I ended up picking this case after reading about it in an AnandTech comparison. It wasn't the coolest of the bunch, temperature-wise, but it won me over with some of the features and the acceptable price point. I am not interested in a nicer looking case that costs another $50. I just need it to do its job from a technical perspective.

I think my blog would be more interesting with more pictures, so I'm including some pictures off the Raidmax product page of the features that I really like. The first is a front panel temperature read-out, attached to an internal thermometer. This will give me a real easy indication of how things are inside, and if things are too hot. The front panel also has nice animations for fan and hard disk activity. But I believe the fan image only keeps track of whatever one fan you choose to attach to its lead, which means you might not notice if one of the many fans you've got inside has crapped out.

Another great feature is screwless locks for the drive bays and card slots. It's about time I picked up a case with this sort of feature. Unfortunately, the screwless capabilities do not extend to the actual enclosure. You still need to use screws to keep the case shut and attach things like the power supply. Screws should just go away completely. Thumbscrews would have been an easy addition for the top and side panels, but Raidmax decided not to go that way.

It turns out that Luna's always wanted a computer case like this one, which is fancier than older models (although more commonplace today) and includes a window on the side. But her mom never let her get one before because she was afraid the side window being made of plastic would break too easily. So far, the fans are keeping the case fairly cool and the spacing and arrangement of the hard disks allows for good air flow over them. I do need to order another 120mm fan for the front panel right before the hard disks though, as the case does not come with one.

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