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The biggest improvement however is the removal of the drive rails that were a trademark feature on Chieftec cases. The new solution utilises special screws and quick release latches and, it has to be said, is much easier to use. A knock-on effect of this is that the blanking plates that cover the empty drive bays no longer have large holes on either side, producing a more stylish finish.

But the most important change is that Chieftec claims that the new internal design should reduce vibration and noise from 5.25in drives, due to the spring effect of the drive mounting system.

The front mounted ports have also evolved from previous versions and now you get audio connectors for headphones and microphone on top of the two USB 2.0 ports and the single FireWire port. It’s a shame that Chieftec decided to move the ports back to the bottom of the case, since this makes them harder to reach especially if you have your PC under your desk. Also, the flap that covers the ports obscures them slightly even when fully open. This makes it more difficult to plug things into the ports, especially if the PC is on the floor.

Unfortunately, Chieftec doesn’t supply any instructions with the BX-02B-SL-B, so there is no way of really knowing how to connect the three cables for the front panel ports. The cables are colour coded, but have no visible markings apart from this, which could easily have been solved with the use of a sticker or a manual with a key.

You get plenty of screws and the special screws for the 5.25in drives are pre-fitted inside the case so they won’t go missing. You also get four keys so you can lock up your PC. The review sample didn’t come with a power supply so you’ll have to factor in that cost. However, some retailers do bundle a power supply.

The BX-02B-SL-B is a quality case with plenty of features, but even though it improves on its predecessors in many ways, it could still do with some improvement. At £61.10 it’s not terribly expensive, but you have to add the cost of a power supply. That said, at least you can fit a quality power supply without having to throw anything away.

Verdict

The Chieftec BX-02B-SL-B is a high quality steel case with plenty of space and a good set of features. However, the attention to detail needs a little improvement and the lack of instruction manual really needs to be addressed.

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