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AL3 Aluminium PC Chassis

• Response to Atomic MPC magazine Issue 14 page 37 review on the AL3:

• Yes the AL3 does not use a removable motherboard tray.  Considering the motherboard is the least removed component of any system, most cables need to be unplugged for removal anyway and the AL3 only requires a single screw to release the whole motherboard  it really provides no concernable dis-advantage at all to its owners.

• The clip fixtures for drives mounting are a major advantage for system builders (who spend half their lives screwing PCs together.   End users however will still swap drives more often than motherboards, yet you consider a removable motherboard tray more important than screw-less drive and add in card mounts??

• The AL3 has an extended depth to eliminate CD-ROM drive and motherboard overhang.  Even full size ATX motherboards have no problem with overhang at all. Click here to see how much space there is.

• The rear fan is designed to be easily reversible (if you want to).  Given current CPUs requirements for cool air (below 45degrees) to be at the inlet of the CPU fan, extraction fans may fail to properly cool the system, especially the CPU (perhaps Atomic should read this to study the concept of intake/duct fans).   The AL3 is designed for use with a dual fan PSU (as per AMD recommendations) which provides the extraction of the hot air within the chassis.

•  The second fan mounting bay area has already been improved for future shipments to allow for venting next to the HDD fan.  Only initial shipments have a solid side wall.  This adds cooling for  hard drives even without a fan attached due to the natural convection of air.  Units with the future 350W Dual Fan PSU will have this new side vent.

• Chromed from panel:  Each to their own, we love the look.

• Considering the cost is up to 1/3 of the cost of some of its competitors how can you go wrong!

The AL3 is the first chassis to provide the advantages of an Aluminium chassis for the PC, at a low cost.  The AL3 is an advanced design, almost completely screwless.  Shown above without power supply, the AL3 also comes with either a 300W dual fan premium quality PSU.

• Appearance Style is everything, so why shouldn't your PC look special.  Simply put, the AL3 looks great.  Other Aluminium PC chassis are very square box looking.  Sure they are Aluminium, but they look so poxy.

  Stylish AL3

  Other poxy looking square edge box designs

• Cost Why pay $330+ for a Aluminium case WITHOUT a power supply (RRP of Lian-Li PC10) or Front Panel USB/Firewire.  For around the same price, the AL3 not only has the front panel convenience of USB and FireWire, but it also includes a high quality 300W Pentium IV compatible dual Fan Power Supply.

• Weight The Aluminium construction of the AL3 lowers the chassis weight by over 50% (excluding PSU).  This makes for a lighter system to carry around to LAN parties and the like.

• Smooth Edges Not only are most edges rolled (to prevents finger cuts when working inside the chassis), but even the small number of edges which can not be rolled are still very smooth.

• Thermal Dissipation Aluminium provides better thermal dissipation than standard steel construction of traditional cases.

• 9cm Cooling Fan.  Features a 3-pin tachometer connector for motherboard speed status reporting an monitoring.  Provides a critical cooling advantage for high end systems.  Combined with the AL3's twin fan Power Supply, its the best chance you have to keep your system running cool.

• Front Panel USB and FireWire (1394/iLink) Connect the internal cables to your onboard motherboard/card USB and FireWire connections and have the flexibility to hot plug peripherals directly from the front of your PC.

• Front Panel Buttons/Floppy Stylish design for the standard Power and Reset Buttons, and Power/Hard Disk LEDs.  The floppy cover prevents the standard floppy drive from spoiling the special appearance of your system

• Screwless Drive Mounts. Not only can you mount 4 CD-ROM sized devices (5.25", all exposed) and 5 Hard Drive sized devices (3.5", two exposed), but you don't need a single screw.  Each unit is locked in place by sliding locks.

• Quick release side panel The side panel can be quickly removed using the quick release latches.  A single finger tightened screw is also provided for extra security, but can be removed for quicker access.  No screw driver required in either case.

• Standard ATX layout for maximum compatibility.  Includes additional mounting holes for Socket 423 Pentium IV systems, as well as additional Asus mounting holes.  A I/O back panel is provided which suits most motherboards, but can easily be replaced with custom panel for different motherboard layouts (a custom back panel is provided with the motherboard).  Allows for up to 7 ATX expansion cards.

• Screwless AGP/PCI Card Mount You don't even need screws for add in cards.  The special clip mechanism locks add in cards in place without the need for any screws.

The default power supply for the AL3 is a high quality 300W dual fan Power Supply. Details on the Power supply coming very soon are here.  The AL3 can also be purchased with no power supply, or with a standard single fan 400W power supply (with Pentium IV connectors).  We will also have a 350W dual fan PSU by around May/June 2002.

Copyright © Dilithium Computing Pty Ltd 2002
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