Kingwin Supernova HTPC Case

The rear wall view shows the two 60mm exhaust fans and the horizontal PSU mounting area.  Still for the life of me I can't understand why it isn't mounting vertically.  To the left of the exhaust fans reside four slot brackets.  I'm so used to seeing seven as in a traditional sized case, the four is almost unnerving.  Keeping things compact is what makes the HTPC builder smile though.  The two fans each have three to four pin adapter plugs fitted so you can power these off the PSU directly or through the LCD fan monitor that comes as a big part of the Kingwin Supernova.

  

Behind the front bezel we have our two removable drive cages.  The optical drive rack holds two 5.25" and one 3.5" device and is removed by taking out two Phillips head screws on one side.  The three bay 3.5" drive that rests on the opposite the optical rack is likewise removable and can sport up to three drives.  You can see the panel and LCD leads snaking their way from behind the HDD rack.  The last shot below is of the three 3-pin power leads coming off the bezel's LCD and the three thin tipped thermal probes.

     

Installation/Operation

Installation went without a hitch.  Keep in mind you are limited to a MicroATX mainboard.  Cable routing and general wire management was easier than I expected.  With the Kingwin Supernova's small size, came its ability to run wires in nice clean hidden lines at the sides more than I ordinarily would have thought. 

Here are a few shots of the LCD panel and its readout in purple, blue and red.  It needs to be noted that the included driver CD must be installed prior to taking advantage of the display.  To turn any tide of e-mails in advance; the RPMs being displayed in the pictures below is zero as I did not have a fan connected to the LCD directly when I took the pictures.  The sensor's operation did check out fine on all three lines.

     

Our last shot is of the lighted bezel.  You get a good feel for the tasteful lighting here which I thought pretty classy.  However, in a dark room while watching a movie on the HTPC I had installed, the LCD and other lighting while not too bright did seem a bit distracting mainly because of the amount of lighted surface area.  I never had to do anything as extreme as cover the area but I would have liked to see an 'off' for it on the bezel.

Conclusion

Kingwin did their homework with the Supernova HTPC case.  It has all the ingredients for success; light weight, clean lines, gobs of features, a LCD panel, dual optical bays and surprisingly good ventilation.  The smaller than normally seen size ended up being a double edged sword.  While being compact made the unit more manageable in a component rack, it also limits you to a MicroATX mainboard.  Space was at a premium inside with a full system installed but things never felt 'packed in'.  My dislike of the horizontally mounted PSU was actually negated to some degree after installation showed things to be roomer than I expected.

The Kingwin Supernova is a smart looking HTPC case that you would have no real complaints with if you added it to your home entertainment system and as such we feel deserves are full recommendation.

Pros:

• Beautiful design

• Lightweight

• LCD information panel

• Dual optical bays

• Good ventilation

• Silent operation

• Removable drive racks

• Oversized volume knob on bezel VERY useful

Cons:

• MicroATX mainboards only

• No 'off' for front bezel lighting

• $190 may scare off some buyers

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