It’s meant to be quite and the system will run cooler in it as compared to Xbox’s self casing, looks good for the people whose Xbox 360 has run out of Warranty. They can try out the new casing without any headaches.

First Look at Lian Li XB01 by Bit-Tech

Having gotten used to Lian Li PC cases shipping in monster boxes, the XB01′s diminutive size came as something of a surprise – you can comfortably fit this under one arm.

The XB01 in all it’s glory. For those looking for a little scale, the rear exhaust fan is of the 120mm variety – needless to say its more than twice the size of a standard Xbox 360 case. The fan is 12V, 0.27A and comes with a 3-pin Molex connection. We tried looking for details on this and the reports across the net vary – but it shifts around 56 CFM and is between 22-25 dB at 1,300-1,500RPM.

The entire front section of the case is black mesh to help improve on the 360′s infamously limited airflow, and the single 120mm cooling fan gets a cooling “hood” to hopefully silence your console while still keeping it cooler.

oth the rear and the front of the case have all the necessary pre-cut slots for power and external connectivity and Lian Li also include pre-cut holes for watercooling if you want to take modding your Xbox 360 to an even higher level. One concern however is that not all the hatches for access to the front sockets are sprung and to be honest after the initial novelty has worn off they do come across very shoddy and appear to be made without much thought.

The two USB ports for example are so far recessed you may need a torch to see what you’re doing, and the flap that hides them is twice as big as it needs to be. It’s obviously been built to a cost – a very reasonable cost, but it doesn’t feel like the usually high Lian Li level attention to detail.

However, other than our concerns about fingerprints and sprung hatches, the XB01 certainly seems to be a very strong, durable case on the face of things. Every panel fits together securely and all edges are all well machined. While we criticise the flaps, we have to admit they fit well and are magnetically held in place keeping things neat and flush.

Keep watching Casing Reviews for more updates about Lian Li’s XB01 Casing for the Xbox 360!

The Whisper case is cooled by four fans, one 120mm blue LED intake, one 120mm rear exhaust and two 80mm rear exhaust fans – all included in the casing.

The new Whisper case can take nine hard drives and a total of six 5.25 inch bays. It also has a cable management system consisting of holes that can be use to hide most of the cables (Becoming a standard now in most of the cases). The Whisper case is all steel with a plastic front door.

The new case will arrive to shops in September with the retail price set at US$139.99. I bet some crazy discounts are coming too.

Keep up2date with Casing Reviews & Casing Deals for the latest Reviews & Crazy Deals for NZXT Whisper case.

Cooler Master HAF 932

With pure innovative strength, Cooler Master, the leader in enthusiast computer components, has unleashed yet another prevailing arsenal to compete in the full-tower chassis segment. Proud and robust in its appearance, the HAF 932 presents its sturdy sentinel housing and revolutionary High Air Flow structure to enhance and protect any hardware component that is worthy of the highest performance.

Innovative convectional thermal structure:
Surging with engineering ingenuity and solid performance, Cooler Master made sure the delivery of maximum airflow was set on our meters as the crunching mandate. To boost and sustain all around system performance, Cooler Master included steel meshed vents vertically stretched over the whole front panel, and then further strengthened the flow of heat dissipation by including three massive 230mm fans on the top, the side and the front of the chassis. This specification ensures maximum air flow to enter while the propelling fans cool the entire system, even when running under full load on quad graphics cards. In short, HAF 932 guarantees hardware longevity in any extreme performance scenario.

In addition to the already maxed out specifications, the HAF 932 is fully upgradeable for water cooling enthusiasts; the HAF 932 can be modified to fit an internal radiator while the pre-drilled retaining holes by the rear makes for easy routing of any liquid cooling kit of choice.

Intuitive design:
Behind this heavy duty military style chassis, Cooler Master also made considerable improvements for discerning DIY users. These features include logical cable routing, optional side panel interchange of 200mm to 4 x 120 mm fans placement, an extra chamber for dual power supply mode, patented finger-press buttons for quick 5.25” device maintenance, and removable HDD racks, keeping your hardware system neat, cool and organized.

Features:
* Side panel interchange of 200mm to 4 x 120mm fans placement
* Retaining holes for best cable routing and neatness
* Easy access to liquid coolant fill port

Cooler Master’s esteemed HAF 932 ultimately tributes the highest creativity in High Air Flow manipulation; its gun metal enhanced contemporary craftsmanship and swagger design will definitely please today’s hardcore gamers.

SOURCE

If true; and some sources are saying it is then this means a change over of design is coming soon from Apple.

From NZXT comes a mainstream chassis designed for value without sacrificing performance. The Alpha features a steel chassis and support for up to three 120mm fans when the optional side panel is included. Installed with the newest E-SATA port, the Alpha is ideal for both mainstream and power users. The NZXT Alpha also enables the user to fit large expansion cards like the NVIDIA 8800GTX optimal for SLI and Crossfire. Other features of the Alpha include space for up to 5 HDDs and screwless installation.

Price : US$ 60

Specifications:

techpowerup.com Round Up
Pros

• Fits large graphic cards
• Can hold large PSUs
• Large HSFs will also fit
• eSATA connector
• All possible audio header connectors included
• Two optical drive covers included
• Great, modern looks
• Awesome paint job
• Tool-less system works well
• Two 120 mm fans included
• Well placed lighting

Cons

• No fan up front for cooling hard drives
• Bad placement of front I/O
• Mainboard connection for power LED may not fit
• Fans fairly loud, only come with Molex connectors
• No removable motherboard tray
• Plastic front
• Package contents are not organized
• Not that easy to clean up inside.
• Manual only in French

The NZXT Alpha is a great looking case, with clean cut, straight and modern lines. The clear plastic addition to the front in combination with blue LEDs looks awesome. While the case does not cost more than other budget cases, it can fit GeForce 8800 GTX or Ultras without any problems and also has the space for large power supplies and CPU heatsinks. NZXT has decided to keep the interior simple and functional, much like their HUSH case. A very solid screwless system for the hard drive and optical drive rounds up the entire package. The two drive covers mean that you can use beige or silver optical drives in the Alpha without disturbing the look and feel of the chassis.

If you decide to go with the windowed variant, make sure to plan some extra time for clean cable routing inside the chassis, as there is no easy way to hide unnecessary or long cables. Overall the NZXT Alpha is a solid choice for those looking for a simple but modern case or those who want to save money on a chassis to invest into more powerful components.

Complete Review

hardwarezone.com:

Overall, the Cooler Master CM 690 has some nifty features that benefit enthusiasts looking to fit a whole battalion of cooling fans into a chassis. Cable management looks promising while the tool-free mechanisms are always welcome. It doesn’t hurt too that the meshed design works from an aesthetic point of view, especially clad in black. However, we aren’t too sure about the dust factor after a few months of usage. As this chassis has just been released by Cooler Master, we are unable to get a price quote for it currently. We are betting on a reasonable price that will reflect its quality and features but this chassis is definitely not for the budget crowd.

hi-techreviews.com:

Admittedly the CM 690 does have a couple of flaws in it’s design, with things such as the certain power supplies not fitting correctly if a fan is placed in bottom mounting bracket.   But putting these small problems aside I think Cooler Master has done a bang-up-job of creating a mid-priced enclosure that offers a number of features some of which are not even found on other computers such as the rows of screws on each side of the drive rack.

It’s features like these that continue to make Cooler Master the company to beat when it comes to computer enclosures!

cluboverclocker.com:

This is one nice mid-tower.  While the case has a ton going for it, it could be a little better.  There is no removable motherboard tray and the case is made of heavy steel.  Those are very small complaints when you look at the case as a whole.  A big plus for this case is it will fit 2 8800GTX’s in SLI.  In the picture above, I have an 8800GTS installed and you can see all of the extra room available.  This case is also designed for nice airflow while keeping the noise down.  The HDD trays have rubber grommets to eliminate noise causing vibration and the power supply opening is lined with a rubber gasket to do the same.  The large 120mm fans will move more air at less RPMs then a 80mm fan.  This will also cut your noise level down.  Even the large rubber feet will help keep the noise level down.  Overall this is a very nice case loaded with features that you’d find on much more expensive cases.  Club Overclocker Recommended!

Our Verdict

Best casing for the price which is roughly 90 US$ or even less through discounts and rebates. Beautiful & spacious! But I guess the low cost calls for some sacrifice… like the fans included with the CM 690 are low CFM fans and a few customers have reported the fans died after a while. The side panels are a bit on the wobbly side too. Paired with a good set of Yateloon fans; its all good.

Specifications: