Intro

As a Gamer, Modder, and Overclocker I, as well as anyone else who wears this combination of monikers, have an extremely difficult time deciding on PC hardware in general. Which videocard yield the best overall performance for the buck at max overclocks speeds? Is the stock cooling on it good enough? What is the image quality? What CPU platform and corresponding motherboard should I use? Which models yields the highest overclock? Best performance? What kind of longevity will it have? What PSU should I use? What RAM? The questions go on and on and they will never stop. Out of all the hardware that we picky, well-informed shoppers purchase FEWER than other parts are usually the cases which we decide to house our choice of gear in. Not only that but the myriad of upgrades following the original system. I have had a handful of cases that have seen 3 or 4 major overhauls during their life span and from my experience this is the same for most of peers... You guys (and gals). With that being said, experience has proven to me that a case is one of the most fundamental components in a system and one that, far more often than not, will give you the most mileage for your hard earned cash.

I think of a case as an investment. My tastes are so particular and needs to specific that when I find a case that fits , I am willing to pay a premium in order to get what I am after since I expect to WEAR THE SUCKER OUT! The case I am reviewing today is one of these cases I am describing to you. One that fits the general requirements of what I was looking for. At around $350 the U2-UFO line of aluminum cube cases MountainMods.com may be just what the doctor ordered. After looking over all of their offerings I decided that the designs they had on hand were too cluttered and had too many fans for my taste. So, I contacted them initially to see if they would like for us to review one of their cases as well as sponsor the Stompfest LANparty we were planning to attend soon. They gave us the thumbs up and, during some emails exchanged between us, MountainMods.com decided to let me send them some diagrams of a new, different layout for their cases and then send that new version to me for review. This new version they have dubbed the PimpRig Edition Limited Edition. What makes it different is the use of a diamond oriented top window with 4 diamond oriented 80mm fans surrounding it, a reduced number of 80mm fans and more real estate for your own modding (for those that have the "brass ones" to cut a $350+ case). They only made a run of 10 of these cases so maybe this review will help you decide if one of those 10 are right for you even with the hefty price tag. If not, be sure to check out their other cases anyway. There will be a few differences between this case and the ones offered at MountainMods.com since they allowed me to provide specs for a few extra modifications to suit the project this case is going to be the foundation for. I'm sure if you needed custom work done as well that they would be willing to hear what you need and give you a quote to get it done.

The Package

The box showed up an my door and the delivery guy (can't remember if it was UPS or Fedex, but I have small conversations with both of them now after so many deliveries heheh) commented on how light the box was for it to be so large. Ahhh aluminum. Ya gotta love it. Upon opening the box I was able to see that the guys over at MountainMods.com did a good job of padding, securing and protecting the case. The case was secured using the standard foam inserts and there were styrofoam peanuts in between the wall of the shipping box and the wall of the case. The case was covered in a black plastic back and also well wrapped in cling wrap. The case arrived unscathed. *WHEW* You roll the dice every time you have something shipped... this time I won.

Inside the case are the complimentary Bag O' Screws that come with all new cases as well as the castor wheels which this cases uses for feet.

Specs