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Product:
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Chenming Silver 301KE Mid-Tower Case |
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Price:
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$96 (CAN) / $69.95 (U.S)
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Supplied By:
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VoyeurMods
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Author:
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Shennon
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Date:
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May 26th, 2003
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Rating:
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Click image for larger view
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Click image for larger view
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The upper portion of the bezel features a swing out door, similar to the Chieftec or Antec cases to
cover drives that are not painted to match. I noted the insert had a different finish than the rest of
the front bezel. It was a clear piece of plastic that was painted from behind, unlike the rest which
was dyed. An explanation from the Chenming web page mentions that this was done in order to simplify
swaping this piece with other colours including beige, black, silver, blue, green, yellow, purple and
red.
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Click image for larger view
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Click image for larger view
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Behind the door are 4 x 5.25" bays, 2 x 3.5" bays and the black power and reset buttons. Unlike other
cases where the drive bay covers have to be knocked out from behind, the 301KE allows the bay covers to
be removed externally by unhooking the right side where it is clipped to the bezel.
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Click image for larger view
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Click image for larger view
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Under the main door is a small flap that covers the two USB and one Firewire port that offers the
convenience of not having to plug devices to the back of the case. These ports are connected via a
series of extender cables, which reside inside the case and must be connected to the appropriate
motherboard headers prior to use. Consumers will need to refer to the motherboard manual for proper
pin placement of these cables. Below the small port door is a series of slots that allow the air to
be drawn into the case.
The side panel has a pre-installed acrylic window which shows off most of the case interior. The window
is secured with a series of small white plastic domed caps. The caps hold the acrylic sheet in place by
using a small plastic pin to spread the tabs apart from behind. There are a few manufacturers who have
used this process for various pre-modified window designs and I can conclude that this window is held
firmly in place. This side panel is the only removable panel on the case, as the upper and right panel
is one piece and is rivetted to the chassis. Chenming has pre-drilled an 80mm fan hole onto the side
panel window, positioned over where the CPU would normally be located. Depending on which way the CPU
cooler blows, a well directed fan here would help cool the CPU as well as the case.
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