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Ahanix Romeo DX |
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Intro
Ahanix cases are truly a joy to behold, a combination of style and engineering. The Romeo DX case continues this tradition, being well thought out, with a removable motherboard tray, tons of expansion room and USB ports up front. The dynamic front bezel is removable for immediate color changes. Peter at ExoticPC came through in a blaze with the Romeo DX, the case is a top 10 in function and features at a remarkably small price.
When the case arrived, needless to say I tore right into it like a kid on Christmas. I noticed immediately that there was an ample amount of packing peanuts encompassing the case inside the box. There were dings in the cardboard, but the packing was more than enough to handle the not so gentle handling of the shipping company.
Here are the Features:
Supports all Flex, Micro, Full ATX motherboards
Intel P4 and AMD XP/MP Compatible
Tool-Less Side Panels with Thumb Screws
Slide-Out Motherboard Tray Design
EMI Protective Shielding
2 x USB, Headphone/Microphone Ports Standard
Here are the Specifications:
7.75 [w] x 17.25 [h] x 18 [d] in
4 x 5.25 External Drive Bays
1 x 3.5 External Drive Bays
6 x 3.5 Internal Drive Bays
7 x Rear Expansion Slots
2 x 80mm Fan Capacity
1 x 80mm Front
1 x 80mm Rear
The Case
I am very impressed with the case, it is incredibly well thought out. What catches the eye first is the beautiful red metallic front bezel, which happens to be removable. The red color goes well with the rest of the case. A very cool feature is the bezels are swappable for other colors and since the color of the rest of the case is silver, which goes with any other color, you can literally change the theme of the case instantly. The front of this case, which is plastic, is rigid, thick and well made. Which means it can take movement and light punishment without having to worry about hurting it.
The front also has two main focal points for the eyes, the Romeo insignia and the floppy drive cut-away. The stylish chrome Romeo insignia is lit up by the hdd and the power LEDs. It looks pretty dang cool when the system is active. Of course I had to replace the green LED with a blue one. The floppy drive cutaway on the front of the bezel also catches the eye right away. Unfortunately the doors are closing on the 1.44 MB floppy media drives, I myself still have to use floppies for my workplace, this and the fact it resembles the Chevy Bowtie, is a bonus. So, unless you actually have actually used a floppy in the past 5 months this is a drawback to the case.
Structurally the case is well constructed and thought out. Every edge is rolled to prevent cutting yourself, major bennies there. The drive bays extend from the top to the bottom of the case. What this means is the case is strong, really strong. You wont fear moving the case around the room wondering if it will over-flex and warp. Grab the case and go. Imagine going to a LAN, on the way out, you smack the case into a wall. Could your aluminum case take it? This case could take it and still look Pimp!
The removable motherboard tray, *key soundtrack with the chorus singing “Halleluiah”* How can you not love a removable motherboard tray? Prep the MB and the processor and you don’t have to worry about banging around inside your case. The huge amount of 3.5 Internal Drive Bays, six total, is awesome. This allows room for heat escape between the hdds. Drive speeds are increasing still and walking hand in hand with that, is the heat generated. So elbowroom is a blessing. This expansion space is a feature that puts the mind at ease. The designers included room for a 80mm fan to be positioned for air to push or pull across the drives. I like that, it saves cutting time.
I found that there is ample space in corners and behind the MB tray to route wires and cables. This cleans the look up really well and it’s hard to see where they all are. This case scores major points for the ability to hide the spaghetti.
Hidden in the front, behind a small door, are the conveniences of a dual usb port, along with audio and mic connections. With the door, they are out of site in a click. The audio and mic plugs are positioned perfectly for a gaming headset. This lets you chat with your fellow Pimps on strategy while fragging the evildoers during your multiplayer game. How Pimp is that? I also used this area to my advantage. I placed a sub-micro switch under this door as a control for my cold cathodes. I prefer the hidden aspects of this.
