Chenming Fileserver Case Review - PAGE 1

Behold the Chenming File Server case from ColdConcept. This case sports many of the features that made the Antec Performance Plus 880 an Editor's Choice winner, but with the promise of the low cost one would expect from a "generic" brand case. We love Antec cases, and we love this case too.

Isn't that an Antec Case?

Features and Specs:

If you think this case looks familiar. There's a good reason. It's identical to the Antec Performance Plus cases that we've reviewed before, minus a few minor differences like the front bevel, the power supply, and the fan filter (check out our Performance Plus 880 review for more on this).

For those not familiar with the Antec case design, there are several main features that make this case so appealing.

The case is very heavy duty. It's one of the heaviest cases due to the thickness of the steel used in its construction, and it has some of the best edge rounding you can find in a case. The 3.5" HD fan cages use a snap on locking mechanism that allows tooless removal and replacement of the cage (you still need to screw the HDs into the cage though).

Though not shown, the 4 external 5.25" drive bays all use removable drive rails for ease of installing and uninstalling your CD/DVD-ROMS. If you don't lock it up with case screws, the side panel can be opened and removed toolessly thanks to the handy latch mechanism keeping it in place. And finally, the airflow of this case can be quite significant, thanks to the location of 2 rear exhaust fan cages, and 2 more front intake fan cages. These fan cages, as illustrated in the photo below, can be placed inside the removable HD cages so that you can blow air across your installed hard drives.