Structure:

The Aspire X-Navigator features three removable 3.5’’ drive bays, each capable of holding three drives for nine 3.5’’ drives in total. The upper bays are for floppy drives or other removable storage such as a card reader. While the middle and bottom bays are ideal for hard drives, as the middle bay can hold an additional 80mm fan and the lower bay has an 80mm fan at the front of the case. Note the built-in wire organizers mounted to the internal chassis.

In addition to the nine 3.5’’ drive bays are four 5.25’’ drive bays for optical storage devices or other devices such as temperature readers and fan controllers, although the X-Navigator already has those built-into it. The 5.25’ drive bays utilize a rail system for installation and removal of such sized devices.

Below is an image of the inside of the X-Navigator’s front bezel. Here we can see the chassis wires that attach to the motherboard, as well as the LCD temperature readout’s power connector and temperature sensors, I/O panel hookups and LED wire layout.

I removed all the internal components of the X-Navigator such as its side panels, three 3.5’’ removable drive bays and PSU to get an idea of the case’s overall structural stability. The X-Navigator tends to be a bit flimsy and will flex and bend if enough force is applied. However, with both side panels on, the chassis remains solid as a rock.

The overall construction of the Aspire X-Navigator’s chassis is typical for a moderately priced aluminum chassis. Its not exceptionally strong but adequate for general use.

Here we see the PSU bay of the X-Navigator, which provides more than enough support of its provided power supply, or any other PSU you might wish to use instead. In addition to the standard four screws, which hold the power supply in place, are the two crossbeams that the PSU can rest on.

 

 

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