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Product:
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Nikao Dragonfire Mid-Tower Gaming Case |
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Price:
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$76 (CAN) / $65 (U.S)
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Supplied By:
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Nikao/Tradex
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Author:
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Skaal-Tel
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Date:
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November 23rd, 2005
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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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The drive cages are tool-less with a twist-lock bracket on the window side and a pair of prongs on the opposite side
which lock into the screw holes of any drives. My CD drive locked in solidly, and pretty well aligned with the front
of the case. The hard drive was a little loose on the prong side, and the LCD (which I'll get to eventually) was pretty
darn loose. There is space for four 5.25" drives, four 3.5" hard drives, and two 3.5" floppy drives.
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Click image for larger view
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Click image for larger view
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Fully assembled and powered up, the Nikao Dragonfire Mid-Tower Gaming Case ought to elicit all kinds of envious looks
at any LAN party and make you a real ladies man.
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Click image for larger view
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Click image for larger view
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Provided with the Dragonfire was the optional Nikao LCD Controller
which is capable of controlling 3 fans, and monitoring 3 temperature probes with alarms. The LCD is an attractive
add-on accessory but suffers from more flash than substance. The unit arrived in the usual retail box with a fair
amount of protective foam. Once out of the packaging, I really liked the tribal style graphics on the face plate.
The black and silver works well with the Dragonfire theme. Provided, as a nice touch are silver/black and blue/silver
replacement faceplates. Actually changing the faceplates however would probably break the plastic cover on the controller.
The tabs are small and one of them was already cracked on unit that I received.
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Click image for larger view
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Click image for larger view
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Beyond the good looks, the Nikao LCD Controller is cased within a black plastic box with a removable top and
two circuit boards, one for the display and one for all the inputs/outputs. The inputs, with their itty bitty
connectors are devilishly difficult to plug in, especially with the controller attached to the case. The
larger case fan outputs on the left side however are easy to plug in. When I attempted to plug into one of
the fan inputs, I managed to shift the whole circuit board backward making the rest even harder to
connect. If I were to fix it, I'd have to unplug everything and remove the controller which is a bit of a pain.
For some reason the controller requires a provided watch-style battery to keep the display active.
The entire connection process is extremely aggravating, despite the good selection of cables, and is only
compounded in difficulty by the abismal and poorly translated manual. No pictures, confusing terminology and most
of the procedure skipped does not a good guide make. Just to tease me, there are notes that indicate figures
should be present although during my installation process they were not available.
Finally, even when plugged in properly, as far as I can tell, I have no ability to adjust the CPU fan speed and
the one fan that I can adjust barely changes in speed across the knob's range right up until power is cut off
entirely. The only thing this controller does properly is temperature monitoring. All 3 temperature probes
provided accurate and quickly updated temperature information.
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Conclusion:
The Nikao Dragonfire is a work of art for a pre-modified case offering and assembling a system
is as painless. Overall construction is durable and the tooless system
works well. The ventilation configuration with three 120mm fans is top-notch for optimal cooling.
The price is most certainly right at around $75 with no power supply should make this unit very
affordable to those individuals with tight pockets. The optional LCD controller is a piece of
junk, unfortunately, but at least it looks pretty good. The mesh is a great idea to cut weight
and it provides great ventilation. The door works well with a solid feel and the paint and finish
of the case in general is very high quality. In short I would not hesitate to reccomend this case
(sans LCD) to anyone looking for an eye-catching new system. Aside from a few minor issues, I'm
rating the Nikao Dragonfire Mid-Tower Gaming Case a final rating of
8 out of 10. If you have any questions
regarding this review be sure to visit the Nikao/Tradex
website for more information or discuss them in our forums.
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Pros:
- Price
- Good Ventilation
- Ease of installation
- Gloss paint, silver accents and mesh (good looks)
- Good feel and design of case door
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Cons:
- Stamped grills hamper air circulation
- Optional fan controller is terrible
- No PSU or removable motherboard tray
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