Driverheaven: Chenbro Xpider II

Chenbro have been makers of high quality cases for quite some time, they received critical acclaim and consumer success with their Xpider (PC61166) , this was a a favourite with Lan goers and gamers the world over. Never heard of it ? Perhaps you know it as the "gaming bomb", this was how it was marketed outside North America.

So whats the deal with Xpider 2? To put it simply Chenbro have listened to alot of positive and negative feedback from gamers and they took this input and added features to the Xpider II (PC61165) , the Xpider's successor.

"By gamers, for gamers" is quite a good catchphrase, but David Stellmack (Director Of Marketing For Enthusiasts Products) is quick to explain its not just all fluff: "Chenbro has made significant changes to our design and engineering process to incorporate our gaming team into the design cycle. Chenbro's sponsored gaming team - "Team Chenbro" ( http://www.teamchenbro.com ) are real world gamers that involved in almost every aspect of our engineering and design process".
"We use the real world feedback that Team Chenbro provides to analyze our product designs prior to release, making sure that we are building products that gamers want. In addition we continue to make a significant sponsorship commitments to the LAN party community and attend these events in person to give us the chance to listen to additional feedback from other gamers. When Chenbro says that our products are designed by gamers for gamers we mean it! It is not just a clever tag line that we use in our marketing. We believe that this innovative approach to building the right products with the features that gamers want gives our products an edge over other manufacturers that continue to use a traditional approach to design and engineering."

The following additions/improvements have been made over the original design.

Xpider II now offers a reset switch.
Xpider II offers two included fans in the "Plus" configuration. Both are dual rifle ball bearing lighted UV reactive translucent blue 92mm fan (in the front) and a dual rifle ball bearing lighted UV reactive translucent blue 120mm fan (in the rear). These are highest quality fans with a suggested retail price of $17.99 for the 92mm and $19.99 for the 120mm. These are included for free in the plus configuration, in the standard configuration you receive the 120mm for free.
Xpider II in the "Plus" configuration includes a branded FSP Aurora 350 watt high quality power supply with all of the technology that comes standard with this power supply, including the 120mm translucent lighted fan with speed control. This power supply if purchased separate is a $50 to $60 value. It comes standard on the "Plus" configuration which gives the buyer additional value. These are the same as the retail box version of the PSU.
Xpider II includes the new 5 1/4 matching optical drive flip down covers that match the case.
Xpider II offers a second 3 1/2 external bay.
Full front panel I/O (FPIO) is standard including 1394//Firewire, USB 2.0, and Audio. This was not true of all past models of Gaming Bomb.
Flip Down Front Panel Covering the FPIO to prevent the entry of dust etc...
3D metal Xpider that can be removed or left on the case depending on the users taste.
Improved side panel larger window design with removable tin plate to pass EU RF requirements. Normally we only ship the version with the removable tin covering the window into the UK.
High quality illustrated users manual with loads of pictures to assist in installation for the first time user.
The Xpider II is constructed using an all hard tooling design.

The Xpider II is available in two configurations -

The "Standard" Xpider II configuration which includes: Single 120mm rear dual ball bearing lighted UV reactive translucent lighted fan

The MSRP for the "Standard" Xpider II configuration is: $89.99 USD

"The "Plus" Xpider II configuration which includes: Rear 120mm dual ball bearing lighted UV reactive translucent lighted fan, 92mm front dual ball bearing lighted UV reactive translucent lighted fan, and FSP branded Aurora 350 watt Power Supply with clear lighted blue 120mm fan with variable speed control."

The MSRP for the "Plus" configuration is: $129.99 USD

"We use two top quality fans that are custom manufactured for us by a tier one fan manufacturer. We pride ourselves on the chassis being a by gamers for gamers product and that is evidenced by the high quality fans and PSU that we use in our case."

From looking at this information we can ascertain that if you subtract the rear fan in the standard configuration, the MSRP on the chassis would be about $79 USD MSRP, now when you add the two fans and the PSU, if you had to purchase them separately your total would be something in the region of $169 USD, which means that the user is saving about $30 or $40 USD by choosing the "Plus" configuration of the Xpider II. Seems the wise move to me anyway.

The views above show the quite original design work in the shaping and panelling structure, the side panel is shipped with a sheet of tin which you can keep on or remove depending on your preference, removing the panel is achieved by a keylock system on the back of the case.

Once the key unlocks the side panel the tin layer can be removed with a screwdriver, then the perspex panel underneath is screwed back into place.

The "Metal Spider" can be left in place for a very cool metallic feel, good for those who have no interest in lighting or seeing the insides of their case in everyday operation.

Next: Xpider Ii exposed