Nextherm ICS 8200

Author: Jani 'Japala' Pönkkö Published: 24.08.2005 Manufacturer: Sytrin Corporation Product Group: Computer Case In English Suomeksi

PSU

PSU

Inside the case we have a 460 Watt power supply. PSU has two independent 12 volt rails and all the needed connectors that the modern computer system needs. And to make sure we notice it, they made it black.

Connectors

Good range of connectors. Only thing that one could hope for is to have two PCI Express power connectors. Other than that everything is in check.

Build quality

I know that this is not such a major issue but just wanted to point it out. For some reason this kind of cable tie and high quality power supply doesn't match. Perhaps in the future Sytrin will replace the cable tie with something more suitable.

Volts

To see how well the power supply keeps its voltage levels I did some gaming. Two hours of Battlefield 2 with a P4 2.8@3.4 GHz and X800 XT gave these results.

As you can see, all the voltage levels are easily inside the safe margins. Only the 12 volt line seems to vary noticable but then again it never fell below 12.09 volts. All in all a very stable result and it shows clearly how powerful this power supply really is.

Drives

Removable

3.5" drive bay is removable. This makes the installation bit easier. EMI shield is in place for one slot. Three of the 5.25" bays have similar shielding against electromagnetic interference.

Why only two 3.5" drive slots? This really doesn't make sense. One can say that there is not enough room inside the case for more but surely you could add one or two more. The two slots are so close to each others so if you are planning on installing your hard drives here, you better think of how to get some additional cooling towards them. This because the AirCon doesn't direct its airflow towards the drives at all.

Drive rails

With ICS8200 you get set of eight drive rails. This way one can utilize all of the four 5.25" drive slots. Just push the rails to the side of the drive and insert the drive to the drive cage. Drive will then lock in to place.

Good only for optical drives?

As you can see, not all 5.25" mounting systems will work. This 3.5" -> 5.25" kit contained a set of heatsinks and rubber mounts to keep the drive cool and to remove vibration. As there are only two holes on each side and the rails have three pins, the rails doens't align correctly.

Different kit

As there are only two 3.5" slots, it is surprising that the Sytrin haven't included at least a one set of these 3.5" -> 5.25" adapter kits. This kit shown here costed only 3 euros but it would have been nice to find them already in the ICS 8200 bundle. At least it would have saved you a trip back to store as you probably forgot to buy one.

Pages:   1 2 3 4 5 6 7