Koolcases Platinum XP PC Case Review
Supplied by Koolcases
Introduction
Now who wouldn’t want a front temperature display? This is the centerpiece
of the Platinum XP. Koolcases.com
has placed the Platinum XP PC case in Short-Media’s hands to put it on the reviewer’s
hotbed to see if it stays cool. Approximately 6 months ago the founder of Koolcases.com
ventured out on his own after leaving another well known case site. His goal
is to give the buyer value for their hard earned buck. Case in point; simple
matter of shipping. Koolcases.com sent Short-Media our review sample double boxed.
Inside the case were items such as Vantec Stealth Fans and IDE cables and a
Koolcases.com CCFL. The CCFL was encased bubble wrap then placed in a shipping
box then the shipping box was firmly bound to the drive bays. It couldn’t move.
The case itself was placed in the usual styrofoam caps then into a box. THAT
box was then placed inside another box which was filled with styrofoam packing
peanuts on all six sides.
This itself is very reassuring as it is the same way that a customer would
receive their ordered case. Now it really makes a difference if a case is received
without this care and attention. Short-Media was sent a review case by another
company only in a single box with the styrofoam packing caps.
Guess what arrived damaged beyond review?
It is important to know that when a customer orders a product that they receive
it intact and undamaged which is exactly how the Koolcases
Platinum XP case arrived.
| Material | Coating heavy duty steel |
| Drive bay |
|
| Slot bracket | 7 |
| M/B type | ATX, Extended ATX or Pentium IV |
| I/O bracket | Standard ATX |
| Power Supply | ATX |
| Features |
|
| Ports | USB and FireWire front side |
| Weight | 28 lbs. |
| Dimension | 200 x 430 x 475mm. (W x H x D) |
It is important to look over a site carefully when ordering. The specs state
that the case has 3 x 80mm. optional cooling fans which is not true. There’s
only two but if the power supply fan is included in the count then there “could”
be three.
A look around.
The Koolcases.com
Platinum XP first is a mid tower case. Full tower would be less of an accurate
descriptive word.
The rear of the case is as standard as any other featuring 7 PCI slot covers
which are spring-clipped to remain in place without screws.
The rear 80mm. exhaust fan grill is upper-satisfactory. Poor would be a series
of drilled holes and best would be a clear hole and a simple chrome grill. The
airflow restriction for the Platinum XP case is fairly minimal…this is a good
thing. The backplate does feature extra serial and LPT connections under the
exhaust fan as a throwback to yesteryear. It’s a feature that anyone most likely
no longer has the archaic peripherals for today or would want to connect extra
serial and LPT devices beyond the connections that come standard with a motherboard.
The Platinum XP case comes with thumbscrews for both side panels. This is becoming
an increasingly common feature of PC cases.
The only way to get at the mounting screws for the front intake fan, which
can accommodate up to 120mm in size, is to remove the front bezel. The only
way to do that is by turning out six screws located inside the case. Mind the
“mess-o-wiring” for the USB, FireWire, digital thermometer and “other
stuff”.
In the sub-$100 range the bezel is going to be plastic. There’s no two ways
about it so be careful and try not to reef things off.
The interior of the Platinum XP looks like most other cases as the overall
design is very much the same but the small details are what separates a good
case from the bad.
The good points of the case are the lack of sharp edges and flimsy construction.
Please note that there are six internal 3.5″ internal drive bays plus the
single floppy bay. (the site specs state there are only four….bonus!…but
maybe not) The bad point is that the motherboard tray is not removable.
Where are the instructions or even a piece of paper with some information?
Well they are on the back side and please remove the other side panel after
a few minutes of hunting in the packing box like I did. Doh! The instruction
set is pretty minimal but what was expected…a 30 page manual?
The six internal drive bays place the drives directly in the path of the 80-120mm.
optional cooling fan which more and more case manufacturers are starting to
do. The fan can be inserted easily enough but the bezel needs to be removed
to secure it with screws.
Up at the top are four 5.25″ external drive bays.
And a quick dash out to the front bezel shows the floppy port. It is a disappointment
that many manufacturers allow space for what could be two external 3.5″
bays but only make a slot for one.
Look over to the lower right on the side of the case and there are two front
USB ports and one FireWire port.
Is it just me? Okay…my case sits to my right. The side access panel is on
my right then. No offense to you southpaws but wouldn’t it make sense to have
those ports on the LEFT side of the case? That way a user has direct access
to them. If the case is on top of the desk it makes sense to place them on the
lower part of the case. If it is placed on the floor then it is a doubly awkward
reach.
There will be a case that has a choice for lefties, righties, lowers and uppers
soon I hope. If it’s on the floor place the USB and FIREWIRE ports on the top
horizontal part of the bezel and if it’s on the desk…give a choice for left
or right side. I digress. The good point is that the Platinum XP includes a
front FireWire port which many cases do not.
Back inside and here is a point that separates higher and lower priced cases.
The PSU, which really isn’t that heavy, has no outer support rail. I have grown
to like a case with a horizontal support rail. It’s darn handy for hiding cables
and wires and also gives an added support feature.
For example the 80mm. rear exhaust fan could be rotated 180 degrees and the
power lead could be fed along the hidden side of the support rail. It does do
a bit for tidying up a case.
Down at the bottom of the case is the PC speaker WHICH didn’t seem to throw
me at first.
And then I put in a hard drive.
You know…putting a hard drive near a magnet…that can’t be a good thing.
Mediaman’s hint for the day…separate the hard drives a slot or two from the
speaker magnet…or just pull the darn thing out.
There is a full compliment of wires to contend with but at least they are there
and well organized. The USB and FireWire leads are individual. This I give bonus
marks for. Sometimes a motherboard manufacturer can change the order of the
connections so the USB or Firewire one-piece connector may not be correct anymore.
Having separate leads ensures this cannot happen.
Yes that is a thermistor you see. There is the (left to right) speaker connector,
FireWire, USB, digital thermometer thermistor and motherboard connections.
The Platinum XP comes with a spare drive cover plate and a bag of screws and
brass motherboard stand-offs. The brass posts are better than the Lian Li clips
in my estimation.
Thumbs up to the Koolcases.com Platinum XP for wiring. The front and rear optional
fans are wired nicely. A molex connector feeds a Y cable with two connector
plugs to the fans. A simple but nice touch.
Setting it up
How do you people work in mid-tower cases!?!? I’m being rather sarcastic as
I am so used to full tower monster cases. I’m in one right now…moved my couch,
TV and stereo right inside. I find it’s easier to work that way and the central
heating off the heatsink is great though a little loud at time. :p
Mediaman’s hint: If many drives (IDE or optical) are going to be installed
take the time to plan out where the cables are going to go. Get a few zap-straps
and secure them in place. It can get pretty crowded in a mid-tower case when
there are 5 or 6 IDE cables and the PSU cables.
Another reason the horizontal PSU support bar is a benefit is the motherboard
power cable can be secured to it out of the way of other cables. Not dangling
in free space like it is in the picture above.
The installation was straight forward. The Platinum XP doesn’t have sharp corners
to scrape hands that are in tight spaces. Pull the bezel off and insert the
drives but don’t screw them in place.
A very interesting and what I consider a good and bad point all in one is the
drive bay covers. The top two have spring loaded doors which really keeps the
front bezel looking clean. The bad point is there are only two and they are
one piece.
Also be very careful removing this plate. It doesn’t have a clip like the lower
two. Don’t reef it off or it will break. A better design would be four separate
spring loaded drive covers.
So now you see it.
and now you don’t.
Now how about that digital thermometer?
It’s the central feature of the Platinum XP which has a thermistor
lead.
The thermistor lead can be placed between the heatsink and the processor NEXT
to the core…not on it. For God’s sake…not on it. If possible I like to place
it in the fins of the heatsink but don’t force it or wedge it in. The lead will
be crushed thus making the display rather useless.
It’s a gizmo device but I like it. The only bad point is the LEDs are very
bright and you can’t look directly at the display.
See what I mean? A little off angle solve the problem but the problem, as with
all digital displays, is that they are best viewed from a shallow angle. Don’t
expect to read it when the PC is on the floor…unless you happen to be down
there too.
That’s the temperature of the heatsink where the thermistor was placed. Please
note that the actual temperature according to Motherboard Monitors was 41 degrees
Celsius. The system temperature was 30 degrees Celsius. The Platinum XP features
a two stage cooling switch. It’s a simple 7 volt - 12 volt switch for the intake
and exhaust fan. It is the button on the upper left. A good idea but the button
is a little awkward to engage. It isn’t hard to engage…just that it is recessed
just a “smidge” too much thus you have to make sure it clicks between
low and high.
Temperature Tests
- Shuttle AK35GTR
- AMD 1900+ processor
- GlobalWin WBK38 with 92mm. 36dBA 56 CFM fan.
- 2 x 512 MB OEM Micron Ram
- Maxtor 60 GB ATA133 Hard Drive
- Sony 52x CDROM (supplied by Koolcases.com)
- Windows XP build 2600
- Enermax 465 PSU FC (rear fan left on HIGH)
- Sisoft
Sandra (for CPU Burn) - Motherboard Monitor
5.2 (to monitor results)
The Tests
The case was left sealed and allowed to idle for no less than 30 minutes prior
to each battery of tests. Load tests were performed by running SiSoft Sandra
CPU Burn in (CPU Benchmark and CPU Multi Media Benchmark only) 50 consecutive
times. Each test was default cpu and voltage settings (1.6 ghz @ 1.75 volts).
A word before the results.
Don’t always zoom ahead in any article. Temperature tests are a very important
part of these reviews but your own particular system, climatic conditions (is
it warm in your computer room?), and computer usage habits should all be factored
in. Just because we get a certain result in this review doesn’t mean you’ll
get the same result in your system. You may get higher or even lower temperatures.
And remember that these tests are conducted with the absolute minimal of case
fans. Temperatures will be lower with the addition of even another intake and/or
exhaust fan.
Advice about keeping up with the Jones’
Don’t always base your choice on what the “Jones’ have”. You may
choose the most popular heatsink but find out that it has a 53db fan on it that
will drive you insane. Or you may try to change that fan for a smaller quieter
model only to find out that your new heatsink performs no where as good as it
used to. I’ve tried doing that with a great performing copper heatsink that
came with a 53db fan and changed it for a 36db fan which pushed the same CFM.
I then discovered that heatsink then performed not at the top of the pack…but
somewhere in the middle.
The Results
The results were surprising. I thought there would be a larger gap but not
so.
The system temperature only change 1 degree Celsius in either case of low or
high speed fan setting and whether under load or not. The CPU temperature only
had a 6 degree Celsius difference across both low and high settings while under
load. What can be made of this? Quite simply the low speed fan setting may be
just as effective as high speed fan setting. So why not save your ears? As a
disclaimer the results will change from user to user.
Conclusion
The Koolcases.com
Platinum XP has no blatant “bad points”. It isn’t a poorly designed
case nor does it have construction flaws. The front FireWire port in addition
to front USB ports is a welcome bonus. The case is solid and has no obvious
weak points and the construction is free from edges and corners that may scratch
or grab at clothing and “prying hands”.
Where it goes a little wrong is the 5.25″ external drive bay covers. Four
hinged doors would have been better along with separate doors rather than the
top two being of one-piece construction. While the digital thermometer display
is a fun addition it appears that the low-high fan speed setting has little
or no affect on cooling though the low speed setting does make the case quieter
(depending on fans installed). The case has mod possibilities of a side window
and top blowhole. Cutting a front intake hole may be precarious with the plastic
bezel. It could shatter or splinter easily, after all, it is only plastic.
I found that I preferred Koolcases.com’s Panther case which Short-Media previously
reviewed.
The jury has mixed emotions about the Platinum XP. While it did not leave this
reviewer with a list of faults, in fact it is quite the adequate PC case…it
did not “blow any wind up my digital skirt”. In other words…”It
ain’t all that and a bag of chips” Perhaps it’s just half of a bag of chips…plain.
A buyer who is looking at this case certainly won’t be disappointed. If they
like the looks and the simplicity of the digital thermometer then it would make
quite a nice purchase if it came with a power supply…which it doesn’t.
For our scale the Koolcases.com Platinum XP receives a 3 out of 5. Not a bad
3…not a great 3. A strong 3 perhaps.
Our thanks to Koolcases.com
for the Platinum XP and for their continued attention to detail in customer
service and satisfaction.
