Finally, you have 2 side blowholes on the left side of the case. One fans is mounted at the bottom of the case taking air in. The other one is just above the CPU blowing the hot air from it outside of the case.

This case is part of AMK's "economic" class of case. The basic price is 99 CA$ (around $70 US) for the case, one fan and a 250W power supply. The OCD-33333 model (with six fans) cost 169.99 CA$ (around $120 US). If you are looking for a new case, pay them a visit. They have about 10 case models to choose from and each model as a couple of different configurations. You can add fans or swap them for 120mm ones if you like.

The Verdict

Overall this case is excellent. Everything is just perfect except for some minor airflow problems with 2 fans. I'll give it 9.5 for it's performance. The price is simply unbeatable so I'll give it a 10. Big thanks to AMK Computers for the case. As always, feel free to send me any comments or questions about the review.

*Update*

It feels kind of funny to make a review update but I really think it needs to be done. After playing with this case a pretty long time (see my case mod article Part1 and Part2), I noticed a couple of flaws, which I did not mention in the initial review.

First of all the side panels are sometimes frustrating to install back in place. When you slide them back in, there are clips all around the panel which need to be aligned properly to before pushing it forward and locking it in place. If you often open your case, this will get on your nerves.

There is also a problem with the wheels. First you have to know that this case is pretty thin for it's height. It's 24½" high (without wheels) and only 7½" wide. The wheels are mounted on a pivot that can rotate. If the wheels on both sides are places toward the middle of the case, the base is only 4¼" wide. This can cause serious stability issues, especially if the case is on carpet.

Finally, I learned that Apex, the manufacturer of this case, use 250W Deer power supplies. For those of you who are not familiar with the Deer power supply brand, they are probably the worst power supplies on Earth. If you really need a tower this big, you will certainly need more then 250W of power for all those drive. And even though the case has 12 drive bays, the retail Deer power supply only has 4-molex connectors coming out of it. I didn't know that since I got the case from AMK, and they replace the power supply with a 300W.

Now all this doesn't mean the case sucks, far from that. If you are short on cash but still need a full tower, this is your best buy. But let's just say there are better cases out there. I think I over rated it in the first place I think this needs to be said. If you think it's a good idea, let me know. If you think I'm a moron for not telling this in the first place, go ahead and blast me.

by Jean-Christophe Turcot

Price - 10 Performance - 7 Overall - 8/10

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