Starting with the 3.5" drive bays we were surprised to learn when going over the PC-K62’s spec sheet that this case supports just four hard drives without going to the 5.25" drive bays. But opening the case up delivered an answer to our concerns.
LanCool has gone with an anti-vibration design and in the process they have made it quick and easy to install and remove 3.5" drives. By removing a single thumb screw all four drive caddies can be removed from the case in seconds.
The tool-less design of the caddies impressed us the most, as it was super simple to clip the drive to the caddy within seconds. Removing the drive takes a little longer as the clips must be removed first, but this is a simple process that proved to be easy and efficient. This combined with the anti-vibration design and well cooled bays certainly make us overlook any other limitations (four 3.5" bays in total).
Above the hard drive bays are five 5.25" bays, two of which use the tool-less drive locking mechanism. Again, these tool-less clips work well, though for a complete installation the right case door will need to be removed so both sides of the drive can be secured. The tool-less clips are only featured on the left side of the bays making them less effective however.
The expansion slot mechanism was also particularly impressive and easy to use. This design features aluminum clips that lock and release expansion cards such as a graphics card in seconds. We encountered no problems when using these clips. In fact, this is the best tool-less design for expansion slots that we have ever seen.
The bottom of the PC-K62, where the power supply is to be installed, features two padded mounting brackets that support and raise the power supply from the bottom of the case. This allows air to flow under the power supply where there is a large vent designed to draw in cool air from outside of the case.
Directly behind the power supply mounting area is a series of unusual looking black plastic clips. These clips are part of the case’s cable management system and will help users make a neat and tidy install with the PC-K62. LanCool has left 1.5cm of room behind the motherboard tray to hide and store excess cables.
Also in the motherboard tray there is a huge square hole behind where the CPU socket would be located on a desktop board. This hole is designed to give users access to the rear of the CPU socket, allowing for the installation or removal of heatsinks that would normally require the entire motherboard to be removed first. This is a simple yet extremely useful design feature that should be part of all computer cases.
Finally, we have the cooling setup, which is extensive for such an affordable case. Recently we have seen companies such as Thermaltake push extreme cooling setups in their more affordable cases and LanCool is looking to do much the same. Our version of the PC-K62 used a single rear mounted 120mm fan, a 140mm front fan and dual 140mm top fans. The 120mm fan spins at 1500 RPM, while the 140mm fans operate at just 1000 RPM for near silent operation.
