Author
: David Luu

Category
: Cases

Page 1 : Index

Manufacturer:
XClio

Price:
N/A

XClio has already made it's debut on Overclockers Online with it's Stable Power series of PSU's, and they seem to have been built up to par with growing demand on the market. Along with the production of power supplies, XClio has also been a player in the computer chassis market for a while now. Today, XClio has given the chance to review the 188, one of many cases available from the XClio case product line.

A computer chassis is the first thing one sees when looking at a computer. It serves a very important purpose as the computer's structural exoskeleton. Computer cases should be built strong, tough, and user friendly. Nobody enjoys working with a case
that is hard to work with, features such as motherboard trays and hard drive racks to make life easier. The 188 features a large 250mm fan on the side panel, which would presumably improve cooling performance significantly better than smaller fans.

Page 2 : Package and Contents

The 188 came in a rather plain looking box, which is a custom when it comes to computer cases. The front is a very simple cover art, which isn't too flashy. The side of the box lists out the features in several languages.

Initially out of the box, the case is wrapped up in plastic and protected by two Styrofoam guards. The case appears to be undamaged.

The case comes with other goodies also for installation; various screws, standoffs, padlock piece, and plastic feet.

Before we unveil the case, let's have a look at the specifications.

Page 3 : Specifications

As on the XClio website, these are the specifications:

The features listed are:

The specifications show that this case is a very run-of-the-mill ATX case. There are no tool-less aids, motherboard trays, or any other special installation features. It seems to be a case that is very easy on budget and simple.

Page 4 : Exterior

Straight out of the box, this case looks very minimalistic and not flashy at all. Clean black rubber front finish, with a metallic matte finish on the rest.

The front panel has a glossy finish stripe running down the whole case, and is protected by a plastic layer to prevent scratching.

After peeling, the case looks very attractive. The plastic is very reflective and gives the case a very clean and professional look.

Opening the front panel reveals drive bays and the power/reset switches. Even the inside is all rubber finished, as well as the drive bay covers! The hinges are very smooth, and is held in place by magnet, giving it a very smooth feel.

The side of the case shows a very prevalent 7-blade 250mm fan covered by a simple grill.

Close to the front is a knob which serves as the fan controller for the large side fan.

The back is very plain and simple, with nothing very out of the ordinary. The theme of this case has already been fully established as being simple. The side panels being held in by regular screws, not thumbscrews, further exemplifies the simplicity of the case.

The right side of the case shows nothing special, except for the front connections. Two USB ports, FireWire, and audio ports are provided.

The minimalistic look is shown all over the outside of the case, but what about the inside? Head over to the next page to see.

Page 5 : Interior

Upon opening both side panels, there really is nothing to get excited about.

There are a number of wires for the front connectors, but they are all easily identified and appears to be messy at first, but is easily managable with the use of the zip tie included.

There are four 5.25" drive bays, which need to be secured by screws.

There are seven 3.5" bays, two of which can be exposed and five that are hidden. Again, you need to use screws to secure them.

The rear of the case shows the PCI slot covers, which can be easily removed, and all PCI cards need to be secured by screws.

The lack of tool-less features signify the simple aspect of the 188 case. The absence of these features can be a good thing, many cases have problems with tool-less designs being un-safe, loose, and sometimes wear out over time. Using screws to secure all drives and cards can be a good thing, as it gives the user a more secure conscience because the screw design is fool-proof in the computer chassis world.

Now that the full interior has been explored, let's see how the installation process is like.

Page 6 : Installation

XClio has decided not to install plastic feet for their customers.

This does not slow the installation process too much, as installing the feet is tool-less. Aligning the feet then pushing a small plastic piece in the middle is all it takes.

Putting in the motherboard is next, and the process should be plain and simple across all cases. Standoffs first, then motherboard in, then screw it all down.

The PSU also went in no problem.

The hard drive rack is easy to deal with, and it needs 4 screws to secure a hard drive in place.

The removal of the 5.25" drive bay cover takes a light pull, and the installation of a CD drive is simple; just another 4 screws.

The PCI and video card slots are easy to manage, just put a screw in to secure it and the thing won't budge. This is where most manufacturers kill themselves to make it tool-less, and out of all the designs I have seen, none will give you the really secure feel that a screw can give you.

The last painful step is to plug all the wires together and attempt to make everything look reasonably organized for the sake of airflow. On the other side of the case, there is a large space for the hiding of wires. This is a very good idea as many enthusiasts are crazy about wire management, and they all know the side of the case is a great spot for hiding wires.

Also note that there is a 4-pin molex and a 3-pin connector for the front panel fan controller and side fan.

Putting the side panel back on is a little tight, especially if you have a CPU cooler that is taller than usual, you make experience the side panel not being able to fit properly because of the side fan.

When booted up, the side fan glows a bright glow thanks to 5 LED's, and the front shows a pretty blue logo hidden behind the reflective black stripe. Now that the system is fully functional, let's get down to some testing.

Page 7 : Testing

The testing is set up to test thermal cooling performance of the case. The specifications of the system are:

The ambient temperature remained at 25 degrees throughout testing. Here are the results:

The XClio 188 topped off it's bigger brother, the A380 (boasting two 250mm fans). This could be due to the fact that the fan on the 188 is very close to the motherboard and CPU cooler, while in the A380 there is more clearance. Having the 250mm fan as the main intake fan really drops the motherboard's temperatures quite a bit. The noise-airflow ratio seems to be very low, and chaning the fan from Low to High increases the noise by about 8 dB. This case is top of the line when it comes to cooling, all thanks to the 250mm fan and small contruction (having the fan really close to the motherboard).

Page 8 : Conclusion

XClio have really worked hard throughout it's history, and with the 188, I can see them going a long way. The upmost simplicity when it comes to computer cases are sometimes nessesary for those who only look for simplicity and practicality, which is exactly what this case brings to the market.

The 188 case is very top notch. It is very well built and has solid construction with no creaks or rattles. The minimalistic design gives the case a very attractive aura, and it's cooling performance is excellent. The theme of being simple has been shown throughout this review, with screws being needed everywhere. This does not exactly mean it is going to be harder to install your system, tool-less designs can be sometimes flimsy and can even bring up compatibility problems. This is the first case in a while that has not been provided with thumbscrews (which appears to be a must in almost all cases), but that doesn't put this case off one bit. I would recommend this case to anyone looking for style and simplicity.

Advantages
Minimalistic exterior
Great cooling performance
Simplicity

Disadvantages
Compatibility issues with taller/bigger CPU coolers

Overclockers Online would like to thank XClio for making this review possible.