MGE Viper: Another Xtreme Gamer Creation
by Purav Sanghani on December 18, 2004 5:14 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Final Words
Who is the Viper marketed towards? In our opinion, MGE is targeting those consumers who want a wild look to their computer case, but do not want to spend hundreds of dollars in modifications. The Viper has a simple design, yet has the potential to outperform some of the more expensive cases on the market.Our thermal benchmarks showed that the Viper can compete with any high end case when the cooling system is utilized to the fullest. It comes with two 80mm fans, but adding more fans as well as upgrading the front intake to a 120mm fan can greatly increase performance, bringing ambient temperatures down as much as 5 degrees and certain core component temperatures down a few degrees themselves.
While adding fans may be good for keeping temperatures stable, noise levels will definitely increase if high quality fans are not used. The Viper produced about 46dB on average with just two 80mm fans. Adding a few more would most likely increase noise levels past the 50dB mark and possibly closer to 60dB if the right fans are not chosen.
As far as the looks go, everyone will have a difference in opinion. Either we will like the look or not. What really matters is what we really need and how much we are willing to spend on it. There is no doubt that there are other products out there that have features such as tool-less drive bays and expansion slots as well as removable motherboard trays and even a sleeker looking bezel. Adding a power supply may not be enough to bring a modified case to users' homes. Most of us just want a case that has been carefully planned in the design phase. We want a case that will tend to our needs as daily users and not have unnecessary modifications to distract us from our daily work.
With MGE's 450W Vigor power supply, the Viper has a price of about $90 at this time. For about $30-$40 less, we can get our hands on the Sidewinder, which has the same features with more fans, and as users in the field of IT, we could not choose this case over a simpler looking model.
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CrystalBay - Saturday, December 18, 2004 - link
I hate these snapin standoffs on My CM-ATCS201, give me brass stand offs anytime. Yeah the paintjobs not to bad also, The thermal and noise qualities are a welcome bonus as is the stock/w-out PSU price.Locut0s - Saturday, December 18, 2004 - link
rslayerr: When I think of a stylish case I think of something like this:http://scasp.webnow.biz/upload/a0000010/en_US/prd_...
http://www.anandtech.com/casecooling/showimage.htm...
etc...
I don't know why you asume that when I say that the case in this review is ugly that I think that a neon glowing case is cool, I definitely don't.
skunkbuster - Saturday, December 18, 2004 - link
that thing is damn FUGLY !rslayerr - Saturday, December 18, 2004 - link
hahahaha..you guys make me laugh....some of you are finding childish that style of case and that its only good for 12 years old...you wanna know something,what the hell do you think putting neon-glow,and all those shit does look like.??yup,thats it..12 years old...hahahaha
sry...but i prefer a nice looking case like that,stylish and different,than having a big all acrylic one with 100 neons-glow that flash with the music...yup..im still young at heart even if im 30...but i personnaly found that neon and all..not for me....geez,,its a computer,,not a disco...anyways..
MY 2 CENTS!
KristopherKubicki - Saturday, December 18, 2004 - link
dripgoss: I am definitely looking forward to the Dragon also. I caught a look at it at Computex from CaseTek and the LCD front panel looks outstanding (it has a pretty high resolution too, something like 200x200).Kristopher
dripgoss - Saturday, December 18, 2004 - link
Damn, u guys are harsh. My wife chose this case (30 years old, not 12) out of all the cases on the net for her system build. I thought the same thing too when she came home with it - "oh boy, wtf is this..." But she bought it on sale at San Jose MicroCenter for $50 and, unlike the reviews, hers came with a very solid 500W MGE PSU. The rails were very solid and are powering her 6800U, A64 3000+ @ 2500 (Tt SilentBoost HSF), VNF3-250, 1GB DDR500, 2xSATA 200GB system. I added a Vantec stealth 120mm as intake to the front, a CM 80mm on the side, and turned all the other 80mm fans as out-take and the case dropped 10°C over her old Antec Solution case. CPU is 29°C idle / 40°C load (OC'ed) and ambient temp using the included probe is always 25°C!! Replaced most accessible screws with thumscrews and it seems to be a decent buy if you can find it as low as she did...Basically, this case may not be for some, but it keeps the comp way cool, is really silent and the handles are a nice touch even if just to move around a few feet.
The acrylic applique window was a bit shoddy though and I hope they fix that in later models. Also, our box made reference to an "Overclockers kit" which didn't seem to be included in the box. And the case sides need to be finessed in order to get them to slide back on. Personally, I can't wait to check out the MGE/XGBox Dragon aluminum case when it's released. Other than these short-comings, the case ain't half bad under a desk and tucked away from your artsy fartsy, retro art-decco furnishings...
NesuD - Saturday, December 18, 2004 - link
Looks like potluck on what Power supply it really comes with to. Checked both the Newegg links and the ZZF link and none of them included the same power supply as was in the review. By the way I agree that the looks are just to far out there for me. I like most of the external features, the handles, temp display, front panel connectors on top. To bad the whole package reminds to much of a transformer toy when I look at it.klah - Saturday, December 18, 2004 - link
Oh, I forgot..."How about looking for quality cases which are more pleasingly designed? Instead of monsters I would like to see something that would fit nicely in a modern home"
I concur.
klah - Saturday, December 18, 2004 - link
"Wow, I'm at a loss for words. Who buy such a thing?"12-year olds.
diehlr - Saturday, December 18, 2004 - link
Why do reviewers keep picking these fugly cases to review? God damn that thing is hideous.