Behind the door
The front door has a double hinge on the left so that it can swing open past 180 degrees. When the door is open, five outward-facing drive bays are revealed - three 5.25in and two 3.5in. Also behind the door are recessed buttons for power and reset.
Air vents are fitted low down on either side to let air reach the front case fan. There's no front fan as standard but, even so, there is a fitted front filter. We were initially perplexed about how to gain access for cleaning - but more about that later.
Although the power and reset buttons are hidden behind the door - an arrangement you either like or loathe (likewise having the front drive bays concealed) - the activity LEDs, sensibly enough, are located on the front chrome strip.
The chrome panel also carries two USB 2.0 ports, a central eSATA port and mic and headphone sockets. FireWire, though, is conspicuous by its absence.
The rails for the 5.25in bays don't come in a bag. Instead, they're clip to the back of the front-panel covers. There are two per bay and they use standard screws to attach to 5.25in devices, such as optical drives.
We found the bay covers a bit tricky to fit back in place but got in a little extra practise before photography was taken, since all three were rattling around inside the case when it was unpacked.