Cases
Just a few years ago the only available choice on the market for a computer case was insipid white, offering you enough place for all your components. Today, the purchase of a case is determined by a new set of needs such as silence, a better and easier way of installing the parts as well as the visual aspect which is also now an important factor for its integration into your office or lounge room. The number and location of the audio and USB connectors are also important both in terms of design and functionality. Let's open up the Chakra'
Today we will be looking at the Chakra case from Enermax, a specialist case and power supply manufacturer for PC’s. This latest offering is an “ATX tower” and can therefore host both ATX and micro-ATX motherboards. The case is a mat black color, making it quite attractive and easier to look after then Antec Sonata’s “piano” for example.
The front looks a bit like the Coolermaster Centurion 5, with its grilled aspect that allows you to implement a bigger and better air ventilation system into the case. Two silver colored columns and the air inputs at the bottom of the case give it a nice look. Behind this air grill is a 120mm fan that is illuminated blue when the power is on.
You will also notice that there is no power button (On/Off, Reset) or plugs (headphones, USB) found on the front, reinforcing the darkness of the case. By opening the small door on the top of the tower you will find the Power and Reset buttons as well as the microphone and headphone jacks, 2 USB ports and an e-SATA plug that will be especially appreciated by users that have compatible devices, although there are very few available today. The e-SATA interface allows you to transfer 150 MB/s whereas USB 2 has a maximum transfer speed of 60 MB/s.
The trap door opens to display the buttons and connectors
There are 5 places capable of installing 5”25 peripherals, which these days are mostly taken up with optical reading devices. There is only one 3”5 location available on the front. Enermax has had the good idea of placing the bay blanks with filters so that dust doesn’t accumulate inside the box. These blanks are also quite difficult to remove and you need to remove the whole façade beforehand, increasing the possibility of breaking the clips.
Looking once again at the bays that host the optical readers, the blanks perfectly hide the front face of the drive when the drawer opens and closes. The silver button to the right of the tower allows you to open and close the drive.
- The side door
This panel has two aeration grills. One is rectangular and is placed above the PCI-Express port so as to allow better ventilation of the graphics cards. The other is in a circular shape on the outside and is equipped with a variable plastic tube which has the purpose of sucking in fresh air directly to the processor fan, improving its cooling efficiency. This function corresponds to the Intel CAG 1.1.5 standard.
- The back
This is relatively classic, but of a high quality as the metal has been cut very well so that there are no sharp edges that can lead to injury. The location of the backup fan is mounted to fixation holes that will allow the installation of an 80mm, 90mm or 120mm diameter fan. The screws on the right side can be done up with your hands whereas the ones on the left are standard and require the use of a screwdriver.
Picture of the back of the case
Finally, for the installation of the additional cards, you will see that there is a fixation system that uses plastic clamps which we will talk about in detail on the next page.
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