Kingwin KT-436 Aluminum Case
Review by Shadrach
on 05.08.2002
Cooling
Two of the six fans reside on the rear panel. The others are located in strategic cooling locations. Two blow in from the front over the hard drive cage. This will be extra helpful should you be thinking about buying some 15,000 RPM SCSI drives. Even for the normal Joe, hard drive cooling is often neglected and drives give up most often due to heat. Even 7200 RPM drives require some amount of cooling if you read the manufacturers recommendations. One exhaust fan is placed in the door directly over where the CPU will be located. The last fan is placed in the top to displace any accumulation of heat that manages to survive the breezy onslaught. Another nice feature to note are the plastic snaps that are used to mount all the fans in the case. They remove easily, and once again present a nice finished look.
Click on the pictures for a larger view
Fans are arranged such that negative pressure exists in the case. Opinions differ on case fans. Some will tell you that negative air pressure is best with more exhaust fans to help bring cool air in. Others will say positive pressure will push out heat. At any rate, the case comes with two fans in the front drawing from a filtered inlet, and all others exhausting. When you include a power supply, you will have seven or eight exhaust fans, depending on the power supply you attach, in the system. It is up to you, but luckily the snaps that I mentioned earlier will allow you to switch a fan around in minutes.
And Finally...
Shadrach was able to contact Kingwin for an interview. Below are the contents of the conversation.
[Shadrach]: The case is gorgeous
[Shadrach]: I see the case is produced overseas.. is that by your company or subcontracted?
[Kingwin]: The case is produce by our manufacturer plant in China
[Shadrach]: I see
[Kingwin]: We also manufacture aluminum mobile racks and CPU Coolers
[Shadrach]: Where are the roots of your company.. parts wise
[Kingwin]: Originally our manufacturing facility are located in Taiwan, but now we have moved to China, we have our own R & D team in Taiwan. We would import some of the parts from Taiwan to China and assemble our products there.
[Shadrach]: Your website mentioned you specialized in cooling solutions.
[Kingwin]: Yes, we start making CPU Coolers 7 years ago, CPU Coolers use aluminum heatsink to dissipate heat, and we have take this idea and put it on computer cases.
[Shadrach]: Any particular reason for not including a PSU?
[Kingwin]: I believe that it will be too expensive if we add power supply, by not including a power supply, buyers can have their own options of choosing what kind of power supplies they want.
[Shadrach]: The building material is aluminum, was that the cooling solution side of things, or the attractive functional decision.
[Kingwin]: Aluminum material is being used , for cooling and also for look. Aluminum also dissipates heat well.
[Shadrach]: Who do you feel is the target consumer? Server applications or home users.. or did you try to split the market?
[Kingwin]: Because cooling is very important for computers right now, and will be continue to be an important factor in future, so this is for everybody, either for home use or industrial use.
[Shadrach]: Any other case designs in the works?
[Kingwin]: I think sometimes in June or July, we will have a new design coming out. I saw a picture, it's very nice. More stylish than the current one, for sure. Next week, we'll have the exactly same case styles I sent for review with mod windows on sides. Three windows, one on each side and one on top.
[Shadrach]: Well that is all I have to ask, Thank you very much for contacting me..
[Kingwin]: No problem
Conclusions
At the prices these cases are selling for, I can offer but one final thought - WOW.
Well Built case for the high performance PC enthusiast
Oriented toward consumer and business applications
Well worth the price
Likes:
Heavy gauge aluminum construction, very
sturdy case design
All edges are rolled and cables are protected
from edges with plastic guards
Tool-less access
Thumb screws everywhere
Snap in fan and grill fasteners
Well designed top fan mount
Front port accessory panel
Dislikes:
Wiring could be better organized
Faceplate scratches
Gold Fan guards don't match well with aluminum
Negative case pressure
Front bezel removal pops off buttons
