Aerocool ExtremEngine 3T Case Review - PAGE 3

Front

The front of the case is where the bulk of the features are. Firstly, the swing panels are really, really sharp - aesthetics are all well and good, but it comes at the cost of safety of my fingers. From the top to the bottom, the sides of the 'door' are quite edgy. Anyways, starting from the top, you can see that the optical drive bays are meshed. This is more for looks than anything else, since there's no intake fan bracket, nor does the case need it. Right below are the power and reset bottoms, which are covered by the door when closed.

Below the buttons is the front intake fan. That jet engine turbine you see is not actually the fan. While the fins do spin, it is powered by the blue LED 140mm fan behind it. Aerocool put the turbine there to match the look of the side fan.

Below the turbine you see three knobs. These knobs are three independent fan controllers, one for the front, one for the side, and one for the rear if you need it. There are a few issues that immediately jumped out at me. Firstly, the knobs are located in a poor location, as it is not visible from beneath the turbine if it's on the floor, which leads to bending far lower than you'd like. If the fan controller was located where the power and reset buttons are, then it wouldn't matter where you put the case. Another problem is that only the center knob is accessible when the front doors are closed. As described earlier, the edges on the door are sharp, which makes this reviewer unhappy that it requires putting your fingers at risk every time you want to adjust the speed of fan number 2 and fan number 3.

Originally, I was miffed that in order to change your computer from quietest to coolest, you needed to adjust three separate knobs, but a good point was made by one of my fellow reviewers. Micah's point was that every fan had different sound signatures and different volumes at maximum and minimum levels. By having individual controllers, it is possible to adjust to the user's tolerance level without being shoehorned into a one size fits all system. This made a lot of sense, since I remember being subjected to the infamous black label Deltas and the highly rated Panaflos - in the same case. Given the option to adjust each fan would have been a blessing. The flexibility of separate controllers beats the convenience of having a single knob for all your fans.

Readers of my reviews will know that I'm not a fan of bottom USB/audio/Firewire ports, which is exactly what Aerocool has done here. They're located underneath the fan controller, so the arguments against the location of the fan knobs apply here as well. They're out of sight and out of reach (unless it's on your table, which leads to a whole new bunch of problems with a 25 cm fan around).