The front panel of the Bitfenix Merc Alpha has a very sober look, with three external 5.25” bays and one external 3.5” bay, using solid covers. There is an air intake mesh at the bottom. This case, however, is the first one we’ve ever seen that doesn’t support a fan on its front panel.

click to enlarge
Figure 4: Front panel

The top panel, on the other hand, supports two 120 mm fans. On the Merc Beta, which is another case from Bitfenix based on the same platform, the top panel is solid.

click to enlarge
Figure 5: Top panel

The case comes with four USB 2.0 ports, but no USB 3.0 ports. They are located on the front part of the top panel.

click to enlarge
Figure 6: Buttons and connectors