Addtronics 7896A Full Tower Case

URL: http://www.addtronics.com/7896A.htm

Check Prices On This Product

E-mail this article to a friend

Rating: Excellent!

Review:

A while back we reviewed the YCC-80X computer case, an excellent midtower case that's user friendly and very affordable. But what if you need more room, better cooling or more power? With that question in mind, we set out on a quest for the perfect full tower case and we might have found what we were looking for in the Addtronics 7896A.

Click to enlarge

Features: Slide-In/Out Motherboard Tray And Slot Bracket Swing-Open Side Doors 6 exposed, 1 hidden 5.25" drive bays 1 exposed, 2 hidden 3.5" drive bays Front Panel Removable Washable Air Filter Fits BABY, AT FULL Or ATX (Incl. XEON) Motherboards No Screw Or Wires On Front Panel Supports Redundant Power Supply (Model 7890A/7896A) Non-Screw Fan Brackets Drive Rails For Easy Drive Installation Adjustable Height Base For Uneven Surfaces Can Hold Up To 9 Fans For Maximum Ventilation

Accessibility

This is one of the many strong points of this case. First of all, the case is huge and offers plenty of space inside to work. It is very easy to get into the case. Gone are the days of ugly AT-style cases that required a screwdriver to unfasten 6 screws and a crowbar to lift the top off. The front panel snaps right off, and has no cables attached to it so that you can conveniently set it aside after removing it. This reveals 4 thumbscrews, 2 for each side, that you loosen just a few turns to release the side panels that swing out like doors on a hinge and can be lifted right off. It doesn't get much simpler than that.

Click to enlarge

Once you're inside the case, you'll notice the large amount of drive bays. You get 6 exposed 5.25" drive bays as well as one hidden 5.25" drive bay in the back at the top. One exposed 3.5" drive bay at the top can hold a floppy drive, two more hidden 3.5" drive bays can hold hard drives in a suspended frame that is easily removed by unfastening one screw. If you need to mount more than two hard drives, or have a Zip drive in addition to a floppy drive, you need to use mounting rails to fit 3.5" drives into a 5.25" bay. One of those converters comes already with the case, and if you need more you can get them for a few bucks at most computer stores.

To mount 5.25" drives, simply attach a pair of the included drive rails and slide them into the drive bay, then secure them with two screws from the front. Very convenient and secure, though we would have preferred the rails to snap in place instead of screws.

Even though the case is big and makes it easy to drop the motherboard in, the motherboard tray is removable by unfastening two screws and sliding the tray out the side (not the back as you would with a lot of other cases). This makes mounting the motherboard a breeze. The only suggestions we have for the motherboard tray is marking the numerous holes on the tray according to what type of motherboard they go with (Baby/AT/ATX-style), and to use the brass screw-in stand-offs instead of the cheaper snap-in metal spacers, but that's just our personal preference.