Final Thought
In the end, what really makes a good gaming chassis? We believe a worthwhile product should include a tool-less design, greater possibilities for expansion, ample drive bays, and regardless of any other feature, a removable motherboard tray. We mentioned earlier that gamers, more than any other end user, swap out hardware to keep up with changing technologies. This creates the need for a case that will allow them to do this without running into messy wiring or cramped space inside the case.Though Chenbro does not include many of these features in their Xpider II, its performance comes close to a great gaming chassis as far as heat and noise benchmarks go. Compared to the Thermaltake Damier V6000A, the Xpider II performed at just about the same level. It is surprising, since the Damier has three more fans than the Xpider II.
Click to enlarge.
The Xpider II's use of drive rails was also a great choice, but would have been even better had it been implemented in the bottom six 3-1/2" drive bays. And Chenbro's add-on card securing device was an excellent idea, but could be improved to work with the varying designs of add-on cards.
With the combination of these features, we conclude that the Xpider II is at par with the other mid-range themed cases, like the X-Mask and the Guardian, but a price tag of around $80 may seem a bit on the expensive side compared to those two.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
33 Comments
View All Comments
Staples - Tuesday, August 10, 2004 - link
Very ugly design. It certainly will not be my next case.kmmatney - Tuesday, August 10, 2004 - link
Can't say that I've ever found a removable motherboard tray very useful. Just gives more parts to rattle and weakens the structure. You certainly don't need it to swap out components.shuttleboi - Tuesday, August 10, 2004 - link
Do Anandtech reviewers have a problem with aesthetics or something? Why do they keep reviewing these really butt-ugly cases? How about something (e.g. from Lian-Li or Coolermaster) that isn't completely repulsive?Budman - Tuesday, August 10, 2004 - link
" We test it with all the same PSU so that the noise comparisons are all the same.Kristopher "
that may be good for mobo/cpu tests but you're reviewing a CASE,you just cant pick & chose the parts you like.
The case should be reviewed as is just like anybody who's going to go buy it,not everybody's going to have a spare psu handy.
And just like the other guy said it's a freaking Fortron 350 watter great psu.
very bad ideal to swap out the psu,when you buy it will it come with that other psu? NO . so if you're going to review do it as it will come from the store.
Sonic587 - Tuesday, August 10, 2004 - link
"Installation of all components took no more than 15 minutes and since the Chenbro threw in a 350W power supply, a few minutes were shaved off that total installation time. We did swap out that power supply with our own test bed unit, the OCZ 520W PowerStream, for our benchmarks."Excuse me if I missed something, and ignore this if I did, but they just "threw in" a 350W power supply? That's a Fortron FSP350-60PN. A very high quality PSU that could handle almost any system out there today. I think there should be some credit to Chenbro for choosing a quality component that is so often ignored.
That said, I agree it is 110% fugly.
BUBKA - Tuesday, August 10, 2004 - link
I heard it was optimized to play spiderman 2 and benches 3% fasterKristopherKubicki - Tuesday, August 10, 2004 - link
We test it with all the same PSU so that the noise comparisons are all the same.Kristopher
Degrador - Tuesday, August 10, 2004 - link
Yep, I'm with #1. Fugly.Monkeydonutstick - Tuesday, August 10, 2004 - link
Super StupidBudman - Tuesday, August 10, 2004 - link
Why in the hell would you go to all the trouble of reviewing a case but then swap out the PSU???You should have tested it with the PSU it came with.