Review Date: 15th March 2002 Reviewed By: Clinton "SileNceR" Warburton Product: Aopen KF45A Case w/ 250W PSU Rating: 68% Manufacturer: Aopen Purchased from: Scorpion Technology

The conclusion

Time to sum up this case. In terms of value for money, for your $75 you are getting a lot more than what many other case manufacturers such as TASK supply for the money, however I still have yet to find a case that beats the DTK cases for value for money - $65 and you get all the features this case has plus an extra internal 3.5" drive bay, external 5.25" drive bay, removable motherboard tray, full set of thumbscrews and drive rails for the 5.25" bays. (Hughesey reviewed the DTK case back in our early days here)

In terms of how much possibility this case offers for mods, there isn't as much in the way of options as you may see with a Lian Li case, or a larger case like the DTK or a full tower, although for the size it is, this case offers enough things to do that it could keep one entertained for more than just the one weekend, especially since painting is a very extensive process. (for a good guide on case painting, see the articles on Virtual-Hideout)

The bundled PSU supplies enough juice to keep your average LAN machine or under-powerful server running, although those of you intending to load a lot of devices and drives into the machine may wish to think again and purchase a better PSU, such as the Enermax 431W PSU which should come with more than enough Molex style connectors for your needs. The Enermax PSU can be found at Below-0's PSU section for $212

The case as is comes in good packaging and is quite aesthetically pleasing once out of the box (except maybe for the beige :D) although the swirl on the right hand side really needs to be brought out more, maybe it should be painted or dyed a color other than beige?

Overall, this case would be good to mod or good to run in the corner as a server or even as a personal machine for those of you on a budget, however for the money ($75) their are better cases out there, (such as the DTK) you just need to know how to find them. If this case catches your fancy then by all means, head on over to Scorpion Technology to pick one up (delivery australian-wide via courier or other means)

Pros:

Rounded Edges on all internal and external steel
Quality PSU
Labelled Screw Holes
Aesthetically Pleasing
Removable HDD Bay
Suits the target market

Cons:

A little "Bland", Beige
No Thumbscrews
Only two 60mm fan holes on the back where a 120mm mount would have been a better choice
Factory punched fan holes restrictive
Front 80mm fan mount sucks dust more than air
Harder to paint/dye due to the right hand side swirl

The scores:
Value for money: 3/5
Modding Possibility: 4/5
Power Supply: 3/5
Aesthetics/Packaging: 4/5
Features: 3/5

Overall: 68% (17 out of a possible 25)

This has been another review proudly brought to you by Overclockers Melbourne and the author, Clinton "SileNceR" Warburton. Feel free to drop me an email if you have any queries, qualms or suggestions or if you are a supplier wishing to have your product reviewed.