Installation and Testing
Hansan
has gotten the closest to a screwless design that I've seen with this case.
They provided enough thumbscrews that I was able to mount all the drives
that way. One nice feature of their thumbscrews is the fact that they can
still be turned with a standard screwdriver. One feature that I liked about
the Explorer III was its innovative design that allowed you to open the
case by pushing on a couple of buttons. The Audi goes one step further.
Simply pull up on a lever on each side and the case slides off. This design
is easier when it comes to reinstalling the case and the levers make for
nice handles as you are sliding the cover off. You can click on the picture
if you'd like to see a bigger version.
I mounted
an AOpen AK33 motherboard and had no problems with its design. Hansan provides
plastic motherboard risers for the screws to go into. I've found that the
metal style that support most motherboards can be very sharp so I appreciated
the design of these. The case comes with markings on it to help you position
those risers for either AT or ATX boards. Hansan recommends that the jumper
cable that allows the front USB and sound ports to work be passed through
an expansion slot. Since the case also has stampings for extra COM ports
in the back I used one of them to pass the cable through. Please keep in
mind if you do this you need to take some sandpaper to the metal edges of
the COM port to ensure you don't cut cables. Using the COM port made for
a cleaner install I thought. In case you are wondering just how sharp the
metal of the COM port can be - When I put the cables through the first time
it shaved enough plastic off the sound jacks that they are now flat on opposite
sides. See what I mean?
One thing
that initially concerned me about the Audi case was that the frame seemed
to flex towards the top. Rather than just deburring the frame it has a fully
rolled metal area at the top. While I appreciated the rolled metal I was
worried about the flexing. As soon as I installed a CD-ROM into one of the
bays the flexing completely disappeared. It appears that the inclusion of
a CD-ROM was taken into consideration by the engineers behind this case
since they let it add structural rigidity to the unit.
I was happy to see that the 300w
Moretec power supply was again provided with this unit. It is by far the
quitest power supply I've ever come across. If you are planning to install
a Pentium IV motherboard please make sure to ask for a power supply for
that board. These boards have an extra connector and it just so happens
that Fortron already has their unit out on the market. The Moretec unit
pushes out an impressive amount of heat considering that it is whisper quiet.
Combine the 80mm intake fan and extra 60 mm exhaust fan and this case is
starting to look better all the time. I can't stand to leave things alone
and was able to mount an extra 80 mm fan on a couple of extra mounting tabs
on the Moretec power supply. Since the Moretec fan directs air out I set
up the extra fan to pull air up and away from the CPU and towards the power
supply. Sound a little like overkill? It probably is, but it made for a
3' F drop in CPU temp.
