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Coolerguys.com Wind Tunnel II "Gamer"
Custom Case

Construction - Features

In opening the package you find first of all that everything is well packed, however our test case didn't survive the trip completely unscathed by the barbarians at Canada customs. The only casualty was the loss of one of the 2 internal speakers, which I had to repair before starting. Don't take this as a fault of the case, as I've seen a lot of cases loose a speaker (or worse!) in shipping. The case itself came without a scratch.

		On first glance its a really nice looking case. The pictures on the Coolerguys site don't really do it justice. The first thing that catches your eye of course is the 2 MASSIVE fans and grills on the side, followed by the not so massive ones on top. The fan holes are all laser cut and are installed VERY cleanly with grills and shims. Also There are removable filters on the intake fans, which reduce dust and particle intake.

 

One of the main features of the case is a port replicator mounted on the side that includes 2 USB, 1 PS/2, 1 Gameport, Sound Line in, Sound Speaker out, Sound Mic In and a volume controller. If you unplug the speakers from the case, the internal ones automatically kick in, and they don't sound too bad either. The speaker/headphone jacks are in the perfect spot to use a stereo headset which is a LAN goers best friend. The volume controller is a nice touch too.

Inside you notice its a pretty standard mid tower. Dimension wise, slightly wider then mine, but it needs to be to accommodate those big fans and filters. If it was any narrower, they wouldn't clear the tops of the AGP / PCI Cards. It weighs in at a acceptable 22lbs. The workmanship is good, with all edges being rounded smooth (no wire/finger killing razor blades in this box)

		All the wiring that controls the speakers, front panel and port replicator is pre-installed and of very good quality. Likewise all the fans are wired up and come complete with good quality adapters to switch from their default 3-pin MB header plugs, to your standard 4 pin PSU plug if you want to go that route. Thease are the 2 side intake fans from the inside, again, note the removable filters.

Back to the fans for a second, you may think to yourself that the layout is strange, that where intake fans are quite big, the exahust fans are rather small, and you wonder why. Isn't bigger always better for fans ? Well the answer to this is simple. One of the reasons you buy a case such as this, is because the builders have done all the guessing for you. They have concluded that this combination of fans, in these positions, at this speed, makes for the best cooling in this case. As you will see in the testing section, they got it absolutely bang on.

 

One of my favorite features is this stereo speaker system. As you can see they are of MUCH better quality then the crappy little PC speakers you usually see in a case. As mentioned the one on the left arrived rolling around in my case, which I think is attributed mainly to their "extra weight" over a PC speaker, and rough handling in shipping. This is a nice feature as the speakers are good enough to leave your not-so-portable set at home when going to a LAN.

 

Feature List:

1. 2x High Speed 55.1 CFM Sanyo Denki fans at 2900 rpms (92x92x32mm92mm) with removable filters. These are for the intake.
2. 3x High Speed 21.19 CFM Delta fans at 4800 rpms (60x60x10mm). These are for the exhaust. 2 on top 1 in rear.
3. 173 CFM + of total Air movement!
4. 4 x 5 1/4 bays; 3 x 3 1/2 bays.
5. Laser cut 92mm and 60mm Fan Holes.
6. Fans and grills pre-installed and ready to go.
7. Completely rounded edges for safety Includes Thumb screws for easy panel removal. Finger ring for easy side panel removal.
8. Added Fan shims so fans are sealed up against the panels
9. ATX style case.
10. Built in Stereo speaker system.
11. Built in USB, Sound, Mouse and Joystick Ports in front of the case.
12. dimensions : Width 8", Height 16", Depth 18.5"

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