BeanTech, ClearPC, SunBeam, and Logisys: Another Look at the Acrylic Arena

ClearPC Secret Agent Construction (cont'd)

Moving to the rear half of the case, we notice the 3/4" long acrylic standoffs on which to mount the motherboard. They seem strong enough to withstand the usual wear and tear of daily uses for a mobile style case. The back panel of the chassis, usually where the motherboard's external connectors reside, is all made of acrylic. On the sample that we tested, the piece of acrylic, which the add-on boards are mounted on, had broken off on one end where it met the case. This flimsy construction could lead to damaged internal hardware. The steel reinforcement that Logisys used on the CS888CL provided for enough support to mount add-on cards without any stress to the acrylic case.

As far as air flow goes, there are also 2 holes on the backside of the case to mount the included 40mm fans with their provided grills. ClearPC claims that these combined 40mm fans will provide the same air flow as a single 80mm fan, but could also produce higher noise levels. On the top side of the Secret Agent, there is a 120mm fan above where the add-on cards would be mounted. This could possibly help relieve heat from the hot running video cards of today and tomorrow.

Click to enlarge.

Above the CPU area are machined-out slots, which can cool the CPU better than any other design on the market, if used in conjunction with a good heatsink fan. Since the slots are directly over the CPU, warm air is sent directly out of the case instead of circulating around the chassis.

At the middle of the Secret Agent's briefcase style door are the auxiliary connectors for audio, USB, and firewire. The audio and firewire connectors are the loop-back type, which would go out the back and plug in to the external connectors of a sound card. The USB connectors are the internal flavor, which plug directly into the motherboard.

Click to enlarge.

The power and reset buttons as well as the power and HDD LEDs plug into the front of the case from the inside. The power and reset buttons make use of a hex nut to secure them while the LEDs just tightly plug into the drilled holes. ClearPC has provided aluminum caps that go over the factory red caps - one for power, and a smaller cap for reset. The internal connectors are, however, mislabeled, which we hope ClearPC has fixed.

Finally, ClearPC has completed the briefcase look of their Secret Agent with a handle mounted on its side. At first try, the handle seems to be a nice added touch, but when filled with hardware, the edges seem to bite into flesh painfully. ClearPC may want to round off these edges to make it more comfortable to grasp.

Click to enlarge.