Chieftec Dragon Mid-Tower Case w/ USB 2.0 & 1394

Introduction

Thanks for joining us today for a look at the Chieftec Dragon mid-tower case, from none other than Chieftec Industrial Co., Ltd. Many of you will recognize this case as the widely heralded standard issue mid-tower found in a number of re-badged units from distributors such as Antec, Thermaltake, and Powmax. Believe me, the list goes on. This is one of the most popular cases around, and with good reason.

Chieftec Industrial Co., Ltd. has really blown up the market with their Dragon series. Chieftec is a full-service vendor, with manufacturing facilities in Kwangtung, China, and Zhejiang, China. They handle every part of the manufacturing process from tooling, to stamping, to shipping. This kind of process is undoubtedly part of their success; when you have full control over the manufacturing process you aren't at the mercy of a third party plant. According to Chieftec their mission is to "Keep doing it better". A simple yet profound goal that I think every company should adhere to. While we have seen the Dragon in a plethora of reincarnations, today we're taking a look at the plain Jane Chieftec Dragon manufactured and sold by Chieftec. This is the standard solid side Dragon ATX case shipped as a bare unit without the power supply (PSU). The unit does include USB & 1394 ports on the front bezel unlike the true original. Aside from these additions we're still looking at the Dragon case of yore. I picked up this particular unit from Tiger Direct for a measly $44 USD shipped. This is an exceptional price on an already good deal. For the sake of fairness I'll let you find the deal yourself, because they probably won't be lasting long. Let me just say that as of today they are sold out of the green unit, but they now have the same case in purple at the same great price.

Anyway, I'm not getting paid to pitch these guys, so let's get on with the damn review shall we? :)

Overview

While Chieftec manufactures both steel and aluminum versions of this case, we are looking at the steel case today. Aluminum is much lighter, easier to cut, and has better cooling properties. Realistically though, the additional cooling benefits of an aluminum case are moderate to non-existent when it comes to affecting system temperatures.

The Chieftec was shipped in a very standard manner. A heavy duty cardboard box and some styrofoam blocks kept it pretty secure and in very good condition.

The styrofoam ends did a good job of protecting the case, and from the battle scars we can see it evidently had a rough trip to me. We can't blame Chieftec, or even Tiger Direct, for this. UPS has a tendency to be rough with things in my experience.

Oh well. No harm no foul, right? I will hand it to Chieftec for using thick plastic wrap on the top of the case and on the front bezel. They must have anticipated the rough handling the package is bound to see before it ends up in the hands of a happy new customer.

The wrap was practically fused to the case, but as much as it felt like it was going to tear the paint right off the steel when I removed it, this of course wasn't the case. (pun intended).

Green isn't exactly my favorite color, but in a way I actually kind of like the looks of this case without even lifting a hand to it. This particular unit is designated for a major paint job and stenciling work, but it's actually pretty decent looking as it is. Colors aside, the case itself is great looking. The look is used and abused, but overall it's a great deviation from your average beige box while still being somewhat reserved aesthetically.

This case has quite a few amenities that have made it so popular. Let's take a few minutes now to look at what the Dragon includes, and why it stands out from the crowd.

Outside the box

This case does not have a pre-installed window, but we do have an 80mm intake fan installed on the side. The included fan is a low-CFM Chieftec. It isn't moving a whole lot of air, but it's also very quiet. The grill is pretty spiffy looking too, but I wonder how much it's really restricting airflow.

The side of the case is fully removable and is secured by both a locking mechanism and a nice latching handle. The case comes with two keys, both of which work for the door lock and the front bezel door lock (which we'll see in a moment). The lock is cheap and simple, but it will prevent people like little brothers or annoying friends from poking around in your case. :)

The Chieftec Dragon also has swiveling feet which you can turn outwards for stability, or retract inwards for mobility. Just a tip though, keep the feet retracted if you're dragging this thing around on a carpet. Talk about frustrating!

Moving to the front of the case we are greeted with the classic "venetian bezel" as I like to refer to it. This, my friends, is an example of intelligent engineering. I don't know how many cases I see every day that have horribly restrictive front panels. Considering the natural flow of heat, and the accepted standard of bringing cool air in the front and exhausting it from the rear, Chieftec actually made a bezel that supports that idea. Directly behind the front vents is an 80mm fan mount. Kudos to Chieftec, no matter how tired this design is for some people.

Normally the power and reset buttons aren't worth pointing out, but in this review something really bugged me about the reset switch on the Dragon. The power button was perfectly fine, but the reset button is nestled in an an extrusion from the case which makes it extremely hard to press with your fingers. Perhaps this is a safety precaution so you don't accidentaly bump the reset switch, but with a locking door in front of it, I'll go for ease of use over "security".

The one feature that sets this case apart from the original Dragon is the addition of the USB 2.0 and IEEE 1394 ports ('Firewire', as coined by Apple). The 1394 is standard Intel version 4. This is a pretty nice little feature to have, as we all hate having to crawl around on the desk, knocking over drinks on our keyboard and selves just trying to get our camera plugged in. This isn't really anything to write home about, considering the majority of new cases have USB and 1394 on the front panel, but it's worth appreciating.

The back of any case isn't usually the most exhilerating part of the unit, but it's worth a peek. Luckily Chieftec opted out of the extruded PCI locking design some manufacturer's use to save space. This case isn't exactly a small footprint unit so this was an obvious decision for them. The dual 80mm exhaust brackets are a great addition though. This type of attention to cooling features is going to appeal especially to overclockers or cooling freaks who need to take care of all of that heat their severely overclocked systems are putting out. Even your average enthusiast will be happy with the rear fan mounts, as they can opt for two extremely quiet fans instead of one loud fan, and still achieve a decent level of cooling.

Let's see how Chieftec decided to structure the interior of the Dragon, and have a peek inside the box.

Inside the box

First of all, here's a look at the fan Chieftec has mounted on the case door. Again, this is just a low-CFM fan, and if you are going for extreme air cooling this is one of the first things I would recommend changing.

Here is a shot of the handle and door lock from the inside. The handle and locking mechanism are all plastic, so again they do not provide a huge level of security. The handle is spring loaded and serves to latch the door in place when closed, so it's actually fairly handy to have. The key is required to lock the door, so the handle will not automatically lock the door for you when closed.

Included inside the case is a box including motherboard risers and some standard case screws (note the small cardboard box). Also inside the box are two keys, which can be used interchangeably on the side and front door locks.

You will also see on the bottom of the case, there are eight plastic and metal pieces which are intended to be screwed on to your 5 1/4" bay drives. Once mounted on your drives, you can easily hot swap drives without unscrewing them. The plastic mounts serve to lock the drive into place when installed, but you can easily squeeze the metal tabs together from the front of the case and pull a drive out with no tools required. You will still have to unplug all cables from the drive you want to remove, but this case impresses me with it's ability to provide tool-less access to all of the major components.

Taking a closer look at the inside of the front bezel reveals another 80mm fan bracket. The purple plastic brackets used in this case make it extremely easy to add and remove fans without fighting with a bunch of screws. This is another great feature that I really enjoyed about this case, as it makes upgrades and modifications quicker and easier.

The plastic squares you see can beused for organizing your cables, which is important if you are going to have all of these fan brackets filled.

Here are the fan brackets for the rear fans as seen from the inside. The case has lots of free room around the PCI slots, and space to breathe for an AGP card.

There are two 3 1/2" removable bay enclosures which each pop out easily utilizing a latch. You can also make out a purple tab, the tell-tale sign of another fan bracket hiding inside the bottom enclosure.

Removing the enclosures we can see a fan grill where the fan would intake cool air through the front. You can also see clear through the grill on the plastic front bezel, further proving the good front airflow this case has.

Now we get to the important part - actually using the case. It looks sweet, spacious, and friendly, but looks can be deceiving.

Installation & Conclusion

As we can see the Chieftec Dragon has quite a few positive things going for it. I chose the following parts to toss in the case to get a real feel for it. Here are the components I installed:

• EPoX EP-8RDA3+
• AMD XP 1700+ & Thermalright SLK-800
• 256MB KHX3000
• 350W Super-Flower
• MSI GeForce4 Ti-4600
• 5 1/4" fan controller, CD-ROM, floppy, 1x3.5" HDD
• 3x80mm generic fans

We've had a good visual exploration of the case, but you can't wholly convey the feel of a case through images. For anyone who has struggled with a cramped mid-tower before, this is a breath of fresh air. I had no issues moving around or installing the mobo, or any of the other parts. Once you attach the drive mounts it is a simple job to remove a bay device. I really enjoy the fact that you don't have to fumble with screws for the fans as well.

On the other hand, if you are looking for a conservatively sized case that you can tuck away somewhere, this is not the one for you. While it isn't a full sized server tower, the Dragon will demand a presence in any room. It is a steel case, so it's a little on the heavy side as well.

To be entirely honest with you, I found it's kind of a pain having to open the case door whenever you need access the drives. I have a few fan controllers with LED readouts, and I like to refer to them pretty regularly. This is obviously a little hard with a door in the way. On top of that, it opens to the left, and if you're like most people I know you keep your box to your right.

Of course, this does open up some potential area for modification. This case is begging to be modded. Which is why it's currently broken down across the room and prepped for a paint job and some Dremel abuse. :)

When all is said and done, this case will stand above the competition. Chieftec has obviously proven themselves as one of the foremost vendors of PC cases by integrating the intelligence of a server case into a mid-tower for the masses.

No product is without its quirks, so for brevity I'll just take a glimpse at the highlights of this particular review.

• Affordable
• Spacious
• Easy access and tool-less features
• Attractive design
• USB 2.0 and IEEE 1394

• Heavy
• Front door can be an obstruction
• No pre-installed window for those that want one, although they are available

Well, it has been good to have finally gotten a chance to review the Chieftec Dragon. As soon as the modding is done and the paint dries, this will be the new case for my main system. Thanks for stopping by Fury-Tech, and if you have any questions feel welcome to bring them up in the forums.

There are no comments on this article. Become a member and post one now!