|
Let’s take a look inside the case. The
plastic sides snap open to reveal the soul of the Samurai is a
dependable Raidmax shell. The metal design is rigid and all the major
edges have been rounded for safety. The internal bays are completely
tool free as are the rear card slots making that part of our install
quick and painless.
We were surprised to find
Raidmax has chosen to use a standard motherboard tray. No removable
convenience here although many high end manufacturers have chosen this
route to insure proper grounding. This provided the only stumbling
block during the whole install; Our DFI LAN Party motherboard and
Volcano 11 CPU fan fit right against the rear 120mm fan and installed
PSU. After removing the PSU and the upper fan portion of the Volcano, we
were able to get everything to play nice.
Using the DFI provided
cables we snapped the drives into place and wired up the two 120 mm fans
via their inline 12 volt adapters. After routing the USB and sound to
the hidden front panel through the provided slot adapter we were ready
to fire things up.
With the sides open the
front 120 gives off very little light, but once the sides are on the
Samurai comes alive with a brilliant glowing curve and two softly
glowing “eyes.” Air is moved very efficiently and quietly by the two
120 mm fans, exiting through the vent in the rear. This case does not
feature a top blow hole, although the top plastic has plenty of room to
mount a fan or smaller radiator. We found the fans coupled with our
Volcano 11 handled peak heat easily even under mild overclocking
conditions.
Conclusion
The case shows every
fingerprint but wipes clean with a dry cloth. External drives and the
power and reset buttons are hidden behind the upper door hiding the
large contrast between the black DVD-R and the bright gloss finish. The
over all look is clean and aggressive. Removing and replacing the doors
required some practice as they feel fragile and require a specific
alignment to lock back into place. Once we got used to them and stopped
babying them, the doors snap smartly into place.
Pros:
- Aggressive design
- Show Car paint job
- Tool less drive
installation
- Efficient, quiet
airflow
- Excellent storage
options
Cons:
- Weight
- No removable MB
tray can make a tight fit
- Doors feel fragile
and difficult to open/close
- Desire to buff it
every time someone touches it
Raidmax has definitely
come up with a head turner. The Samurai 908 is as visually stunning as
anything on the market right now. I frequently had people ask if it was
the new Alienware. The quality of the internal frame is top notch and
makes tweaking your system mostly tool free. The quiet cooling will
keep a smile on your face when pumping up the frames on your favorite
FPS. Raidmax bills this case as the “Top of the Line Gaming Gear” and
it delivers. The only real drawbacks are the weight and lack of a tool
less MB tray. I’d hate to lug this to a LAN but most PC builders will
probably not even notice. Naught or nice, finding a Samurai under the
tree is a definite recommend. This case retails for
under $150 /w PSU everywhere.
|
Club
Overclocker Rating |
|
Innovation: |
9.0
out of 10 |
|
Performance: |
10 out of 10 |
|
Quality: |
8.5 out of 10 |
|
Stability: |
N/A |
|
Overclocking: |
N/A |
|
Software Pack: |
N/A |
|
Value: |
9.0 out of 10 |
|
Overall Rating 9.0 |
|
 |
 |
|
Skill Level |
|
Project Skill Level
(10 being hardest) |
5
out of 10 |
|
