Ahanix dboX Case Review

The dboX has 7x 3.5" drive bays which gives you plenty of room to mount a hard drive or two, and 5 of the bays are right in front of the intake fan; which is a nice idea to keep the hard drives cool, unfortunately you receive little benefit with the low intake of this case design. Another thing to note is the case does not have any removable drive bays or a removable motherboard try, which means you'll be working in a cramped environment any time you do any work in your case.



Here is a closer look at the wires. You have a single Molex that powers the controller board as well as the two fans, the usual connectors to the motherboard, and the USB cables to connect the front USB ports to the motherboard. The two white connectors next to the 4-pin Molex are 2-pin connectors for the fans. With most fans using a 3 or 4-pin connector, in order to use a different fan with the controller you'll have either buy an adapter or bring out the knife and the electrical tape. No biggie to most, but an endeavor some people won't want to attempt.



Here you can see the controller card and all of the LEDs that weren't show in the images earlier. Hrmm... I should replace the LEDs to go with the blue one at the top of the case. ;)



I mentioned that the case came with two fans, an 80mm and a 120mm. Here they are. :)

Conclusion
"Never judge a book by it's cover."

This saying holds true for the dboX. Like the AudiaXP and the PlatinumXP, the Ahanix dboX is a nice case with many design flaws. First is the controler board blocking the intake fan. No removeable drive bays or slide out motherboard tray makes working inside the case a bit cramped, also there are a few sharp edges that'll catch you if you are not careful. Having the thumb screws for tool less entry is very nice, however the PCI slots and drive slots came with regular phillips screws meaning even though you dedn't need a screw drive to get in the case, to move anything you'll still have to have one. I loved the thermal display, and as far as looks it blew away the Digital Doc 5.

 

Pros:

• Thermal Controller is Easy to Use/Read • Tool-less Case Entry • Front USB and IrDA Ports • Bright Blue LED • Stealth CD/DVD Covers • 120mm and 80mm Fans Included

Cons:

• No Slide Out Motherboard Tray • No Removable Drive Bay • No Thumbscrews for PCI or Drives • Little Intake From Front Fan • Speaker Not Mounted – Must Be Mounted by the User • Drive Covers Break Easily • Fan Controller Uses 2-pin Connectors

I'd like to thank ExoticPC.com for providing us this case to review!