Super Flower SF-301T3-BK Aluminum Case

Reviews: Cases

Author:
Editor:
Sponsor:
Published:

Brian Kristensen
Kurtis
KaseCom
Jun. 3, 2004

<< Previous

Next >>

Features (Continued)

The entire front of the case is made of thick aluminum and is removable. To remove the front panel, you do not have to use a screwdriver or mess with annoying clips. Simply grab a hold of the bottom and pull. The entire front panel comes off and goes right back on with ease. Located behind the front panel are the switch housing, intake fan filter and easier access to the drive faceplates. From here, you can easily remove and replace the intake filter, remove the switches, drive faceplates and even the I/O ports which are screwed into place and not riveted.

Inside the case, there are several plastic clips which are used for routing the many front panel cables. These are held in place via double sided foam adhesive. The front panel cables are already routed through the case using these clips. This helps reduce the clutter and increase the airflow through the case. The front panel connections are very well designed. The bundle of wires for the power buttons, LEDs, speaker and I/O connections can be disconnected from a single lead. This way you can pull out the motherboard and motherboard tray without having to unplug all those wires from the board.

There are a total of five fans included with this case. Two 80mm fans are located in the front towards the bottom which pull in fresh air and immediately cool the hard drives. The two intake fans feature a dust filter which is accessible by removing the front of the case. At the rear of the case, there are two more 80mm fans which are connected to the motherboard tray and exhaust the warm air. A fifth fan is found at the top of the case in the middle of the top window which also exhausts any warm air collecting near the top of the case. While the five fans and intake filters allow for good airflow, there is still room for improvement. There are only two intake fans while there are three exhaust fans (four if you count a power supply's exhaust fan). With more air being pulled out of the case than being pulled in, there is negative air pressure inside the case. This causes air to be pulled in through cracks and other holes around the case which allows for dust to enter and decreasing the usefulness of the intake filter. An 80mm intake fan located on the side panel over the graphics card or CPU would be much better than the 80mm exhaust fan at the top of the case.

Also note that the top exhaust fan is a tri-color LED fan which seems extremely out of place among the black and chrome. Just another reason to dislike that fan.

<< Previous

Page 4 of 5

Next >>

Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: First Impressions
Page 3: Features
Page 4: Features (Continued)
Page 5: Quality and Construction / Conclusion

Subscribe to Mid-Tower [more info]

Add Comment

1 User Comment

1 - Posted by A Person on June 16, 2004 - 12:24 am

108 bucks is still more than I would like to pay for a case but its almost a steal considering everything it has. I really like the removable tray and the built in blow hole. I've never actually had a case with a removable tray cuz they are always out of my budget, but I can imagine how much easier it would be to work on the mobo outside of the case. As for the blow hole, I've always wondered why not tooo many cases come with blow holes built in, its so simple and effective.

Well, If anyone sends me a hundered bucks thats the first thing I would buy, but untill I pay off my college loans the case will have to wait.

Add Comment

To add a comment without being a member, you may omit the password field, but you must enter your name (or nickname) along with your comment. * Denotes required fields.