Date 2008-03-03
Provider: Spire
Author: Niko Lupala
Editor: Amber Lupala
Spire Pinifarina Case Review
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The handles on each side allows you to open the doors without sliding them out, they actually open to the side. They have mounted a fan holder in the side of the case and also made a fan grill to vent out the hot air from the cpu in this case. The fan duct allows you to mount the fan as close as the cpu as possible and the draw out the hot air straight out of the case.
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The harddive cage is removable which makes it very easy to install drives, and the harddrives can be mounted without any screws which makes everything even easier. Tooless cases are standard these days though so I expected nothing less of this case.
The drives are also mounted with the security locks which will keep your dvd burner in place. Installation could not be any easier than it has been. So far so I am satisfied with this part of the review even though the case weigh quite a bit.
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Now the motherboard tray is not removable but I will show you something else later in the review that will work even better. PCI cards are locked on with screws which I find odd since the rest of the case is tool free.
In the back they've mounted a fan that exhausts the hot air out of the case. I found it to be quite loud compared to other fans I have listened to but I must admit that I'm quite picky when it comes to fan noise.
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When you mount the motherboard you will notice that there is plenty of space both to the drives and to the PSU.
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If you look at the right picture you will see what I'm talking about, no more squeezing the motherboard tray into the slot. Instead you open the side up, install the board and pop it back on again.
I mean could it be any easier?!
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You don't have to worry about the cables on the side because they will not get squeezed when you close the side. Spire has also mounted a fan on the side of the harddrive tray to blow in some cool air on the drives. This is a nice initiative and keeps your drives stable and extends the lifetime of the drives.
A final look at the case shows that it is made to make installation very easy, both sides open up which makes the installation of all parts extremely simple
Conclusion:
This is a nice case but the weight just kills me, I would not recommend this as a LAN case but if you want something that will stand on the floor or on the table without moving around this is your choice. I love the way how it opens up and makes it very easy to install all the parts, I wish a few other companies would have thought of this also. One con is that you have to install the PCI cards with a screw which means you need a screwdriver. Otherwise the fans are mounted great and they do their job even though I don't like the noise level to much. Overall though a very nice case that is a bit on the heavy side.
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