GMC Trinity
X-21 Posted by Mike
@ 1:45 P.M. on 08/23/03
Background
From reviewing
several cases in the past, we have learned where manufacturers
tend to be cheap and where they tend to put their effort
into a case. It seems to us that often times the makers
either put too much effort into the case design and not
enough into quality, or just the opposite (where a case
may very well built but not as visually appealing). GMC
hopes to break the trend with the very clean looking and
high quality Trinity X-21.
Power buttons for the 2nd and 3rd hard drive are located
inside the door panel.
Our initial
impression of the case was good. We liked the styling, we
liked the quality (although it sure does make it heavier),
and were surprised to see all of the extra features that
GMC has designed and put into their system. First up on
the list was the H.D.D. selector. While the average computer
user would have little use for this, those of us who multi-boot
will surely appreciate it. Instead of having one hard drive
partitioned with Linux, Windows XP, and another OS installed,
you can just use three separate hard drives and boot into
whichever you want with the push of a corresponding power
button. This saves you the hassle of using a boot disk to
go into Linux or having to choose which OS at a boot screen.
Although most people do not have more than one hard drive
in their computer or use multiple operating systems, for
those that do this is a great feature.
The panel is not designed to stand out from the rest of
the case, and includes USB and sound ports.
The other main
feature included is also innovative, but not terribly necessary.
Included in the form of a small panel on the side of the
front of the case and a small PCB that goes into an empty
PCI bay is a Sound Selector.Trying to game in a noisy room
usually requires having to unplug speakers and main microphone,
and then plugging in a headset microphone and sound line.
Instead of doing all of that work, GMC has it set up where
you can leave the systems speakers and main microphone plugged
in. With the push of a button your sound and microphone
line is switched from the rear of the case to the small
panel of the front (where headset plugs can easily reach).
This may be a feature that more people end up using over
the H.D.D. selector. While it didn't terribly excite us
over the H.D.D. selector, we do very much appreciate the
saved torture of messing with all the tangled wires around
the back of the computer.
The actual temperature readout is much easier to read and
brighter than this picture.
The last cool
feature of this case is my personal favorite, and is the
only one that you can show off any time. There is a thermometer
readout built into the front of the case. While completely
invisable when the case is off, the temperature shows up
perfectly through the half see-through glass when powered.
At any time, the temperature can be read from the top of
the case. Inside the case is a small thermal probe that
can be placed just about anywhere to give this reading.
It definately a cool feature, but can also provide some
valuable information for overclockers..
Specs:
Dimension : 200X510X440mm(WXDXH)
Disk space : 4X5.25", 2X3.5"(internal:5X3.5")
11 Drive Bays
5.25 ext X 4, 3.5 int X 5, 3.5 ext X 2
Color : Black
Form Factor : Atx
Weight : N.W.:10.5kg, G.W.: 11kg
I/O Slots : 7 Slots/AGP expansion slots
