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The SS Warrior

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The SS Warrior
The Box
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Installation of Components

We chose to build our system around the following components:

-Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-8PE667 Ultra 2

-Processor: Intel Pentium 4 2.4B (B0 Core)

-Heatsink/Fan: Swiftec MCX 4000 w/68 CFM delta

-Hard Drives: Two Western Digital 80Gig hard drives

-Memory: 512MB Corsair XMS 3500 C2

-Optical Drive 1: Pioneer 16X DVD

-Optical Drive 2: Lite-On 52X CD-RW

-Video Card: Tyan G9700 Pro (Radeon 9700 chipset)

-Audio Card: Creative Audigy MP3+

-Fan Control: Black Xoxide 4 channel RheoBus

-Power Supply: Antec True Power 430W

The SS Warrior comes with a standard screw assortment. Included also are three small zip-ties and two wire holders. The included manual is not exactly a work of art, but is sufficient. Two cables with I/O connectors are also included for use with the front bezel's connector panel.

Because of the removable motherboard tray, installation of the motherboard and expansion cards was very easy. We did replace the motherboard I/O panel with a proprietary one that came with the Gigabyte motherboard, and experienced no issues. The motherboard tray came with standoffs already installed; this helped speed up the installation process.

Installing Front Ports

To utilize the front bezel connectors, one has to connect the included cable to the the front bezel and the I/O circuit board. This I/O board fits into any open expansion slot, and includes a bracket for installation. Next, you connect the second cable to the bracket outside the case, and run the various plugs to the inputs and outputs of your devices. This installation is simple but might be confusing for some newer users. We were surprised that the manual did not mention the front ports and how to set them up. We do like this system though, because it will work with any motherboard and is much easier than plugging connectors directly into the motherboard. However, the cables do look somewhat cluttered from the back.

Installation of a power supply is fairly straightforward. One screws the power supply to an included bracket, mounting the entire assembly to the case thumbscrews. The power supply cover can be rotated 180 degrees, ensuring that almost every ATX power supply will work with the SS Warrior. As you can see from the picture above, the MCX 4000 heatsink is right under the power supply and everything fits perfectly, allowing plenty of airflow.

Finally, all drives slid in easily and we didn't run into any problems mounting them. Overall, installation of components into the SS Warrior case went without a hitch. It took about an hour to get everything installed, and another hour to route all the cabling, which is not unreasonable. Shown below is the final system in all its glory.

We also installed Xoxide's 4 channel black RheoBus into this system. The RheoBus matched the case color almost perfectly and added a nice touch to the overall look. Some cold cathodes would also look very nice with this case.

Conclusion

If you need a pre-modded case, Xoxide is definitely a company you should check out. While lacking a bit in fit and finish, the SS Warrior seems like a nice alternative to higher priced pre-modded cases. We can also recommend the unmodified Sky Hawk aluminum mini server cases. These cases are priced very low and sport many great features, such as a removable motherboard tray. If you're a do-it-yourselfer, you can always buy the Sky Hawk case separately and have fun modifying it yourself.

Positive Aspects of the SS Warrior

-Very lightweight

-Front bezel ports

-Thumbscrews

-Case Feet

-Separate hard drive cage

-Five fans included

-Removable PSU cover

-Motherboard tray

-Front air filters

-Nice looks

-Case window