Installation:

   Getting into the case isn't too hard, but isn't too easy at the same time. For a case such as this one, that is for the entry-level server market, installation and upgrading/changing of components ought to be easy, as administrators/technicians may have to deal with many systems on a daily basis, and having annoying "features" of a case that make entry difficult, or swapping of components a convoluted procedure can ruin one's patience fast. There is ample room in this case for working within, but several details leave at least a little to be desired.

   You'll have to install the ATX I/O shield/panel yourself, no big deal, and it's probably better that Yeong Yang left it out as many motherboards come with their own panel that fits the different connectors at the back of the motherboard. There are also punchouts here for other external connectors, such as SCSI connectors, or one for a COM port if your motherboard uses a cable for the second serial port and you wish to use it. This way you won't have to waste an expansion slot just for something like the bracket for a serial connector.

ATX I/O shield area.	Stand offs.
Stand offs are the best way to secure the motherboard.	Gap between the top of the case and mobo tray for cables to pass through

   The motherboard tray comes with many points to mount the stand offs used to secure your motherboard, so you'll have to find out which ones you need for your motherboard. All points accept the brass screw-down stand offs, so you'll need a nut driver to install them, but these are your best option for mounting a motherboard securely to the tray. From the picture below, I think it is clear that there are no mounting holes for P4 heatsinks, but correct me if I'm wrong. Some, if not a lot, of motherboards come with brackets as a workaround for this, but it would be nice to see the mounting holes included in a subsequent revision of this case.

   However, as this case was meant to support a wide variety of motherboards, especially dual-CPU versions, I can see how the inclusion of such mounting holes wasn't taken into account. The motherboard tray is not removeable, but as said before there's quite a bit of room to work in here since the drives are on the other side of the case. Thankfully, the slot covers are of the proper type, that is, the type that is replaceable and is secured by a screw, as any normal expansion card would be.

 

Brass screw down stand offs are used.	Screw down slot covers.
Drive covers are pressed into place, but can be secured with screws.	The pop out with ease.

   Removing the drive covers is an easy job. The 3.5" ones are just clipped into place, so they can be popped out with a quick movement. The 5.25" covers are a little different. They are pressed into place, with the screw holes protruding out quite a bit, and serving like pushpins that hold the drive cover to the front panel. This way, they are attached to the front panel with little security, but you can use screws to hold them in place if you wish. While using screws is a secure method, it's usually not best to use screws with plastic parts, such as the drive covers and front panel, as the plastic can get worn out over time.

   Installation of 5.25" drives is fairly straightforward; the drive rails are screwed onto the sides of the drive, and then the drive can be slid into position. There is some room for movement when the drive rails are attached to the drive however, so you'll need to make sure you position the drive rails so that the faceplate of your drive is aligned with the front panel. This has usually been the case with the mounting of external drives in most any case. After sliding the drive into a bay, you'll need to use one screw per drive rail to secure it in the bay. This adds extra work, but allows you to mount drives more securely, and as mentioned before, allows the proper mounting of LCDs and fan controllers that may only use the front screw holes of the drive rails. With drive rails that clip into position, problems can arise with such things like LCDs, as there's not enough "bulk" in between the drive rails to get them to stay in position.

 

Drive covers.	Drive rails are used for 5.25" drives.
Rails must be screwed to the case.	3.5" drive shield.

  Because the drives are on one side of the case, all the 3.5" drives are mounted in cages, and you'll have to remove them before installing any drive into them.  The external 3.5" drive cage slides out the front, and you'll need to remove two screws at the front to remove it. The 3.5" drive shield is one piece, and covers both 3.5" bays, but it has a bend in it that can be exploited to break the shield into separate pieces, one for each drive bay. Each can then be screwed into place independently. One the drive cage is out, 3.5" drives are easily screwed into position within it. As is the case with the drive rails, there is some room for movement, so you'll need to check to make sure your 3.5" drives line up with the front panel. With two 3.5" drive bays, you'll have room for the ubiquitous floppy drive, and maybe a Zip drive or 3.5" fan controller.

   To remove each HDD cage, you'll need to take out four screws at the back of the case; the HDD cage then falls out of place. There are no rails like in the Antec SX1000 case to hold the drive cage or help guide it into place. This makes installation or removal of the HDD cage a little more difficult, and I would have liked to see a better system here for that. Also, four screws is a lot, especially when you need to 3-4 screws per HDD as well; while I understand that two screws could have been used this could have compromised the stability of each HDD cage attachment, but however I would have liked an easier solution, perhaps a removal method that was even tool-free. Once the HDD cage is free, you'll notice that it's basically the same thing as the FDD cage; this simplifies manufacture of the case, I guess. Anyway, you'll need to make sure the HDD is not too far into the cage, as the 92mm fans at the back take up some space in the cage, as you can see by the cutout at the bottom of the HDD cage.

   One other thing I should touch on is space, especially relating to cable lengths. Since the motherboard is on the other side of the case, away from the drives, cables will generally have to travel a little longer distance. This is exacerbated by the fact that cables can only pass through the small cutout in the motherboard tray or over the top of the tray. Thus, they'll need to follow unnatural paths, and some cables, especially shorted IDE ones that need to reach two devices, may not be able to get to the right spots. At the very least, wiring won't look too pretty. For this reason, you'll want to mount your HDDs near the pass through areas, like right at the topmost drive cage, or the one right at the bottom. Another thing you'll want to consider is space between drives on the same level; what I mean by this is if you have a 5.25" drive at the same height as one of your HDDs. In this case, their backs might come close to each other, making connection of data/power cables a little hard. This really depends on the length of your 5.25" drives; a lot of DVD/CD-RW drives are conforming to the short length specification, making them less than 20cm long, and with these drives there won't even be the possibility for a problem.

 

External 3.5" cage and shield.	Four screws must be taken out to remove each HDD cage.
HDD cage is pretty much the same as the FDD cage.	No guidance for HDD cages.

  Overall, installation and working with this case was an okay experience. While I didn't have any difficulties with space, I had issues with the way drive installation was handled, in particular with the HDDs. The cages are very spartan, and don't have any thing like tool-less removal or rails to guide their placement. Something more is needed here, if installation is to be made easier. However, all drives attached securely, and you'll be content knowing any 5.25" device will fit in the drive bays despite the use of rails.