Chieftec Dragon Series Aluminum

We sink so much into our computers, we research components, shop around for the best prices, look for ways of making it perform better; but we still have a plain beige box with poor cooling properties and NO aesthetics. There are many companies trying to deliver something different to the masses, at a considerably smaller cost then just a few years ago. Yes, that’s right boys and girls; the days of pulling out the jigsaw to put a window in your case is gone. Chieftec isn’t the only company doing this, but they sure do have a very attractive package available for the end user.

This case boasts many of the features you would expect to see on a top notch case. Up front it sports 2 USB 2.0 ports and 1 Firewire port to save you from reaching around your computer to add peripherals quickly. They are concealed behind a flip up door for protection, but it would have blended better if the door had followed the same pattern as the surrounding area, it does look somewhat out of place.

The case is well designed, for the most part, with enough room for pretty much all you would need. The front panel is meant to hide off color drives and also offer some protection by means of a key lock. This is somewhat pointless because the door is still removable when locked (little trying, but none the less removable), it’s meant as more of a deterrent. Behind the door hides your power button, reset button, 2 exposed 3.5′ bays, and 4 exposed 5.25″ bays.

The 5.25″ bays use a drive rail system to try to make things easier. I don’t see much benefit in this because you still have to screw the drive rails onto another drive in order to put them in the case. Same amount of time involved with using drive rails as using the classic method of drive installation. The only benefit I can see of using drive rails is that a person doesn’t have to remove both side panels to mount a drive properly.