Aspire X-Navigator: A High End Gaming Chassis
by Purav Sanghani on October 26, 2004 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
External Design (cont'd)
The X-Navigator does feature a blue backlit LCD temperature display on the bottom half of the bezel. This module also houses a knob for controlling the speeds of a combination of fans connected to its pass-through power connector on the inside as well as the FireWire and dual USB ports. The X-Navigator does not have any front panel audio connections, unfortunately. We will have to take some points off, since almost all of the cases that we have looked at in the past as well as others that we have seen in the market have audio ports as a standard nowadays.
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The left side panel features a large full height/width window with rounded corners, which clearly shows off the case's internals. Aspire was careful not to overly modify the look of the windowed panel to attract more enthusiasts instead of those who desire lots of flashing lights and themes.
Click to enlarge.
The side panel also features a locking device much like that used in Thermaltake's Tsunami Dream chassis, which we had the pleasure of looking at over a month ago. To remove the left side panel, pull the handle forward (relative to the case) while at the same time pulling the panel off the X-Navigator. There is also a key lock to secure the panel, keeping those unwanted from entering the case.
Click to enlarge.
The left side panel also features a large 120mm LED fan, which can be clearly seen and heard (explained in our cooling section). The fan sits towards the bottom of the panel near the expansion slot area.
Click to enlarge.
The top side of the X-Navigator features a single opening and grill for the 80mm fan mounted on the inside of the case. Again, this fan is also an LED fan and shines brightly through the opening.
Click to enlarge.
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LoneWolf15 - Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - link
Looks like an ugly attempt at a premodded case for me. The fan grills are gaudy, and I can't stand front case doors, especially plastic ones. Too much built-in lighting makes this case more blingy than it is useful, and the interchangeable front plastics are all ugly. Give me multiple low-noise 120mm fans over the cooling setup here any day as well. I also don't like clear power supplies; they look good for about two months until dust gets in them, and then they're nasty. To clean them, you'll probably end up voiding the warranty.Thresher - Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - link
That case is fugly.I like the feature set, but I can't stand the "bling" on it. I wish more case manufacturers took Antec's lead and built more cases like the Sonata and Aria.
Entropy531 - Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - link
#9 - They use it so they can get impartial results. If you're comparing apples to oranges, the results aren't very legitimate. They have to use all the same components to get thermal benchmarks. #5 and #10 - I agree.diehlr - Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - link
ugly.shabby - Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - link
Why dont you guys use the psu's that come with the case for testing, you switched to the ocz psu again.Aquila76 - Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - link
#7 - The other HDD bays do have space for a cooling fan, it just isn't included (greenish bracket):http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/cases/aspire/x...
The top 3 are really meant for the External 3.5" drives, so even the bracket isn't included on that one, but you can get a universal one pretty easily if you need it.
MustISO - Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - link
One thing I just can't understand is why there are three, 3 1/2 drive cages and only one of them has a fan. What the hell are they thinking?"Gee, maybe the users only want to cool 3 hard drives, the others can fry!"
Antec does the same thing.
At the very least add 2 additional fan brackets and let the user decide. That should increase the total cost by $2.
Beenthere - Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - link
I definitely wouldn't bring this case home... but different strokes for different folks.skunkbuster - Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - link
i actually think it looks pretty fugly + gaudyLocut0s - Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - link
Scratch that sorry it's much clearer on a 2nd read. If any admin is watching you can delete the past 3 posts by me.