Fong Kai USA FK-330 Steel Case

Manufacturer: Fong Kai
Supplied by: Fong Kai
Price: $179.00

by Brian Tiller (11/4/2003)

Introduction

Well, I've been here at the Cafe' for a little more than a year now and in that time I've reviewed many cases. From big honkin' full towers to itty-bitty little things; steel case, aluminum cases, economy jobs and cases complete with all sorts of bells and whistles. The one thing I've noticed is that every manufacturer has a different idea about what's going to work. Thanks to the generosity of the good people over at Fong Kai, we've got a chance to take a look at their FK-330 steel mid-tower case and see what they got cooking under the hood.

First Impressions

When Dean first handed over this case to me I thought that I'd pulled my back out again. This sucker is way heavy. Weighing in at a whopping 31 pounds, I don't even think the HULK could topple it. Being solid black with silver trim, I'll have to admit I liked the looks of it. Having high hopes for this case, I immediately got to work taking it apart and looking at the innards. But first, let's take a gander at the specs.

Specifications

• Construction: Steel

• Observed Weight: 14 kg (31 pounds)

• Observed Dimensions: 439.6mm (H) x 212.7mm (W) x 523.8mm (D)

• Drive Bays: (3) External 5.25"
                  (1) External 3.5"
                  (3) Internal 3.5"

• Included PSU: 350W

• Tool free design for drive bays and motherboard

• Front USB/FireWire/Audio ports

• Reinforced motherboard plate

• Open chassis alarm

• Tool free mounting of rear 120mm fan/front 92mm fan

As you can see, the size of this case is comparable to other mid towers that we have had here before. But the weight difference is quite a bit off from the norm. One of the reasons for this is the reinforced motherboard plate mentioned above. The reasoning is to prevent chassis flex during shipment. Maybe so, but I've never personally had a case damaged during shipment. And the added weight here is going to increase the shipping costs. 

Entirely black except for the front, the silver trim and screen on the front is very image enhancing. Covering one half of the bezel, the mesh type screen allows for good airflow into the front of the case. Embedded into this screen are the power and reset buttons, and on the bottom, the USB, FireWire and audio ports.

   

As you can see, the access door for the ports folds down, but not back into the case like many of the other cases we have reviewed here.

 

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