A clear case of transparency

TRANSPARENCY IS is good, no doubt about it. In the software world, transparency comes with open source, but what about hardware?. Well, while open source processors are still far off, there are some PC cases that give us at least some illusion of "hardware transparency", I mean, to the eye. In the review of the Canterwood based Supermicro P4SCA motherboard last year, I wrote: "All that's missing now is a great case to put this beast on. But that, my friends, will be an upcoming story". I admit I took my time, but nine months later, I found a nice baby -I mean, a nice case-, on my desk. The delay was due to my reluctance to pay absurd amounts of money -at least for my budget- on a good looking case. Fortunately, I soon found this very affordable and attractive clear case, selling for $68.50 greenbacks.

A closer look

The DIY clear case -where DIY means "Do It Yourself"- is a very nice acrylic, mid-tower PC case kit that comes as several carefully packaged thick acrylic panels in a colorful cardboard box that even includes a plastic handle to make it easy moving it around, included in the box are several dozen screws, standoffs and the like, allowing anyone with a screwdriver and enough time and patience, to assembly it.

With 11 bays, it can be fully loaded: it sports the usual set of four "external" drive bays (front access) for cd-rw, dvd-rom, dvd-rw, removable hard drive enclosures, or anything else that fits into a 5.25-inch bay and needs to be accessed from the outside world. The usual pair of 3.5-inch drive bays suitable for your ancient zip drive, diskette drive, or the more current pcmcia card reader, and finally five "internal" bays suitable for up to five 3.5-inch hard drives or comparable internal peripherals.

As always, check the link below this article for the review pictures.

Putting the parts together:
Any 12-year old can assemble the Clear Case by following the detailed manual, which includes plenty of pretty drawings of every panel and how each part fits into another. The screws, standoffs and other small assembly parts are well packaged and labeled, in tiny little ziplock-like bags, inside a cardboard box, that also contains a soft cloth to clear the panels off any greasy or oily fingerprints, and a pair of cotton gloves, to prevent those oily fingers from touching the acrylic panels.

I recommend you use your bare hands instead of the tiny cotton gloves provided. I soon found it's much easier and faster to assemble everything with your naked hands and clear any fingerprints later with some soft cloth or lens tissue than trying to handle tiny screws with uncomfortable gloves on. Unless you are a 12 year old, in which case the gloves will fit your hands perfectly.

Speaking of the nicely done manual, you will soon find that whoever typed it is not a native english speaker, judging from phrases like "Lnstallation Guide" (no, Linspire and Lindows have nothing to do with it ;), sentences like "Step #2- To pay attention to the direction" or " continelly assembly the case", and colorful inspiring phrases like "Get cotton gloves first and enjoy yourself!".

Despite this, it's much better than several other installation guides I've run across, specially for the clear, close-up photos of every screw size, plate, and standoffs included that doesn't leave you wondering "what is part x??".

You should be very careful when adding or removing peripherals from the 5 1/4 and 3 1/2 inch external and internal bays, as the metal "standoffs" that must added to the devices can leave permanent scratches on the side panels. I ended up creating two such "scars" on the side panels when forcing a dvd-rw unit in, instead of loosening the other devices' screws. With that in mind, you should have no other problems.

Also notice that a power supply is not included. I went with the 550W SSI-grade Antec Truepower that I talked about in a previous article.

Evercool LED Fans

Since the folks at Evercool kindly sent me a pair of their LED fans last yuletide, and those have been sleeping on a desk drawer since then, this was the right opportunity to put them to work. There's not much to say about these fans, except that they are done in clear, almost transparent plastic, are of the ball-bearing kind, and measure 80x80x35mm. They look great, are almost silent, come in several colours (green, red, blue), and even a tri-colour version. The DIY Clear Case is a perfect match for the Evercool Crystal led fans.

I just wish the folks at Evercool had sent me three more, to install into the five fan holes into this DIY clear case, so the case pics would have looked much more attractive. Maybe next time. Adding plenty of them to your PC case is not expensive at all. The Crystal Led Fans include both a 3-wire plug for power and speed sensor, and also adapters for the "old-style" power-only plugs coming from the power supply, so you can also use those on ancient systems without enough 3-wire fan connectors in the motherboard.

If you are in the States or nearby, fans specialists Nexfan.com has the Evercool tri-colour led fans for just $4.99 greenbacks a piece, HERE. Those of you across the pond can probably purchase both the Clear Case and enough Evercool fans using the services of any of those companies that let you have your own US-based mailing address and then forward the goods to your door.

Conclusion:

The good: The looks. You will be the envy of your block. And every day you will be able to take a peek at all the rapidly aging parts that comprise the guts your PC. With its holes for five fans, air flow is very good. (Suggestion: keep the cable mess under control and try to use round cables for parallel-ata devices. Something like THESE or if you want to get fancy, THESE).

If your system sits at home instead of a workplace, adding a few Evercool Crystal LED fans turns the "just fancy" into an alien computer taken from a '50s sci-fi movie, increasing the wow!-factor.

The Bad: it's very easy to scratch the acrylic side panels -which hold the internal peripherals in place- if you try to force in and screw a cd-rom or other 5 1/4" or 3 1/2 inch device after other units beneath and above it are already installed with the bolts tightened.

The Ugly: Beware of touching this case with greasy or dirty hands, you will leave fingerprints all over it. Unless you work as a window cleaner and want to improve your technique at home, keep food and greasy hands away from the Clear Case. Finally, trying to assemble the case with the tiny provided cotton gloves is a frustrating exercise.

The verdict:
I give this "DIY Clear Case" 4.0 Fernandos score in my personal one-to-five coolness meter. If they fixed the accessibility of the drive bays (allowing one to unscrew and remove or inspect the 5 1/2" and 3 1/2" inch peripherals on the front bays without having to remove the whole side panel that also holds the motherboard) the score would have been a 4.5 over five (almost perfect).

The Evercool Crystal Led fans get 5/5. There isn't much more to expect from great looking fans like these, and you can't beat the low price.
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L'INQs:
* Review pictures at Fernando's site
* Evercool Home Page
* DIY Clear Case