The Lazy Days of Summer Case Review

Kingwin KT-424-BK-WM, Continued

In a further effort to help reduce the noise within the KT-424, Kingwin has placed rubber grommets in the hard drive mounting holes to try to reduce vibration and to add some shock absorption for the user's hard drives. This concept is a welcomed innovation that will be of interest to many LAN partygoers who transport their cases regularly.

The Kingwin KT-424 includes two USB 2.0 front mounted ports along with a single 1394 port. These ports are hidden behind a clear, small, plastic door located in the lower right hand corner of the case. The construction of this flip-down door is considerably more flimsy than we like to see. In fact, while we didn't break it during our testing, we would not be surprised if it is typically one of the first things to break on the KT-424. As with the KT-11 Series, Kingwin did not provide a cable that can support direct connection to the 1394 interface on the motherboard. Once again, the user must endure a cable that has to be routed through the back of the KT-424 and plugged into the 1394 on the rear of the computer case. As with the KT-11, this is a simple fix that could have been easily remedied by Kingwin but was not. Kingwin also decided not to include the front mounted audio ports which can be a disadvantage if you like the convenience of plugging your headphones and mic into the front of the computer, as I do to use Teamspeak.

Kingwin includes the major, required front mounted ports that most users are looking for, but they forgot the front mounted audio ports. And what is with that cheap and flimsy clear door that coves the ports?

The KT-424 has so many great features it is hard to find much fault with this case. The elegantly designed window that is included and attached to the side panel unfortunately was not covered with any protective sheeting and is subject to potential damage during transit. It seems Kingwin is very close to hitting one out of the park with its KT-424 Series; there are just a few small glitches that leave us scratching our heads. Overall, this is a very good case that provides a good value for the money spent. Checking in at under $119 US, the KT-424 provides almost everything you could ask for. As we stated above, though, we would advise that you check the window for possible scratches or scuffs prior to purchase if possible, as this packing oversight presents the potential for damage to the window. When all is said and done, the KT-424 provides a lot of bang for the buck and is worthy of consideration for your purchase.