Platinum XP Case

Reviews: Cases

Platinum XP Case

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Brian Kristensen
Kurtis
KoolCases
May. 17, 2003

Specifications

Introduction

Ok, so cases are cases are cases. They are the big beige boxes that house the performance parts of your PC. There is one question that has always been lurking in my mind, and that is "Why do these boxes have to look so ugly?" Well, there has been a movement in the computer case market these days, and it is moving towards aesthetic appeal. 3R Systems has followed this movement with their cases. Today, we will be looking at their Platinum XP case courtesy of KoolCases.

A First Look

The box that the Platinum XP was shipped in has a design on it similar to the case itself. When I opened the box, I saw the case staring back at me; it looked a lot better in front of me than in the pictures I have seen. Upon removal from the packaging, you can get a full impression of the case's style. It looks much better than many other cases out there, even the more expensive ones.

Tour the Outside

The front of the case shows 4 exposed 5.25" drive bays, two of which have sweet looking doors for stealthing your CD and DVD drives. The only exposed 3.5" bay is meant for floppy drives and is built so it keeps the style of the case. The most unique aspect of this case has got to be the chromed blob in the middle of the case. This area contains a LCD temperature display, a power and reset button, and a turbo button. No, this isn't the same turbo button found on old AT cases; this turbo button has to do with your case fans. Pressing the turbo button will change the speed of your case fans between a low and high mode. On low, the fans will run slower, cool less, but be much quieter. On high, the fans will run at full speed, with maximum cooling and noise. This is a very nice addition to the case for people who want to save their ears.

Notice that the front of the case doesn't seem to have any way of pulling in air. To preserve the style of the case, 3R Systems has placed vents on the sides of the front so there is still good airflow. While looking at the vents, I noticed something interesting below the vent on the right side. What is this? Could it be? The Platinum XP has a firewire and two USB ports! This is great for quick access and it doesn't take up room on the front of the case and detract from the overall aesthetics.

The version of the Platinum XP I received has a side window. The window was molded, which is pretty obvious from the handle grove in the window. The window has a slight tint to it, which is a nice change from completely clear side windows.

The back of the case contains the regular assortment of features, nothing worth noting except the single 80mm fan below the power supply.

Delve Into the Case

When I went to remove the side panel, I had my screwdriver handy thinking the case would lack the essential thumbscrews. Boy was I wrong! After removing the thumbscrews and then the side panel, I looked over the inside of the case. The first thing I looked for was a motherboard tray. Sadly, there was no such thing, but you can't really expect a budget case to have all these features AND a motherboard tray. Above where the motherboard tray WOULD BE, there was an "L" bend in the case to support the power supply (Look at picture for a better understanding).

As for the drive bays, there are four 5.25" bays and eight 3.5" bays (only one of which can be used for a floppy drive. Mounting the 5.25" drives only requires a screw driver on one side, but the 3.5" drives will require you to remove the other side panel as you must screw in both sides. The top two 3.5" bays and all four 5.25" bays have adjustable positions so you can mount the CD and floppy drives behind the stylish bezels. A major down side of the drive bays is that they are not removable, of course, for $50, who can complain?

The PCI slot covers can be easily clipped in and out. The back IO panel is removable so you can use different port configurations depending on your motherboard. There are all the standard port holes, and the extra ones can be popped out.

The speaker that came with the case was not good at all. It is big, placed in the middle of the case, and was broken! One of the wires had detached from the speaker during shipping.

This case comes with two 80mm fans. One is mounted in the back of the case, and the other in the front. The front of the case allows for mounting of a 120mm fan instead of the standard 80mm! This is a great feature, and it is about time more cases had 120mm fan mounts.

The overall quality of the case is pretty good. Most edges are rounded, and it would be pretty hard to cut yourself when using this case.

Tearing Apart What I Could

Just to ease curiosity, and future modding expeditions, I decided to see how much of the case I could take apart. To my surprise, the whole front panel can be disassembled. The front panel, unlike most cases, is mounted with screws instead of annoying clips. After I got the front off, I took off all the drive bay bezels. Then I unscrewed and unclipped the rest of the front including the Chrome display, floppy panel, and the bottom two panels. I will have fun modding this baby, and you can expect future articles on it.

Conclusion

Being a budget case, I never really expected much from this case other than style. When I finally got it, it had many features that more expensive cases would have, but it lacked some of the more worth while features that you couldn't really expect from it. The front firewire and USB is nice, and the temperature and fan control devices are a great addition. I would have never expected a 120mm fan mount in this case, but it has it! The modability of the case is outstanding, and the quality is pretty good. The platinum XP keeps the style of the case by covering those bland CD and floppy drives. But that isn't to say the case is perfect. Sadly, the speaker wasn't secured to anything, and a wire was detached during shipping. A lack of a motherboard tray and removable drives is expected for a budget case, but they would have made a great addition. Overall, this is a great case, and will be taking the place of my Thermaltake Xaser II due to its style and modability.

Pros

Front USB/Firewire
120mm fan mount
Comes with 2 fans
Style, style, style!
CD drive covers
Great mod potential
Temp display
Fan control
Great price ($50 USD)

Cons

Speaker broken
No removable drive cages
No motherboard tray

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