Introduction

The last case we reviewed from AZZA Technologies was the Solano 1000, this case proved to be one of the nicest budget priced cases we have reviewed in long time.  This unit while having a lower price point that the Solano 1000 we reviewed has a number of features that we think the owner will like.   So stick with us as we delve into the inside of this attractive looking case and see what makes it tick.

Packaging

The Azza Helios 910 comes in a standard size computer carton and both the front and rear of the carton displays the same images of the case.  At the bottom of the carton you can see you have an options of getting a case with either red or blue internal lighting which will show through the front as well as the side of the case.

A Closer Look at the Helios 910R

The AZZA Helios 910R (R=Red) has been design from the ground up to provide both the computer enthusiasts and gamers alike with a solid well built computer case that will fit into the decor of the possessed gamer or on the desk of your Mom and Dad's office desk.  The case itself is made from Japanese SECC Steel, The case has multiple fans to help eliminate both the heat generated inside the case as well as serving to bring cool air into the case.

The case has a large 140mm red fan which is top mounted to exhaust the warm air out of the case, along with monstrous 230mm red LED fan located on the side panel of the Helios 910R. To finish off the cooling array we have the 140mm red LED fan that is installed in the front panel drawing cool outside air across the internally mounted hard drive cage.

Looking at the front of the case you can see that it has a total of nine drive bays, which is more than enough room for more than enough optical drives. Each drive cover as you will see later has a removable washable filter in it making the job of keeping the inside of your case clean and easier job. The top drive cover is fitted with a 3.5" opening so in the event you wish to add a floppy drive or some other type of accessory the work will be minimal.

From the side you can see the nicely painted black coating used on the case itself as well as the massive 230mm side mounted fan that bring all the cool air into the side of the case thus air is blown on to the processor and and video cards of your system.

From this angle you can see the red color of the inside of the case and this red spills over to any exposed metal that is not covered by the tins that cover the sides and top of the case. Also located at the top of the case is the 140mm fan that serves as a large blow hole which expels a large amount of accumulated warm air that will rise to the inside of the case.

The red interior and exterior color of the case is one of my favorite things about this particular case.  This color will also help to create a very attractive looking system if only the case had a windowed side-panel. Instead of the window we have the over-sized fan. For myself cooling is more important than looks, for others may disagree.

All of the accessory connection are mounted on the right-side of the bezel, here you will find a full assortment to choose from.  The usually headphone and microphone connectors and four, (Yes I said four (4) USB connectors.  Directly above the accessory connections you will find the system 'Reset' button and the LED beneath it.

Further up the bezel, near the top of the case is the 'On/Off' Switch, and directly below it you have the LED indicator light to let you know when power has been applied to the system.

Looking Inside the Helios 910R

With the side-panel reversed you can get a better look of what it looks like, it measures 240mm in size and is colored with multiple red LEDs. Power is applied to the fan and LEDs via a standard Molex connector.

Looking into the case itself you can now really appreciate the red coloring of the inside of the case. Size wise the case will accept the full range of motherboards from Min-ITX up to the full size server motherboards.

What is rather surprising is the fact that the case has only has one removable drive cage, which means you will be forced to use the included bolt on adapter to install more than four hard drives in this case, that is unless AZZA will sell you an additional drive cage that you could in turn install in your case.

There are a number of things worth noting in this picture, to start with if you look at the motherboard tray you can see that it has elevated attachment points for the screwing down the motherboard.  what these do if you're not familiar with them is eliminate the need for screwing in 12 or so stand-offs.

Next we have the slot-covers that are held in place with thumb-screws and the fact that each of the covers has holes in them means more air can vent or enter through these opening.  You also have more vent opening directly above the slot opening which also allow more air to flow in and out.  Finally the two opening that will allow water cooling tubing to enter and exit the case without the need to drill holes.

Here you can see the fans located at the rear of the case (Black one) and the larger red fan located at the top of the case.  The fans like the side-panel fan are powered with Molex connectors so a nice fan buss would come in handy to control each of them separately.

This picture may make you think you can add a matched set of fans on the bottom of the case, but that is not the case. The grill openings closest to the power supply opening are for the fan located on your power supply, thereby allowing cool air to enter the system. The second grill openings are indeed for an additional fan which will create a near perfect positive pressure inside your case.

The Helios 910R has over-sized rubber feet that help keep the case exactly where it was placed and prevents any vibration from occurring.  You can see the two opening on the bottom slightly better from here.

With the front bezel removed you can see how easy it is to pull the drive cage out and slide hard drives into it.  Looking at the picture below you can see the removable lint filters that are in each of the drive bay covers.  These should be cleaned regularly if you have pets or live in a dusty area of the country.`

Conclusion

Hear you can see the Helios fully assembled and you can also see that even though this is a mid-size case it still has an amazing amount of space to install the motherboard and all of the accessories.  We had to flip our power supply over for it to fit right partly because the power supply fan grill is stick out from the power supply.

Here is a picture of the side panel fan taken in the dark and you can see in this stop action photo that the fan does put out a nice, but not over powering light. The green light you see on the inside portion of the fan is from the green LEDs used on the power supply.

I give AZZA a great deal of credit for producing another nice case in the sub-$100  range. We have tested cases the were not better than this and cost nearly twice the price.  We particularly liked the red finish on the case itself, it makes the case standout from a cheap generic cases offered at around this price. We highly recommend this case for those that are looking for a cheap secondary case or a new case to build a new system in.  For those that might be interested this case can be purchased directly from Newegg.

A special thanks to AZZA Technologies.