Intro

Gone are the days of the "not so personal" Personal Computer and more and more people are trying to integrate their PC into "their world". With the advent of "The Modder" coming to near mainstream, more and more computer case companies are abandoning their old ways of the beige and are trying to tap into this. One such company, Aspire Int'l Corp., designs, imports, markets and services PC parts including computer cases, accessories and peripherals such as case fans, power supplies and matching color keyboard/mouse/speaker kits. Today, I'll be reviewing Aspire's X-Super Alien Case which is targeted mainly towards the avid gamer. When I found out I was going to given the opportunity to dissect this case and run it through the gauntlet, I was very excited to say the least. So, as the honorable Judge Mills Lane says, "Let's get it on!"

Case Specifications

Case Material: Light weight, heavy duty high grade aluminum alloy / ABS plastic
ATX compatible
Comes in several colors: Black, Blue, Yellow, Green, Red and Silver
Drive Bays:
- 5 5.25" Front accessible drives with "Slide Rails"
- 2 3.5" Front accessible drives with slide out tray
- 5 3.5" Internal access drives with slide out trays
- 7 rear expansion slots
Aspire 500 Watt Aluminum Cast see-through power supply
Two channel fan speed controller (Rheobus)
2 Temperature probes with backlit LCD
6 Total Blue UV reactive case fans with quad blue LED’s:
- 2 Front intake
- 2 Rear exhaust
- 1 Side panel intake w/Super Alien fan grill
- 1 Top blow hole w/Super Alien fan grill
Large side panel window
Color matched clear snap in fan mounts
Removable motherboard tray (pull out, not slide out)
All the drive bays have "Slide Rail" design for fast & easy installation/removal
2 5.25" Sliding rails attached to every front bay cover
2 High speed USB 2.0 ports included
1 IEEE 1394 Firewire port included
1 Mic and 1 speaker jack included
Lockable swing out side panel
Lockable front panel door
Easy access to front panel fans via removable fan cover
Motherboard mounting screws, lock keys and side panel thumbscrews included
AC power cord for PSU included

Now that I have your head spinning from information overload, let us begin with a brief description of product packaging and shipping.

The Package

The Good:
XPcases shipped the case in its regular box incased in an outer shipping box packed with peanuts as and additional buffer. The outer box was taped up well with three lengths of shipping tape on both the top and bottom of the box ensuring it would stay closed and had affixed sever "Fragile" labels to it.

The Bad:
Instead of going with the standard styrofoam blocks protecting the case's front and back, Aspire went with styrofoam blocks on the bottom and top. And, this leads us to the third part...

The Ugly:
Well, FedEx did their best, or rather their worst, in trying to get this case to me undamaged.

And, having that said, if the placement of styrofoam had followed the well practiced method of front and back protection, this...

Would not have resulted in this...

(Thankfully this case is in one of the darker colors and the ding is not very noticeable until you get up close and personal. Had it been one of the lighter colors, I'm wagering it would be very noticeable.)

Aspire definitely could do a lot better with its packaging methods. Seeing how this is not your average "el cheapo" case, I think they could have spent a few more cents of styrofoam and possibly used inserts that actually fit around the sides and encased the case as a whole (It is aluminum after all).

Inside the box is the case itself, a power cord for the PSU directions, a big bag o' screws and standoffs, and keys for the locking front and side doors.