Nearly every component of a computer is designed to go into a case. There have been plain boring cases built for the last 30 or years, with very few manufacturers taking the time to make their computers look as appealing as their performance. A few exceptions pop into mind: Apple, Alienware, and well…those are really the only two that come to mind easily. See what I mean? Most DIY enthusiasts try to get a case that will try to look good as well as be serviceable; maybe paint it, or cut a hole somewhere, or go all-out and build their own case from scratch. An area that has been very popular is to put a see-through window on the case, so you can look at all of those hundreds of dollars in hardware put to good use. A few years ago, you really had to cut your own hole using tools, but those days are gone my friends, because now there is…The Aluminus!
Designed by Ultra, commonly known for their power supply units, the Aluminus is a new effort to incorporate an all aluminum body with ease of installation, good looks, utility, and a very nice pre-installed window (Suggested price is $99.99). Why made of aluminum, you may wonder? Most cases are made of steel, but the idea of aluminum is that it is much lighter, and disperses heat more efficiently, theoretically helping the insides keep cooler. Over the years it has been seen through several trials that the aluminum by itself doesn’t substantially affect the computer’s interior heat, but it sure has been useful for making a lighter, more portable computer. Now aluminum is not as strong as steel, so there will be more “flex” to this case, but if the case is well-designed, there should be no fears of a fragile build.
So what has Ultra given us with the Aluminus? The case comes in a fairly strong cardboard box with very good protection molded Styrofoam padding. Our unit was free of bends, dings, or other blemishes. The box itself lists the components that await us on the inside. On the exterior, the case looks very much like a Chenming case (or the old Alienware cases), quite attractive and elegant in its functionality. What you will also receive is a large assortment of screws, a front-port USB/IEEE 1394/audio adapter, and rails for the “tool-less” hard disk and optical drive features. Strangely, there are no fans included with the case, although there is room designed for two huge 12cm fans. I actually look at this positively, as it leaves the fan options up to me.
Lightweight Aluminum!
The all new Aluminus lightweight aluminum case is in a class by itself when it comes to dazzling looks and phenomenal performance for a wide range of systems. As its name implies, the Aluminus has been crafted using the finest, most durable lightweight aluminum on the market. And it includes a large innovative clear side panel. Incomparable Compatibility Why buy a computer case that doesn’t give you a wide selection of compatibility choices, when you can purchase the Aluminus at an incredibly low price? This sleek chassis makes a perfect fit of all the leading motherboards. AT, Baby AT, ATX and Micro ATX…it fits virtually all motherboard sizes, and the removable motherboard tray makes installation easy. There’s plenty of room to grow with its seven (7) expansion slots. The front swing-out bezel and drive bay covers can be locked for security. The side panel, drive bays and motherboard tray all feature hardware that allow for easy and tool-less removal and installation.
Optimize Your PC’s Airflow
Good looks, superior expandability and incredible compatibility don’t make a great computer case. What puts the Aluminus at the head of its class is how easy it allows the user to route cables behind drive bays allowing for better airflow within the case. Cables can even be hidden underneath the large “Ultra” drive bay cover, keeping them out of the way of airflow… and out of sight! CPU cooling and VGA cooling vents keep the air flowing coolly and effectively to preserve the integrity of your components within the most productive, heat-producing systems. The Alumnus also includes a 120 mm fan bay for even more cooling power.
V-Series ATX Power Supply
This new V series power supply offers more connectivity choices than the typical power supply, with options for 20/24 pin motherboards, SATA and PCI Express connections. This durable, high-performance power supply features a low-noise 120mm cooling fan. It supports AMD and Intel motherboards and includes short circuit protection, in-rush current protection and thermal overload cutoff protection.
Aluminus ATX Case Specifications
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V-Series Power Supply Features
Connections:
Output
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The case is huge, and has room for 5 5.25” drive bays, 2 3.5” bays, 5 slots for 3.5” hard disks, and 7 rear slots for AGP/PCI/PCI-E cards. The front bezel is very interesting in that not only can you close the front door giving your computer a seamless look, but the entire bezel also swings out if you unlock a hinge, giving you quick access for installing optical drives, etc. For those of you who would prefer to have access to your drives all the time, you can also remove the front door without damaging the case.
The side window is certainly striking. It is made from clear acrylic, and is really, really large! It also has two vents built-in: an adjustable one for providing outside air directly to the CPU, and another ostensibly for bringing cool air to the video card or other add-in cards. With the CPU vent, you can attach a fan to draw cool air into the case, but the VGA vent is simply a vent. Now on my other cases, my strategy for good airflow was to have specific intake and exhaust ports governed by fans, trying to limit any air leakage. Just having an empty hole down there seems that it could cause a loss of managed airflow…we’ll have to see. It would be nice if there were some filters on these air vents too.
Internally, there is a lot of open space to work with, which is very nice. Since we are obviously not going with the Small Form Factor case today, big and roomy is good. The Hard disk drive bays are oriented perpendicularly to the case, allowing you to just slide a drive right in, making it unnecessary to take off both sides of the case. The tool-less design of the bays is not really completely tool-less, you still have to screw some rails onto your drives, but once that is done you don’t need to screw them into the case itself. There is a catch though – if you have a non-standard piece of hardware that you cannot attach the rails to, you are going to have trouble securing it, because there are no holes for screws anywhere on the drive bay frames. Also, the perpendicular nature of the hard disk bay means that while standard PATA/SATA/SCSI connections will fit just fine, and kind of bulky adapters such as ATA>USB or PATA>SATA adapters simply will not fit; they are too long.
There is also a motherboard tray, which turns out to be quite handy. Instead of manhandling your mobo into the case and putting your flexible wrists and opposable thumbs to their limit trying to screw everything in, you simply screw the board onto the try – while outside the case – and then effortlessly drop the tray into the case, and slide in into place. It is truly an ease.
For testing the case, I subjected it to the hottest-running system I have.
| Processor: | Athlon XPM 1800+ @ 2.3GHz with Arctic Cooling Copper Silent 2M |
| Motherboard: | Abit AN7 with Nvidia nForce2 400 |
| Memory: | 2 x 512MB Corsair PC3200 |
| Storage: | 2 x 120GB Seagate Barracuda 9 series, 1 160GB Samsung Spinpoint |
| Video card: | ATI 9700Pro with Zalman VF700-AlCu |
Running the system in its old case at idle yielded the following results:
| Old Case | Ultra Aluminus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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All other internal components like hard disk, video card, and optical drives were noticeably cooler to the touch in the Aluminus case. I expected the case itself to feel warmer than the old case, but it was also cooler, probably because the whole thing had more cool air coming into the case, and the hot air was more easily expelled through the large rear exhaust port.
In conclusion, the Aluminus is a great testimonial to what superior cooling management, functional design, and aesthetic beauty can accomplish when well blended. And it is so easy to carry around. I would highly recommend it to anybody who wants a sleek, roomy case with good airflow, and a snazzy built-in window
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