Enermax Xpoint CS-528 Case

Reviews: Cases

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Brian Kristensen
Kurtis
Maxpoint
May. 2, 2003

Introduction

Enermax creates some of the highest quality, most popular cases around the world. Ranging from small to large, simple to feature-full, and basic to stylish. Enermax has now sent us their latest case to hit the market, the X-Point CS-528. This case is aimed towards low budget consumers, yet still manages to be stylish, and still have some extra features that consumers look for these days.

A First Look

When I got this package, I almost tore the thing in half. It was such a rush getting this brand new product from Enermax. I opened the box and pulled out the carefully packaged case which was completely surrounded by styrofoam. Once I got it out of the box, I couldn't wait to start fondling its goods. That said, lets hurry up and begin with the outside.

The Outside

The first thing I noticed was the giant "X" on the front door of the case. The side window of the case also has an "X" design on it, with a fan in the middle to help airflow. The design on the front of the case has definitely evolved from the popular Chieftec Dragon style.

The front door of the case allows access to the very top 5.25" drive bay. This is good so you don't have to open the door to use your CD drive or a Rheobus. In the center of the "X" on the door is a clear orb. This orb lights up via a LED (blue in this case) mounted in the two bottom 5.25" bays. This is a nifty feature, but it could have been done a different way that didn't require two entire drive bays. Of course, you can remove the LED and use the bays, but then you have no fancy light.

At the bottom of the case, there is a little door that reveals several connections. These include two USB ports, a mic in and a speaker out. There is also a punch out for a FireWire port.

The side panels are easy enough to remove. They are secured via screws in the back of the case, just like any other case. It is too bad they didn't include thumbscrews, but those can be purchased later. The top panel can also be removed, as it is secured by screws instead of rivets. This is great for people who want full access to their case, or for those who want to paint the case, as they can remove all outside panels from the internal frame. You do, however, have to remove the front panel to unscrew the top panel.

The Inside

Now I made my way towards the interior of the case. I first took off the window panel, and noticed a nifty clear blue LED fan mounted in the center of the window. I thought this was a nice touch. After removing the front and side panels, It was time to check out the interior features. First, let's talk airflow.

In the front of the case, there is room for two 80mm intake fans side by side. In the back, there are two exhaust fans on top of each other, right below the PSU. There is also an intake fan on the side panel. These, including the PSU fan create an equal amount of fans pulling in air and pulling out air.

There are no removable drive cages in this case. This is understandable since Enermax is aiming this case towards budget consumers. There is, however, plenty of room for drives. With four 5.25" inch bays and six 3.5" bays (one of which is accessible through the front of the case) you are sure to have plenty of room for all your drive needs.

Now let's check out the quality of the case. The first thing I noticed while fidgeting with the case is that I was fully intact. I was not wounded, bleeding, or itching from any sharp or un sanded edges. Almost every edge in there was either folded over or sanded smooth. This case is also fairly sturdy, with each corner being reinforced. The door on this case is a little stronger than the average door, but it has no locking mechanism, which is understandable, once again, because this is a budget case.

The Power Supply

Enermax went even further with this case to include a 300 watt power supply. This is a bit higher than most other stock PSUs you will find bundled with cases. This isn't an amazing power supply, but it does the job. It has only one fan, but 300 watts doesn't need much cooling. When opening up the PSU, I noticed the usual Enermax quality. The wires were bundled and out of the way, and the gauge was nothing cheap.

The Extras

Along with the case, Enermax has stashed the usual items inside the case. There was a power cord, and a mysterious little brown box. Well, it's not really mysterious, but it was brown. It contained a tiny speaker for the motherboard, some feet for the case, and a bunch of screws. Nothing too different here.

Overclocking Performance

Huh? Oh wait, this is a case review... anyway, onto the conclusion.

Conclusion

All in all, this was a great case with a a lot to offer for only $79 USD (MSRP). This case has all the style and extras Enermax could pack into it. The front ports are a good addition, and room for 5 case fans is excellent for such a small case. The LED orb on the door is a cool gimmick, but the fact that it requires two drive bays causes it to lose some value. The included power supply is a great addition, and the window with a LED fan gives it a definite modded feel.

Pros

Great value
Front ports
Unique style
Includes 300w PSU
6 3.5" bays

Cons

No thumbscrews
LED orb requires 2 bays

Extra Images

In case you just couldn't get enough of this case, here are some more pictures of it that were not shown above. We hope you have enjoyed reading this review, if you did let us know by registering on our forums and posting like a madman!

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29 User Comments

1 - Posted by Kardon on May 3, 2003 - 2:02 pm

That case is so f***en cool.... I would kill for it.... no... REALLY... name someone.... I'll whack em.... seriously......

2 - Posted by Brian on May 3, 2003 - 2:13 pm

You don't know where we live. YOU DONT KNOW WHERE WE LIVE!

You are getting sleepy... anyway

Yeah, just wait til our next contest, you may get your wish without having to kill someone.

3 - Posted by Kurtis on May 3, 2003 - 3:01 pm

well brian, we may as well kill two birds with one stone...

if he wants to kill someone we could have a hit arranged :wink:

4 - Posted by DnD on May 3, 2003 - 3:18 pm

hah he ain't getting it....not with me in the way anyway *bring out 12 guage shotgun* just try it bub

5 - Posted by Kurtis on May 3, 2003 - 5:27 pm

lol, now now DnD, give daddy back his shotty.

6 - Posted by DnD on May 3, 2003 - 6:02 pm

don't make me hurt you >.< anyway the case looks and sounds awesome can't wait to see who wins it...*quietly slips a hundred dollar bill in brians hand* *winks*

7 - Posted by Kurtis on May 3, 2003 - 6:39 pm

what about me? I want a hundred bucks... :(

8 - Posted by Brian on May 3, 2003 - 9:54 pm

I'm just better than you Kurtis BWAHAH!

9 - Posted by Kardon on May 3, 2003 - 11:32 pm

I'll whack Kurtis...... i mean uh..... :D ..... Then you'll save that $100, and I get a cool case.

10 - Posted by Kurtis on May 3, 2003 - 11:51 pm

hmm. that is blasphemy and I will not tolerate it. I smite thee.

11 - Posted by DnD on May 4, 2003 - 12:35 am

>=O Gasp he's been smitten guess i get the case :P

12 - Posted by Kurtis on May 4, 2003 - 12:53 am

lol. u crack me up dnd.

13 - Posted by fhetw on May 5, 2003 - 12:03 am

silly led placement==tehboo

14 - Posted by ELiTE KiLLaH on May 5, 2003 - 12:41 am

i agree

what the hell is up with that led?!
*shakes fist at enermax*
i wonder who came up with that bright idea...(pun intended hehehe ;) )

15 - Posted by DnD on May 5, 2003 - 1:04 am

thanks kurtis :P ;D guess that means i get the case >=O

16 - Posted by Kurtis on May 5, 2003 - 1:11 am

no, but watch out or ye shall be smitten as well. :-p

as for the case I hope more people are eligible to win than 3... spread the word guys lol.

(EDIT: Brian (guy editing this post) would like to point out that there still is 12 days til the contest ends.)

17 - Posted by Brian on May 5, 2003 - 7:32 am

If I were to keep the case, I would feel some re-wiring coming on. The LED could have easily been built into the door itself.

At least the LED and panel is removable.

18 - Posted by Kurtis on May 5, 2003 - 9:14 am

yea, thats what i said too. i even told enermax that they should have just put it in the door :P

Then again, it is a cheap case, and that would have cost more probably for them to put it all on the door. Also I dont think u would get the same effect from it being on the door.

19 - Posted by Brian on May 5, 2003 - 12:48 pm

Well, whoever wins it better mod it and let us know :-P

20 - Posted by theblat on June 24, 2003 - 6:12 pm

The case is great so far, but...
I can't find a Firewire port for the front anywhere. I don't want to by an entire bay when there is already space on the case for this. I called maxpoint, but they don't know where to get one. Any ideas?
Also, I have the CS-528-S (silver/grey). Any ideas on where to buy a CDRW drive that would match the color?

21 - Posted by Brian on June 24, 2003 - 9:16 pm

There is a small hole that can be punched out (this is located with the other ports on the front). You will need to buy an extension cable though, as Enermax didn't include the actual extension.

As for the cd-rom drive, check out http://www.directron.com. They have alot of color matching drives, but I'm not sure about silver.

22 - Posted by theblat on June 24, 2003 - 10:33 pm

>>>There is a small hole that can be punched out (this is located with
>>>the other ports on the front). You will need to buy an extension
>>>cable though, as Enermax didn't include the actual extension.

I don't think an extension is exactly right. I want to use the small hole and route that to the header on my Abit IS7. I want something that looks as good as the USB ports next to the 1394 hole that gets punched out.
[/quote]

23 - Posted by Brian on June 25, 2003 - 1:39 am

It's the same idea. You just need a different connection. Shouldn't be any harder to find.

24 - Posted by bongobrian on August 26, 2003 - 9:19 am

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum.

Brian- are you the one who wrote the review on the Enermax cs-528 case? if so, good job on the review.

Anyway, I'm really considering buying this case. The one thing I am conserned about though is the weight of this case. I can't find the weight posted on any of the specs online. Do you think you could find out for me?

The other thing I am conserned about is the 300w power supply. Do you guys think it is sufficient to run a p4 2.8 ghz system along with 1 optical drive, 2 hard drives, 4 fans, and a high end vid card like the geforce fx 5900? Let me know what you guys think. Thanks.

25 - Posted by DnD on August 26, 2003 - 10:43 am

no i dun think it would...or if so it would be jerky ye might wanna think of buying a 400w + power supply ;D

26 - Posted by Brian on August 26, 2003 - 12:14 pm

No, Kurtis wrote the review. But I'll take the credit ;-) j/k

300w should be fine. If you plan to overclock, or jam anything else in there, you should get a better PSU.

27 - Posted by MaNiAk21 on August 26, 2003 - 1:06 pm

Yeah, I've been running 300w for a while, though there is less now than before... there was 2 optical, one hd, an Athlon XP 1800+... and no high end card... :p Now it's only one hd, one optical, an o/ced XP 1700+ and damned if I'd ever have a high end card. :P

28 - Posted by bongobrian on August 26, 2003 - 1:55 pm

Thanks guys... Does anyone know how much the case weighs?

29 - Posted by Brian on August 26, 2003 - 2:55 pm

Nope. We will contact Enermax and find out.

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