Product: Epox-UK case

Manufacturer: Epox

Homepage : www.Epox-UK.com

Date: 25.08.01

Yes, I know. A month without a Chillblast cooler review is like scoring some oregano. Disappointing (but you try to smoke it anyway). Unfortunately a number of mishaps have kept us from displaying our talents (yes, the police warned us not to do it in public). A small mutiny among the mammalian staff has led to a famous burger chain getting a large amount of unlabelled meat for free and our recruitment policy has, once more changed.

We are now proud to introduce more new staff. This time, we felt that reptiles hold the sort of skills we seek: so, step forward review Iguana and communications Crocodile. After a bit of inter-genus fighting (and three Iguanas later) the boys settled into their new positions.

New personnel introduced, it is time to roll on with the review. I let out the review Iguana, and it scampered off down the road, hopefully hot on the trail of some review goodies. 14 days later, I remembered he was meant to return at some point so a quick call to the local RSPCA office and we had Iggy delivered back to us. I astutely noticed that there was something different about our cold-blooded chum, but it took a further hour of deliberation to realise that he was dead. The vet felt that the 7 Kg box they found on top of him was to blame (I'm not too convinced, but they are the professionals).

Anyway, his short stay left us with a legacy and a half. The little star was well on his way to making his reptilian name before his untimely demise - he had managed to scoop the rest of the review world with a wondrous find. There strapped to his mangled remains was one hell of a good looking case. Mmmmaluminium (note, again, the i boys). We were in the presence of beauty. Check this for a stunner.

The marvel you have just witnessed is the love child between Epox and er...themselves? The Epox-UK case is their primary foray into the world of aluminium cases. This is a pre-production unit but is complete barring the Epox badges and one small detail we will mention in the conclusion.  The first thing that strikes you about this case is its weight. My guesstimate is about 7 Kg but whatever it is, the unit is extremely solid (euphemism for b*stardly heavy)! It comes already equipped with a 300W ATX PSU (TUV + CE + PFC), so there is no need to splash more cash to get the PC running. The finish is matt, brushed metal and this gives it an elegant appearance.

Check out the fascia look.

The front is a sort of stamped metal type set-up. There is a clear perspex type section over the metal (easily wipe-able should you need to for any reason). You can sort of see it in my spectacular overhead shot.

The most interesting feature is situated at the bottom of the unit.

Here we find an Aladdin's cave of goodies, or at least some easily accessible inputs for mouse, keyboard, sound etc. I appreciate this, as I often need to take out and re-attach these things and it is a real pain to poke around the back and lift the unit onto an angle to get a better view in the dim light. Now it's a doddle!

The dimensions are 420 x 200 x 465mm (the fascia is slightly larger) and there are 6 x 3.5" bays and 4 x 5.25" bays. The case is a mid tower and there is plenty of internal space. The number of drive bays is enough for all but the most seasoned of rippers. The reset button is easy to depress and the power button has a good resistance level with a satisfying click.

The first problem I noticed, is that all the main screws, are simply that. There is not a thumb screw in sight and it makes my heart heavy =( For those of you who rarely go inside the case it is not a biggie.

The sides are pretty standard except for  grilles at the back of each side, placed to allow a better flow of air into the case and thus aid the cooling inside.

The top is removable as are both sides and this allows you to get access to any part of the unit.

More importantly, let's get inside the beast and see the goodies that come with the case. Check it.

There is the power chord, some plastic ties (to tidy up any loose wires - nice), the feet for the case and the piece de resistance:

A plastic case to keep all the screws for the case and motherboard tray. WOOOOHOOOOO. Such a simple idea but a great one. I have about 500 loose screws lying around the mantelpiece, floor, CPU cooler boxes etc. They are everywhere, yet First Light has solved the problem by supplying a neat little piece of kit. Once again - WOOOHOOO. I am very happy with this. So much so that er....I might even store something even more special in there but don't tell the police.

Still beaming, I check out the rest of the case. The sides are about 1/16" thick which gives them a really sturdy feel. There is no chance that you can flex these (perhaps if you suffer from 'roid rage). I tried to injure myself inside the case but much to my doctor's relief, there were no sharp edges.

The Epox-UK case has the, now mandatory, pull-out motherboard plate with a cool little handle on the back. The tray slides out along runners and allows you to keep the cards in place while working on the mobo. There are no thumbscrews here to attach the cards either, but I'm sure I'll live =)

You can see two more grills here, where you can attach two 60mm case fans (probably to blow the air out from the CPU and cards) to aid with the airflow, as do the ready-opened card slots below them. 

Here are the compulsory shots against our old friend the generic midi case.

Taller and longer, infinitely more attractive but then I do love beige carpet.

Installation

I decided to install Epox's very own 8KHA DDR mobo in this puppy to see how well it all fitted together. I first screwed in the little copper (I think) screws that raise the board off the tray. Then I seated the mobo and began the screwing process. Done. Oh, there wasn't much to comment on then. I would like to see thumbies to attach the cards but then again, I am slightly strange....

We are very appreciative of the colour co-ordination of the back plate and the outputs from the motherboard. It appeals to our fashion sense. There is a mounting for an 80mm case fan at the front, just above the front input panel. There is a gap on the other side to allow air to be drawn in, without obstruction. 

The 300W Enhance PSU proved to be a solid performer, providing a good quality supply of constant power at a relatively low noise level. A bit of internal fan tinkering will easily allow you to reduce the noise even further but beware kids, this should only be attempted by trained professionals (or us!) 

Fitting the cable that led to the front inputs was a simple enough job. One cable (serial-esque) plugs into the back of the front panel, it then terminates with a serial port on a plate that fits like a PCI card (if you know what I mean). Then there is a separate lead that completes the circuit to the mobo's USB, sound, mouse and keyborad inputs. Simple. A lot like us really. Check these piccies.

I hope you can now see what I was attempting to explain, if not then erm...well....er.

Noise

As overclockers, or human beings/mammals, we are all in pursuit of higher clock speeds and faster systems. The two main results of said flights of fancy are heat and noise. The case, since it is made from aluminium, is a natural heatsink and therefore takes care of heat dissipation itself, but what is it's performance like in the world of decibels?

To test this out, we set up a basic experiment by using the CPU cooler that is the ear worrier, Power Cooler 137, and let rip (not literally). I then took a sound reading from next to the case and repeated the procedure with our generic case. Mmmmgraph.

Niiiiiice. Frankly, this is a fantastic showing from our metal mate. A whopping 11 dB reduction at 1 cm (from case side) is phenomenal. The thick aluminium really muffles the extreme whine of our dual bladed deltoid type fan, couple this with damp matting and you might even be able to sleep at night (so long as you take no stimulants (other than proper prescription/street obtained ones)).

Conclusion

This was a great looking and very sturdy case for those wishing to house their rig in an aluminium unit. I feel that Epox are, yet again, looking at what people really want and have produced a first rate unit. 

The noise dampening effect of the thick, metal sides is a real bonus which is partially offset by the weight, but unless you are a LAN freak, you probably won't be bench pressing this little beauty very often. Bear in mind, if this unit were to be dropped from a height, it may be able to retard a person's advance (if they were intent upon collecting money/leg breakage).

Installation was easy and injury free. The front input panel was a piece of cake to set-up and allows the user to access the relavant ports with ease.

My only gripes are that the unit comes without any thumbscrews which for me are essential, as I'm constantly interchanging components and cleaning the rig. I conveyed my thoughts about thumbies to Epox and they have responded that they intend to ship the units with them. I am glad to see that they take note of feedback and act upon it, big respect.  Also, a fan or two would not have gone amiss but that can easily be implemented. Other than that, the case comes out of test with flying colours.

The bottom line is, if you want a cool looking case and have the cash to spend, then look no further. I'm sure the case-modding boys will be able to spice it up, we'll have to wait and see. Epox's plan for world domination is firmly on track. DOH! ( I didn't say that out loud did I?) 

The final ChillBlast rating is ********

Epox's site can be found at www.Epox-UK.com and the case can be purchased through PCIDeals

Big up, to the Epox crew. Those guys rock, literally, see them in concert at the Hammersmith Apollo - tickets from Chillblast =))

Remember team, join our forums, make at least a post a day and win Silverados, 1.2 Ghz Palominos and lots more. One prize every week.

Check out our sister site:

HOME