Case modders are usually upgrading their machines, and why not place the overclocked innards into a shiny new shell? There are many online vendors offering different styles to play computer dress-up, some better than others. It may be difficult to find the perfect case from all the big-name online vendors.
It is not even necessary to pull out the Mighty Dremel, as many cases are pre-modded these days with a variety of features, from windows to colored lighting. Koolcases is a newer distributor of computer cases and accessories. They offer many different case styles to suit a variety of tastes.
This case popularizes the science fiction movies by naming the case the same: the Matrix, although has no affiliation with the film. This case should also not be confused with the Chenming Matrix case, which is an entirely different product. It comes with “the original” X-window and a generic 350 watt power supply.
The case came packaged in a standard brown cardboard box with a simple angle drawing of the case printed on the sides, along with the vaguely descriptive “Case 2003 – Original X-window Case” caption. Opening the 22 pound box revealed the case enclosed in bubble wrap and flanked by 2 strong styrofoam pillars.
The air bubbles in this wrap are rather large, providing excellent cushon, and more importantly pop most satisfactorily. Unraveling the bubble wrap leaves the case in a protective plastic bag, and the window is further protected by an adhesive plastic sheet. Koolcases certainly doesn’t want this thing marred in shipping!
The Matrix case is a standard steel ATX form factor with 4 5.25 bays, 2 3.5 inch bays, and four hidden drive bays. The case comes with 2 80mm fans, one installed in the X-window, and the other behind a front intake port. It has room for 2 80mm exhaust fans and comes with a front USB 2.0 connector. It comes with a generic (L&C brand) P4-ready 350 watt ATX power supply. A box of goodies is taped to the bottom of the case, which includes a mini PC-speaker header, four vinyl feet, an adapter for the front LEDs, a USB pin diagram, and various screws.
Specifications
- ATX Form factor
- Dimensions 17”H x 18.75”W x 18.75” D.
- Case entry: 2 removable side panels
- Removable motherboard tray
- Case fans: 2 80mm fans
- Max motherboard size: 12” x 10”
- Front USB 2.0 connector
- Lighted Colored air intake port
- 2 exhaust fan grills
- 350 watt power supply
- 4 5.25” drive bays
- 2 3.25” drive bays
- 4 hidden drive bays
At first glance thie case looks polished and professionally constructed. There are no protruding corners or jaggies, and the metal edges have been rounded off. The matte black finish is of average quality, but extra thought was taken to paint both sides of the removable panels. I noticed a half hearted attempt to provide ports for 2 audio connectors.
There was no type of bolting mechanism to grab any audio cable plugged into these holes. These holes are merely left open, being no use whatsoever. It is pointless to even wire one up yourself, as the plastic housing for the USB mechanism extends the entire width of the access panel. I can only assume that the manufacturer meant to provide audio hookups within the USB housing, but was never implemented.
The front of the case looks rather nice, being completely black with clear accents. The front features a “stealth floppy” faceplate that will easily conceal a floppy or Zip drive, and is good to see a manufacturer realize the end of the floppy drive. Two clear decorative strips cover either side of the front panel, embossed with what looks like little abstract dancing human figures. I have no idea how this could be desireable on a PC case, but whatever.
The silver power and reset buttons reside in the center of the right clear strip. The amber power and red hard drive lights also appear on this panel. The drive bay covers are black plastic (instead of painted) which is good for modders wanting to drill the hell out of the plates. A translucent flip door covers the front connector panel, which features 2 USB 2.0 ports, and 2 audio input holes, but these are unused.
There are a standard 7 available slots for adapter cards. The screw holes that mount the two exhaust fans have been counter-sunk to hide protruding screws. This shows evidence that the designers tried to add some professional touches by putting some thought into its design.
The front air intake port is rather unique. It has a clear 3-pronged transparent fan grill protecting free-hanging white fake fan blades. These blades are moved by the airflow generated by the real fan hidden behind this piece.
The recessed port’s interior is surrounded by 3 blue LEDs in a triangle formation. These LEDs are powered directly from the included power supply (via a 5v adapter) and illuminate the clear grill whenever the PC is on.
The white blades to not produce any noise, as they move much slower than the fan driving it, but still produce a white blur when in motion. This is a neat idea, but seems very overworked and unnecessary. Why not just include a white-bladed fan to achieve this effect, or even better, a clear bladed fan to catch the light from the LEDs?
The two 3.25” drives are flanked on either side with 2 clear textured plastic pieces that I can only describe as “bicycle reflectors” There is no lighting behind them or anything. Just bicycle reflectors.
The side of this case features the pre-installed “original” X-window. It houses a clear intake fan in the center, and extends most of the length of the door panel, but not the height, so the power supply is barely visible through it. The window is securely attached to the panel with screws.
The fan intake is a round (rather than square) hole, that fits the pre-installed fan perfectly, but any standard square case fan will look a little awkward in this port. A gold-colored fan grill covers the fan, which is a total eyesore given the case theme is black with silver and clear accents. A quick replacement to a black “radiation” grill greatly improved the aesthetics.
The back of the case is rather standard, as a place for for two 80mm fans has been puched with an array of holes, providing ample airflow and little blockage. The use of two fans can provide extra airflow to meet today’s cooling needs. Above the exhaust cutout is the power supply, which is mentioned later. Both side panels can be detached by unfastening the case screws, although it would have been nice to have thumb screws included.
The inside of the case offers a decent amount of room for a mini-tower. The motherboard connectors are all bound together, and are wired directly to the front panel. The drive cage is one sturdy column from the top of the case all the way to the bottom. I prefer this configuration as it adds stability and looks nice. Some people prefer to section their drives together, and have the ability to remove a section at a time. Each drive bay has an interior lip for the drive to rest on, which also makes the drives easier to install.
I removed the front plastic bezel for a quick visual inspection. The blue LEDs surrounding the clear air intake port are messily held in place with a hasty glop from a glue-gun, leaving a string of glue behind. I never really got to verify that the LEDs are actually blue, because they fried when I powered them using the included 5v adapter for the power supply. Behind this port is a mounted a standard black 80mm fan, which circulates air through the port, setting the free-flowing white blades in motion.
The USB 2.0 connector’s pins are separated, making it universal to all motherboard types. There is, however, no audio connector of any kind, rendering the pre-drilled audio ports useless, unless you want to want to stick toothpicks or lollipops in there. The case comes with 2 sleeve-bearing fans (one black and one clear), which are theoretically quieter than ball-bearing fans. The fans are powered by standard Molex connectors and do not have any rotation monitoring capability. A clear lighted fan would have complemented the air intake’s lighting job perfectly.
You must install a 5.25” drive from the front. The drive will rest comfortably within a lip of the front panel, and will not push further into the case. As a result, all drives installed will sit flush with each other and the face plates. Installing the motherboard was very easy, as there is a good amount of room inside. Drive installation was also a snap, thanks to the drive bay lips.
The power supply is an average 350 watt power supply, and the wires have ample length to reach any drives in the case. There is only one floppy connector, however, so an installed floppy drive may determine the power layout when installing. If a floppy were installed in the middle of the case (and the floppy power connector is at the end of the wire) then you really couldn’t reach a hard drive at the very bottom of the case. This is just something to be aware of.
All of the corners are pop-riveted in place, reducing the need for extra bolts. It appears weird to me that the extra care has been taken to rivet some corners, but leave others untouched.
The top is merely held together by screws, and can be completely removed by loosening said screws, which does not bode well for the stability of the case. People may not really even care about this feature, but case vibration will take its toll on this case eventually. A poorly constructed case will go through the following inevitable scenario…
- Screws loosen (especially with vibration).
- As screws loosen, joints become weak.
- As joints become weak, vibration (and noise) worsens.
- Repeat.
I have played with a few cheap steel cases from various vendors. Their major marketing point is innovative eye-candy, which this case has plenty of. It is merely a matter of personal taste if you like the touches that have been added. It is visually appealing from the outside, but not great.. It seems like the designers of this case were trying to deliver another cool-looking case, but ended up just trying too hard.
The X-window is the showpiece of this case. It is well constructed and looks very cool, especially in the photos below. Many of the visual details just do not match the theme. If the theme they were going for was “Extraterrestrial Bike-Reflector Dance Party 2003” then they achieved their goal.
Koolcases has a variety of cases varying in quality and price, so you are sure to find something to like, but I just cannot recommend this particular case. It seems the designers put extra thought into some details of the case, but left some half-done or poorly implemented. This is disappointing considering the price, as one can purchase an excellent aluminum Chieftec case for a few dollars more.
This would be a decent case if competing in the $30 category, but the extra features that justify a higher price are just poorly implemented. A $65 case should either look really good or be really good quality, but this case excels at neither. The things that are done right are of decent quality, but there are just too many things wrong to justify a $65 purchase. The Koolcases Matrix receives a 6 out of 10 for effort.
Pros
- Sleeve bearing fans
- Cool looking Pre-installed X-window
- Floppy (Zip) drive stealth mod
- Drive column extends entire case height
- Removable motherboard tray
- LED light mod
- 350 watt power supply
Cons
- No monitoring capability on fans
- Useless front audio ports
- Pointless front intake decoration
- Ugly decorative touches