I-star housings are extremely attractive, as I have been eyeing their cases on their website for some time. The I-Star Nitro appeals to me straight away, as it looks like it has killer modding potential, in addition to its already great looks. We’ll certainly put it through the paces to see if it rises to our expectations.
I-Star sent this case immeidately, but was delayed due to customs issues. Finally a poor lad from UPS showed at my door stuggling with a very large box. One quick signature and the Nitro was finally mine!
I-star was so friendly to send me one of their Nitro AX Super Cooling full tower case. Many of you may never have heard of I-Star, perhaps because they are more popular for top-quality server housings than consumer cases. This case may have broken the barrier, as it hosts many features that many system builders want. It features removable motherboard trays, side rails for optical drives, and a tool-less card locking system. Let’s take a closer look at the case and analyze these features.
It strikes you when the case is first removed from the box: this is one sleek tower with a hefty 5mm aluminum front plate decoration. This case could easily mesh with audio equipment in the living room. If black bores you, then try out this case in their red, yellow and blue varieties of the Nitro AX.
Included in the package is a large sack of screws, nuts, and all the other goodies needed to install a system. It even includes a fan duct, but we’ll explore that later on in the article.
There is room for five 3.5″ hard disk drives, two 3.5″ disk drives, and a whopping five slots for larger 5.25″ drives! The harddrive brackets itself has rubber grommet inlay to minimize drive any vibration transferred to the case, which reduces noise. These brackets are secured on the bottom of the case with special screws.
The 5.25″ drive cages use standard drive rails seen in many other cases today. The 3.25″ bays use their own removable slider rails, which makes for extremely easy installation of floppies, USB card readers, or Zip Drives. Option cards can be installed with standard screws or I-Star’s included tool-less option (take note that you can use one or the other method, but not both).
Modders with video cards hosting large custom cooling solutions would be better off using thumb screws (but that’s my personal opinion). The power button and reset button are just where you expect them to be, but the reset button is a little too small for my liking, as it takes a paper clip or other small object to touch this button. This method may be favored by some, but is too bothersome for the average modder.
Also new for me is to see a case with a “case intruder switch” you can find this option in the bios of just about every motherboard, but its rarely seen in commercial computer cases yet again another little mark of what IStar are good in.
After removing both side panels you can reach virtually any part of the case, and there is still a fair amount of space behind the panels, which can be used to tuck and hide wiring.
The removable motherboard tray will make installation much easier, though it is a different style than what is usually seen. You really only remove the back plate that holds the motherboard (cards are fastened to another part of the case, so you must remove all system cards before removing the motherboard tray). The tray can be easily released by unscrewing two thumbscrews and pulling the tray away from its slider knobs.
Speaking of sliding… this case features a unique sliding door! I-Star has incorporated a rotating front panel module! This allows access to USB devices even when the front door is closed, or can be hidden away when not needed. Nothing is more annoying than trying to close the drive door when a flash drive or other USB device is plugged in. With this new rotating panel, I have full access to my USB devices whether the drive door is open or shut. It can be hard to describe, so just take a look at the photos!
We’re not finished yet, there’s lots more that slides! The front I/O panel (containing headphone, microphone, USB and firewire ports) can be customized to appear on the front or the side of the case! If you don’t like the placement of these connections, just change it to what suits you best!
Also new for me is to see a case with a “case intruder switch” you can find this option in the bios of just about every motherboard, but its rarely seen in commercial computer cases yet again another little mark of what IStar are good in.
The “Super Cooling Tower” is aptly named, as it is possible to mount a large 120mm fan behind the hard drive cages to keep them nice and cool. The only problem is you must remove the front panel of the case to access the fan mount (which takes a bit of fiddling). There is also another 120mm fan mount in the back, and the case includes a thermally controlled exhaust fan. The exhaust fan is quiet, even when running full blast!
Remember that fan duct I mentioned on the Intro page? It is an ingenious system, enabling use of a 120mm fan to draw cool air from the outside directly to the CPU heatsink. This plastic duct has an adjustable length to fit your heatsink properly, and is secured to the crossbar of the case with a thumbscrew. The side panel is perforated in exactly the right spot to take advantage of this duct feature.
Overall this is a very nice and sturdy case. The side panels are so sturdy that I was able to stand on them without buckling (and at 240 pounds I weigh much more than Laura when she stood on I-Star’s D-300 Server case). The case is made from 0.7mm thick steel instead of thin 0.5mm used in cheaper cases.
I really like this case since it has really good modding potentional. It is great for system builders, but there are a few features that could be improved. I-Star has developed a great entry case that can be used for a small server or massive gaming machine. It has all the cooling options you need and then some.
Although it has rounded curves the insides still contain some sharp edges. The door’s sliding mechanism locked on me a few times while installing this case, but a firm bash slid the door back into place. Other than that minor incident this case meets my high standards. The I-Star Nitro AX Super-Cooling Tower Case is sturdy enough to withstand the roughest LAN Parties and has great modding potential. You won’t be disappointed with this one.
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