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Product:
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GMC Noblesse SE Mid-Tower Case |
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Price:
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Basic version $122 (CAN) / $90 (U.S)
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Price:
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Gold version $190 (CAN) / $140 (U.S)
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Supplied By:
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GMC Corporation
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Author:
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BigDaddy
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Date:
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July 8th, 2003
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Rating:
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MODTHEBOX would like to thank Elaine from GMC Corporation
for sending the Noblesse SE Mid-Tower Case for review.
Introduction:
Product revision is a common element that used by many manufacturers in the consumer market. A first
revision product may undergo changes to fix reported issues or improve upon a model design with a brand
new list of features. In some cases a revised product may provide equal or greater success over an
original and find a brand new target enthusiast market. The original Noblesse was an impressive
mid-tower case which garnered a lot of attention at MTB in our Year in Retrospect 2002 Report. The
latest revision has recently been released by the GMC Corporation and is currently in distribution.
Today in the MTB Labs, we will be evaluating the Noblesse SE, a product that offers great aesthetic
design and unique functionality.
Specifications:
The Noblesse SE is a mid-tower design that builds on the original Noblesse Case by incorporating a few
enhanced features including a hard drive selector system, a sound selector system, as well as chassis
improvements like a removable drive cage. The system ships with several parts which are conducive to
silent computing by including rubber grommets for hard drive mountings and silicon pads for vibration
absorption. Here are some of the case specifications taken directly from the GMC Corporation website:
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Noblesse SE Mid-Tower Case - Key Specifications:
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| Noblesse SE Mid-Tower Case: Manufactured by GMC Corporation |
| Dimensions: 200mm (W) x 510mm (D) x 440mm (H) |
| Weight: N.W.:10.5kg, G.W.: 11.9kg |
| Drive Bays: 11 device bays (4 x 5.25", 2 x 3.5", 5 x 3.5" internal) |
| Expansion Slots: 7 |
| Fan Accomodation: 2 x 80mm fans optional (2 x Front and 2 x Rear) |
| Form Factors: ATX, Pentium IV or AMD |
| Power Supply: Not included |
| Security: Padlock Option |
| Universal ATX I/O Shield included |
| Special features: Add-on accessories HD Selector, Sound Selector and Card Reader |
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Click image for larger view
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Click image for larger view
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The Noblesse SE arrived in a standard double-walled corrugated cardboard box with a simple logo front
and center. The unit was inspected by Customs, so it is unclear if the loose polystyrene was the
original packaging material, or a substitute. Regardless the case arrived in a sealed bag within the
box in mint shape. Given the extreme popularity of the original Noblesse, my expectations for this
product were very high.
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Click image for larger view
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Click image for larger view
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Out of the box, my initial impressions of the case were very positive. Unlike the original Noblesse,
which is charcoal coloured, the Noblesse SE has a nice glossy black finish to it. The front bezel sports
the same mirror finished electric blue door and includes some new front panel features. One thing that
I noticed about the case was its weight. Removing it from the box, you could tell this was a heavy steel
construction case. The unit weighs in at 10.5 kilograms (just over 23 pounds), meaning I’d be expecting
to see some solid construction. The unit’s dimensions are 200mm x 510mm x 440 mm. While this makes it
ideal for user’s looking for a larger case, its size and weight mean it’s not something you’ll be
lugging around to LAN parties.
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Click image for larger view
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Click image for larger view
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As previously mentioned, the Noblesse SE sports two new features on the front bezel. Instead of a simple
power and reset button combo, there is a hard drive selector system, similar to the TRIOS Hard Drive
Selector MTB reviewed here. The system allows you to
independently boot from separate hard drives, which can be handy for testing or multi OS systems. The
Hard Drive Selector will be covered later on in the review.
The second feature includes some additional ports mounted to the left side of the front bezel. Two USB
2.0 ports are mounted, along with a headphone jack and microphone jack. A Sound Selector button allows
the user to bypass the PC speaker setup, and have sound only delivered to the headphones, and vice versa.
The Sound Selector will be covered in more detail later on in the review.
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