Cooling and Mod Possibilities:

   This version of the YY-0221 comes with placements for three 92mm fans, two of which are exhaust fans near the HDD cages, the other being the side intake, and one 120mm fan, which is the front intake on the motherboard side. All three 92mm fan placements are filled, as Yeong Yang has provided three Top Motor DF1209BB 92mm units to go in these positions. These fans draw 0.25A of current and are rated to push 50cfm of air at 2700rpm. I could not find a noise specification, but I would rate them around 35-38dBA... they certainly are not soft, and emit quite a whine, though they are not nearly as bad as the Delta "Black label" 60mm fans of fame, but are still annoying in my book. You may want to change the fans out for some Panaflo models that are quieter and more conducive to a work environment.

   The front intake position is made to hold a 120mm fan; any fan you install here will have to be secured using screws. After seeing many of the tool-less fan mounting options used by cases in the same class as the Cube Server, I would have liked to see an easier mounting option. The factory punchout isn't bad, but you may want to mod the case to cut it out and use a proper grill instead; a filter up front would also be welcome. Also, the expansion card stabilizer up front blocks off much of the fan area, and may impede proper airflow. It would have been nicer if this holder was removeable, as hardly any of us will use it. As you can see, the only vent for the front fan is in the 'handle' of the front panel, on the bottom. You'll want to use the included casters/wheels on the case so that it is elevated off the ground to allow for air to easily enter the case.

 

Front 120mm fan position.

Fan is blocked a lot by the holder.

Only vent is on the bottom of the case.

  The rear of the case only has exhaust fans on the drive side of the case. Here, you can see two of the provided 92mm fans, as they sit behind the HDD cages, an ideal position for the fans as they can draw out hot air from around the HDD area, cooling any drives you have put there.

   These fans are also held in place by screws, and while this isn't much of a problem, access to the fans is a concern. As you can see in the first picture below, you'll need to remove at least one HDD cage for each fan you want to remove or replace; when the time comes to do this, (to clean out dust, for example), this process can be troublesome, as each HDD cage requires you to remove a further four more screws plus unplug any connectors that are attached to the drives in that cage.

   The difficulty in removing the HDD cages is therefore added to the mix when you need to change/remove one of these 92mm fans. I really would have liked to see a better solution here, one where it was easier to deal with the changing of components. As for mods, the factory punchouts for the 92mm fans here are pretty decent, so there isn't much I would change here. You may want to change the fans out for some units that are quieter.

 

92mm fans are positioned right behind the HDD cages.

Factory punchouts are decent.

  The side 92mm fan is an intake fan, and it's positioned right over the CPU area. As the side panels swing out like doors, a side fan was an ideal feature as it's easy to deal with the power cables that go to the fan when the side panels swing out instead of slide out.

   The fan is held in place by screws, just like all the other fans, and the factory grill is also decent. No filter is present here, so you may want to add your own to cut down on dust buildup inside the case. You'll want to use this fan position, as the motherboard side of the case doesn't have any other fans besides the aforementioned 120mm intake.

   You'll also notice that all the 92mm fans are 3-pin units; this is why two 3-4pin adapters were included, as you may not want to or be able to power all the fans off your motherboard. This was a nice attention to detail on the part of Yeong Yang.

Side 92mm intake.

Fan is nicely suited to the swing out side panels.

All included fans are 3-pin units.

   When it comes to modifying this case, things are fairly easy. As there is no pre-installed side window, you may want to add one on the motherboard side of the case, in addition to some case lighting or perhaps some LED fans. You could even mod in a window on the top of the case, for something a little more unique. The top of the case also has a lot of space for functional things like fans; I'd consider putting an 80mm or bigger exhaust fan on the motherboard side of the case to compliment the existing 120mm and 92mm intakes located on this side. The drive side of the case also has room for a chimney fan, and you may also wish to add a window to the side panel here.

   There's so much room in this case that you could probably accommodate everything you'd need for a watercooling setup. In fact, after ProCooling.com reviewed a version of this case, they did just that, doing a nice job, I might add. Reading that article should give you some ideas, and really, the amount of modification this case can take is limited by your imagination. Whether you're into complex time-consuming mods that produce fantastic results or simple, yet functional ones, the Yeong Yang Cube Server case has got you covered.

Lots of room on the top for fans.

Drive side top also has room.

PSU fan blocked a little by the lowest HDD cage.

  Overall, I found the stock cooling of the YY-0221 to be adequate; the three included 92mm fans were quite powerful, albeit at the expense of increased noise production; I'd replace them with some Panaflo units or something that's easier on the auditory nerves. The front 120mm fan mount was welcomed, as 120mm fans can push a lot more air than 92mm or 80mm units, all at a lower noise level; with case cooling, you generally need a lot of air exchange. However, I would have liked some exhaust fans on the motherboard side; you could reverse the positioning of the side 92mm fan to make it exhaust air, but this may not be ideal considering most CPU heatsink fans blow air onto the heatsink, in the opposite direction. Thus, you'll probably want to add a chimney fan for exhaust on the mobo side of the case.

   However, my biggest beef with the cooling was the way you had to remove the rear 92mm exhaust fans; with a lot of cases offering easy, tool-free methods for fan removal, Yeong Yang should have followed suit. Having to remove screws for the fan, and then remove an HDD cage, is just too much for simple maintenance. But, perhaps I'm being a little too picky here.