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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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Click image for larger view
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Click image for larger view
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Opening the left side panel, we get a good look at the ample case interior. The yellow clam shell is
actually an inch or so taller than a standard motherboard, so you get a good idea of the amount of
interior room between the bays and the motherboard. The Noblesse case is ATX, Extended ATX, Pentium IV
or AMD certified, and will support larger dual CPU motherboards quite easily. The motherboard tray is
not removable, but with such ample space, is certainly easy to work in. At the rear of the chassis, two
80mm fans have been mounted. Each fan has a 4-pin male and female Molex attached. The fans are labeled
as Mate Super Cooler. I was unable to find any information on the fans on the web, and interestingly,
GMC’s website listed the fans as ADDA, a brand name most Lian Li owners know well.
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Click image for larger view
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Click image for larger view
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The amount of interior room for devices is impressive. The unit can mount up to 11 devices, making it
easily configurable for complex RAID solutions. The external bays have all had their edges folded over
to prevent cutting hazards. One thing that was a little odd was the lack of any side mounting panels for
the stealth bay at the base of the unit. Unlike the original Noblesse, the Noblesse SE assumes the
device can be front mounted by providing only screw holes on the front of the chassis. Again, the GMC
site differs, showing the same bay mounting mechanism as that found on the original Noblesse. Without
the mounting, it makes the stealth bay almost useless to anyone unwilling to do some form of
modification to secure a device in it.
A removable hard drive cage is another handy feature in the case, being secured to the 3.5 inch external
bays with a single thumbscrew. The unit can house up to four 3.5 inch devices, which sit directly in
front of the two 80mm intake fan grills for optimal cooling.
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Click image for larger view
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Noblesse SE internal connectors
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Removing the drive cage reveals the two front intake grills. These are the same stamp as the rear grills.
However, with the design of the front bezel, including all the additional wiring, front intake is not
going to be as beneficial as other case designs with direct fan access beyond the front bezel.
The front panel wiring includes some custom wiring for the HDD selector and Sound Selector, along with
a reset switch, a LED indicator and USB connectors. Users will need to refer to their motherboard
manufacturer’s documentation, along with GMC’s online manual, for correct hook up.
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