I love building computers. In the words of Duff Goldman, I like to make them bigger, badder, awesome. The thing is, that takes money. And in this industry, a freakin’ lot of money. Computer parts have dropped in price by comparison to when PCs were just becoming the big thing. I don’t think that the computer world really knew what it was in for when this rage go started. More people are customizing their cases today than their cars. Remember that whole Fast and Furious moment when everyone wanted to turn their car into a street racer with those annoying spoilers and lights everywhere? Well, case modding was around before then, and is still around now that car modding has become mundane.
I actually began modding up a case that looked something like this a few years ago. It was intended to look like an F-45A fighter jet. It didn’t come out as intended. I never said I was always good at what I do. So when I got a look at this case, my first thought was that this could look awesome with lights. So I’m gonna shove a few in there when this review is over. But let’s chat about the case itself for a moment.
X7″X-station” is a middle tower PC case features luxurious black color and outstanding design. The X7 is specially developed with cooling system through out all the parts.
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01 Gaming PC case (strong cooling system)
02 Easy swap bay (5.25″ and 3.5″ bay) 03 Easy front panel detachment 04 Vast internal space enough for the large graphic card 05 System check through front LCD indicator 06 Side fan installed (fan controller included) 07 front AC’97 and HD AUDIO 08 front USB port 4 pcs 09 Multi power switch – available for under and up the desk 10 Accessory box included |
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Specification
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Next we look at the ouside of the case and its features…
The overall design of the case is very Batmobile-ish to say the least. The finned vents leading to the fans gives off a very jet engine-esqe look. The case is very light, but the construction seems sound enough to hold all your hardware with little effort. The plastic front bezel comes off easily, but I wouldn’t trust allowing someone to walk across it without it breaking, so I would keep it out of harm’s way when not attached to the case itself.
And then, two power buttons? They put one on the front of the case, and one on the top. How weird is that? I guess they knew I would be piling crap in front of my case and gave me another way to turn it on. There are audio ports for all you multiplayer gamers out there, and I really like the four USB 2.0 ports on the front. I’ve always considered having only two a little stressful when most of your PnP gadgets get traded out two or three times a day. Who wants to pull out their case several times a day to switch out peripherals? Not I.
The front of the case is also sporting an LCD readout, which displays your system temperature, CPU fan speed, as well as HDD activity. And really, isn’t it time we moved past a simple blinking LED that lets us know our HDD is being accessed? Kudos to you, GMC. On the side of the case is a set of vents with a button and a couple of LEDs as well. In the upper vent they have installed a fan which is controlled by the button. The faster the fan is moving, the faster the LEDs will blink. A great idea to have individual controls for the side case fan, but I have the sneaking suspicion that those blinking LEDs are going to be clawing at your nerves within minutes.
Next we take a peek inside…
Opening the side of the case for the first time, I saw a package taped to the interior wrapped in plain white paper. My first thought was that the Koreans were sneaking drugs out using these cases, but then realized it was just them being nice by including a present. But I was a little taken aback when I realized they had thrown in a one of the fans used in traditional Korean Fan Dance. And yes, I really mean a hand-held folding fan. And then I got the irony of it. This PC case came with a large fan. They are really serious about their cooling over there aren’t they?
The rear of the case included a nice 120mm fan for getting rid of that nasty hot air. A real fan this time. There was also a place in the lower front of the case to attach another 120mm fan. I believe with proper placement of the wires this case could have a decent airflow througout. The side of the case where the motherboard would be mounted also has many vents cut into it, so I don’t really forsee a problem with cooling here. Apart from that, there is nothing on the inside except for a box of screws and zip ties for installation. HINT: The zip ties are for proper placement of the wires.
The X-7 has four 5.25” drive bays for a plenty of optical firepower. Got that new blu-ray drive that you can’t wait to troublshoot for days on end? Well, at least you’ll have a place to put it. There is only one FDD bay, which is fine since no one in their right mind uses that crap anymore anyway. I always stick a card reader or something in there. I have no use for floppies. And you can quote Jenna Jameson on that one.
Like many gamer cases, this one comes in ATX standard so that you can fit just about any motherboard you want in there. Which is great considering that not everyone is willing to go with MicroATX just yet. Some of us still have huge hulking Asus’ sitting around. And there are four HDD bays. If you can’t get your storage on with that rack then there’s something wrong with you. And then there are the wires. Lots of them. Everything you need to make the LCD display work and to have plenty of USB and audio firepower in the front of the case.
Next we take all the facts into consideration and render our verdict…
To conclude, I find that this case is more than capable of inspiring a midrange gamer and could hold a trove of gaming hardware. The cooling wouldn’t be an issue assuming that the builder knew what they were doing and could have the essential knowledge to tie back a few wires to create a solid airflow. With four optical bays and four drive bays, there is no limit to how much data you could consume with this thing. And for the gamer who likes to change out gear on the quick, the four USB ports on the front would be optimal. And then taking into account the overall look and feel of the case, I would call it any sci-fi geek’s childhood fantasy. We couldn’t live in or drive something that looked like this, but we can damned sure game with it now.
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