A-Top XPlode Gaming Case

Looking closer at the front bezel, you get a better idea at the richness of the coloring of the front design.  The lower end of the bezel has a silver colored power and reset button centered in the design.  You will also notice below that in between the 'spines' is a black wire mesh.  This mesh will allow a substantial amount of air to circulate into the case via it and the intake case can.  The only problem with this is the lack of a fan filter.  However with this much ventilation, you are going to draw a lot of dust into the box whether your fan is filtered or not.  The small grey area you see is an optional LED thermal monitor that A-Top makes.  This is an option for the XPlode but a nice and worthwhile one.

Check out the 5.25" bay covers that sport the same wire meshing.  I'm getting anxious to fire this puppy up because any lighting effects will be also be visible through these bay covers.

The left side panel has a window or rather a grill.  Again, the same mesh pattern seen on the face.  What I liked best here was the shape of the window.  See how it bows in from the bottom left?  Any add in cards like a NIC or Modem or otherwise minimally brag worthy item can be concealed.  Another thought is that this area would conceal a plain Jane H2O pump nicely.  The right side panel is straight forward with the exception of some side mounted access ports.  Two USB 2.0, a mic and a speaker jack are posted on the side for convenience while not breaking up the XPlode's lines.

Moving to the rear we see standard fare... mostly.  The included power supply in the review unit is the signature version of the XBlade 450w LED PSU which is an add on option for this case.  The included standard PSU with the XPlode is a 400w non LED unit as listed on A-Top's website.  The 'mostly' remark is about the exhaust fan vent.  The vent holes are actually stamped into the metal but look at the fan mounting holes.  The rear exhaust can accept an 80, 90 or 120mm fan.  Lots of people, myself included, may find a case we really like but have to rule it out because we have an expensive H2O cooling system based around a 120mm radiator and a particular case we may want only accepts 80mm exhaust.  That won't be a concern with the XPlode as it can take most any sized fan.

Open that can up

The side cover is secured with two thumbscrews.  Removal of the screws allowed us to slip off the side panel with minimal effort.  Looking inside, we see the flip side of the fan mounting area.  There is an 80mm LED fan placed here in the photo below but remember, only one 80mm front fan is included with the XPlode.  The expansion card slot plates were a bit of a disappointment.  These are the punch out type.  Once you pop them out, that's it.  The top most slot cover is the regular type that can be installed or removed at will but this is only one out of the seven and this one is for the slot over where an AGP or PCI-E card would go.  So removing this single reusable slot cover to use it elsewhere would leave that slot open.

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