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It's upgrade time.
Picture yourself browsing all of the best on-line retailers
looking for great deals on all of those high-end parts
you've been dying for. Only the best of the best will
do Your new rig will be the pinnacle of performance
and functionality. Your shopping cart is comprised of
the most sought after video card, tons of RAM, a huge hard
drive, the fastest CPU and the motherboard is an
overclocker's dream The list goes on and on. But
where are you going to house all of this killer hardware?
You didn't forget about the case did you!?! Surely
you're not thinking of building your new system using a
plain-Jane, run of the mill enclosure!
The funny thing is,
that is exactly what happens! In my spare time, I like
to build custom systems for fun and profit! On
countless occasions, I've had discriminating customers who
came to me with a list of exactly what parts they want in
their system, but when I ask what type of case to use, more
often than not their answer is, "whatever works". I
just don't get it.
There are a few
companies out to change this however. They want
you to think of the case first, and what's going into it
second! One of these companies is Computers Divine Inc.
Unlike some others, CDI doesn't actually market their own
brand of "performance" enclosures. Instead, they've
chosen to go with proven designs and modify them to fit the
exact needs of their customers. You want extreme
cooling? You got it...a custom paint job complete with
a Plexi-Glass window? No problem!
Last year Dave took a look at the original CDI Alaska "Cool
Case" but this time around we've got it's older brother
in the lab! The CDI InWin Alaska 3 in a heavily
modified InWin Q500 full tower with power, cooling and good
looks in spades. All of these modifications do come
with a price tag however. The question is, "is it
worth the price?" CDI has been around for quite some
time and they should know exactly what they're doing.
Let's take a tour around this awesome case, see what its
made of and whether or not it's worthy of your hard earned
money...
CLICK ON ANY
IMAGE FOR AN ENLARGED VIEW
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| Specifications of the
CDI Alaska 3 Case |
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Good Stuff... |
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Dimensions:
- 23 5/8" * 7 7/8" * 17
1/16"
Drive
Bays:
- 5 * 5.25"
- 1 * 3.5" External
- 5 * 3.5" Internal
Weight:
- N.W. 12.60 kg (27.60
lb), G.W. 13.60 kg (30.00 lb)
Mainboard:
- Baby AT style
- ATX Form Factor
- Full Size AT style
Security:
Special
features:
- New two piece chassis
design (slide in drawer module), will take either Lpx
form factor, AT all-in-one or AT standard motherboard,
simply by changing the drawer chassis.
- Drawer module design
for easy motherboard and I/O card mounting, ideal for
assembly, upgrade or exchange of component part.
- Pad lock security
available (pad lock not included).
- Detachable 3.5" drive
cage for easy installation, upgrade or exchange of
hard disks.
- Snap on cage for extra
fan, no screw required. Can generate better air flow
for system.
- Tight chassis and
panel design for compliance with FCC regulation.
- Available in different
color for OEM customers.
- All plastic components
are UL approved.
- No rough cut edge for
safe assembly.
- Special design dome
catcher all around inside of top cover for easy
removal and assemble of cover.
- Configured 11 drive
bays (5x5.25", 6x3.5") drive bays for expandability of
future upgrade.
- 1.0 mm sheet metal
construction for better stability & durability.
- Front panel is
screwless easy removable for better installation.
Custom
Air Brushed InWin Alaska Case from CDI:
- (4) 120mm Panaflo
Whisper fans, 68.9 cfms @ 30dbs
- (2) 80mm Whisper
Panaflo fans, 33 cfms @ 28.9 dbs
- Cliff's Fanbus
- PCMods Baybus
- 1.44 Floppy (Painted
to Match)
- Evercool Hard Drive
Cooler
- Addtronics Luxury
Casters w/ brakes
- Stock Support legs
- 10" Neon strip light
- Reinforced Heavy-Duty
Plexi-Glass Window
- Safety Lock Window
trim
- (4) 120mm custom black
fan grills
- (1) 80mm custom black
fan grill
- Brass Thumbscrews
- Optional Enermax 365W
PSU
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If you take a look
at the specifications, you'll see that not only is this a
rather large case but that it is designed well, made from
strong 1.0MM sheet metal. It has all of the features
you should be looking for, accessibility, expandability,
quality and ventilation.
The motherboard
tray is removable, making it very easy to mount your board
and expansion cards. The internal case assembly
is easily accessible by removing two thumb-screws and
removing the side panel The side panel even has a
handle! There are plenty of drive bays, a copious
amount of overall space and there are a plethora of high
quality, quiet cooling fans mounted in strategic locations.
Even the power supply included with our unit was a high
quality P4 ready Enermax 365 Watt dual fan gem. The Enermax
PSU is optional equipment, this case normally ships with a
300W unit.
Not only does the
CDI InWin Alaska 3 deliver in terms of features, the custom
paint job really makes it a "one of a kind" item. We chose a
color scheme to match our site design, and we think the good
folks at CDI hit a homerun. This case is absolutely
gorgeous...
More to
Come...
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