CyberPower Gamer Extreme 3000 Core i7 860 System
Interior Layout, Cable Management, and Bundle
To access the system components, we removed two thumbscrews and easily slid off the windowed side panel. When revealed, the Solano's painted interior creates an attractive foundation to build upon. We generally see painted interiors on high end cases and they never fail to impress. Equally important, the case was spacious enough to hold a huge CPU cooler and the enlarged GTX 295 without looking cramped.
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Interior Layout:
With all components pre-installed, there's really no need to open up the system unless the owner wants to upgrade or swap out parts. Here, we find everything securely installed to the enclosure with unused DIMM sockets and PCI expansion slots readily available for potential additions. Its worth noting that the Cooler Master V8 was the most audible component in the system and a bit too loud for our taste. CyberPower conveniently installed the V8's fan speed controller on a spare PCI expansion slot. The knob is accessible from the rear of the case and we turned it slightly to lower the overall system noise to a peaceful level.
;)
Cable Management:
We definitely have to give CyberPowerPC a lot of credit here. The Gamer Extreme 3000 is exceptionally clean and professional, as cable management is done to perfection. All cable runs were placed intuitively and maintain exceptional airflow within the case. The motherboard cutouts help to hide some of the power cables behind the motherboard while the exposed wiring is neatly grouped and zip tied.
;)
The Bundle:
The bundle features a t-shirt, carrying case, motherboard accessories, and a power cable. Also included is a Microsoft Vista 64bit disk if the need to reinstall the operating system ever comes up. A free upgrade to Windows 7 is available when the new OS is eventually released. Unfortunately, we noticed that the bundle was missing the TurboV remote and eSATA bracket that normally comes with the retail version of the Asus P7P55D Deluxe motherboard.
