Took the new PC case out of the box, and it is very nice. The only thing I don't like is the thumb screws (only 2 of them) which hold the side cover on are the kind which come out completely. My current case has a pull-handle which is much more convenient. But everything else is an improvement.
- Huge fan at the top of the case, instead of the classic design which traps heat under the top of the case.
- USB, audio, firewire connections are on top, at the front instead of awkwardly in the center or bottom of the front panel
- Front panel is a mesh grid, lots of air flow
- Drive bays are spaced so the drives are not squeezed against each other - again good for heat dissipation
- Looks like there will be plenty of clearance between the PCI cards and the drives. Won't know for sure till I install everything
Meanwhile, UPS screwed up, and returned my shipment of CPU and Vista to TigerDirect, claiming they coud not locate my address. They didn't try - the address is correct in TD's records, my phone number is there too. Nobody at UPS tried to contact me or them. By the time I saw this in the tracking page, the box was on a plane back to Napier, IL! So much for building the box this weekend. Unless TG will give me a refund, in which case I'll go to MicroCenter for the stuff. Fry's doesn't carry the quad CPU that I could see, at least not at the SVale store. And they don't take AMEX cards.
