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Cooler Master ATC-220B-VX1 Aluminum Case Review

The ATC-220B is the latest addition to Cooler Master's case lineup. "ATCS" means Active Thermal Convective System. This case is a revision of the successful ATC-210 cases, in which some minor glitches were fixed, and the front lights up in blue, with the etched word "ATCS". Let's take a look at the packaging:

The Box the Case in, nicely packed

     The box nicely holds the case, let's look inside:

Quality padding for the case, so there are no scratches or broken pieces when you open it.

The side padding for the case, on the left, you can see that the case was also protected by a plastic cover.

Front-side view of the case, it has an attractive look.

The case came with all the screws necessary. along with 2 PSU holders for different types of power supplies.

      Specifications from the Cooler Master site:

Specification :
Dimension (WxHxD): 196 x 454 x 550 mm	M/B Type: Standard ATX Mainboard
Weight: Case: 7 kg	Expansion Slots: 7
Material: All Aluminum Alloy & Acrylic	5.25" Drive Bay: 4 ( Exposed )
USB Port: Dual USB Ports	3.5" Drive Bay: 2 ( Exposed ) ; 4 ( Shadow )
I/O Bracket: Standard ATX
P/S: Optional power supply unit 300 / 400 W
Cooling: One 80 x 80 x 25 mm fan attached top panel
Cooling: One 80 x 80 x 25 mm fan attached back panel

          The case weighs 7kg, it's heavier than most aluminum cases, this is a good thing because more aluminum is used to make the case, therefore being more sturdier. The case side panels are thick, you can apply pressure without bending, I have had a Aluminum Skyhawk case, and it was very lightweight, but the side panels bent due to the weakness of them, since I applied pressure with my arm, very easy to break, but the Cooler Master case is very strong. Like the specs say, this case only has 2 fans, not too much for a high end case.

       ATCS- The Active Thermal Convective System is the case itself. The case acts like a large heatsink, made of aluminum. This wont be very effective, because steel cases are already large heatsinks, and transferring heat inside the case, through the aluminum to be cooled by air moving outside the case is hard. Air has a very low heat dissipation rate, and going from air-aluminum-outside air is much harder, for example than a cpu to be cooled directly from cpu/aluminum contact to air. Since there is probably no "Airflow" in the room where case is in, this method is complicated and barely effective, but at least it's better than nothing.

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