Front multimedia panel

A growing trend lately with cases (and not just the OEM variety) is the inclusion of a front multimedia panel chalk full of connects there were usually hidden in the rear. Our review unit's front panel arrived sporting two USB ports, gameport, one IEEE 1394 (a.k.a firewire), as well as a volume slider, and three audio ports (headphone, speaker, and line in).

On the inside of the case we also found two small speakers above the front panel where an exhaust fan should have been. Apparently these two speakers come into operation when one has the front panel connected to their soundcard, but does not have any external speakers attached. As for the sound quality of these little speakers, they produced mediocre sound at best. I would vehemently recommend that you opt for the extra intake/exhaust fan rather than have these pathetic speakers in its place.

What is this weird arm thing?

Adjustable cardholder is a fairly unique item, which basically "grabs" onto the PCI or AGP cards installed to prevent them from bending or whatever during the shipping or moving of a computer. Despite being on a hinge this "arm" became a nuisance when it came time to install peripherals in my computer. The arm would constantly fall, though in defense of Skyhawk the arm can be removed quite easily if need be. For most of us, unless you attend many LAN parties, the arm can be quite useless. The only saving grace of this arm for the rest of us was the inclusion of an extra cooling fan that is conveniently placed so as to aid in the flow of air around the CPU.

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