Print this article

Aluminus ATX Mid-Tower Case


Date
: 03/20/06 – 01:07:48 AM

Author
:

Category
: Cases

Page 1 : Index

Manufacturer:
Ultra Products

Price:
$149.99 USD MSRP ($100USD @ TigerDirect)

Ultra is quite a well known name here at Overclockers Online. We have reviewed a variety of different products under the Ultra label, including power supplies, memory, cases, and even a couple of fan controllers. Diversified is not the only word that describes Ultra however. With lifetime warranties available on all power supplies, cases, and memory, Ultra is committed to the quality of their products.

Today we will be looking at the new Aluminus enclosure: a stylish aluminum case with an oversized window and superb cable management options. Sound like a formula for a great case? Let's go find out.

Page 2 : Package

When I was handed the package that contained this case, I winced. Visions of warped panels and cracked Plexiglas danced through my head. You see, the UPS driver for my area has a fun little game he likes to play. It's called, "let's drop kick the fragile packages". Well, he must have had lots of fun with this package. I received a brown box that was slightly wet and dirty,

with a large knee sized dent in the side.

However, when I opened this tattered box with eyes averted and breath held, I cried out in glee. Ultra had double boxed my review sample, meaning that the real box was inside the brown box, protected against the UPS man's wrath with a good inch and a half of Styrofoam goodness. While most consumers will only ever see the retail package, I thought I'd mention this as an attribute to Ultra's commitment to their products. As a reviewer, I can honestly say that nothing is more disappointing than receiving a product that has been damaged during transportation.

I would also like to mention that I have a "quality sniffing" cat. Yes, you read that right. My cat has been specially trained to sniff out quality packages as to give me an early indication of how well constructed a product is even before I start the review. After a thorough sniff down,

he was so excited he actually opened the package himself.

Now that we know that this case is the cats meow, we can take a look at the retail packaging.

Here we see the front side, which features the Ultra Aluminus label located at the top, a portrait of the case at the right, and some features of the case briefly listed at the left.

The backside shows the case in more detail, and describes more features.

This side panel shows the weight and dimensions.

The other side panel shows the drive bay system in more detail, and also makes the claim, "The world's best selling extreme gamer case!". This I found intriguing as this case is brand new. So I contacted Ultra and asked about it. I was informed that this was not intended to be a claim, but instead a result of Ultra's art department reusing the Wizard template box for this sample. I'm sure that the final production unit will have slightly different verbiage.

Before we open this box and get to the goodness inside, let's look at some specs.

Page 3 : Specifications

As seen on Ultra's website, here are the specs for the Aluminus case:

And these features:

And here's what Ultra has to say about the Aluminus:

I'm really looking forward to see what this cable management blurb is all about. Any case that claims to have great cable management options and an oversized window has my attention.

Page 4 : Package Contents

Opening the box we see that the Aluminus has been packaged bezel up, with two Styrofoam blocks holding it firmly in place.

Pulling the case out, we also see that Ultra has covered the case with a sheet of plastic to avoid dust. This is always appreciated, as receiving a brand new dusty case isn't much fun.

Removing the plastic cover, we get our first clear glimpse at the Aluminus in all its splendor. It's also good to see that the window has been protected on both sides with thick sheets of static plastic wrap.

When I went to look for the standard bag of screws it was nowhere to be found. Instead I found this box, which has been thoughtfully secured to the drive rail to avoid any damage to the interior of the case during transport.

While I had originally thought that it was a box with a printed cover, it turned out to be box with a manual on top.

The box contained the drive rails for the 5.25" drive rails, the bag of screws, the keys for the front bezel, a sheet to register, and the front I/O port.

Speaking of the front I/O, Ultra has not included a front I/O embedded in the bezel, but instead has provided a somewhat modular one, one that can fit in either the 3.5" or 5.25" front bays.

I was somewhat curious at why Ultra would choose to include a modular front I/O instead of one embedded in the bezel. So I contacted them and inquired of this. Ultra responded by explaining that if you have either Ultra's all in one media drive, or any other media drive, or if you have an Audigy/ X-Fi, then you would be left with an extra set of ports up front doing nothing. Ultra had originally planned to include no front USB at all, but then they decided this would have been considered a shortcoming of the case. So in the end, they included the modular one so that users that are just starting their "Dream Build" still have front USB that can be replaced with something nicer later.

You know a case is aimed at power users when Audigy/ X-Fi's are considered when designing the case. ;)

Page 5 : Exterior

Let's start out with a profile shot:

I'd like to start out by saying that this case is absolutely beautiful. With its high gloss paint job and oversized window, it will be the cause of many an envious glance.

The front bezel is very cleanly designed. It reminds me of a Chieftec Dragon.

Opening up the bezel door we see that the Aluminus supports up to five 5.25" and two 3.5" external drives.

We also see that the high gloss paint is not limited to the metal, it even extends to the bay covers.

The hinges for the front door are made out of plastic, and restrict the door to opening 180 degrees. It is always nice to have a double hinge to allow for 270 degrees of motion, but this does not break the deal.

Here we have the power and reset buttons, bezel lock, and power and HD activity LEDs. I found that the power button was a good size, but the reset button was a tad on the small side. This can be either good or bad depending on how you look at it. On the one hand, no longer will your cat reset your computer during a CS:S session, but then on the other hand, when you smell burning PCB after you try to push a 60% overclock and can't reset soon enough, you're hooped.

Speaking of LEDs, how are they supposed to shine behind a door? The Aluminus utilizes two transparent pieces of plastic to allow the LEDs to shine through the door.

Turning the case,

we see the featured oversized window. Window size is always a matter of personal preference. While my thinking is "the bigger the better", some prefer only to have the motherboard area exposed. I think the window works great with this case.

The most noticeable features of this window are the CPU vent,

and the VGA vent. Both of which should aid cooling for any hot-running system.

Even the back of the Aluminus is nicely done. Unlike some cases where the paint ends and all that's left is ugly steel, this case retains the excellent high gloss paint, and even has aluminum expansion slot covers.

It's also good to see that the 120mm fan bay sports a relatively unrestrictive cone shaped mesh to allow for good airflow.

Turning the case again,

we can see the non windowed side panel. It's fairly … well … black and … reflective.

So how is this case going to sit? There are four feet, which can be folded in,

or folded out for extra stability.

While I was busily photographing, I noticed this:

Being the curious sort, I pulled on it to see what it was for. I soon discovered that the whole front bezel is hinged!

The hinges are made of metal, and look quite durable.

So how do the buttons work if the bezel is hinged? Well, the buttons are held in place with a plastic retention system,

which allows for the buttons to swing out with the bezel and still be aligned when swung back.

It was interesting to note that the drive bay covers are screwed in place. While this does create the need for a screwdriver, it also means that the covers won't ever fall out on you.

This actually should be included with the "Interior" section of this review, but since we're up here anyways, it makes sense to include it.

The floppy/ external 3.5 bay utilizes a quick release bay. It's always nice to have quick release system instead of having to screw your device directly to the frame.

Going just a bit lower, we find a 120mm fan mount,

which may be removed for an easy install of a fan.

Even when the front bezel is closed, there is still excellent ventilation for the fan:

I was a little disappointed with the lack of a fan filter for this front fan bay, however fan filters can be improvised easily enough. Coffee filters anyone?

The Aluminus is certainly a visually stunning case, but true beauty is found on the inside. So let's go look there.

Page 6 : Interior

Upon opening this case, one of the first things I noticed was the side panels and their rigid structure

Ultra has chosen to fold the edges in for extra support, and it really helps for large panels such as these.

Our first glance into the interior, we can see that the black high gloss paint resides even here, the vanity plate to cover up ugly drives and cables, the drive rail system, the motherboard tray,

and also the front panel connectors.

Looking to the rear,

we see a 120mm fan bay, aluminum expansion slot covers, which thankfully are the kind that are held in place by screws, instead of being those pull out ones,

an I/O shield,

and a reversible power supply mount. Why anyone would need this, I'm not sure. I have no doubt, however that modders will find this useful.

Up front, there is the vanity plate, the 5.25" and 3.5" bays.

The 3.5" drive rail system is done superbly. With room for up to five drives, and the option to have a 120mm fan cooling these drives, you should have no problems mounting and cooling your drives

The drive rails themselves stay put by way of two tabs at the front,

and feature rubber grommets to decrease noise due to hard drive vibration.

This design also allows for your hard drives to be mounted forward or backwards, for ease of cable access or cable stealthing.

Speaking of stealth, how about that vanity plate?

Ultra has included a vanity plate, essentially an aesthetically pleasing cover which provides a way of hiding those ugly 5.25' drives, and also somewhere where you can hide your cables. I think this is a great feature, especially when found in conjunction with a large window.

Here we have the motherboard tray. It is held in place by two thumbscrews.

To remove the tray, simply remove the thumbscrews,

slide the tray to the right,

and pull out. The tray itself is good and rigid, and the handles are certainly an asset when removing/ installing the tray. It is made of Aluminum though, and is a bit softer than I like. But once the motherboard is installed, it is rock solid.

Even the frame is interesting. It is quite strong, and braced well,

but what really matters is that the frame is very porous.

Why does a permeable frame matter? All those holes allow for more cable routing possibilities, which compliments the vanity plate and large window.

Now that the scrutinizing is done, let's install some hardware in this case

Page 7 : Installation

Installation was a breeze with this case. Ultra has put a lot of though into this case, and this is where it shines.

First of all: the I/O shield. I'm not sure why these are even included anymore, as they are more likely to work with that PII in your garage than your modern motherboard. So remove that old fashioned shield and pop in the one for your motherboard.

Next, the motherboard installation. This was easy enough; simply remove the motherboard tray, screw your motherboard down securely,

then slide the motherboard back in and secure it with thumbscrews.

Drive installation also went smoothly. For the 3.5" drives, installation was a matter of removing the drive bay,

screwing the drive to the drive rail,

and sliding the drive rail back into the bay.

For the 5.25" drives, installation was a matter of screwing the drive to the drive rails,

Unscrewing the cover and removing the metal plate,

and sliding it in. Simple!

The rest of the install consisted of installing two 120mm Cooler Master fans,

one in the back,

and one in the front.

After managing some cables, heres what resulted:

Where are all the cables?! Well, since I have a "spaghetti wires" PSU, I ran them all forward, and hid them behind the vanity plate in a rather unceremonious bundle. From there I simple utilized the porous frame to run my wires stealthily to where they needed to go.

Installation was easy, efficient, and actually enjoyable. I especially appreciated the vanity plate, and the cable management capabilities this case offers. The end results look fabulous.

An easy install and great looks do nothing for you if your hardware is running to hot. How well does the Aluminus perform? Read on, oh dear reader, to find out.

Page 8 : Testing

Normally, I would use my A-64 system for testing. However, my motherboard is currently somewhere in RMA land. So for this review, Ill be using my old A-XP system.

The competitors:
the Ultra Aluminus (1x120mm intake, 1x120mm exhaust)
the Antec SLK2650 BQE (2x80mm intakes, 1x120mm exhaust)

Testing Methods:

To keep things fair, I used the same components and methods of testing for both cases. Benchmarking involved running Prime95 for an hour from a cold boot. Speedfan was used to record the CPU temperature. After Prime95 was closed, the system was left idle with only Speedfan and normal services running. Throughout testing the room temperature remained 20.C, within 1.C. Here are the results:

First thing you probably noticed was that I only have CPU temps. Well, with my super highly advanced Biostar motherboard, this is the only temperature monitor I have.

There's not much difference in temps between the two cases. Why? Well, the airflow was pretty much balanced and both cases used the same Cooler Master fans.

Why do I say pretty much? The SLK2650 had an extra ~3CFM intake. However, even though the Antec has a marginally smaller amount of airflow, the Aluminus pulls ahead. This is most likely due to the Aluminus' Aluminum construction, which has better thermal properties than steel, and also a roomier interior promoting better airflow.

All in all, I was quite impressed with the cooling possibilities for this case. With the ability to sport up to two 120mm and one 80mm fan, you should have no problem cooling even those Prescott CPU's. However, in keeping with the "power user" theme, you will have to provide these fans yourself.

Now let's go wrap things up.

Page 9 : Conclusion

I am picky when it comes to cases. My case is more than just a place to dump my hardware, my case houses and guards my investment in technology. So not just any scraper will do.

I also like to have a case that is a bit out of the ordinary, one that will get a reaction. Unfortunately, many case manufacturers think that neon colours and neon lights are needed to "get a reaction". Which is why I view many modern cases as tackily designed and gaudy.

Ultra, however, has managed to design a case that can be both be trusted with my hardware and also stand out at a LAN party. There is a lot to like about the Aluminus. Somewhere between the amazing paint job, flawlessly finished, the super easy and efficient installation, the roomy interior, the wiring options, the oversized window, and the rubber grommets, greatness ensues.

I also like the "power user" motif. It is great to get a case that doesn't come with included PSUs/ fans, items that would just be added to my ever growing mountain of spare parts anyways. Perhaps for others, however, the possible addition of Ultra's Titanium fans and X-Finity or X2 would have added even more value to this package.

At this point, you surely are saying, well, there has to be a catch. Well, there isn't. As hard as a tried to think of things about this case that aren't great, I couldn't. There are some things that could be improved, but things that are so small that I would hardly call them disadvantages. Things that could be improved would be including fan filters, and having a door that allows for 270. of movement. That's it. The inclusion of such noted items would take this enclosure from excellence to perfection.

All in all, I think this is an excellent case, and it comes with my most sincere recommendation.

Advantages

Excellent paint job
Ease of installation
Roomy interior
Cable management options
Hinged bezel
Big Window
Light (Aluminum)
Vanity plate

Disadvantages

No 270 degree door
No fan filters

Overclockers Online would like to thank Ultra for providing the sample Aluminus for this review