MODTHEBOX.COM - Canada's Premier Case Modding Source - Reviews

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Consumers interested in removing the front bezel of the I-Star S-9000 Server Tower Case will be pleased to know that there are only 8 screws with 4 on the left and 4 on the right. Once the screws have been removed the bezel pops off allowing access to the front 120mm fan intake. All the cabling from the PCB circuit extends to the bottom of the case via a series of power cables. Two pin header connectors exist for all 8 devices, Power Switch, Reset Switch and Power LED. The headers connect to the appropriate pins on a motherboard and users who need assistance should consult their motherboard manual for more information.

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I had mentioned earlier in the review that I ran into a little compatibility problem with the rear PSU mounting plate. The one accompanying this case was designed for a redundant server power supply and not a regular ATX power supply. I sent off an e-mail off to I-Star describing my dilemma and to my surprise received little assistance or even a response. I decided to take up the challenge by fabricating my own rear plate using the existing one as a template. I purchased a piece of 22 gauge sheet metal from a local Home Depot and marked out the required areas I needed to add a rear 120mm fan mount, PSU mount and attach the template to the back of the chassis. After confirming all my measurements the new template was sanded down with an orbital sander, primed with automotive primer and painted jet back to match the rest of the case. The end result is what you see in the first picture.

Installing components into the I-Star S-9000 Server Tower Case Review is a straightforward process that can be completed in less than 2 hours. To test out this case, I assembled a series of spare components which included the following:

Asus P4P800SE Motherboard

Intel Pentium 4 2.6E Processor w/Arctic Cooling Freezer 4 Heatsink

Asus N6600/TD/256 GeForce 6600 Video Card

2GB Corsair Xpert TWINXP1024-3200XL DDR Memory Kit

1 x Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 8 EIDE 80GB HD

2 x Maxtor DiamondMax Plus11 EIDE 500GB HD

5 x HP 36GB Ultra3 SCSI Hard Drives (RAID 5)

HP 1M SCSI Raid Controller

LG 52x32x52 CD-RW w/ SuperLink

D-Link DFE-530TX NIC Card

Mitsumi 7-in-1 Internal Floppy Drive w/ Card Reader

Matrix Orbital MX412 USB LCD

Ultra X-Connect 500w Power Supply

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While I was in the modding mood I also decided to have some fun with the 8 device LED's on the front of the S-9000. I knew I would be installing all my hard drives into removable storage racks and wouldn't be correcting any of them to the 2-pin LED headers. I recycled an old Computuning PC-Rider Kit from my Singed Gaming Rig Part 2 project and adapted the circuit to be used in this case. What the PC-Rider Kit does is duplicates the popular "Knight-Rider" effect using a series of 8 LED's, 12 Resistors, an Interface Controller, a Counter and a Divider. There are 10 new pre-programmed display sequences as well as additional LED support for detecting HD and LAN NIC activity. I have included a 30 second video of the PC-Rider Kit in action to give you a visual idea of how this product works.

PC-Rider Kit Demonstration Video - Windows Media Player (9.3 MB)

My overall impressions of the installation process was slightly mixed. While the existing design offers plenty of space to install components with ease, I came up against several sharp edges around the case chassis that cause room for concern.

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Once the I-Star S-9000 Server Tower Case is powered, both the Power and HD LEDs will illuminate as well as the case interior. Since this case is a major upgrade over my old server set-up, I'm still in the process of moving it towards a much quieter operating environment. I still need to add some dampening material to the side panels as well as add in SilenX fan replacements for the front and rear fans.

Conclusion:
Creating the ideal production server for multiple workstations doesn't have to be expensive and the I-Star S-9000 Server Tower Case excels at both construction and price. The jet black exterior is beautiful and the simplistic front bezel adds great aesthetics and security features with the chrome lock and key. Consumers will appreciate all the value added stock options that come with this case which include multiple HD LED's, security lock, solid steel construction, swiveling casters and great expansion capabilities. The overall size of the I-Star S-9000 Server Tower Case makes it perfect for water cooling applications or complex computer setups which incorporate multiple HD drive configurations. One of the benefits of the S-9000 Server Case is that it's both Intel and AMD certified and can handle Micro, Full and Extended ATX motherboards. The S-9000 is also case modification friendly which makes it unique and a nice alternative to the standard cookie cutter pre-mods which seem to have crowded the market. I didn't find too many flaws in the S-9000 Server Tower Case, but would have liked to see the use of a drive rail system instead of screw mounts as well as a slide out motherboard tray option included in the package. A slide out motherboard tray simplifies the installation of system components, especially in a server environment where components are prone to fail from time to time. I was a little thrown off by the lack of a proper PSU mounting plate and feel that I-Star should have been a little more responsive to my problem during this evaluation. Overall, I think the I-Star S-9000 Server Tower Case has great potential and award a final rating of 7 out of 10. If you have any questions regarding this review be sure to visit the I-Star USA website for more information or discuss them in our forums.

Pros:

Solid steel construction
Aesthetically pleasing design
Great expansion room (9 x 5.25" drive bays)
Spacious interior design
Decent stock cooling options
Lockable front bezel
Case modification friendly
Price

Cons:

No tool-less case options
One single 80mm cooling fan included in package
No documentation included in package
Non-removable motherboard tray
A drive rail system would further enhance this package
Wrong PSU mounting plate shipped in package
Limited availibility