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Case, Power Supply, Fan Reviews
  Product:     Spire Pininfarina SP-ATX-PALU/U Case  
  Price:     $144 (CDN) / $130 (U.S)
  Supplied By:     Spire Corporation
  Author:     clsGrinder
  Date:     September 28th, 2006
  Rating:     star star star star star star star star

Pininfarina SP-ATX-PALU/U Case
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Pininfarina SP-ATX-PALU/U Case
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First impressions of this case are absolutely stunning. Like anything Pininfarina designed, pictures do very little justice. Clean and simple curves can be appreciated for hours, as the aluminum pieces surround the case from front to back. Power and Reset buttons are found on the top of case, as well as blue power and HDD activity LEDs. Attention was even made to the rear of the case; often forgotten by a majority of other case designers.

Pininfarina SP-ATX-PALU/U Case
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Pininfarina SP-ATX-PALU/U Case
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“Under the hood” is the front I/O panel which consists of 2 x USB, 1 x IEEE 1394 plus Mic and Earphone plugs. A black plastic “kickstand” keeps the top from falling down when the front I/O panel is in use. Pushing back on the “kickstand” allows the cover to fall back into place. The front door opens to the left and reveals the three 5.25 inch bays, plus two 3.5 inch bays. The door uses magnets to keep it in the closed position, and the hinge material is plastic. Plastic hinges get mixed reviews by different consumers. My old Antec SOHO Tower Case uses plastic hinges and it’s still solid after 6 years of punishment. I’m confident the mechanics of Spire Pininfarina door will last the test of time as well.

Pininfarina SP-ATX-PALU/U Case
Click image for larger view
Pininfarina SP-ATX-PALU/U Case
Click image for larger view
 
Something new to the world of PC cases is the removable mainboard tray / side-panel combination. This feature was first used by Apple in ’99 with the Power Macintosh G3, and was called the “El-Capitan” link. Spire’s re-incarnation of it is slightly different though; as this panel is removable (I don’t believe the G3’s Panel could not be removed quite as easily).

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