Apevia X-Sniper Mid Tower Chassis

Interior Continued

Taking a closer look at the wires from the front panel, we see that as previously mentioned, they include connections for the two USB 2.0 ports, the Firewire port, and the Microphone and Headphone port.  In addition to these connectors are four additional Molex type connectors that fans can be attached to the control fan speed.  The manual states that the two included 120mm case fans should be connected to these controllers, but if you have other 120mm fans with a Molex type connector, they will also work.

  

Installation

To start off the installation, I installed my PSU.  There was no problem with fit here and I think any PSU would probably fit in there as there is plenty of space.  One thing worth mentioning, however (and it's not so much an issue with the case), is that I don't have a modular PSU.  This caused me some problems with cable-management as a lot of these extra cables ended up stuffed in empty drive bays.  I don't consider it a detriment of the case, but some additional cable management may be of use to some users.  With that nice big window, we don't want everyone to see the clutter inside.

After installing the PSU, I moved on and installed my optical drives and HDD.  Again, there were no tools required here.  The clamps snap right down on the CD Drive and the included rails fit my HDD with no problem.  That clamped right into the HDD cage of the X-Sniper.  I've dealt with several kinds of tool-less clamps for 5.25" bays as well, and I can definitively say that this type is my favorite.  They provide a secure hold and exceptionally easy use.

  

The motherboard installation was next.  The holes in the chassis were clearly marked for your type of motherboard, and this was one of only two times throughout the installation that I had to use a screwdriver (the other being the PSU).  Next up, I installed one of my video cards using the tool-less PCI slots.  These were easy to use and hold the card securely enough, but could stand to fit a little tighter.

Now that everything is installed, you can see that there's plenty of room.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to hook up the front microphone and headphone port because the cord was too short to reach around my two video cards to the lower position on my mainboard.  The USB plug and Firewire plugs reached, but that was a stretch; the cords could stand to be a little longer.

Once the side panel was put back on, the 120mm fan on the side panel of the X-Sniper was in contact with my CPU cooler.  The Sunbeamtech Core Contact Freezer that is installed in my chassis is one of the taller coolers on the market.  It does fit, but it's a tight fit, and if you're considering purchasing the X-Sniper, ensure that you have a CPU cooler that is less than 155mm tall (which is most of them, thankfully). 

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Pg 1 - Introduction & Chassis
Pg 2 - Chassis & Interior
Pg 3 - Interior & Installation
Pg 4 - Conclusion