SUMMARY: A good case for the money.
The good guys at Exotic PC were kind enough to send a sample of the Platinum XP PC Case. This case has some features worth noting:
- Side Panels with Thumb Screws (very handy)
- Two-Speed Fan Switch (for noise control)
- Digital Thermometer for CPU (or anything else)
- CD Drive Bay Covers (keeps the silver look)
- 2 USB, 1 Firewire Front Ports (nice to haves)
The inside front
features an internal drive cage that is removable – there are four screws that secure it to the case. The cage is spring-loaded on one side so that you only have to bolt drives on one side. This means you only have to take off the left side cover to remove a drive.
The front intake fan panel under the drive cage is clean – it would not take much to fit a 120mm fan/radiator here. The front panel is screwed onto the case – no quick removal feature.
The inside rear
shows the usual stuff plus the rear exhaust fan (these are labelled “FU” – made by a company called “Fukuroyo” – interesting how some things translate). Note that the fan panel is uncluttered – if you’re handy with a Dremel or jigsaw, I think a small radiator could fit in this space.
The back of the case
shows the rear fan panel that is aching for a mod. The front panel
carries the silver (or platinum) theme nicely. I especially like the CD drive covers – there are a lot of nice looking cases that lose it when you mount putty gray CDs onto something like a black front. The CD covers
have the open/close button but will not accommodate a volume thumbwheel or earphones. Looking at the cover from the rear
shows a pretty simple setup – a door flap and button. You position the drive so that it is up against the button and that’s it. Last is the LCD Temp Display:
There is a flat, thin temp probe that can slip under a heatsink to read CPU side core temps (obviously you can use this for about anything). The Turbo switch (remember those?) is not for the motherboard – this is a two speed switch for the front and rear case fans.
It’s a clever idea – the Turbo switches between 5 and 12 volts to the fans. If you want, you can add other fans – no reason why you can’t wire in the CPU fan, especially if you’re one of those whose systems are on 24/7 and you can’t sleep at night (a Delta 38 at 5 volts is pretty quiet).
In working with the case, I noticed the following:
- The CD and floppy drives require that you remove the front covers – not difficult.
- The CD flap was sticky – sometimes it stuck open; it should loosen up with use or a dollop of oil wouldn’t hurt.
- There are no sharp edges to cut yourself.
Overall, OK to set things up – no real surprises.
Using Digital Doc 5, I monitored interior case temps as shown in the pic below at Idle and while running SiSandra Burn In, with fans at 5 and 12 volts. The system was a P4 1700 cooled with an Intel retail fan on a Gigabyte GA-8SRX.
Temps were recorded as follows:
| Temp Probe |
Idle
|
Idle 2 Turbo
|
Stress
|
Stress Turbo
|
| 1 Intake |
22.4 C
|
22.0 C
|
23.0 C
|
21.9 C
|
| 2 Video |
35.3 C
|
34.6 C
|
38.3 C
|
37.2 C
|
| 3 CPU Intake |
24.0 C
|
23.4 C
|
26.0 C
|
23.8 C
|
| 4 Exhaust |
21.5 C
|
23.6 C
|
24.0 C
|
24.6 C
|
| 5 Case Top |
25.1 C
|
25.6 C
|
28.1 C
|
27.6 C
|
| 6 Hard Drive |
28.4 C
|
28.2 C
|
29.5 C
|
27.6 C
|
| 7 Case Rear |
23.9 C
|
22.8 C
|
24.0 C
|
22.7 C
|
| MBM |
36/30 C
|
36/30 C
|
47/33 C
|
47/30 C
|
Running fans at full bore makes sense when under stress, but the difference at idle is minor – not worth the noise.
Overall, the Platinum XP has some nice features and is easy to set up. At $69, looks like a good case for the money.
Thanks again to Exotic PC for sending this our way.
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