Introduction

Are you looking for an affordable case for that new computer that you're assembling? Today, there are so many options available for the computer enthusiast - everything from traditional metal cases to high end aluminum chassis can be found all over the internet and in computer store fronts nation wide. One popular manufacturer of computer cases is RAIDMAX. The company has been making inroads into the personal computer case market by producing affordable quality system chassis's. Today we'll be taking a look at one such case - the RAIDMAX Scorpio 868 Mid Tower. This inexpensive metal case is decked out with a number of features commonly found on higher end designs. Join us as we review the RAIDMAX Scorpio 868 Mid-Tower Case.

Packaging

The RAIDMAX Scorpio 868 case was sent to us from AJump.com. Many thanks to AJump for providing us this evaluation cases (NOTE: we will also be reviewing another RAIDMAX case shortly on WhiningDog).

The mid tower comes in the following package.

Inside, the chassis is wrapped in a plastic bag and protected by Styrofoam padding. Though the shipping box was roughed up during transport, no apparent damage was done to the chassis. It would be nice to see RAIDMAX provide extra padding for future products since the acrylic window on the case can easily be damaged during transport.

The package contains the following components:

• 1 Scorpio 868 chassis
• 1 420 watt power supply
• 1 power cord
• Case fans
• 1 set of screws and standoffs

Specifications

Here are the specifications of the Scorpio 868 per the RAIDMAX website found at www.raidmax.com

External Drive Bays :
4 x 5.25" and 2 x 3.5"

Internal Drive Bays :
4 x 3.5" H.D.

System Board: :
ATX Form Factor 12" x 10.5" or smaller
Expansion slots :
Standard ATX 7 slots

Cooling Capacity:
Upto 7 x 80mm fans

# Of Fans Incld.:
(2) rear 80mm tempertrue control fans
(1) 80mm tri-color LED fan on side panel

Key Features:
Stylish front panel w/ blue and red LED lights
Windowed side panel
3 fans incld.
Front mounted 2.0 version USB ports
Front audio (Mic-In, H-Phone jack)

Material :
0.7mm SECC steel

Power Supply :
PS2 size/ ATX12V P4 ready Power Supply

Dimension(WxDxH) :
200 x 450 x 430 mm

Gross Weight:
21.38 lbs.

Physical Overview

The Scorpio 868 comes in a variety of colors. We are looking at the silver edition of the case but you can also find blue, yellow, black, and green versions of the case. The basic chassis design of the RAIDMAX Scorpio 868 is similar to many PC tower designs now found in this segment. The top of the front section is what uniquely sets apart this case design from others. You'll find an emblazoned Z inside a backlit circular design. (and no this Z is not for Zorro). This blue light comes on when the system powers up - no simple power-on LED found on this case.

Immediately above and below the Z are sections which light up red indicating drive activity. The blue and red lights are stunning in low light environments - great for gamers looking for premodded PCs that provide excellent eye candy. The designs are etched into the front panel door which covers four external 5.25" drives and two external 3.5" drives.

The door was initially hard to open but loosened up a bit after some usage. The door hinges are cheaply made but should hold up to use over time. If you plan on shipping this case to another location - make sure to tape the doors down during transport.The door also covers the power on and reset buttons. I actually prefer the buttons to be on the outside of the door as opposed to being covered up since then I wouldn't have to flip open the door every time the system needed powering up.

At the base of the front of the case, you will find a small door that covers front jacks for headphone and microphone purposes and two USB ports. There is an optional punchout that could be used for a possible port or FireWire jack but you would need to provide the ports themselves.

The left side of the case has an acrylic window with the two swish like symbols premodded into the side. Note that the design is cut into the side panel as opposed to being attached to the panels themselves. Be careful with the acrylic window - it's fairly easy to scratch the surface.

At the center of the design is an orange lit fan that blows air out of the system. This fan is located on the back side of the panel while on the front side, you'll find a metallic "star" pattern on top of a mesh design.

The right side of the case has a set of predrilled notches that act as ventilation for the system otherwise there is nothing remarkable about it.

The same holds true to the rear of the case. You have your normal inserts for expansion cards and power supplies. The Scorpio 868 chassis actually comes with a 420 watt RAIDMAX power supply unit built in - no need to go out and purchase another one. The 420 watt PSU should be more than enough power for any system.

The interior of the case is extremely roomy - built for ATX sized motherboards.

There is an additional four 3.5 inch drive bays on the lower half of the front of the case. You'll also notice that there are no intake fans inside the case. You may want to install a few fans to bring in air from the front. The rear of the case has two more case fans blowing air out of the chassis.

You need to remove both panels in order to install any drive into the system. The packaging comes with screws and standoffs for motherboard installation. There is no removable motherboard tray for the Scorpio 868. Finally, the Scorpio 868 is well constructed on the interior with no sharp edges at all.

Here are snapshots of the 420 watt power supply included with the Scorpio 868.

Setup

Setting up the RAIDMAX Scorpio 868 consists of taking apart the case and then installing the various PC components. For our setup, we used an Intel microATX motherboard that had an Intel Pentium 4 3.06GHz processor.

The side panels are held into place by two screws each. You'll need to have a screwdriver handy for the screws - no thumbscrews included with this chassis. The panels can be slightly annoying to remove since you need to grip the rear edges with your fingernails. Just pull back and lift out the panels to gain access to the interior of the case.

We installed the microATX motherboard without a hitch using the included screws and standoffs. There is also plenty of room for an ATX motherboard. Do yourself a favor and make sure to install all of your components onto the motherboard before installing the board inside the case. The chassis comes with a number of cables to connect from the front case panel to the motherboard. All the cables are clearly labeled and easy to find and install. Here is a shot of the entire system constructed.

You'll note that we did not pay much attention to the routing of the power supply cables but one should clean up the cable mess to improve overall air flow inside the chassis.

The included power supply had sufficient cables for a few drives and devices though you may want to invest in some molex splitters if you find yourself installing a greater number of devices. The only real pain in cabling comes with connecting the power of the side panel fan. However this is balanced out by the fact that the lit fan adds a certain cool factor to the overall look of this premodded case.

One final note - be careful with the included case fans. You'll notice that there are no fan grills on the inside edges thus you'll want to keep your fingers clear when powering up your system. You're better served by obtaining a set of fan grills to protect your extremities.

Usage

The RAIDMAX Scorpio 868 is a beautiful metal case that is actually physically light and compact. It's hard pressed to find a more affordable good looking case that comes with a 420 watt power supply. The chassis is well constructed and setting up a new system with it was simply a breeze.

The overall system noise is fairly low considering the five fans inside the system (three case fans and two power supply fans). Here are some temperatures that were measured using the Intel microATX motherboard coupled with a 3.06GHz Pentium 4 processor using a 533MHz FSB. It's important to note that the stock Intel heatsink was used for these temperatures so you can also improve processor temperatures by using other types of heatsinks and better heatsink fans.

• Processor temperature at Idle: 44
• System temperature at Idle: 40C
• Processor temperature during usage: 52C
• System temperature during usage: 43C

As you can see with these temperatures, the system is well within operating limits using the included case fans. However if you're not comfortable running your processor at around 50C, then you should install extra case fans to bring in air and to improve internal air circulation.

The rest of the chassis is very easy to work with. When installing visible drives, you will need to remove the metal face plates but that is a simple matter of bending the plates until the hinges break. The same technique applies to the rear expansion slot faceplates and to the I/O shield faceplate. The chassis does not come with any drive rails so you'll always need to remove both panels in order to screw in a drive. This is a minor issue to an otherwise great case.

Here are snapshots of the final system made using this case:

Summary

The Scorpio 868 is our first RAIDMAX product reviewed at WhiningDog and we were very impressed with what we saw. The case is beautifully designed (great for those of you looking for a premodded case), affordably priced, and wonderfully crafted. Though it isn't an aluminum case, the Scorpio 868 is still lightweight while offering a very sturdy enclosure to any personal computer. Though RAIDMAX targets the case to the gaming enthusiast, this chassis is actually perfect for nearly anyone. There are a couple of minor issues with the Scorpio 868 but it is an otherwise solid chassis design and implementation. We highly recommend that you take a look at this product when shopping for your next PC case.

We'd like to thank AJump.com for providing us this sample to review. If you have any comments or questions, please post them in our forums.

Pros:

• Inexpensive
• Premodded with cool case lights
• Quiet system
• Included 420 Watt Power Supply
• Room for lots of drives
• No sharp edges - easy to set up
• Lightweight

Cons:

• Packaging could use some more padding
• Front door hinge is simple in design
• Lower USB door hinge somewhat cheap in construction
• No drive rails, thumbscrews, front intake fans, or fan grills

[Home]