A-Top Technology Z-Alien Gaming Case

Opening things up we get a better look at the 120mm exhaust fan as well as the PCI/AGP card stays.  Tool free anything is hip in my book but this is especially nice.  The clips function by squeezing the center locking pieces and sliding it forward or backward to the position you need.  This method is a significant improvement over other tool free slot stays.  These work well with any card.  Other manufacturers have tried these but with an open/closed type set up.  These just don't work with cards where the PCB extends beyond the fold of the mounting bracket.  The Z-Alien has taken a good idea and improved it to be universal.

  

Missing from the inside was a removable mainboard tray.  There is lots of work room inside the box but it was a surprise to not see a tray here.

The drive rails for the A-Top box are in a storage box mounted at the bottom of the case.  The rails fit cleanly into several drives we had here and made for a nice snug fit.  Sometimes drive rails leave things a little loose; not here they don't.  Best drive rail to case mating I think I've ever seen.

     

A couple more shots from inside.  The top mounted USB/Firewire/Audio ports have their wires routed through a cable stay of sorts along the mainboard wall.  Nice attention to detail.  The other pic below is an inside view of the optical and floppy drive cages.

  

The last three shots are of the hard drive rack area.  The drive rack is mounted at a 90 degree angle from the front bezel so it can be easily accessed with the side panel off.  A single screw holds the rack in place.  Behind the rack, are the front and right side panel mounted case fans.

     

In action

Dropping in a armload of components, we fired everything up to see how well these features actually functioned.  The blue illumination in the 'eyes' and 'gills' up front was nicely done.  Not too bright but still enough to most certainly grab your attention.  The LCD is connected to a thermal probe that is loose within the case allowing you to mount it about anywhere.

  

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