Maxtop Signature Series Type IV Case Review

Component Installation

To assist with assembly, Maxtop included two instruction sheets detailing USB connections for various motherboard brands as well as the (sometimes tricky) HD LED, Power Switch, Reset Switch, etc connectors.

The standard ATX motherboard (Shuttle AK31) installed quickly onto the preinstalled brass standoffs in the case. The big test of a properly made case is when you try to throw in your AGP/PCI cards...and see if they line up properly. I was happy to find that everything snapped into place without any unneeded force or begging. I connected the power supply and added in the cd-rom and hard drives.

A drawback that I found is that the internal hard drive rack is not removable...which makes removing both sides of the case a necessity to properly fasten each drive into the case. I'm sure this was done to cut costs, but a removable drive cage would be a nice addition.

Once the standard installation was complete it was time for the extras. The top USB ports needed to be connected. I did not utilize the audio ports on top, but assembly is as simple as plugging in the respective connectors (each nicely labeled) to the motherboard. The picture below shows the USB and audio connectors running into the top of the case.

Completing the Install

The side panel fan (pre-installed) was connected via a 4-pin molex connector to finish off the setup. The top exhaust fan is completely built-in, including the power (neatly spliced and heatshrink sealed into one of the molex wires). I fired up the pc...and...it worked! Ok, no big surprise there, except to note that the power supply handled the components without much problem.

I should note that this is my overclocked rig...and the Athlon XP 2100+ was set to run at 2700+ speeds. The 350W power supply included didn't seem to mind and happily powered the cpu, hard drive, 2 fans, and cd-rom. The +5v dipped to 4.89v but didn't go any lower than that. Of course, a 350W power supply is far from being a powerhouse in today's market that includes 480W and up units. Maxtop does provide multiple options including 300, 350, 400, 450, and 480W models.

Here are a few more pics showing the completed install: