Enermax chose for these connectors was indicative of the common pinout used by most motherboard manufacturers nowadays; if your USB/firewire connectors have a different pinout, you're out of luck unless you want to physically re-arrange the wires in the connector. The audio ports (headphone/mic) were, however, arranged into single wire/connectors. The front panel connectors (Power, Reset, LEDs) were pretty much standard fare, but also included was a chassis intrusion-detection connector; this little wire was connected to a momentary switch on the back of the chassis; when the side panel is removed, it breaks the circuit (as the side panel is holding the switch down), and this can be detected by motherboards that have the chassis intrusion detection header. Useful if you want to know when your case has been opened, but for a personal system in your home, it doesn't really have much merit.
 Front panel, USB, firewire and audio connectors. |
 Top ports are wired into a small PCB. |
 Plastic wire guides keep things neat. |
 Small pictorial stickers explain almost everything. |
Lastly, there were a few small things that made working in this case nice. Firstly, the wires for the top ports and front panel connections were cleanly routed through two plastic clamps/guides in order to make the inside of the case a bit neater. These guides help keep these wires away from the main area over the motherboard; in this way they are very helpful as you won't have them dangling over the CPU or other expansion cards. It was very nice to see the manufacturer include a system for keeping the wires out of the way, instead of leaving the job to you. Secondly, there are small black-and-white pictorial stickers explaining how to do everything inside of the case; these things are everywhere. In case some aspect of installation with this case isn't too intuitive, these helpful stickers explain the process.
Installation
From what I've told you already, you probably know that installation will be pretty easy in this case. We've already seen how easy it is to open up this case, thanks to the thumbscrews. Indeed, the first generation of these cases, seen in the Antec SX1000, were easy to work with, and the CS-10182 only improves upon that. One thing that many of you will grumble about is the lack of a removable motherboard tray. Indeed, I do like motherboard trays, and while this case could have benefited from one, the ample room within doesn't make installation hard. The case is really a joy to work with because of the room within.
No stand-offs are pre-installed, so you must figure out where you'll need to put them for your motherboard. The stand-offs are the brass screw down type, not the clip-on type, so while this make them harder to attach it also ensures a secure attachment point for your motherboard. A separate baggie also included four separate stand-offs and screws; I assume these are for the mounting of a P4 HSF, but since I don't have a P4 system, I can't confirm this. The mounting holes for P4 systems were present, so this is why I've made the assumption. The motherboard tray is sturdy as heck, and adds a considerable amount of strength and weight to the case.
 Lots of room, but no removable mobo tray. |
 P4 HSF mounting hardware. |
 Installing the stand-off... |
 In position. |
Installing expansion cards is a breeze; though the slot covers are flimsy, they are replaceable, and hence you don't have to tear them out. As mentioned before, the tool-free system for securing expansion cards worked great. It'll be a godsend to you if you change expansion cards regularly; heck, it's a godsend for anyone having to work inside computers. They only thing you don't want to do is end up with a broken latch here; then you'll be forced to use screws again to secure the cards, and that can be very tricky.
Installing drives is a little trickier, but not so much so. The plastic drive covers are each held in place by two self-threaded screws. While this make their attachment more secure, I would have preferred plastic clips in this case; it just would have made more sense, since almost everything else in this case is secured in a tool-free fashion. The first 5.25" drive bay cover and its shield is removed for you, but you'll have to tear out the drive shields for the other bays. This is something I've never liked to do, but almost every other case has the shields attached like this. Next, you'll find the drive rails in two plastic sleds set in the internal 3.5" drive bays. It was nice to see the rails put here, as in their sled they sit in the 3.5" drive bays inside your case, not in some box you'll always to look for. It's similar to how the 5.25" drive rails in the Antec SX1000 are attached to their holder the bottom of your case.
 Drive covers are screwed on. |
 Each is attached by 2 screws. |
 3.5" and 5.25" drive rails sit in sleds that fit in a 3.5" bay. |
 5.25" drive rails; note the attachment pins. |
The plastic drive rails are not screwed on; rather, there are pins on each of them that insert into the screw holes on your drives. The rails attach very loosely to the drives, and are apt to fall off when the drive is outside of the case. However, when you slide the drive into position in the case, they hold very tightly to the drive and keep it in position very well. This tool-free method, while seemingly less secure than using screws, actually worked quite well in keeping the drive in position, while at the same time, being very easy to use of course. Part of the reason why it's secure is that the sides of the 5.25" drive cage are very strong, and have just the right amount of room between them so that a drive sits snugly and not loosely. The front panel, when in position, covers up the drive rails so you can opt to remove the front door and not be treated to an unsightly scene.
A few downsides are present, however, with this drive rail system. Firstly, of course, is that because they're not screwed onto the drive they don't hold well to a drive when the drive is not in the case. More importantly, however, is that these drive rails will preclude the installation of drive units that only have front screw mounts; what I mean by this is that most fan control devices and LCD units will not be able to be mounted correctly because the drive rails need a full-length device in order to be used. This is a downside that cannot be ignored as the popularity of fan controllers and other such devices rises.
 The pins fit into the screw holes on your drives. |
 They are not securely attached though. |
 But when you slide the drive in place, they are. |
 Easy to attach, easy to remove. |
The internal 3.5" drives attach in much the same way with their drive rails. The push pins go into the screw holes on your HDD, and then the HDD is secured into position via the clips on the drive rails. It works just as well as the drive rails for the 5.25" drives work. You'll just have to take note, as with the 3.5" rails, one type is for the left side and one is for the right; they're labeled accordingly so this shouldn't be a problem. There are enough drive rails of each type to completely fill the case to its max capacity in terms of drives.
 Front panel conceals the drive rails. |
 3.5" drive rails work just as well. |
 Clips hold the plastic rails to the drive cage. |
The only place where you'll need a screwdriver and screws is for the external 3.5" drives. Because you cannot access the left side of these drives, the external cage is removeable. After opening up the front panel, you remove a single thumbscrew and then the cage slides out from the front. Your 3.5" drives are then directly mounted to the cage; no rails are used here. It's nice that the cage slides out to the front, and not to the back, because if it did, removing it could be troublesome as then it could come in contact with wires/cables and the area over the motherboard. Overall, you can mount any sort of drive in this case without having to worry about moving cables in the case out of the way; everything is either put in from the front or from the side, away from the general cable clutter area.
 External 3.5" drives are screwed to the 3.5" drive cage. |
 The cage slides out the front. |
Pretty much the only time you'll need tools is for installing the motherboard, installing the PSU, or installing an external 3.5" drive. It's not too often that you do this for a regular system, unless you are upgrading all the time, and even if you are, all the tool-free systems in the case make that process easier. For example, if you were replacing a motherboard, you'd have to remove all the expansion cards; this is made easy by the tool-free slot card securing system. I really enjoyed working in this case because of the ease with which things could be attached. This experience was improved further by the room that the case provided; none of the drives in place interfered with the motherboard, and space was never cramped. The only downside, as mentioned above, is that the drive rail system will prevent the use of some devices that occupy 5.25" drive bays, namely, fan controllers and other devices that only use the front screw holes of 5.25" drives.
Cooling
and Mod Possibilities
The Enermax CS-10812 comes with a capacity for seven 80mm fans, three of which are provided. All of the provided 80mm fans are Power Logic PL80S12M sleeve-bearing fans that are rated, as I found, to push around 27.5CFM, running at 2500rpm, while producing only ~28dBA of noise. From listening to them, I think this is pretty much right - these fans are not loud at all. They're definitely not the strongest fans, but if you don't like hearing the whir of such powerful fans, you'll like these.
The front fan placements are accessed from behind the front panel. A single screw holds each fan cover in place; once this is removed, the metal fan cage is slid to the right and comes out; you'll need to use screws to hold a fan in place here. However, to remove the filter, you don't need to remove the metal fan cage; instead, the black plastic fan guard can be removed by pressing a single clip, and the filter is then removed from behind it. This way, it's very easy to wash/remove the filter; you only need to open the front panel firstly. Therefore, no tools are needed if you want to do this!
 Front 80mm fans. |
 Fan cage is in place via a single screw. |
 Filter can be removed on its own, w/o tools. |
 HDD cage tends to block airflow. |
One downside of the internal HDD cage is that its placement tends to block off airflow; though because the front fans are intake fans and not spot cooling fans, the effect is lessened; in any event, the side intake fans somewhat offset this negative result. However, the front intake holes are only adequate; they'll get blocked with dust themselves quickly, if you choose to put high-flow fans in the front positions. Behind the intake holes the plastic front panel doesn't help much with ventilation. Most of the air will have to come in from the vent-gap on the bottom of the front panel. The front panel could be modified to provide more airflow, but you'd have to be careful to make the job look professional.
 Vent holes are okay. |
 Behind view. |
 Air can also come in from beneath. |
 Side fan placements. |
The side 80mm fans attach easily to the fan holder; hear they're secured via clips so the installation is tool-free. The included filters here are sandwiched between the holder and the fan. You'll want to set up these fans to intake air, probably. It seems that was the desired configuration, because of the filters included. As always, you can reverse the airflow to see which way gives your system lower temperatures. Either way, however, the ventilation holes on the side panel are not very good. A small set of holes for the top fan, and some vent slits for the bottom fan, while looking nice on the outside, do not allow proper air in, to feed the side fans. I would have liked something more conducive to cooling for side panel vents. Though the side fans are in good positions, as one is over the CPU area and one sits over your expansion cards, any fans put here would be limited in effect by the poor ventilation provided. It would be hard to mod the side panel to provide good airflow while at the same time keeping the panel looking good, because of the present position of the vents.
 Side panel vents. |
 Vents are not very good at their job. |
 Top fan vent is alright. |
 Top fan is held in place by clips. |
The top fan position is occupied by one of the included 80mm fans; it's set to exhaust air, as should be the case with most chimney fans. It's right by the top ports, and while its ventilation holes integrate nicely with the look on the outside, they aren't excellent but merely adequate again. The chimney fan is held in place by a plastic clip fan cage, so it's easy to attach and remove. Despite the location of the chimney fan and the PCB for the top access ports, I did not find them interfering with the placement of a 5.25" drive in the top drive bay. The extra length of the case helped in this respect. The two rear exhaust fan positions also have their fans included, and here the ventilation is pretty good. Although the area is a punched-out grill, it does allow air to pass through fairly well. Again, these fans are easy to attach because of the clips holding them in place; even the fan cages themselves are easy to remove. All of the included fans can be attached to 3 or 4-pin power sources as the necessary adapters are included - a nice touch as most of the time you won't see this with case fans that are included with a case.
 Rear fans. |
 Good ventilation here. |
 Fans are easily removed from cages. |
 All included fans are 3-pin but come with 3-4 pin adapters as well. |
Overall, cooling is adequate. Seven 80mm fans sounds like a lot, but the front and side intakes are hampered by poor ventilation. There's not much you can mod in terms of cooling with this case; there are enough fans but just better vents are needed. It could possibly have been better to go with a lower number of case fans, and instead provide these fans with better intake vents. However, while the cooling capacity of this case wasn't the best, it surely wasn't the worst; in fact it's one of the better I've seen, even when using only four of the seven fan placements. (2 front intakes and 2 rear exhausts)
One optional item that you can get with this case is a modified left side panel that has a window. The window has vents for the top 80mm fan, while the bottom vents are unchanged. (There's no window there) The handle/grip has is different to accommodate the window, which covers a good portion of the area above the motherboard and allows you to see part of the side blue fan holder. As with factory pre-installed windows, the corners are rounded and aren't sharp; the window itself is attached via black pushpins. Not a bad method, but as always, moulding would always look nicer, IMO. With the window, this case will go very nice with case lighting. Putting an LED fan in the top side fan holder would also look nice, since it can be seen from outside.
 Optional side panel window. |
 Vents are in the window for the top fan. |
 Bottom vents unchanged. |
 Black pushpins go well with the colour of the case. |
The windowed side panel doesn't really improve on ventilation for the side fans; they're about equal in that respect. One thing you'll need to be careful about is that the window scratches easily, so you'll not want to lay it down when it's removed. The window will nicely accommodate an applique though, so you can customize this case that way. One thing I didn't like was that the side window panel must be purchased as an option, so it requires you to throw down some extra cash. With other cases including a window as standard fare, this may not go well with some of you. However, it does have an upside though; some of you won't want a window, and are just looking for a quality case, so you'll be able to find that here in the CS-10182, and won't have to pay extra for a window you don't want.
 Pushpins hold the window in place. |
 An LED fan would go nice in the upper side fan holder. |
There's not much to mod with this case; if you're looking for a case you can really go mod-crazy with, you won't find it here. Instead, you'll find a strong, sturdy case that has adequate-to-decent airflow. My only compliant was that the side panel vents should be better, but that's about all. If you get this case and a quality PSU, such as one from Antec to go with it, you'll be set up with a quality case that's sure to outlast the many systems you will inevitably put in it. What I really liked here was how easy it was to change/replace fans as most of them are mounted using clips, and also how easy it was to remove the filters. This makes maintenance of the cooling aspect of the case fairly easy.
Conclusion
The Enermax CS-10182-BA is an excellent case for what it's meant to do, that is, fill the role of a chassis for an entry-level server. The features point directly towards this, as the strength and sturdiness of this case are hard to beat. The 1mm steel construction not only incorporates a reliable material, but is also shows a quality build, with the steel edges rolled and folded in many places, not only removing sharp edges but also adding to overall strength. In many ways, the case was designed for the server environment. Firstly, the ease with which drives can be installed will be a godsend to technicians, who will no longer have to waste time looking for screws or tools that seemingly can never be found; you can literally install a drive (except for external 3.5" ones) without using tools, as not only is access tool-free, but the exclusive drive rail system in the case doesn't require screws for rail attachment. Additionally, expansion cards can be removed/replaced without the use of tools thanks to the plastic latches that hold the cards in place, and working inside the case is nice thanks to the ample room provided. Fans and filters can also be maintained with similar ease. All in all, this case was designed with ease of access and use in mind.
Not everything is with great with the case though, and some things are likely to turn off not businesses looking for an entry-level server chassis, but instead enthusiasts/modders. Firstly, the stock cooling is hampered by the ventilation holes present, mainly those on the side panel. They simply don't seem to be adequate enough. This isn't to say the case's cooling is bad; in fact it's good compared to a lot of cases out there, but I simply wish to say that the cooling could have been better with this case, as it had the capacity for it. Secondly, the drive rail system precludes the use of some LCDs and fan controllers, two things that modders will eventually want. Lastly, the windowed side panel must be purchased separately, indicating that the window was not an integral part of this case's image.
In the end however, the case is a step forward from the previous set of cases like this one. Improvements have been made; it's just that not everyone will welcome the improvements. If you're looking for a server case, I can fully recommend this case, as it's been a joy to work with. All things considered, this is one of the better cases you can spend your money on.
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Finally, a big thanks goes out to Xoxide for providing this Enermax server case for review. If you're looking for this case, or any other great cases, do check out their site; they have some of the best prices and are always having crazy sales during their X-Hour, between 9PM-10PM Eastern, where one product is on sale for an insanely low price.