Identify this case. EDIT: It's an AMS gMONO aka Chyang Fun CF-2029 aka Impression IM-21. Great case for $45.

[Eug]

I just bought it and all it said on the side of the box was Sinotek. I couldn't find a Sinotek website. However, it seems to be a popular case, since many of the local stores have it, as a noname brand.

Is there a brand name for this case? I could have sworn one of the local stores had it as a name brand, for more than twice the US$45 I had paid for it, but with a side window which mine doesn't have. But I can't remember the brand.

Front
Inside

It's steel, painted silver on the sides and light blue on the front. The front is also covered by clear plastic, like those clear side windows.

It also comes with front panel firewire, sound, and USBx2. The front firewire comes also with a 6-pin connector for firewire cards which have an internal port (like mine fortunately). I bought this case over a Lian Li, specifically because of the Firewire. Actually, it's quite easy to work with this case. Just remove the two included thumbscrews for each panel, and it snaps right off. Easy access. Much better than my old Aopen HX08 beige behemoth.

 

[jarsoffart]

It's similar to a KT-436B-WM, but the front grill is a bit different and yours is steel not aluminum.

 

[OulOat]

AMS G-Mono

 

[Eug]

Yep, definitely the AMS gMONO. I think that store had a different brand name too. I guess Sinotek is just the OEM, and there a multiple different brands (as well as noname). I downloaded the manual for it. All mine came with was a single sheet of paper with a summary of the connections.

Too bad the store didn't have an all silver one. Very nice. And if I come across a cheap side window for it locally I'll just have to get one. US$30 ain't bad. Mind you I only paid US$45 for the entire case and cables, screws, and one 80 mm intake fan.

Review 1. Cool I didn't know you could mount a 120 mm fan at the front.

Review 2.

 

[Eug]

AMS gMONO is $45 at Newegg.

EDIT:

Now I found it. Up here it's called a Chyang Fun CF-2029.

 

[OulOat]

The front bezel has terrible airflow design. Looks cool, but bad for airflow. It is less than an inch away from the front fan, and the holes at the bottom are too far away for them to be of much use in such a cramped space. My friend installed a 12mm Enermax adjustable on his, turned it too max and there was barely any air moving. Other than that it's a pretty nice case. Oh yeah the one from SVC comes with a top window too.

 

[Eug]

Originally posted by: OulOat
The front bezel has terrible airflow design. Looks cool, but bad for airflow. It is less than an inch away from the front fan, and the holes at the bottom are too far away for them to be of much use in such a cramped space. My friend installed a 12mm Enermax adjustable on his, turned it too max and there was barely any air moving. Other than that it's a pretty nice case. Oh yeah the one from SVC comes with a top window too.

Hmmm... Yeah, after looking at it it would seem the front fan would be fairly useless.

OTOH, there is space for two rear 80 mm fans which is a bonus, and the side panels are vented so it can draw air in that way. Despite the side venting, it seems quieter than my old case (also steel). The old one seemed much more prone to transmitting vibrations for some reason.

Anyways, it seems like there is a very similar Chyang Fun aluminum one locally for about 250% of the price as the corresponding Chyang Fun steel one. Not sure if the local price includes the side panel window, which would justify part of the price difference. Otherwise they're almost identical as far as I can tell (besides the extra external 3.5" bay in the aluminum one and the rearranged ports).

 

[Zap]

It is also sold under the brand "Impression."

 

[Eug]

Originally posted by: Zap
It is also sold under the brand "Impression."

Ah yes. Now I see the Impression IM-21 was one of the 15 cases in Tom's Review.

Whining Dog review.

Anyways, the two biggest beefs I have about this case:

1) Front fan is fairly useless.
2) It back screw on panel doesn't fit the Enermax Whisper's design. On part of the panel overlaps a the outer plastic part of the power plug doohicky. The only choices are to 1) cut that out on the panel if you happen to have a metal cutter, or 2) reverse the panel (which is what I did, or 3) turn the PSU upside down (which wouldn't work since then the second fan would be blocked by the top of the case).

So it ain't a hard core server case but otherwise for $45 I can't complain.

 

[Eug]

Originally posted by: OulOat
The front bezel has terrible airflow design. Looks cool, but bad for airflow. It is less than an inch away from the front fan, and the holes at the bottom are too far away for them to be of much use in such a cramped space. My friend installed a 12mm Enermax adjustable on his, turned it too max and there was barely any air moving. Other than that it's a pretty nice case. Oh yeah the one from SVC comes with a top window too.

There's the front acrylic with matching blue front panel. The holes match up.

If I remember correctly, I believe there is a second metal panel (where is the fan is mounted) with space between it and the above mentioned acrylic and front panels. The only problem is that the holes in this second metal panel don't match up. They are located higher. (or was that lower?) Despite the added space between the panels, it's not enough to provide adequate flow.

So maybe you can drill this second panel to have holes match up, and I don't think it would affect the front aesthetics, since this second panel is hidden behind the front panels.

However, you'd have to check the pictures in the reviews to be sure.

 

[BGod]

The C n C drilled holes go all the way through the acrylic front, the painted metal panel behind it and the unfinished case front behind that. The problem is they sit below where the front fan mounts and the slot the 120mm fan can suck through is TOO SMALL.

I went out to Wal-Mart and bought a Black & Decker rotozip and some spare bits for around $45. Cut out the crap fan guards on the front and rear. I marked the holes for the 120mm fan on the back side of the painted metal panel, drilled out the holes and mounted the fan filter grill. Marked off where it would need to poke through and cut it all out with the rotozip. Then I mounted the fan filter grill and fan in the case and checked the clearence. Did a little touch up to make sure I could get the filter off for cleaning. Held the painted metal panel to the back of the acrylic one and marked off the area to be cut out and am taking it to a local stero shop that works with plexiglass all the time to have them cut it out.

I did have to cut a little off the power supply mounting bracket because overlapped the power plug socket a little bit. I also had to hack a 3/4" hole in one of the 3 1/2" bays for the switch for the cold cathode tube.

So far so good. I should have pictures up soon.