BayReviews

Last year, I decided to upgrade my computer from a Compaq 800 MHz computer to something faster and more powerful.

After thinking about it for a while, I finally decided that I wanted to build my own custom computer from scratch. Well since I had a limited budget, I wanted to get the best quality for my money. So I upgraded, but did not get this Kingwin Mutant X ATX Mid-Tower Case case. After about six months, my best friend said that he is selling his case and wanted to see if I wanted it or not. I looked at it and bought it from him for something around $45.00; can never go wrong with a good deal.


DESIGN :
Exterior
My particular model is silver and gray with its face shaped like a mutant, thus the name. I really liked the look because it has blue led lights in the front and the left side door which makes this case really attractive. There is a door on the lower end of the face of the case which has the mic/headphone/firewire/2 X usb connectors. This was another plus for me because I usually want to plug in additional peripherals. The left side door has clear acrylic glass window, so I can see what the inside of my computer looks like when it is running. The fan on this door also lights up blue when powered up. Oh by the way, this is a mid sized case and is only meant for a mid sized system.

The rear end of this baby can be customized to fit any motherboard that comes with its face plate; all new motherboards usually do come with one. The covers/doors had regular screws to hold them in place, but I wanted something easier to open so I bought some additional screws that can upwind with just my two fingers. I do not need a screw driver anymore.

Interior
Another factor that interested me to purchase this case was the amount of space inside for CD/DVD drives and hard drives. It even has a built-in fan to keep the hard drives cool at all times. This case allows me to put in four CD/DVD drives if I want to. I have three hard drives installed, but it has room for six; all my hard drives run cool all the time.

The 420 watts power supply that came with this baby was good enough but since my friend wanted to keep that I decided to upgrade to a 500 watts one. This was great for my new power hogging 256MB graphics/video card and all my hard drives. Well, the stock power supply motherboard form factors are ATX and Micro ATX and since I never saw the stock power supply I cannot say anything about the kind of connectors it had; I can only assume that it would be like most other one’s.

There is room for seven expansion slots in the back for your graphic/video/sound/modem/network/etc cards. This baby can also fit two rear fans to keep the circuits cool and operating at normal efficiency. If I am not mistaken this case can accommodate any ~9.6 inches by ~12.0 inches motherboard. I did not measure the inner dimensions but it definitely fits my Asus A8V Deluxe motherboard without any hesitation. (here is more information on the motherboard)