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Stealth-X ATX Case Review
Review Date: November 3, 2002
Reviewed by: Dwayne Sessom
Sponsor: Colorcases.com
Introduction:
There are lots of cases on the market these days for the PC enthusiast. Some are better than others for various reasons. The main things I look for in a case regardless of it's features are quality and design integrity, meaning design weaknesses and strengths. The reason for this is simple: It doesn't matter how pretty a case is if it is poorly designed or is built with low quality materials.
The Stealth-X from ColorCases.com is somewhat of paradox from a review standpoint.
The reason I say this is because at first glance, the case looks like an outstanding ATX case. It has some really nice features including a pre-fab window, a great looking face with translucent plastic that has lots of potential for being lit up with LEDs or EL wire. It also has one of the best tool-less drive retention mechanisms I have seen. But...
The case has some major design flaws that make what could be an outstanding case into just a mediocre one.
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As you can see from these pics, this is a great looking case with loads of potential for lighting mods in particular. Some LED's would really light up the front face nicely! The two 80mm fan slots would look spank filled with a couple of LED fans, and this is the only case I have seen with a front fan setup like this.
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Here are a few close-ups to show better detail of the translucent plastic that covers the entire face of the case, and to show more detail on the fan slots mentioned previously.
Here we have the power and reset buttons which are located on the top right of the front of the case. Looking at the rest of the case, this is about the only place the designer could have put them, but it's actually a nice location and easy to reach.
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The Stealth-X has front USB ports which are getting to be pretty standard these days. The ports are located at the very bottom in front. The window on this case is exactly identical to the Raidmax A288 we reviewed right here, except this case didn't come with a fan in the center of the window. In fact, this case came without any fans at all!
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Now we will take a look at the rear of the case. This is a disappointing sight. Not only is there no fan on the rear of the case, it is nearly impossible to put one there! Due to the design, there is just no way to put a standard 80mm exhaust fan in it - or any other fan for that matter. Hey! Where's the power supply? Well, it doesn't come with one. Not even a cheapie PSU, you are on your own.
This is the opposite side of the window. It is stamped with a nice rounded pattern and offers some ventilation as well.
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There were several obvious flaws with this case when I received it. First, there was a screw missing from the window panel. That's not a good sign. After removing the panel, I discovered that 2 corners of the arcylic window were cracked or broken. That's even worse.
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This is the other broken corner, and a shot of the entire inner panel showing both broken corners. The missing screw isn't so bad, and even 1 cracked corner is forgivable sice you can't see it from the outside, and we all know damage can happen on transit. But 2 cracks and a missing screw is just a bit much.
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Inside the case is a meager bag of screws and mounts. The inside of the case is roomy enough, and the drive retention mechanism is one of the best I have ever seen.
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The drive retention system in the Stealth-X is nothing less that outstanding. It is totally tool-less and locks once the drive is in place. The lock is easily disengaged to remove the drive with the flip of a switch. This is one of the saving graces of the Stealth-X, along with the cool clear plastic face plate.
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Here a few shots of the front fans bays, which is the coolest this about this case as far as looks are concerned. I removed the clear plastic face to show what is underneath, and to mount any fans here, the face would need to be removed. Be careful removing the face, the plastic is quite brittle and breaks easily.
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I put some nice LED fans into the case to give you an idea of the potential I am talking about. It looks much better with the LED fans, no doubt about it.
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Finally, a few pics of the USB and wiring. Pretty standard really, but its nice to actually have the wiring harness for the USB. Some cases don't have this.
Conclusion:
As I stated in the beginning of this review, it doesn't matter how pretty a case is if it is poorly designed or is built with low quality materials. The Stealth-X has alot of potential to be an outstanding case, but all that is shot to hell by design flaws and cheap materials. One thing I didn't like about the case at all was that it is made of steel, and not aluminum. The plastic parts on the case are made of brittle plastic that breaks easily, including the face, window and chrome end caps at the top and bottom of the case. The fact that this case came with no fans and no power supply is also a big negative. It would have been much easier to deal with the missing screw and cracked window if it had come with some cool fans and/or a power supply. Another thing that is worth mentioning is the fact that after you mount CD-Rom drives and a floppy drive in this case, it looks odd. It is hard to make a CD-Rom drive look good when everything around it is clear.
Despite all of it's shortcomings, it's still a good looking case with loads of potential for modding, so I am giving the Stealth-X an overall score of 3 X's.
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