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Introduction Premodified cases are becoming more and more popular by the month. One need only go to most any computer store, or any online hardware retailer to see that good-looking cases complete with windows and other mods are usually readily available. Looking at these cases, it's easy to see what a long way the computer case has come in a relatively short time. It used to be that the only way you could get a nice looking case with a window was to modify a plain-Jane case yourself, adding in amenities using your own time and skill. Not anymore - beyond the window mod kits and similar products that soon followed, manufacturers began to take note and soon were pumping out ready-made cases that looked very nice straight from the factory. Clearly, business began to see that people wanted more from a case than just a housing for a computer system. Indeed, Xoxide has been at the forefront of this enterprise, offering both self-modified cases and pre-modified units. In addition, they offer a wide variety of cases, from full-towers to mid-towers to even smaller enclosures, at various price points to suit your needs. One need of many people would have to be an aluminum-built case, a quality that not only makes the case look nice, but light weight as well. Because of this, there are now many aluminum cases out there, but as you've probably seen, this has made the market rife with subpar models that just are not worthy of housing your computer system. Xoxide recently starting selling their latest aluminum case, the X-500, and today I'll be looking at this model. The X-500, at first, looks like your typical aluminum case complete with a side window; upon further inspection you'll note that it also includes a nice front blue-backlit LCD and a motor-driven powered front sliding door. Do these extras add even more worth to the X-500, or are they golden jewels in a pig's snout? Specifications Looking at the bare specifications and numbers, the X-500 is pretty normal for a mid-tower case of its class. At just under 20" in height, it's not too tall, but at the same time, is not too small so that interior space is cramped. Four 5.25" drive bays compliment its dimensions, along with two external 3.5" drive bays and four 3.5" HDD bays. Four 5.25" drive bays is about right, as you could easily fill all the drive bays and have your needs provided for. A single front 80mm fan provides intake in that area, and with it and the side (window) 80mm fan operating, airflow ought to be balanced pretty well against the two 80mm exhaust fans. Though there are four fan placements, the front intake fan position is empty, and you must provide a fan to go here.
The X-500 came very well packaged; the entire unit was actually double-boxed. The inside box had the case surrounded by ~1" foam inserts, and then that box itself was surrounded by another 2" of bubble-wrap and placed in the outer box. This ensured that no matter what kind of training day the delivery people were having, the X-500 case would arrive safely, without a scratch or dent. I usually don't comment on this kind of thing too much, but I thought I'd mention it since the X-500 was exceptionally well-packaged.
The X-500 is very light, and you'll notice this right away. Though I couldn't find a definite weight spec., I'd guess it'd weight around 10lbs or less, empty and without a PSU. This isn't surprising when you know that the case is made of 1.0mm aluminum. This makes the case very easy to move or pickup; in this way it's ideal for a LAN party system or for someone who's just tired of moving around heavy cases. The aluminum has been anodized, making it less prone to picking up fingerprints and scratches, and giving the case a nice industrial look on its side panels and top. The front panel looks fairly flashy, but not overly so; most of it's grey, with a few places that have a mirror-like shine to them. There are other things added to make the front look nice; beyond the sliding door that covers up the front of 5.25" drives, there is a cutout for the floppy drive in the first 3.5" drive bay. Your FDD will then hide behind this, and hence won't be allowed to disturb the colour or look of the front panel.
The sliding door dominates the front of the case; it's driven by a motor that's powered by your case's power supply. In the top position, it covers the four 5.25" drive bays, making the area look nice if you have DVD drives, etc. that don't match the colours of the case. When it's slid down, it covers everything including and from the floppy drive downwards. The sliding action is nice and smooth, and though it does make a bit of noise, it's not really more than that of a DVD drive tray opening or closing. The side window sports an interesting design that is identical to that found on the X-450 case I reviewed earlier, and in fact the entire side panels of both cases are almost identical. Both windows are a made of a single piece of blue-hued material that is fastened to the side panel (behind the pattern cutout) using bolts. The center of the window has a clear 80mm fan set in an intake position; its hue matches that of the window, a nice thing to note. You can choose to upgrade this fan to a blue LED model, as Xoxide is usually happy to make changes to the base configuration of a case, and such a fan would go great with the window in helping to improve overall appearance.
The back of the case shows the punch out vent holes for the two 80mm exhaust fans. While they are in a good position, and a welcome change from the 60mm fan used in the X-450, the vent holes leave something to be desired. As you can also see, no PSU is included; some will look down upon this but it's perhaps a better option than including a junk PSU and raising the price of the case by another $10-15 USD. Each side panel is held in place by two thumb screws, and also has a handle that makes removing them easier; these handles are hinged and can be folded inward so that they don't protrude out back too much when not in use. A little addition, to be sure, but one that's appreciated, at least by me. The thumbscrews are pretty much standard fare on a case like this, and overall, getting into this case should be fairly easy thanks to these features.
Taking a closer look at the door, you'll notice the "Eagle" logo behind the protective plastic wrap. This is because the case is actually made by SkyHawk and is part of their "Eagle" line of aluminum cases; the actual part number is "PSR-5601". And, in case you're wondering, the plastic wrap is in place because the door is made of a slightly translucent acrylic (or is it plexiglass?) material. As mentioned before, it's motor-driven, but you can manually move it slowly by applying pressure, if, for example, you need to install a CD/DVD drive and the door is in the way. In the rightmost picture above you'll see the silver button on the upper right side of the case that, when pressed, moves the door up or down. In the lower part of the front of the case you'll see the LCD surrounded by a ring of shiny oval plastic. This is perhaps one of the main selling points of this case, as this LCD can display both the time (independent of the computer) and the temperature from the included thermal probe. The LCD also has icons for these indicators; the LCD itself is always on because it draws power from one of the standby voltage rails of your ATX PSU, as an ATX PSU is never really "off" unless hard-switched off or unplugged. The three buttons directly below the LCD, control its function. Below the LCD is the Power and Reset buttons. Almost this entire part of the front panel is lit up in a light blue colour when your PC is on, and the shiny piece of aluminum bolted into place in this area only makes things look better. It's easy to see why this case will be an eye-catcher at LAN parties, with its stylish design, noted especially in this location. One little thing I noted was that the Power and Reset buttons felt kind of loose, but responded with a firm click when pressed.
At the bottom of the case, a small door opens downward to reveal the front ports. Two USB 2.0 ports, a firewire port, and mic and headphone audio jacks are placed here, and these features are starting to become standard on many cases. The USB ports are especially useful, with the prevalence of USB devices such as game controllers and flash drives; sometimes going to the back of one's case can be one burden too many. There's also another power button here - though why? Well, if you left the door in the 'down' position when you turned off your computer, you'll note that it will then cover the main power button, preventing you from turning on your PC that way. True, you could move the door up manually but that can quickly become annoying every time you forget, so the manufacturer was kind enough to include an alternate power button here, that is accessible no matter what the situation - additionally, this secondary power button is hidden along with the rest of the front ports when the small door at the bottom is closed. Lastly, the bottom of the case has four grip feet for stability, and this has pretty much been a standard for mid-towers for a long time. << Back to Reviews Page | Accessories and Getting Inside >>
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