Sytrin Nextherm ICS 8200 Intelligent Midi Tower
Examination:
We will begin with one of the key features with the ICS 8200, the integrated system monitoring combo. Two separate units comprise this combination, a good size LCD panel and a dialed gauge. First, we'll discuss the gauge. The gauge is very similar looking to tachometers in vehicles, but instead of displaying the speed, it measures the power usage in Watts. The area between 4 and 5 on the dialed gauge, to represent 400 - 500 Watts of power being consumed, is colored red so if the dial is constantly showing up in this area, your system is overloading the 460W PSU. To the left of the dialed gauge, is the LCD panel with two control buttons. These control buttons are simply on/off buttons for the LCD panel along with a button for controlling the PC AirCon. The options for the AirCon are off, on with fan only, or on with the fan and Thermoelectric cooler on. When the LCD is powered up, it displays the temperatures of the AirCon, Tamb, Tsys, and T2. Also displayed to the left of these temperatures, are different symbols to represent different functions of the AirCon whether the fan is just blowing or the TEC is also functioning, which causes a snow flake appears on the LCD. An alarm also appears on the LCD panel if the fans are running below 1000RPMs, TEC failure, or a faulty sensor. Overall, this LCD and gauge are very attractive appearance-wise, and should be able to provide some useful information to the user.
Immediately below the system monitoring devices, are the external 5.25" drive bays. Unlike most of the cases where the door simply swings open or is secured by a magnetic lock, Sytrin has taken a slightly different approach. They have used a lock that requires force to be applied toward the door, which causes the lock to disengage, allowing the door to open. This can be very beneficial when lugging the chassis to and from LAN parties. Behind this door are the four 5.25" drive bays along with two external/internal 3.5" bays and the front panel switches. Although the door is incredibly slim, it is quite sturdy and should not be easily susceptible to damage. One of the problems we often see with these front case doors is that they obstruct some 5.25" drive bay accessories, such as the Creative Lab's Audigy Platinum front control panel or even Scythe's LCD Master, as there are knobs and ports that extend beyond the normal length of these drives. Luckily, the bay on this case is recessed a few centimeters, to minimize these sorts of problems. Beneath this door, is a compact perforated air-intake. Any air sucked through here is pulled directly into the PC AirCon.
As Sytrin is attempting to keep a classy yet contemporary design, no side windows or anything like that are found on this chassis. On the side of the case, is a single handle for removing the side panel. There are a few slits towards the bottom of the panel to allow for a bit of extra ventilation. Located towards the rear of the chassis is the 460W ATX12V/EPS12V power supply which uses an 80mm exhaust fan. Beneath the PSU, next to the I/O slot is another 92mm fan for exhaust purposes.