Joined on 06/17/05
Re: Norse: huge dissapointment
Pros: it's a hs/fan
Cons: it doesn't have voice control
Overall Review: The previous reviewer assumed that the fan installation was "Twist to lock". That's not the case. It's a Push lock, twist to UN-lock.
Solid and sturdy
Pros: Looks and feels very solid. Good cabling options. Great monitoring built in. Very quiet, auto fan.
Cons: For all the solid build and packaging, and apparent quality this PSU seeps.. the lower right case mounting screw is partially blocked by a circuit board.
Overall Review: It's worked flawlessly from the first powerup. Very smooth and hardly ever hear a whisper from it. The screw hole has me baffled though, how does this kind of oversight make it through production?? The one hole only allows depth clearance for half of the included screw. I checked for a short screw, no dice. Not a deal breaker on an otherwise awesome PSU, but annoyed that my shiny new build is marred by this one little missing screw that only I will ever know about. I may dremel a screw down. Excellent pack-ins... however I can't for the life of me figure out why there's a PSU carrying bag... it'll only ever sit in the cable carrying bag.... I have mine installed upside down at the moment, per my cases air-cooling recommendation. It doesn't seem to mind.
Better than it's price
Pros: Clean, smooth edges, solid build, thoughtful design, clean hardware, value
Cons: side fan placement is sub-optimal for the mini-itx board I used (Asus Impact).
Overall Review: This case blew me away at it's price point. I was expecting an acceptable quality case, and was thoroughly impressed by the thoughtful design. mini-ITX is a game of millimeters, and the flexibility of this case is just amazing for it's size and price. I fit an Asus Impact, SSD, evga 770, corsair 760axi, and optical drive. The clearances are spot on for everything.. right down to the notch for the video card to clear the 5.25 drive bay. At no time did the case feel flimsy or cramped (minus the final step of installing the full ATX PSU, got tight then). I started off amazing with cable management, but finished poorly, those with patience and talent in this area could work wonders. everything is easy to access, and the case didn't flinch at the odd angles I turned it grasping different places during installation. Very solid through and through. On my choice of mb, there's a power riser on the same side as the side fan, which partially obscures it. Not a big deal, it still moves some air, but some flexibility in positioning the included fan bracket might have helped. Every other mount and hole in this case had a myriad of options. Lots of flow. The box even includes a riser adapter, a slip on device that gives you better torque/grip installing the MB risers. Classy. I intend to break it down in the near future for a platter drive and aftermarket cooler. Watch your tolerances for cpu coolers.
low profile and clean
Pros: low profile, work fine, good timings
Cons: no case badge? not even a sticker....
Overall Review: I wanted gaudy case badges to plaster all over my latest build... they don't include any with this.