The finished system:
This is how the Dragon
looks with everything fired up
Well I think you will agree
it looks very nice when it is build.... that said
not every enthusiast
like these kind of cases. The only thing about
the light emitted by this case is that it
shines very bright and might be irritating
if you are using it close to a monitor at night.
The front LCD display:
The LCD shows temperature
that reads from a sensor, you can position this
sensor in any place you wish. An alarm can be
set regarding this sensor. Time, CPU operationtime
(this is basically only a timer that feels how
long the system has been powered on) and it can
monitor the speeds of three fans. The viewing
angle wasn’t very good, a common failing
hen it comes to LCD’s of this type.
Negatives aside, I must
say that the blue text on the LCD and the lit
dragon makes for some good effects. It is a very
fun and bright case sure to attract the eye.
Conclusion:
First I’d
like to say that I think that it is a very attractive
case. This particular sample was blue, which maybe
wouldn’t have been my first choice of colour
for a computer case. But they also are available
in Black, Red and Silver which should cover most
tastes.
The PSU
supplied with the Dragon was no disappointment
either, it didn’t cause any problems whatsoever
on the overclocked system, and the rails remained
reasonably stable and the fact that it was a modular
PSU is also a plus.
I didn’t
like that the fans supplied with the Dragon were
only 80mm ... under load the case was between
12-15°C above room temp which is acceptable
and nothing more. They were pretty quiet
though, so while the cooling isn't hardcore at
least you dont have to deal with a lot of noise
during operation.
The paintjob
while nice on the outside was far from professionally
handled on the inside of the side door, although
you are unlikely to constantly be looking at this
it does tend to give a rather poor indication
of overall workmanship at the factory. The “tool
free” PCI slot solution was also something
that was a bit of a disappointment, luckily it
was possible to remove it and use regular screws.
With those
negatives put aside, I still must say that the
Dragon is a very nice case. It looks good no point
in arguing that, and it is well built with a lack
of sharp edges anywhere. It also comes supplied
with a very decent power supply unit, and last
but most definitely not least, we are graced with
a REAL removable motherboard tray! This is something
that MGE deserve praise for including; it is a
touch that I really hope more manufacturers will
take into consideration in the future.
The
XG Dragon can be found at TigerDirect
for $189.99
