The Antidote To Tedium: 11 Midi Tower Cases Bring Excitement to the Desktop

Kingwin Mutant X: Gamer Case With 420W PSU

Cases don't necessarily have to cost you $100 - a fact Kingwin proves with the Mutant X midi tower. For $60, you even get a preinstalled power supply that pumps out 420 watts of power. Although the cables for the supply's sparse peripheral plugs are a bit short, they are just about sufficient for the Mutant X case.

The front of the Kingwin case is really nifty: two glowing blue LEDs lend the Mutant X a special personal touch. Unfortunately, Kingwin did a rather shoddy job on the front pop-out cover for the USB and audio ports. Grasp it a little too firmly just once and there it is in your hand, ruining the very agreeable overall look. No amount of tape or superglue could repair our test model.

The bays for the 5.25" drives are located behind the big front panel, which is plastic. Be careful when opening the panel on the Mutant X, as the holding bracket is very wobbly and we got the impression it wouldn't last too long. It would be too bad if the front panel bit the dust right away.

Flipped-out front

The front cover opens to the right

Connection cable feed through the hinge? Can this be a good idea in the long run?