Cooling

This content was originally featured on Amdmb.com and has been converted to PC Perspective’s website. Some color changes and flaws may appear.

Now for those of you looking at its cooling options of being only 90mm, they are not accurate to say the least. In the shipped model, it came to me with an installed 80mm fan up front and a 120mm fan in the back. You can install a 92mm fan in back instead of the 120mm, but why would you want to do that. Also, the front 80mm fan sits right in front of the hard drives, so obviously the heat would affect the cool air coming in. But, what Chenbro fails to mention in their specs, is the spot for another 120mm or 92mm fan in front at the bottom of the case. You could get some serious cooling out of this midsized server case. I wish I had a dual Athlon MP motherboard to find out just how good it can be, but even with my new motherboard I’m sure I can give you an idea of how cooling will be, considering I didn’t even use the spot for a 92 or 120mm fan upfront, just the 80mm that came in the system. So let’s get to the visual part of this review.

Chenbro SR-205 Junior Server Case Review - Cases and Cooling 23    Chenbro SR-205 Junior Server Case Review - Cases and Cooling 24
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This case comes with a door on the front. The LEDs for Power and the Hard Drive are behind the door but the door has a small window so you don’t have to open the door to see them. You can easily see the huge 120mm fan installed in the back of the case and it may be a little difficult to see, but there are holes to install a 92mm fan if you choose to do so. A simple thumbscrew holds the top of the case in place which is good, seeing as it is necessary to remove the top to remove the sides. Remember this is designed to be an entry level server case with solid structure and not designed specifically for tweakers who are constantly opening their case. But, I like the design and its quirks that you will see later.

Chenbro SR-205 Junior Server Case Review - Cases and Cooling 25 Chenbro SR-205 Junior Server Case Review - Cases and Cooling 26
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As you can see in the pictures above, this case has a door on it. Behind the door are both external 3½” drive bays and all three 5¼” drive bays. Along with the bays, you will find the power and reset buttons just above the power and hard drive LEDs. One of the features of the door that I truly like is the double hinge as you can see in the right picture above. If you want to push it back and out of the way in a more permanent fashion, you can.

Chenbro SR-205 Junior Server Case Review - Cases and Cooling 27

Chenbro SR-205 Junior Server Case Review - Cases and Cooling 28 Chenbro SR-205 Junior Server Case Review - Cases and Cooling 29
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When I removed the one and only thumbscrew on the case that allowed me to remove the top of the case I was surprised and puzzled once the top was off. I had already determined that I had to remove the top of the case as there were no screws holding in the sides of the case. Naturally I removed the top and found handles and screws for both sides of the case. As you can see in the picture on the left above, there is a screw in between each handle. I thought the handles were loose and I could just pick one up but I was wrong. You have to remove the screw before you try to pick up the handle otherwise you may bend the metal trying to pick up the handle. It seems that once the screw is removed, the handle lifts up but also lifts the entire side of the case slightly. The handle itself is design with a lockdown feature of its own. The only time the case side is fully in place is when the handle is down, not up. I presume the screws are there for transportation purposes so as to not let the handles move at all leaving the sides as secure as can be.

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