For many geeks acrylic cases are a dream coming true. Sunbeamtech currently manufactures five models and even though theoretically acrylic is a material more expensive than steel, Sunbeamtech is able to market their acrylic products between USD 50 to USD 85, which is a real bargain. Today we are going to take an in-depth look at their most expensive model, AC-9B-HUVB, a mid-tower case featuring nine 5 ¼” bays, a hard disk drive cage for up to four drives and space for installing up to six fans (the case comes with three 120 mm fans that glow blue when they are turned on). Check it out.
Even though the final result is really beautiful, acrylic is a very complicated material. It can be easily scratched or cracked and it tends to make the computer internally hotter compared to steel and aluminum cases, as it doesn’t dissipate heat very well.
To avoid scratches and cracks during transportation, acrylic cases come disassembled. So you will have to assemble them yourself and because of that the whole process of building your PC will take a lot more time (at least one extra hour). If you don’t like building kits this case isn’t for you, but if you are a geek that loved to build model kits when you were a kid you will love this case.
As you can see in Figure 1 the package from the reviewed case is far smaller than any other case we’ve reviewed to date.
click to enlarge
Figure 1: Case in its package.
On the pictures below we show all the parts that come inside the box.
click to enlarge
Figure 2: Parts for the external housing.
click to enlarge
Figure 3: Parts for the disk drive bays.
click to enlarge
Figure 4: Other acrylic parts.
