Azzo Aluminum Case Review

ALUMINUM CASE REVIEW

Ever since I purchased my P4 1.4 Ghz I've been dying to pick up a schweet case to put it in. I bought an IW-S508-ATX originally when I purchased the system at the Chicago land computer show, basically because it was the ONLY computer case at the entire show that would support the new Intel D850GB/P4 I picked up. Now I have nothing against this case, but I really wanted something snazzier, especially since all these other cool casse are out there.

So when I saw this case posted on [H] I decided to bite the bullet (especially since it was cheaper than the lian li's). I bopped right over and bought one, not even knowing if it would accept a P4 mounting bracket (the website didn't say anything about it either). But in a worse case scenario I was pretty sure I'd figure *something* out ;) The grand total after S&H was 163.90 (I also ordered a rounded floppy and IDE cable, hehe). Now I know that seem's a bit much when you can buy an ATX case AND power supply for 50 bucks now a days. But in my opinion you get what you pay for, and that is certainly the case with this instance.

I got the case in about 3 business days, and even got an automatic email with the FedEx tracking number, not just an order number that I'd have to go to website to lookup (although I got that also), but an actual direct email. If you've ever ordered on line you'd realize how rare that is. When the box arrived I was suprised at its size, I mean it was pretty darn big, but when I picked it up it was VERY light.

You can see my progression of opening the box in the pictures above, the FedEx label actually rated the weight as 15 pounds.

OH NO MR BILLLLLL!!!!! As you see by the 1st pic it looks like damage, but it was just a false alarm. The aluminum drive cover just slipped in a bit. Also the 2nd picture shows this wierd cable hanging out the back end of the unit...????? Don't worry we'll see what that is later on......Now let's take a few looks at what the cases features are and the included parts:

The removable side panels have little finger grips attached to the ends as the first pic shows, once I removed the side panel (without the need of a screwdriver thanks to the included thumbscrews, already in place) I was able to see a box inside the chassis, and a case fan just kinda hangin' around loose. I'm assuming the plastic clips came off (from the front slots) and it was just bouncing around. Inside the box are: - a bag of screws
- Extra I/O shield for different MB's
- Port I/O for the front panel connections to connect from the back

The case came with two standard fans (neither of which I used), which you see in the first pic. The large one is a "Top Motor" DF1208SL (12V .20A) and the smaller one (which was screwed onto the back of the chassis is a "Colorful" CF12620MS (12V .12A). Oddly enough they both only had two power leads, a red and black wire. Where as my old case had a "Top Motor" DF1208BM-3 with a 3 wire jumper for the MB connection, thereby allowing it to only come on once the temperature gets to high (something I have yet to see). So I simply replaced the front fan with my other one (more on this later, because I actually discoverd a quirk with the case by doing this). The next pic show the two fans compared.
The next pic shows the slot covers, included thumbscrews, and the special slot plate for the front I/O uplink cable. Next then we have the screws that were in the box inside the computer chassis we saw earlier. Trust me, they gave me more than plenty, I never came close to not having enough, kudo's for that!!
Then the last two pics are of the bay covers, which are cool because not only are they also aluminum, but they have a very interesting retention mechanism.

Here you can see my precious M/B, and the next two pics are my best attempt to show the hole layout on the mother board. Its useful to note, that these holes aren't just put into the aluminum, but have pressed steel nuts backing them for added strength. This was definatly the sign of fore thought by the manufacturer! Lastly we have the included I/O shield vs the one that came with my M/B...which one do you think I picked :)

The first three pic's show how the top comes off after only removing two little thumbscrews (schweet!). And then you see my putting in my P4's power supply.
NOTE: The screw pack includes 4 flat topped, course threaded screws. I assumed they were for the power supply, but I don't recommend you use them. They are way to long, and when I put one of them in I felt it "crunching" down upon something. No harm, no foul, but I recommend humbly that you use normal course threaded screws.

The first two pics show me gettin' fancy with my wiring, but hey who wouldn't with a case like this :) The third pick shows how I organized my wiring a little better using some 3M adhesive hooks to run the wires AWAY from MOVING PARTS (very very bad to not do!!!). The forth pic is of the hooks I used. The last pic shows another issue I discovered while building this case....due to the size of my M/B (which I don't feel is extreme by any means) If I ever plan on using the bottom two drive bays I am in big trouble.....I don't really see a way out of this, and I am using pretty standard equipment. Looks like just a design flaw, but since its not effecting me now I'm not to worried. But if you have a big M/B and more than 2 bays of equpiment, you are S.O.L.

Ahhhh the sweet feeling of success. The unit power up, almost without any issues at all (I'll explain in a minute, the one MAJOR issue). The first two pics show the rear I/O connector for the front panel (remember that weird cable earlier, well this is it), and how it plugs into everything. Everything worked perfectly, but those screws on the DB-25 have GOT TO GO. Its clear it was a modification of an existing product. They've got "knubbies" on the game port, I don't understand why they could put them on the main connector, rather than make me hunt around for a precision screwdriver (its not the point that I have a full set 2' from me at all times dammit :))

Now for the only real major issue, If you look at the 3rd and 4th pick you will see the front grate for the additional case fan, well look real closely and you'll see 4 little hooks for a "system speaker" (the speaker next to it isn't the thing that goes beep-beep, its actually a speaker that play the audio automatically when you don't have a speaker or headphone's plugged in). Well the hooks happen to stick out far enough to stop....yes I said STOP the fan blades, when the front fan holder/card guide is installed. Luckly I heard the noise of the fan running its POST and hitting the tabs....but if I hadn't, then when I really needed the fan in an emergency, it woulda tried to turn on and burn out. No big shakes to fix, I just bent them in, BUT if I hadn't done that...well I'm sure you can all understand a worse case scenario.

Lastly, there's a pic of my system up and running (i'm typing on it right now, hehe). She works like a charm, and she's the first computer I DON"T want to put on the floor :)

SUMMARY:

Pros:
- Lightweight
- Impressive looking
- M/B mounts reinforced so you won't strip screw holes
- Thumb screws included for all panel and I/O panels
- Front mount I/O access and adapter cable included.
- Comes with two fans
- Matches my desk from IKEA
- Front speaker plug has volume knob, GREAT if your speakers don't have a headphone jack included, even better than having to reach around and swap plugs and adjust volume in windows.
- Construction seems very solid, even though the box is so light I'm worried about the case fans lifting it off my desk :)
- More than enough screws included

Cons:
- Included fans are basically worthless IMHO
- M/B can interfere with using drive bay's
- Front Fan mount/card holder can interefere with system speaker tabs causing possible fan failure and or system damage
- Didn't come with any documentation, not even an exploded view of the case....
- You screw up modding the case, and you are S.O.L

Conclusion:

Well everybody's gotta make up their own mind. But I like this case, and I'm really having fun thinking about how to trick it out :) I'd definatly do it again

Review by Dennis Judd

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