In my few years of building computers, I’ve switched cases more often than any other piece of hardware. Whenever I build computers for friends and family, I always stress to them that the case isn’t the part to scrimp on; even so, I usually end up having to work in a small, cramped slab of jagged steel that’s not necessarily conducive to good airflow. Months or weeks later, I’ll get phone calls asking how I crammed so much stuff into the space, how I managed to install the drives without cutting myself on the case edges, or complaining about how Motherboard Monitor is screaming at them about overheating and that they could fry an egg on the case top. I can’t say I didn’t warn them.
The case business has undergone a renaissance of sorts, with the Beige Box being relegated to OEMs and mom-and-pop stores that just don’t know any better. Log on to any online merchant or walk into CompUSA, Best Buy, and even Circuit City and you’ll find shelf space filled with new designer cases, quiet cases, and even windowed cases. Unfortunately, many of these cases have shortcomings. “Quiet” sometimes translates to “poor cooling”, “designer” translates to “cramped”, and “Window” is apparently retail for “break out the second mortgage”. Online stores tend to offer better prices and more selection, but after a while everything starts to blend in. And when you order a case online, more often than not it looks like the store got the case in, slapped their sticker on it, and sent it straight back out.
Today we’ll be looking at the X-Pider Case with Window and Fan Mod from XPCases.com. This case is a classic, made using Chieftec’s standard imprint but offering some nice touches and reassurances that someone actually bothered to open the box and do something. It’s time to take a look and see what’s in store.