iStarUSA Nitro-AX (S-10000B)

     Cases of this size are known for having plenty of room for hard drives. This case comes with room for an additional 5 internal 3-½" drives. Like several of the better designed cases, iStar has rotated the bays so that the drives can be inserted and removed without having to reach around things. I chose to install the drives such that the cabling can be toward the outside for easy access.

     Like the external access mounts, the internal mounts require a screwdriver to install the mounting hardware to the drive. Unlike the external drives, the internal drive hardware is a tray instead of simply rails. More importantly, the trays install with rubber grommets to isolate noise and vibration. (VERY nice!)

     Like most server cases, the Nitro-AX comes with a switch for intrusion detection, but this only works on motherboards that support it. Most desktop motherboards that I've seen do not. Also pictured is a new feature that seems popular with manufactures, a single locking device to hold your video and other miscellaneous cards in place. It is easy to remove with just a single hand, and requires no fussing with a screwdriver that can be dropped only to damage your motherboard.

     Of course what decent server case would come without a removable motherboard tray? This one is locked in place with two thumbscrews. And of course, the cabling from the front is clearly labeled, an important feature.

Breakfast is served. Supposedly enough room for a full sized ATX motherboard.

     Evidently, there's a new spec out for the new Intel chips requiring a ducted fan directly to the CPU. This iStar case comes with one fully adjustable in 3 dimensions to pretty much place the airflow where ever your CPU happens to wind up.

One of the most intriguing features of this case is the front connectors. Or at least what they're capable of.

     They can rotate ~90°! So on Monday when you're looking to be a straight forward kind of guy, you can. And on Friday when you're desperately seeking a side exit, you can be that guy too. It doesn't lock in place, so I suppose if you're half cocked on a Wednesday, you could rotate it half way. At any rate, this case can give a little flexibility when it comes to the orientation of your front access ports.

     Removing the front panel was not difficult, but necessary if you want to install a 120mm fan in the provided mounting location. I suppose this would provide some ventilation for all those hard drives you have piled in there, but I can't imagine the airflow would be all that great. Also you can kind of see just how much room this case has for a power supply of epic proportions. (which would be required to power all those drives)

     Because you want to keep things from easily "walking away" from your tool-less case, some companies, like iStar, have installed locks to secure the inner workings of your machine. (note the extra ventilation through, and below, the high profile locking handle)

Conclusion

     So what did I not like about this case? Mainly the special CD-ROM trapdoor in the faceplate which causes the CD-ROM tray to get stuck. For the price, I would like to have seen at least a usable power supply come with this case. Another minor detail is that although you can do pretty much everything to this case using only your hands, there are a couple of things that require a screwdriver. (installing the CPU duct, any and all fans, the power supply, and mounting hardware for drives.)

     What did I like? One word: real-estate! This case has plenty of room for drives, internal and external. You just have to make sure that you have a beefy enough power supply to drive them all. Also the easy access of the internal drives is convenient. I don't have to reach entirely inside the case to pull out a drive. Although this case is sturdy enough to take quite a bit of abuse, and looks good enough to impress, I wouldn't want to lug this behemoth to every LAN party as my gaming desktop. I have the idea that somewhere out there is a LAN party host with a desire to have a presentable, usable case for his server, but he doesn't quite have the room for a server rack. Besides how many rack mount servers have you seen that look this good?