XG Viper 2

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by Greg King on May 20, 2006 in Cases & PSUs

Like most product selections, there is hardly a shortage of computer towers to choose from. The XG Viper is made out of aluminum alloy and includes many of flashy LEDs. They even threw a 400W power supply in there to get things started. Are all these features worth the semi-steep price?

Page 2 – Testing and Install


Let’s move to the inside of the case and see what we can uncover.

In the above pictures, you can get a good idea of what you can expect space wise when you decide to use this case. The one thing that I notice right off the bat is that the 120mm fan is using a converter to allow it to blow out the 92mm case vent in the back. This isn’t a huge deal but some air flow will be obstructed using this method.

This case is made entirely out of aluminum and as stated earlier, its light! There are all sorts of compromises in life and this case is no different. You can have a steel case but it will be heavy. That same case can also present you with the state of mind that your case is practically indestructible. Then you have an aluminum case that often provides you with all the features of a steel case but at a fraction of the weight. There is sometimes a trade off between sturdiness and weight and I intend on seeing how this plays into the Viper 2.

In this review, I am using my everyday PC. I will place these parts into the Viper 2 and see how the case’s airflow is because a hot computer is a pissed computer and we can’t be having any angry PCs. My setup hasn’t changed since my last review but for those of you who are new to Techgage, here is my PC.

  • Processor – AMD 3700+ San Diego 1MB L2
  • Motherboard – DFI LAN Party Ultra – D (Sli mod)
  • Video Card – eVga 7800 GT x 2
  • Power Supply – Silverstone ST56F Strider
  • Memory – OCZ Platinum EB 2x1GB PC4000
  • Hard Disk – 1 WD Raptor 74 GB / Seagate 160 GB
  • Sound Card – Creative Audigy ZS2
  • OS – Windows XP Pro / SP2

While that isn’t the most glamorous PC out there, it is rather power hungry so I am interested in seeing how the MGE 400W PSU holds up.

*Upon talking with XG about my PSU concerns, I was assured that the 400W power supply is in fact a 450W power supple that was mistakenly labeled as a 400W. This is better but will it be enough to power my PC when nVidia’s recommendations for SLi systems are 500W at least?

I should also mention that the box for the Viper 2 is also mislabeled. Within 6-7 inches of each other are 3 different PSU ratings for this case. There is a label that says there is a 500W SLi approved power supple and below it are 2 sentences claiming a 400W and a 450W power supply. I was promised that the next round of boxes will correctly display what power supply is in the Viper.

Now that we have all of that out of the way, let’s get into installing everything into the case. This is the most frustrating part of any case install’at least for me. I hate to route the cables where they should go but I am picky enough to make sure that cable management is done how it should be. Let’s take some looks at the case with everything in it.

Well, you see it all together, what do you think?


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