A few days ago I took a look at the
Xclio Godspeed Advanced PC case, and I found it had a few problems, a
nice case but not the easiest to install a system in. Today for
review I’ve got another Xclio case called the Blackhawk. This case is
full of chock full of features like full fan controls, LED lighting
controls, lots of room inside, and lots of fans to keep thing cool.
The Blackhawk has all of the controls mounted on the top front of the
case, room for eight hard drives or up to six 5.25” bays. Read on
to learn more about a great case from Xclio…
Product
Name: Xclio
Blackhawk PC Case
Author: Kristofer Brozio
Sponsor: Xclio
Tech
Specs,Features or the Basic Info:
Blackhawk is a solid chassis
with powerful multi-function and unique emotional design. Its
unbeatable air cooling system is the best among the industry.
There is a massive 25cm blue
LED fan on the side panel which produces huge airflow and directly
targets to the Motherboard, AGP and Memory ram module, on the front
panel with twin 12cm blue led fans directly target the 3.5’ &
5.25’ bays (Hard drive, CD/DVD Rom & Burner), there are also
attaching twin 12cm blue LED fans on the top panel to efficiently
bring the discarded heat out of the chassis and decrease the interior
temperature. All fans and the LED can be adjustable and switched On
/Off by the central smart controller on the top panel and everything
is tool-less in this chassis for convenient and easy installation. If
you need a chassis with excellent function and a stylish look, it’s
no doubt that Blackhawk is your best choice.
SPECIAL FEATURE:
UNIQUE & EMOTIONAL DESIGN
SOLID & VERSATILE CASE
CHASSIS (0.8MM SECC)
EXCELLENT COOLING SOLUTION
SMART FAN CONTROLLER
SMART HDD MODULAR SYSTEM
BACK PANEL NIGHT LIGHT (ON/OFF
SWITCH)
SUPPORT E-SATA
MESHED GRILL WINDOW SIDEPANEL
COOLING SYSTEM:
TOP FAN > BLOW OUT TYPE
(1000~2000RPM)
FRONT FAN TOP > 5.25″
OR 3.5″ DEVICES (1300~1800RPM)
FRONT FAN BOTTOM > 5.25″
OR 3.5″ DEVICES (1300~1800RPM)
SIDE FAN > PSU & GRAPHIC
VIDEO CARD & MOTHERBOARD (400~800RPM)
Brand: XClio
Model: Blackhawk
Spec:
Type: Full Tower
Color: Fully BLACK Finish
Case Material: Chassis: 0.8mm
SECC; ABS Plastic
Motherboard Compatibility: Flex
ATX, Micro ATX, ATX & Full ATX (12″x13″)
Expansion:
External 5.25″ Drive Bays:
3 or 6 bays (Smart HDD Modular System)
External 3.5″ Drive Bays:
4 or 8 bays (Smart HDD Modular System)
Expansion Slots: 7
Top Panel:
Top I/O Port: USB2.0 x 4PCS +
Audio (AC97+HD Audio) + E-SATA
Top Smart Panel: Top, side &
front panel fan smart controller (RPM VR, Fan on/off switch, Blue LED
on/off switch)
Cooling System (FAN)
Case Chassis – Front: 12cm 2PCS
(Blue LED + transparent frame & blade)
Case Chassis – Side: 25cm 1PC
(Blue LED + transparent frame & blade)
Case Chassis – Top: 12cm 2PCS
(Blue LED + black frame & blade)
Case Chassis – Rear : 12cm *
1PC (optional)
Physical Spec:
Dimensions: 560 x 210 x 510mm
(D*W*H)
{mospagebreak title=Outside}
A
Better Look at Things -Outside:
The Blackhawk is packaged well
with lots of styrofoam and plastic for protection.
The Blackhawk is a black colored
case as one might expect with a name like that. It’s sleek looking,
and has mini-doors on the front bezel to access the expansion bays.
The front two 120mm fans are mounted on their own covers and can be
removed if you need to.
The top is where you’ll find the
control center with lots of knobs and buttons to control the fan
speeds and fan lighting, along with power and reset buttons, along
with USB, audio and eSATA ports.
The left side of the Blackhawk
features a 250mm fan that is clear, but does have LEDs in it. Its
size and location allow it to cool pretty much everything in the
case.
There are four rubber feet on the
bottom that keeping it from sliding and help to dampen vibrations as
well.
On the back of the case we
find that the power supply is mounted on the bottom, there’s the
standard stuff there, PCI slots, I/O port and a space for a 120mm fan
to be mounted. There’s no rear fan included with this case.
{mospagebreak title=Inside}
A
Better Look at Things -Inside:
Taking the side panel off allows
us to get a better look a the 250mm fan, it has a special power
connection on it that connected to the top panel.
Here’s a couple shots showing the
case with both sides off. As you can see the cables come wrapped, and
the bottom is wide open to allow easy access and there’s slots on the
motherboard tray to pass wires through.
The accessories for this case come
in a neat little cloth drawstring bag. Inside you’ll find screws,
cable tie-downs, rails for the 5.25” bays, mini-speaker for the
mobo header, and spare front covers id needed.
There’s lots of room inside the
case, but the very top bay is where the wires are for the control
panel, you’ll have to be careful installing anything here as not to
damage the wires. The PSU mounted on the bottom and has a little
stand to rest it on to allow airflow under it.
The front bezel really doesn’t
come off, it can but there’s really no point, access is through the
front mini-door. One thing I don’t like about this case is that you
must remove the HDD cages through the front of the case to install
the hard drives. There are two HDD cages that hold four HDDs each,
the process involves removing the front fan, unplugging it from the
power connection and the installing the HDDs in the racks. It just
feels like quite a bit of work just to install a hard drive.
I’ll be honest here, the cages are
also fairly hard to get out of the case, though this can be a good
thing as they won’t be going anywhere…
{mospagebreak title=Installation}
Installation:
Well for installation, the first
thing you’ll want to start with is the HDD cages, you saw those on
the last page, so I won’t repeat it here. Getting the hard drive in
the rack is a bit difficult as it’s a very tight fit, but it holds it
very securely.
There’s more than enough room in
the Blackhawk for everything you’ve got I’m sure, even the largest
video cards will fit fine in this case.
The fan can be quite loud when
running at full speed, but thankfully you’ve got speed controls right
there at your fingertips on the top control panel to remedy the
noise. When you turn them down to low, they still move a lot of air
and are barely audible.
The front and top of the case have
LEDs, the Xclio logo lights up, and there’s two LEDs next to it, one
for power and one that blinks to indicate HDD activity. There’s also
a light bar on the top as well that helps to light up the control
panel.
When all of the lights are on it’s
bright case, the front and side fans especially are bright, the top
fans tough aren’t very bright at all.
One interesting thing about this
case is that it has lights on the back that allow you to easily see
what you’re doing back there, and they’re nice and bright. This is a
nice feature that I think should be on more cases.
Summary
and Comments:
I really like the Xclio Blackhawk
case, it’s nicely made, has a lot of great features, there’s a lot of
room in it, and of course it looks good as well.
Yeah, there is a small problem
with the HDD cages, but that can be forgiven really as you most
likely won’t be in there too much messing with them, so a few minutes
of hassles is worth it really.
DragonSteelMods gives the Xclio
Blackhawk PC Case a 4.5 out of 5 score and our Recommended Award as
well.
Pros:
+Lots of room
+Looks great
+Cool very well
+Nice lighting that can be turned
off
+Everything controlled from top
panel
+Nicely made
+Cool lights on back of case
Cons:
-HDD racks can be a pain to work
with
-Must remove front fans to access
HDD racks
I would like to thank Xclio for
the chance to review the Blackhawk PC Case and for their continued
support of DSM.
review# 598