A+GPB BB4368 Galaxy Case Review
Cases are one of the most overlooked things when building a computer. Sure you may not use it but a case contributes to the stability of your computer if you hadn’t already known. It also helps if you have a good case when upgrading components because some cases are pains when installing and removing hardware. I have seen my fair share of cases throughout the years and they all have been the based on steel construction. Today we are going to take a first look at the Aluminum A+GPB BB4368 Galaxy Case.
The A+GPB BB4368 Galaxy Case arrived in its own Galaxy Case box wrapped in plastic. It looked okay but was dirty and banged up around the corners. The UPS dude is to blame. One of the first things I noticed was how light the case was. It weighed in with the box at about 13 pounds.
First Impressions
Taking the case out of the box presented me with the case secured with protective Styrofoam on the top and bottom. While laying out the case, I have to admit, it looked really good.
The A+GPB BB4368 Galaxy Case measures 7.9” (W) x 16.2” (H)
x 19.3” (D) and is a mid tower case. The A+GPB BB4368 Galaxy
Case employs two bubble lights in the front of the case that lights
up blue. We will see that later.
Specs
- 1.0mm thick Aluminum case
- Front Lighting Bar with bubbles
- Four 5.25" Bays, Two 3.5" Bays
The front of the Galaxy Case is really cool looking. The front drive bays are of plastic construction as well as the whole front. Near the bottom of the case is it's power button, which is big and easy to push, and a reset button that is just big enough to press it without using a pen. In the middle are the two LED's which is a power LED and a hard drive LED.
At the bottom of the case there is an USB/FireWire and audio connections port
From left to right are: FireWire port, 2 USB ports, Mic port and a Headphone port.
The connectors
One of the things I liked about this case was the fit and finish. The brushed aluminum look was done very well.
The Galaxy Case comes bundles with the following:
- Front I/O port manual
- ATX Motherboard Bracket
- Screws and golden metal stand-off's and plastic standoffs
- Two backup PCI extension bays
Turning the case towards the rear there are 7 extension slots that are of breakaway bracket design. I really disliked this idea, so you will have to make sure you use the right bay. Luckily the case includes two backup PCI extension bays
The rear of the case is as like any other case with some differences. There are two handles that help you remove the side panels. I felt that the side panel was hard to come off. You had to pull with force with a feeling you would break something. Another downfall of the rear is the cooling. All you really have of cooling is the power supply fan; the small 60mm exhaust fan which is pretty loud and this funny looking 80mm fan adaptor. Also the air coming out of the case is really blocked by the Aluminum fan guards that are simply drill holes. They block like 70 percent of air coming out. There is pretty bad cooling in this case that needs to be fixed.
Here we have a front 80mm fan that is again blocked from metal drill holes behind the fan.
Upon looking at the side of the case, there was damage to the top of the left side panel.
The side panel with a blue tinted window has a nice design that looks very cool. However, the design allows the overall strength of the Aluminum side panel to be flimsy and not very strong. There is a 80mm Blue LED fan that blinks and is annoying to say the least. The side fan is really the only efficient airflow you have going in.
When I opened the side panel, I was keen to say yet another problem. I don't know if it was already broken or maybe I broke it but the side of the plexi glass had broken off and cracked. I could see problems of the design of the side panel contributing to the plexi being broken. First off, the plexi glass is not fully laying flat on the side panel. Also because the side panel has the design, it is now structurally less strong. When you pull the side panel out and out it in you have to use force and the side panel sometimes flops because it is not strong. I would have like the plexi to be laying flat on the side panel to prevent the plexi from breaking.
The bottom of the case with rubber feet
Inside
The inside of the case looked pretty small if you ask me and did not have any goodies such as drive rails and a removable motherboard tray I have seen mid towers using space more effectively. The aluminum construction is very good and helps in cooling the overall system because Aluminum effectively dissipates heat quickly.
What's that big fat thing on the left side? Well that's the 80mm adaptor that I have been talking about. The 80mm is an exhaust fan. But if you ask me, it's pretty useless because the rear of the case is covered with small drill holes and air can't escape effectively. Also it takes up too much space.
During installing a system inside this case, I came across parts of the case that were very sharp. Particularly during placing my CD-Rom drive in. When you install your motherboard you will need to install the metal standoffs that are included as well as plastic standoffs. I don't know why they would make you use two different standoffs. Another gripe I had was that depending on what motherboard you have, the IDE ports would be close to the bottom hard drive portion of the case. Secondly, when you install your video card and leave it in your motherboard you will find out that you can't screw the video card bay in. Why? The rear of the case was protruding outwards for some mysterious reason. To fix this, you would have to push the butt of the case inwards and then screw the video card in. Am I having a bad day, or does this case just plain suck?
Here is a new computer system my brother built in this case.
It's pretty small and the power supply is really close to the CPU cooler. Depending on how big your cooler is, you may or may not have a problem.
Here is the bubble lighting at night. It's really a sight to see.
Conclusion
This is going to be short and simple. DON'T BUY THIS CASE OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT LOOKS LIKE THIS.
I rate the A+GPB BB4368 Galaxy Case a...
5.5/10!
Pros and Cons
+
Bubble lighting
- Too much problems
- Cooling
Let me thank A+GPB Inc. for telling you about this case.
