User review – Emtsea17
I bought the new Midtower Kingwin KT-424 S to replace a KT-436.
The New KT-424 comes in Silver or Black – I chose Silver.
You can get the model with one window on the side or none.
The 3 Windows on my old KT-436 got old pretty quick,
so I opted for no windows on the new case. Not having a window also leaves more room for modding later. The case is made out of 2mm aluminum alloy – shiny.
The dimensions are 20″D x 8.6W x 17.7H, and weighs 20 lbs.
The case has (4)5.25″, (2) 3.5″, and (4) hidden 3.5″
dive bays. You can not remove the front drive bay covers without first removing the front bezel. The drive bay covers are each connected by one thumb screw on the front and one thumb screw on the side. This is a very secure system.
The drive bays are not removable. The (4) 5.25″ and (2) 3.5″ are tool free. I never had a case with tool free drive bays and it is great! Slide the drive in through the front, slide the drive lever to the right, push down on the lock and it is secure. It actually seems more secure than my old case, which used screws to hold the drive bays in place.
The 4 hidden drive bays come with rubber grommets factory installed. Kingwin calls this “Special anti-shock absorber system for h.d.d.”. It’s a nice feature, but I don’t know how much of a difference it actually makes.
The case has a removable Motherboard Tray. Like the sides of the case, the Motherboard is secured by thumb screws. It has 7 PCI slots also secured by thumb screws. Inside the case there is a quick release
wire connector. That means that the Motherboard can easily, and
quickly be removed from the case – a great and useful feature.
The Motherboard also comes with a “System Lock Kit”. The kit consists of some screws and metal plates that you use to “lock” the Motherboard to the two sides on the back of the case. This makes the system more secure, especially when transporting the case.
On the front of the case there is the Power On Button, Reset Button, and the Power and Hard Drive LEDs. There are (2) USB 2.0 ports that connect to the Motherboard and (1) Firewire port that connects to
the back of the case. The ports are covered by a tiny clear plastic door.
The front bezel is connected to the case by 4 tiny screws. Under the bezel you will find a plastic filter holder with removable filter and a
rheostat.
The KT-424 has its own built in rheostat. The two front 80mm fans connect to the rheostat using 3 pin connectors and the rheostat connects to the PSU via a 4 pin molex connector. The 3 pin connectors make it exceptionally easy to replace the stock Kingwin fans and save on any extra fan wires messing up the case.
The back of the case has (1) 80mm fan. It also has (2) little cut outs for firewire. Basically they are small rectangle cut outs with a plate and
screw.
You remove the plate, put the firewire cable through, and then screw the plate back on. Why the case comes with (2) openings and only
(1) firewire cable, I don’t know.
Let’s see, have I forgotten anything? The case does not come with a Power Supply. That doesn’t bother me at all because I’d rather choose which PSU I put in my case. Also, the three fans have stamped grills. The grills are easily removed with a nibbler.
The case came with good instructions and plenty of screws.
It came packaged very nicely in its factory box. Every side on the outside was taped. The case came wrapped in a plastic bag protecting it, and was kept in place with styrofoam.
This is an awesome case. Lots of features. The only
drawback I can think of is in replacing the front fans.
Since the drive bays are not removable, it takes a little effort to replace them. Nothing to worry about though.
I think this case can easily compete with higher priced Lian Li and Coolermaster. I bought this case for $83 from Newegg.com. The model with the Window is only $95. Now, is that good or what?!
Be the first to comment