| #771 - XG Viper 2 Case |
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| Written by Zach Jeffers | |
| Sunday, 14 January 2007 | |
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Page 5 of 9
The Viper Up Close: The bottom half of the XG Viper 2's face is a black area that houses the LCD display. There is a dark plastic film that needs to be removed as this simply shows demo information when lit. Looking at the face straight on, you can see the Viper's 'cheeks'. These are very attractive in the fact that they make a square case into something with character.   The two 'eyes' of the case are the power and hard drive activity LEDs. Below each eye, you will see that there is a silver mesh that starts and wraps down and around. This is where the intake fan get its airflow. Under the mesh grill, you will see three red plastic buttons. These are for setting the LCD display correctly.   With the door open all the way, you can see that you only really can open it 90 degrees from closed. This is not very nice as the fact of making the door swing right to left makes you have to reach around the door to load any optical storage or other front panel interface. Along with that, the door is not removable as the hinges go through the fron bezel and are molded in with the plastic of the front door.    Behind the door you find four external 5.25� bays and two 3.5� bays. One of the 3.5� bays is occupied by the front I/O ports. Each 5.25� bay is set into the face just a bit and the 3.5� bays are inset about 3/4�. The bay covers are made of the same glossy red plastic as the front bezel. All except for the front I/O plate. This is actually metal and is painted red to match. From left to right you will find the Firewire port, the Audio Out jack, the Audio In jack, and the two USB 2.0 jacks. Just to the right of the I/O ports, you will find the plastic red power and reset buttons.    At the back of the case, you will see a few items that clue you into the tool less nature of this case. First, XG has included four thumb screws to hold the side panels secure. Second, you can easily pull the side panels of with the pull rings attached to each side panel. I really enjoy having these as an option.    Thirdly you can see the back side of the tool less mounting hardware for the seven expansion bays. On the underside of the Viper 2 case, you will find four white plastic feet. These are not rubber and do not grip that well.     |