Logisys CS888UV: Glowing Acrylic!
by Purav Sanghani on November 5, 2004 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Final Words
Acrylic cases still have quite a ways to go before they can crawl into mainstream uses along with metal cases. The combination of a lack of certain features, and those implemented features that do not offer much value, keeps acrylic cases from entering into the case market in full force. Until manufacturers can make some changes, it will be difficult for acrylics to compete with steel and aluminum chassis.The CS888UV has some nice features such as the room for expansion. With eight 3-1/2" drive bays, it has the potential to be a mod-happy enthusiast's choice for a small file server. The blue glow may turn some enthusiasts off, but that is more of an issue of personal taste.
Our benchmark results showed that the CS888UV is a worthy opponent when it comes to cooling. With the four 80mm fans, it does a great job of circulating air in and out to help cool each component as well as keep the general ambient air temperature at a cool and stable operational level of 26.4 degrees. The temperatures of all the other components were also comparable to those results that we attained in metal cases; for example, after 30 minutes of use, the CPU temperature was 46.2 degrees.
The CS888UV really took a hit in terms of sound production. Though cooling was efficient in this chassis, the sound that these fans produced lowered the overall attractiveness. At a 66dBA level, this case produced more sound than even the loudest metal case that we reviewed, Aspire's X-Navigator at 62dBA.
If Logisys can work on some of those suggestions, we believe that they can create a product which will readily compete with not only other acrylic cases, but even metal cases in the market today. But for now, even with all of the features that it has, the CS888UV has a few too many downsides for it to be a competitor in the case market. We hope that Logisys can make some improvements in their next model.
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Zepper - Monday, November 29, 2004 - link
Clear cases are only for store and show displays - they have little or no EMI/RFI containment/rejection..bh.
The Beave - Sunday, November 7, 2004 - link
#7, I agree. And who reviews a UV reflective case and doesn't shine a UV light on it to see how it looks? I don't care if the manufacturer didn't include one, it's the main reason anyone would buy this case in the fist place, and the reviewer didn't even try to do it. One of the worst hardware reviews I've EVER read.KristopherKubicki - Friday, November 5, 2004 - link
WooDaddy: Dont forget Lian Li either.Kristopher
SMT - Friday, November 5, 2004 - link
That's gotta be the most impractical case design ever. This case is to computers what the Peavey Dan Armstrong is to guitars.stephenbrooks - Friday, November 5, 2004 - link
Well... This case is clearly for novelty value and is probably not designed with competing with the best technically spec'd metal cases in mind. I think it achieves what it's supposed to do pretty well - kind of a cross between a PC and a lavalamp-like glowy room oddity.Slik - Friday, November 5, 2004 - link
meh, I don't like where the fans are placed on this case; but Acrylic cases in general are great looking if you set them up properly.I also wouldn't expect an acrylic case to crack on you, If you manage to crack it then you're already handling your computer case way too rough.
Its a matter of personal preference, like steel and aluminum there are good looking cases and ugly cases; This being one of those ugly cases. :)
LoneWolf15 - Friday, November 5, 2004 - link
The side fan design is simply horrible. It maximizes cable clutter, for one. Mounting two side fans in the middle? It doesn't take an engineer to understand that it would make a lot more sense to put one fan over the CPU area where it gets hottest, and one fan in a top blowhole as hot air rises to the top of the case. Routing cables for these would also be far cleaner. Logisys also had enough space to make front and rear 120mm fan mounts, and blew it. Just as much airflow with less noise, and less power consumption.michael2k - Friday, November 5, 2004 - link
#5But if Macs were half as good as PCs, Apple would have to lower their prices accordingly :P
WooDaddy - Friday, November 5, 2004 - link
#1 Agreed...It looks like the only company to really come out with Apple like designs is SilverstoneTek. We should make a thread tracking the coolest (not by temperature) cases that break the norm for PC cases... including the demon/transformer/car looking cases. I'm a 28 dude and I don't want my case looking like a fisher-price, mattel reject.
bldckstark - Friday, November 5, 2004 - link
Jeez. Leave the mechanical design to the mechanical guys. I am almost positive that the reason they have 10 screws in the panel is to minimize thermal distortion of the acrylic at operating temps. If they had used 4, you would have complained about the gaps and warpage (and EMI leakage) that occurred every time the case heated up. Also, no one wants to use the red washers I agree, but the washers are there to minimize the probability of cracking and to help with vibration and sound issues. These are all valid reasons NOT to buy an acrylic case, but not reasons to rip on them either. I've seen better $35 cases than this one.