I-StarUsa S-8 Storm Series Chassis

     Through the years I've used a large number of cases, from that experience I've learned what to look for and what to look out for.  I-Star which is known for it's quality server chassis, is now offering a mid-tower case for the masses.  Let's take a look and see how this new offering to the vastly competitive mid-tower chassis market stacks up!

The case comes in a pretty non-descript box, one nice thing, THE HANDLE WORKS!  It didn't pull through like other case boxes I've had.

     Looking at the front you can see the power and reset buttons.  In addition are the USB, fire wire, mic and audio ports.  Fire wire ports on the front of a case used to be a luxury, now they have almost become standard equipment.  Very nice clean looking appearance, the buttons operate solidly and smoothly.

     Taking the front cover off reveals the five 5.25" bays and the two 3.5" bays.  This many bays in a mid tower is pretty much standard currently, but then you see the first hefty 120mm fan mounting point.  Anyone that has had a case with this size fans know these are the ticket for max cooling and low noise.

Looking on the left side we see the venting, one is just a passive vent for the video cards and the other is the mounting point for a 80mm fan.

     Taking the side cover off reveals a CPU duct to help channel that frosty air directly to the CPU.  I see more and more cases using these and they actually work quite nicely.  Coupled with a quiet fan on your heat sink and you have the makings for a cool and quiet system.  For the ultimate in over clocking add a 80mm fan to push the cold air down on the CPU and you are reaching water cooling efficiency.

     Looking inside we find all the cable hookups for the front panel as well as the tool free expansion card mount and tool free 5.25 and 3.5 external bays and three tool free 3.5" hidden bays.  Very nice!

     The only thing not to like about tool free mountings is if they just plain don't hold, not the case here.  Nice and solid for the expansion cards and very easy to use.  Typically manufacturers use a bar type arrangement that secures all the cards, problem is that when you lift that bar your slot covers may fall out.  This setup lets you loosen just the card you want.  Very handy!

     Here's what comes in the brown box, all the stuff you need to do a full build out of the case, plus instructions on how to do it and a parts list.  It's nice to have pictures to follow along if you are a novice system builder.

     Rounding out the first look we see the rear with the tool free expansion card mount from the outside and the second 120mm cooling fan.  Serious air flow for serious cooling.  Also notice the power supply opening, looks like your PSU will just fall right out.  Not if you use one of I-Star's redundant PSU units it won't.  A nice feature for building mission critical type systems.

Power Supply Options:

Otherwise use this little bracket to mount your standard ATX PSU.