Supplied by Chenming USA
Chenming brought us the legendary
ATX-901A series PC case which is well known to PC enthusiasts. ANTEC, AMK and
Thermaltake all distribute the ATX-901A series with their own unique additions
but Chenming started it all. Now lessons have been learned and can Chenming
do it again with the ATX-301K?
The ATX-301K is a mid tower series PC Case. This PC case is incredibly light
weighing in at 6 lbs. 10 3/4 oz empty. The competition is double and triple
that in empty weight. The ATX-301K owes its trim weight to aluminum construction.
This may also be an unwanted feature as the aluminum borders on paper thin which
poses two problems. The first is strength and the second is noise.
Specifications
- 8.25″ x 16.5″ x 16.75″ (W x H x D)
- Four 5.25″ bays (4 external)
- Three 3.5″ bays (2 external)
- Removable 3.5″ drive bay
- Front & rear cooling (fans not included)
- Front USB port (2)
Chenming has included a few interesting features with the ATX-301K. The four
5.25″ drive bays are mounted to the left of center. There is a door to
the right.
The door opens easily enough to reveal the drive bay door latch mechanisms.
The drive bay covers are latched and remove easily. There are four rails affixed
to the knockout inner bay covers.
These rails screw to the right side of any optical drives. (Right side when
looking at the face of the drive). The optical drive can then be slid into the
rail guides and “clicked” into place. It is highly recommended that
screws be used to complete the mounting of any optical drives. There is a reason
for the rails which will become obvious later on in the review.
The 3.5″ drive area on the bezel features two 3.5″ external bays,
2 USB ports and the hard drive LED, reset switch and power switch. Note that
there USB ports are exposed and not hidden behind a door panel. They are also
at mid-level of the case which is preferable to a bottom mount.
The front grill borrows from the ATX-901 big brother by allowing airflow into
the case via hidden slots. These grill slots can only be seen from an extremely
low angle.
Behind the bezel is the wiring for the USB, hard drive LED, reset, on/off switch
and a tiny PC speaker seen center top row.
The weight of the ATX-301K teeters on a thin line between good and bad. The
light weight is surprising when the case is first picked up but this quickly
turns to doubt about strength. Lightweight cases mean thin construction and
thin means damage. The ATX-301K is not meant to endure standing upon, tossing
about or constant movement without suffering some form of buckling, denting
or scratches.
The ATX-301K comes with a side window which is protected inside and out by
shipping plastic which can be peeled off after setup.
There are no thumbscrews with this case so the boast of tool-free, lockable
side cover is misleading unless the only security is the lock itself. The lock
post presented a problem that was easily rectified.
The tab was undamaged in shipping but the factory straight line angle did not
allow for the side panel to close properly. It had to be bent slightly to allow
for easy removal and return of the side door panel.
The case interior is more “extravagant” than others of similar size.
Most notably is the crossbar which is very useful for wire runs. Chenming most
likely included the crossbar for strength but it is a useful feature for hiding
wires.
The ATX-301K comes with a front intake fan holder which is similar to the ATX-901A
but of thinner construction. Nonetheless an 80mm. fan can be easily clipped
into place. Please note that Chenming has used a “swiss cheese” style
for grill holes in the case metal which will provide for less obstructed airflow.
The 3.5″ drive bay will accommodate two external drives and two internal
drives. Raid setups are possible but 0+1 requires ditching a second external
3.5″ drive if there is one installed.
The 3.5″ drive bay is also removable with a quick flick of the latch.
Chenming provides for plenty of airflow into the 3.5″ drive bay area.
The four external 5.25″ drive bays. The drive rail guides can be seen
on the left but look further left and how there is a space between the wall
of the case and the drive bay itself. This area could be handy for hiding wires.
180 degrees about is the PSU and rear exhaust area and the ATX-301K has a very
good grill system allowing for a much less obstructed airflow path for the rear
80mm. exhaust fan. (not included)
Note that the PSU has two areas of support; a flange at the rear of the case
and a side support. The PSU bracket is a “U” bracket held on by two
screws.
The bracket need not be removed when installing the PSU but be aware that it
could scrape the paint job on the PSU.
There are the standard 7 PCI slots and the top slot has no cover. Chenming
did not include this as it is the one slot they know a device has to go into;
the video card.
Hemmed edges are throughout the case and there are no sharp corners.
The rear of the case appears standard except for the “doohickey”
at the lower right.
The “doohickey thingymabob” is a two in one device. First it has
a removable cover.
Remove the small cover and the bag of screws and motherboard standoffs are
hidden behind.
The second will be “revealed” later but an interesting feature soon
became a bad design flaw.
The reason for the drive rails is that the top and non-window side of the PC
case are one unit. It is also riveted in place. There will be no removal of
the non-window panel with the ATX-301K. This is the reason for the one included
drive rail per bay as screws can only be used on one side of the case when securing
drives.
Lastly the ATX-301K has rubber feet. “So what?” may be the response
but a lot of other cases do not have feet at all and could scratch a tabletop.
Installation
The “big picture” Installation was painless. The 3.5″ removable
drive bay made installing the hard drive and floppy easy. The same goes for
the CDROM. This is a mid tower case so mounting a top blowhole will be next
to impossible with an optical drive in the top slot.
The fact that the bays are left of center leaves a lot of clearance between
the motherboard and the ends of the hard drive.
There was some head scratching for a moment when it came to accessing the screws
for the PCI slots. They are blocked quite well…or are they?
Remember the little unit on the rear of the case beside the PCI slots?
It appears as though that entire unit is clipped on and removes by depressing
a latch located inside the case on the rear wall. Isn’t that fancy?
Now the screws are easily accessed on the OUTSIDE of the case.
Back to the drawing board
Chenming made a rather large “boo-boo” with the ATX-301K. When the
video card was installed and screwed into place the last step was to replace
the rear cover as shown previously. It wouldn’t go back on. It appears that
some video card’s DVI port will block the cover.
A bit of a disappointment but that will be the reason why that rear cover won’t
snap back into place. Leaving it off leaves a bit rectangular hole in the rear
of the case. A dremel could be used but would have to take a large section out
of the plastic to accommodate for the monitor connection. We hope that Chenming
will fix the cover as well in version 2 of the ATX-301K.
Not every video card will have this problem but it was with our DFI Xabre 400
and ATI 9700PRO.
Conclusion
Has Chenming done it again? The answer borders more to the yes side than no
but it isn’t an unanimous yes. The ATX-301K has the advantage of being incredibly
light, removable hard drive bay, crossbar in the construction, side window,
good airflow design and PSU support rails. The bays are left of center leaving
at least an inch of room between the bays and side wall to hide wires. This
is also a definite plus.
These features are indeed superior to most other PC cases in this class.
The lightweight aluminum construction is what I’m unused to. I fear the thin
aluminum will not aid in blocking any fan noise at all from the interior of
the case. A rheobus would be a definite advantage with this case to control
fan noise. It may just be a bad habit that tells me that “thicker and heavier”
blocks more.
I put the case in front of me for quite some time to look it over. For some
it may just be a PC case. Others may like it the way it is. Me? There was something
missing. Something just “wasn’t there” to make the ATX-301K leap out
and grab me.
A door.
If Chenming had of fashioned a drive bay door like the big brother ATX-901A
it would have been perfect. This case needs a big swing out door to cover the
bays.
Final personal thoughts
I sit here and it is obvious that you don’t read my words urging you to rush
out and buy this case. There are several reasons for this. The first is that
the retail price is yet unknown. Other retailers and distributors will have
to order this unit from Chenming and the size of the order will determine the
retail price. That being said if the retail price is $40-50 USD without power
supply then the Chenming ATX-301K is a very good case. It has better the features
than others I’ve worked with.
I’m also a Cadillac PC case kind of guy. I’m into the Lincoln Navigator’s of
PC cases. The more payload and passenger room…the better.
For the last two weeks I’ve been staring at the 301K and it has been staring
at me. Maybe it’s the color. The ATX-301K also comes in black so if Chenming
fixes the rear PCI cover problem with the video card I can say this case is
a good deal. It has better design features of all the mid tower cases I’ve reviewed.
Put a big door on the front bezel and I definitely would like it.
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Highs
- Four external 5.25″ drive bays.
- Space for four 3.5″ drives.
- Drive rails.
- Removable 3.5″ drive bay.
- Good clearance between motherboard and 3.5″ drives.
- Incredibly lightweight (6 lbs 10 3/4 oz.).
- Room for hiding wires and cables between bays and inner wall.
- No sharp edges.
- PSU support.
- Good airflow.
- Front 80mm. fan clip/housing.
Lows
- Thin aluminum
- Video card DVI port problem with rear PCI slot/screw cover
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