Kingwin Mutant X Midtower Case

On the bottom of the Mutant X’s face is a small door that conceals the now standard two USB ports, a Firewire port as well as mic and speaker jacks.  It appears that the original design called for two Firewire ports from the looks of the IEEE1394 shaped blank.

The left side panel has an unusual three panel window in the shape of a sideways Star Trek emblem.  In the middle of the three panels is an 80mm blue LED case fan.  Combination screen and finger guards adorn its visible side.  The screen is not an especially tight weave to keep dust completely out.  However, this cuts two ways; a tight ‘dust free’ screen keeps the dust out but restricts airflow while the more open screens benefits air circulation at a cost of manually blowing the dust out of your case every month or two.  The silver finger guard design adds a nice touch to the style of the Mutant X while not crossing the line of being gaudy. 

  

Around back we don’t find anything especially noteworthy.  Two 80mm case fans with chassis integrated grills serve as exhaust for the Mutant X.  Included with the case is only one fan for the rear, situated in the lower of the two exhausts.  As has become the standard, we find thumbscrews that lock the side panels in place. 

Our last stop before we crack things open is the right side panel.  A line of small angled slits are along the top and bottom edge of the panel as you can see below.  While this isn’t going to be a real boost for circulation it will keep any excessive amounts of heat from building under the mainboard tray.

A Look Inside

Removing the left panel we get our first look inside the Mutant X.  We are greeted by the dull characteristic gray of the steel used in the chassis.  My personal preference in case construction material is aluminum but we need to remember that this is a budget case priced at $60.  This steel frame while outweighing an aluminum one, comes in at 9 kg.  Nine kilos is just enough to be a nuisance to carry but not so much as to be too cumbersome to rule the Mutant X out as a LAN box.

Here is our lone 80mm exhaust fan sitting over top of seven slot covers.  No removable mainboard tray for you here Johnny.  I do like the large hole in the motherboard tray that allows some circulation under the board.  I always have wondered why holes of this type aren’t positioned under where the processor would be.

Along the top inner edge is a handle of sorts that demonstrates its utility most when you have things laid out on a desk installing components. 

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