Aspire X-Navigator: A High End Gaming Chassis
by Purav Sanghani on October 26, 2004 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Final Words
Our look at Aspire's X-Navigator shows us, yet again, that we need to choose one over the other, lower noise levels or lower temperatures? Does our decision come down to only those 2 factors? For the X-Navigator, we would have to say "no". For starters, the possibilities for expansion with this chassis seem to be never-ending. With the room to add up to 9 HDDs in its 3 removable cages, we expect this case to have a downside such as high noise levels. If it means the cooling equipment can keep temperatures of those drives as well as all of the other expensive components down, then we will surely go with this 62dBA producing case over a smaller, quieter one that has no room for expansion.
Click to enlarge.
As we said, we regretted to see the lack of tool-less features that we have seen in cases such as Thermaltake's line of Xaser cases as well as their Tsunami Dream chassis, or the wind tunnel design of SilverStone Technology's BTX look alike Temjin 6. The X-Navigator, though, does have its own set of features that set it apart from the so-called "gaming cases" that everyone else claims their products to be. They have combined the looks of a sleek finish with the features and functions of a $200 aluminum case to create a product that has almost everything an enthusiast/hardcore gamer would want in a case.
With inclusion of a 500W aluminum power supply, which is no piece of junk, the price that we would pay for the X-Navigator is worth every penny. The X-Navigator runs for about $160 at many online retailers, which is a great value. As we mentioned in our "Cooling" section, the 500W power supply runs for about $55, which is a steal in itself for the performance output. We recommend the Aspire X-Navigator to those who are looking for a case with a lot of room for expansion in the future, or anyone wanting to build a small storage server type of system.
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LoneWolf15 - Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - link
Looks like an ugly attempt at a premodded case for me. The fan grills are gaudy, and I can't stand front case doors, especially plastic ones. Too much built-in lighting makes this case more blingy than it is useful, and the interchangeable front plastics are all ugly. Give me multiple low-noise 120mm fans over the cooling setup here any day as well. I also don't like clear power supplies; they look good for about two months until dust gets in them, and then they're nasty. To clean them, you'll probably end up voiding the warranty.Thresher - Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - link
That case is fugly.I like the feature set, but I can't stand the "bling" on it. I wish more case manufacturers took Antec's lead and built more cases like the Sonata and Aria.
Entropy531 - Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - link
#9 - They use it so they can get impartial results. If you're comparing apples to oranges, the results aren't very legitimate. They have to use all the same components to get thermal benchmarks. #5 and #10 - I agree.diehlr - Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - link
ugly.shabby - Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - link
Why dont you guys use the psu's that come with the case for testing, you switched to the ocz psu again.Aquila76 - Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - link
#7 - The other HDD bays do have space for a cooling fan, it just isn't included (greenish bracket):http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/cases/aspire/x...
The top 3 are really meant for the External 3.5" drives, so even the bracket isn't included on that one, but you can get a universal one pretty easily if you need it.
MustISO - Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - link
One thing I just can't understand is why there are three, 3 1/2 drive cages and only one of them has a fan. What the hell are they thinking?"Gee, maybe the users only want to cool 3 hard drives, the others can fry!"
Antec does the same thing.
At the very least add 2 additional fan brackets and let the user decide. That should increase the total cost by $2.
Beenthere - Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - link
I definitely wouldn't bring this case home... but different strokes for different folks.skunkbuster - Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - link
i actually think it looks pretty fugly + gaudyLocut0s - Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - link
Scratch that sorry it's much clearer on a 2nd read. If any admin is watching you can delete the past 3 posts by me.