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Product:
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Mountain Mods Twice7 Aluminum Cube Computer Case |
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Price:
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$422 (CAN) / $340 (U.S)
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Supplied By:
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Mountain Mods
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Author:
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Hi-TEK
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Date:
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December 13th, 2004
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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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Inside the case is an adequate amount of room to install a complete computer system. Chassis construction
is extremely strong and should be very accommodating when mounting system components inside this case.
There are two areas which make up the interior of the case, where the left side is designated as the
motherboard location and the right side for the internal and external drive installation. Like the
external 5.25" drive bay cage and motherboard tray, the internal 3.5" drive bay is also removable and
is secured using four thumbscrews. There are a total of five 3.5" drive bays available which makes
this case suitable for multiple HD or RAID array configurations.
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Click image for larger view
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Click image for larger view
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A wider profile shot of the Mountain Mods Twice7 Aluminum Cube Computer Case provides a better picture of the structural
design which makes up the internal chassis for this case. All the aluminum joints are perfectly soldered
and laser cut to perfection. Two 80mm fan mounts are located on the left side along with the motherboard
tray and are primarily used for exhaust. Two additional 120mm fans are located in the front for intake
and one additional 120mm on the right hand side for exhaust. Overall, the strategic positioning of the
fans guarantees good air circulation inside the case and should keep system temperatures to a minimum.
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Click image for larger view
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Click image for larger view
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Testing:
In order to test the cooling properties of the Mountain Mods Twice7 Aluminum Cube Computer Case,
I assembled the following parts:
- DFI LAN Party Pro875B Motherboard
- Pentium 4 2.8C CPU with a Thermalright SLK947U HSF
- Albatron Gigi FX5900XTV 128MB Video Card
- 2 x 512 MB Corsair XMS3200LL Pro Series Twinx Memory
- 2 x Maxtor Diamond Max Plus 9 60 GB Hard Drives (Raid 0)
- 1 x Maxtor Diamond Max Plus 9 80 GB Hard Drives
- LiteOn 52x32x52 CD-RW
- SB Audigy 2 ZS Sound Card
- Ultra X-Connect 500W ATX Power Supply
- Sunbeam Rheobus#2 Fan Controller
- Matrix Orbital NK204-V 20x4 Serial LCD
I will be using a standard air cooling configuration and running the Twice 7 in a non-overclocked
environment. The "Burn-In Wizard" from SiSoft Sandra Pro 2004 is used to put the CPU under concentrated
load for a pre-determined amount of time. The options selected in "Burn-In Wizard" run the CPU and CPU
Multimedia benchmarks for approximately 15 minutes. The system is left alone for approximate 15 minutes
before secondary burn-in tests were performed. Maximum temperatures are measured in degree Celsius and
recorded for idle and full load confirmed by an independent thermal probe and Motherboard Monitor
5.3.7.0.
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Click image for larger view
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Click image for larger view
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Overall test results for idle and load temperatures measured approximately 30°C and 34°C respectively,
with the ambient room temperature at 28°C. The results are a good indication that the Twice7 has no
performance or cooling issues thanks to the abundance of strategically placed cooling fans. This
particular case has been working well in my office for the past two weeks and has replaced my aging
Singed Gaming Rig 2 as my primary gaming machine. I replaced the Vantec NXP-201 Fan Controller with a
Sunbeam Rheobus#2 Fan Controller which I modded into the front of the chassis and added a few high
quality ADPMods Shockwave Grills.
I have included a night shot to demonstrate the illumination of the Galaxy Quad LED fans which light
up the case interior when the lights are turned off.
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Conclusion:
The Mountain Mods Twice7 Aluminum Cube Computer Case is a great product for the gaming market and offers
unique qualities adopted from its older sibling the U2-UFO. The new powder coat finish on the Twice7 is
excellent and enhances the overall package which still continues to deliver on superb build quality and
construction. The front and rear portions of the case have been well designed to accommodate any type of
computer configuration with the emphasis of tool-free design. Stock cooling options are good with the
right amount of fans mixed together in strategic positions for proper air circulation. Add in great
functionality in terms of removable drive cages, removable motherboard tray, high quality Anti-vandal
switches and custom laser etching services and have one of the best custom fabricated consumer based cases
currently on the market. While Mountain Mods has been promoting this case as its future LAN style gaming
case, I am still disappointed to see that they are still using the "U" shaped top panel design to
provide access to the case interior. I still find removing 14 thumbscrews tedious if you have any sort
of work that needs to be done to the case interior. As I suggested in my two previous reviews of the
U2-UFO series, a better solution would be to incorporate two separate removable side panels on the left
and right hand sides. I did run into a few spacing issues trying to accommodate an Ultra X-Connect 500W
ATX Power Supply into the Twice7. Since the PSU uses a series of plug n' play style modular cables which are
installed from the front, there was very little room to play with once the internal HD's were installed.
Finally, it would be nice to see front mounted ports for USB and Firewire added as well as swivel casters from
the original U2-UFO series included with this package to simplify transporting the Twice7 to any type
of LAN event. Overall, I was very impressed with the Mountain Mods Twice7 Aluminum Cube Computer Case
and award a final rating of 8.5 out of 10.
If you have any questions regarding this review be sure to visit the Mountain Mods
website for more information or discuss them in our forums.
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Pros:
- Solid aluminum construction
- New powder coat finishes
- Aesthetically pleasing triple window design
- Tool-less case options
- Removeable drive cages and motherboard tray
- Good stock cooling options
- Custom laser etched windows
- Plenty of internal and exterior storage space
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Cons:
- Price
- 14 thumbscrews have to be removed to access the interior
- No drive bay plates included
- Spacing issues with large sized modular PSU's
- No swivel casters to ease transportability
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