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Introduction:

This is a review of the Chenbro SR10769, which I would classify as a middle range server or workstation case. One thing it’s not is an average user’s case. It is big, very big. If you are looking for something to hold a big motherboard and 8 drives, this is your case. If you are looking for something that fits under your desk, hides away at your feet or is intended for a dorm room… this is not what you want.

Inside:

In my opinion, the best place to start is inside. I have bought a lot of cheap cases and worked on a fair amount of server class rack mount cases, and this case compares very well with the server class cases. The entire inside seems to have been designed with good airflow, cooling characteristics and space usage in mind. The case is about the same height as an average case, but I would say that it is about 1.5x longer. And there is a good reason for that.

Up in the front are two cages where drives go. Each one holds 4 drives and is removable. The drives are held by screws going through rubber mount points and held apart from each other to allow air flow between the top and bottom of every drive. At the front of each of these cages is a spot for a standard sized fan, in case you are looking for a little bit more cooling power. Those looking for a hot-swap cage will be happy to know that option is available. There is a 120mm fan mounted directly behind each drive cage, and this is where the only real flaw I could find is found.

With SATA drives in the cage, the cables stick out behind the drives pretty far. This means that when the fan is mounted properly, it is pressing pretty strongly against the data and power cables, sometimes bending them down a little. With PATA drives, I don’t think this would be an issue at all. Fortunately, it was easily fixed. I unmounted the fans, removed the cage and reversed them. Instead of clipping on INSIDE the drive cage area, I clip them on outside. This gave me plenty of room and didn’t interfere with anything else. You can tell they weren’t made to do this though, because the clips do not actually lock into place. Instead, its held on by sheer force since you have to press them in quite roughly. The other minor issue I had was that these two fans were about 10x louder than the similar sized fan found in the back. This was easily remedied by hooking them up to 7v instead of 12v. That is, I hooked the fans up to +12v and +5v, the difference between them being 7v and much quieter.

The PSU and 51/4″ drive bays are fairly isolated in their own little area. It means the PSU is pretty much solely responsible for keeping that area cool, but with just one or two CD-ROM drives the PSU isn’t exactly working hard to cool itself and them. The motherboard area is fed in the front by the two drive bay fans and is exhausted by its own 120mm fan, which is slightly thicker and much quieter than the two 120mm fans (on 12v anyway).

Outside:

For many people, this is the most important aspect of a case. Some people want windows in the side, some want flash and glitz and others want something stylish. If you are any of these people, you’ll not like this case. If you are at home in a data center full of generic servers or you like the standard beige box case (even if it is another color), you will almost certainly love this case… if you have the room. It comes in a few colors, but I got mine in black.

The outside of my case is fairly bland. The front pops off with a little pressure at the bottom and the side panels are held on by that type of screw that you can never lose because it is attached to the case. Their heads are big enough and textured so you don’t actually need a screw driver to remove them. It is clean, smooth and has 3 more LEDs than most people will use. 2 for network connectivity / activity and one for the an alarm. That is a failure alarm, not an anti-theft device. I assume it will light up if your motherboard has a hookup that turns an LED on when a fan or other device fails or perhaps a chassis intrusion switch. Its got a lock and did I mention the fold out feet? It isn’t really anything to stare at, unless you take the sides off and show someone who appreciates a good case layout.

Conclusion:

At $150 without a PSU, this isn’t a cheap case. But if you need something that will keep 8 drives and a dual CPU motherboard cool, this could be it. I love mine, in fact I think its the best case I have ever seen. I will be keeping this case for a very, very long time. I wouldn’t buy it for a workstation case though, it is just too damn big. My girlfriend caught me spooning with it when it first arrived, but now that it is a real server I can’t just bring it downstairs to bed with me.