 V.5.0  APPENDICESAPPENDIX F ADDTRONICS CASES X890-X896 DIFFERENCES X890 CASES The Addtronics site does an abominable job of showing the differences between the x890 and x896 cases, much less explaining them. Here's what's up. The x890-series cases were designed at a time when HDs were typically installed in external 5.25 bays, and HD coolers were not made. 3.5" HDs were beginning to be widely available, but they were hot and a few were even 1/2 height. Capacities were small--200 Mb - 400 MB--and cooling for a system case usually consisted of one 80mm fan in the lower front. It was truly revolutionary then to provide a way to install multiple hard drives with fans on the drive column, and it was even more unusual to provide an internal location for a hard drive mount--a hanger in the lower section of the case. Finally, because 'Bigfoot' drives were extraordinarily popular at that time--5.25" HDs low in price, with no real cooling needs--they even provided a 5.25 internal mount in the typical dead-space behind a top-mounted floppy. We all know how the market changed in all respects--and to accomodate the newer/smaller HDs and the overclocking phenomenon in the enthusiasts market Addtronics made some changes in the Spring of 1999. These changes accomodated the increasing need for CPU-motherboard-card cooling, acknowledged the space needs for dual-CPU motherboards, and provided greater flexibility for case configurations by providing additional internal HD mounting space. CASE DIFFERENCES
The 689x series cases differ only in the height of the upper section, providing room for three externals and no space for a fan above a single PS mount. In the x896 case these changes work together to provide a case more flexible in its use with today's hardware and with better cooling performance. The need to use external 5.25 bays as HD mounts has significantly decreased, so the loss of an external bay is not usually a critical issue. Removing that bay allows a second hanger mount for HDs, effectively doubling the internal HD capacity. These hangers line up with the fan on the front and the backboard exhaust fan by the ATX panel. Both direct air flows to HDs and "churning" of the interior air. And, since HDs were rapidly increasing in storage capacity, only one hanger would typically be needed to accomodate HD(s). This allows an option for increased CPU cooling--the CPU fan bracket. A standard item on the 7896, this fan bracket is adjustable. The upper left fan in the lower front is an ingenious way to provide both cooling to HDs and to the lower section. To provide air flow to that fan, they redid the front bezel. The x896 version bezel is significantly better, with a much-larger and pinhole-perforated metal grille, a large removable filter, and much more true intake space in the chassis as well. In summary, the x890-series cases is really best seen as a first generation case, providing neither the cooling capability or flexibility typically needed for a contemporary enthusiast's system. The "-120" Cases |