Enermax Uber Chakra Case

Enermax Uber Chakra Case

As a rule I tend to dismiss any product I see that tries to be 'cool' or 'l33t' by using fashionable words like uber, gnarly or mega. Experience has taught me that they tend to be of poor standard and are attempting to shift numbers through image alone. It's not a steadfast rule, purely a guideline that I've instinctively begun to adhere to in my grim, cynical life.

That said, when the Enermax Uber Chakra case rolled in to the office it was a nice day outside. Sunlight was streaming through the blinds and office-bound journalists were flinging their jumpers off without a care. I was feeling pretty good about myself and for once I was glad to be sat directly underneath the air conditioning. Maybe that was why I said I'd review the Uber Chakra despite my normally grumpy attitude to its name – though I think it was more to do with the fact that my boss told me I had to.

How does it look

The Uber Chakra fresh from the box isn't a great looking case in my opinion, definitely not the type of stunning futuristic chassis we are used to dealing with at bit-tech. It does have a deceptive sense of style about it that begins to sink in after a moment or two however and its black SECC body is done to a nice brushed finish that goes well with the silver of the details, which I'll get to in a bit.

One thing I did notice about the body however was that it seemed to pick up finger prints too easily, quickly giving it a somewhat grubby look that may be detectable in some of the photos despite my best efforts. This tendency to pick up finger marks means it probably wouldn't make a great murder weapon, so we'd recommend using a pair of white cotton gloves when you're moving the case around.

The front of the case features five stealthed 5.25" drive bays and two 3.5" bays for those who need them, all of which are foam backed to help prevent dust travelling in through the unused bays. The foam also helps to reduce the overall noise coming from the front of the case.


The lower section features a nice little silver design done in plastic, complete with the Chakra logo. It isn't purely for decoration though as behind it sits a fan. There's room here for a nine, eight, or twelve inch spinner of which Enermax have graciously supplied the largest, complete with a set of blue LEDs that glow attractively through the mesh.

The front of the case, which is completely detachable to provide access to the front fan amongst other things, also has two silver columns on either side. While I initially hoped these might serve some purpose, such as hiding hinges for a door attachment, I was disappointed to discover they were simply decorative rods of brushed aluminium.

Moving to the top of the case we can find all the usual suspects and, curiously, an eSATA port -- we'll come back to this shortly. The power button is large and centrally positioned so that it can be easily found, but a quick touch test revealed it to have a fair bit of sideways rattle on it. It's only a small thing, but a rattling power button is a something of a pet peeve and tends to indicate that the construction isn't as tight as can be.