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Chieftec CH-02 Case Review

Chieftec CH-02 Case Review

Installation

To test the fit of a motherboard, we installed microATX motherboard into the unit. As you can see, it’s dwarfed by the size of the chassis. The mATX board installed without any kind of hassle, and there was plenty of room left over for the remaining parts. You shouldn’t have any kind of trouble fitting even the biggest of video cards into this case.

Ch-02 with hardware installed

Expansion slots were easily accessible and operate with a tool-less clamp. This clamp was convenient for locking in expansion boards, but would easily come off its hinge and could be finicky to replace.

Ch-02 expansion clamp

Mounting brackets for storage devices also use a tool-less design. The mounting rails for the hard disks sat loosely in the screw holes were prone to falling out if the drive was tipped, but once slid into the brackets, they fit snugly with a satisfying click.

Operation

The power and reset switches cannot be accessed without opening the front panel. Thought not difficult to do, frequent access may become tedious. More intuitively, front panel I/O is mounted on the side of the chassis and can be accessed at any time without the need to open the bezel.

This chassis suffers from a drawback in the form of a terribly bright blue system power LED that is capable of illuminating a room. The Chieftec CH-02 does loosely remedy the problem by placing a diffuser in front of the LED when the front panel is closed, but it’s still fairly bright.

Overall airflow was decent, but the fans for the hard drive cage were perhaps unnecessarily noisy. Not overbearingly loud, but definitely loud enough that users will notice. This may be a deterrent for those looking for near silent operation.

Recap

The Chieftec CH-02 is an attractive chassis solution that doesn’t overdo it. It’s visually compelling, but approaches that design in a conservative way thanks to the lack of glowing case fans and other eye candy. That is, this case may not be for those wanting to show off their computer with an array of colorful lighting.

In terms of build, the chassis is solid and quite functional. Its heavy-duty construction lends to its durability. This chassis would easily survive many years of desk service and LAN party travel.

The Chieftec CH-02 can be found online for around $110 without a power supply.

Pros:

  • Sleek, modern design
  • Very sturdy
  • Spacious
  • Direct hard disk cooling

Cons:

  • Noisy hard drive fans
  • Slim assortment of extras

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Comments

  1. Linc
    Linc The perfect case for a coin collector. "Is that a 1943 steel penny in row 5, col 3 of the bezel?" ;D

    Great review, Lynx! Hey, can we link to the bigger versions of those images? I'd especially like to see a bigger shot of that first one.
  2. Norge
    Norge This case looks like a fine candidate for a "Connect Four" case mod. Honestly, how cool would that be? You know, up until the point that all the game pieces block your air flow...
  3. BuddyJ
    BuddyJ A Connect Four mod would be sweet. I always thought it looked like a cheese grater.

    I'd like to see the blue LED with the door closed.
  4. DrLiam
  5. Zuntar
    Zuntar The case has TONS of modding potential, but sadly does nothing for me as is.
  6. BuddyJ
    BuddyJ I talked to the Chieftec rep yesterday. They'll be unveiling some cases at CeBit that are more geared toward enthusiasts. What he showed me was similar to the Antec 900.
  7. UPSLynx
    UPSLynx Holy CRAP connect 4 mod has so much potential.

    Remember how feverishly LAN-goers kept playing C4 last summer? Thrax vs. Weezer was epic. Now imagine that showdown... on a PC.

    I uploaded all of the images to the IC media library, you should be able to see the high res there.

    As for the first one:
    //icrontic.com/uploads/2009/02/frontclosed.jpg
  8. UPSLynx
    UPSLynx ...also just noticed that you can see my big daddy figure in the open-side pic. Awesome.
  9. Linc
    Linc
    UPSLynx wrote:
    I uploaded all of the images to the IC media library, you should be able to see the high res there.
    Wasn't aimed at you; no one linked the images to their originals for some reason. I went and added them now.
  10. UPSLynx

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