Chenbro Xpider Gaming Bomb (PC61166) [Page: 2 of 2] (TTID #34)

Windowed Side:

The left side of the Gaming Bomb has a window pre-installed. This is not optional and all Gaming Bomb’s come with them. It is a departure from the traditional square or rectangle design and also has two black oval-shaped areas in the centre. The window sits flush with the side panel and is held in by eight black plastic rivets. It is an extremely well-made window and looks very good too. It unfortunately shows too much of the relatively ugly drive cages though (We don’t really want to see the cable mess that surrounds drives Chenbro!).

To the left of the window is an indentation that allows for easy removal of the side panel. All the sides and top are painted in a matte black finish that is resistant to fingerprints and looks fairly good.

Back:

The back of the Gaming Bomb is different from most PC cases in a number of ways. Firstly, we see the unrestrictive fan grill that supports 120mm, 92mm and 80mm fans. I don’t really see the need to support 92mm or 80mm fans. Most people if not all would want to use a 120mm fan in this position so that the best noise to airflow ratio can be achieved. I would have preferred to see a detachable wire grill instead of the stamped one.

The next feature of the back of the Gaming Bomb that is different to most PC cases is the jutting out rectangle on the lower-right portion of the case. It has instructions on how to remove the case and also has a number of screws (More on the use of the screws later).

Removing the side panel couldn’t be simpler. There is a green tab to the right of the fan grill that when in the down position locks the side panel in place and when pushed up lets the side panel be pulled free. However, this does allow anyone to remove the side panel very easily. A lock would be a good feature to stop unwanted entry into the case (and thus access to that new $1000 video card!).

The right and top panels are a single piece and are riveted to the case but due to the tool less nature of the case (as you will see soon) you will never need to access the top or left sides of the case.

Interior:

The first things you notice when taking off the side panel are the green plastic ‘things’ attached to the left, right and bottom of the interior. They are part of this case’s innovative tool-less design.

The Gaming Bomb also has a very spacious interior which makes up (in part) for the lack of a removable motherboard tray. Although at the price the Gaming Bomb sells for, this premium feature cannot really be expected.

These tabs are connected to a sort of cylindrical bar that when turned, simultaneously depress the tabs holding the front facia onto the case and thus allow very easy removal of the front facia. They have the words “patent pending” on them and I can see why. They add to the features of this case that make installation so simple.

Over the PCI slots, attached to the case with the before-mentioned screws on the back panel is a PCI retention system that allows tool less installation of PCI and AGP cards. Simply move the black knob upwards and then to the left to unlatch the retention system, then plug in the card and finally reverse the process to lock the card in. This system doesn’t hold the cards as securely as screws would but are adequate in this regard. I couldn’t find any card that wasn’t compatible but my Zalman fan bracket wouldn’t fit. Luckily the whole retention system can be removed and traditional screws used.

The included 120mm fan is attached to the case on a green plastic fan holder that can be removed without unscrewing anything simply by depressing the latch and pulling the fan holder down and out.

At the bottom of the case, there are the drive rails for 5.25” drives and floppy disk drives. They attach to drives very easily by just clipping them on and then the drive can be effortlessly installed into the cage from the front of the case.

Hard drives are installed into a removable HDD cage that is held onto the case by a thumbscrew. To remove the cage unscrew the thumbscrew, depress the tab to the left of it and slide it out.

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At the front of the inside of the chassis is a green plastic retention strip for holding extra long PCI cards. These aren’t very common nowadays but they do serve to keep the cables from the front panel tidy.

The front USB and audio ports are connected to the motherboard using a detachable cable. This is a good feature because if one of these ports is not needed then the cable can be unplugged to aid in neatness.

Cooling:

     

The front of the case has support for an 80mm or 92mm fan. This is housed behind an unrestrictive grill and serves the dual purpose of cooling the HDDs and supplying the case with fresh air. An option for a 120mm fan in this position would improve cooling though. Hopefully we’ll see this on future cases.

The front facia has two very open grills on either side with a fan filter behind each side. This provides clean fresh air to the case and is very effective.

The back 120mm fan is a Top Motor fan and is a bit too noisy for my liking at 12v. Nevertheless, at 5v it is quiet and still exhausts a large amount of air from of the case.

Overall, the cooling system of the Chenbro Gaming Bomb is extremely well thought out and will be able to cool almost any system. Top marks for Chenbro in this regard.

Installation:

I can honestly say that I installed a system in this case faster than I have in any other case (including the likes of the Lian-Li PC60, Antec 1080 and Antec Sonata). Using all the tool-less features that the case has was a breeze and everything fits together perfectly. To add to that all edges were folded to protect exposed digits.

     

Noise:

This case has great potential to be very quiet. Using large fans means that you can still have great airflow at low noise levels. The unrestrictive grills mean minimal fan turbulence. The solid construction reduces vibrations and the front facia blocks a lot of noise while still letting air pass through it.

 

Conclusion:

Overall, I have to say that this case is brilliant. At the price point $50 it is excellent value for money. It serves as a solution that can cool well, can be quiet and allows for extremely easy installation. What more can you ask for at that price?

Pros:

Cons: