Casetek LAN PARTY Dreamer: CK1021, Continued
Casetek offers a variety of light-up EL front designs that can be added to the front bezel by the removal of four Torx screws. The bezel is primarily plastic in design, but it is textured and painted in such a way to give it a metal-type look. As with other cases that offer a top-mounted port design, it is up to the buyer to determine whether they can adjust to the placement of the ports on the top of the case instead of on the front or side of the case. Surprisingly, Casetek is known in the industry for its innovative back-pack style harness for LAN party goers, and they did not include this harness with our test case. While we saw this innovative harness in action at Computex, we do not know whether this is an included feature. This may be a configurational decision that is made by the purchaser of the case at the time of configuration, rather than a feature that is automatically included with every CK-1021 purchase.
Overall, Casetek presents a nice case in an affordable package that will definitely ignite some consumer interest. While we are told that a windowed version of the CK-1021 is available, we question the usefulness of this window without removing the side panel fan assembly, which will block much of the look and attractiveness of the inside of the CK-1021. Regardless of this, we still find the CK-1021 to be a fairly well constructed case. We do have an issue with the amount of bend and twist it exhibited, due to Casetek's opting for 1mm aluminum, as this affects greatly the structural integrity, particularly with the side panel removed.
Another point to "nit pick" about is that the all silver design of the case may necessitate many users to seek silver bezeled optical and floppy style devices to match the silver case color. These devices are often difficult to find, and that may give the CK-1021 a mismatched look behind the front door. That said the CK-1021 could be a good case choice if you shop around and are able to find it at an attractive price.
