It’s a neat gimmick of a case, but is the gimmick worth it?
Reviewing anything can get a little repetitive after a while, and that's especially true of PC cases. They're empty boxes, effectively, and even a really good case and a really bad case are going to be essentially the same in many ways. So when a unique take on the standard design comes along, like this plastic-fantastic effort from GMC, it's easy to get excited.
First things first - we admit, the faux-industrial aesthetics of the R4 Bulldozer (gallery here) are not for everyone. Personally, we really don't mind the hydraulic superstructure look - but then we're also tempted to take to the R4 with a lot of paint and modelling putty to really amp up the industrial feel. Suffice to say you'll either love it or hate.
You'll either love or hate the optical drive mechanism, too, which takes the ODD out of the case entirely, and mounts it in a downward orientation. Combined with a plastic cover, in operation the Bulldozer looks much like its namesake, pistoning open and shut. It's kinda neat, but, like a lot of the R4's build, also kinda flimsy. The latch that triggers the opening mechanism is asking to be snapped off, and is easy to get out of working position.
That sense of cheapness occurs elsewhere as well, but never in so nasty a case as the thumb screws securing the sidepanel - they're plastic! The screw itself is metal, but the thumb portion is very weak plastic that looks like it can't wait to come loose. The side protrusion on the panel is also plastic, as are all the fancy fake support struts on the case's front.
This is not a sturdy LANing case, despite its size!
With the side-panel removed, we're treated to a pretty standard interior. The metal is untreated, and often flimsy, but with the ODD out of the interior, there's at least a lot of room. You'll need that room, too, as there's no real cable management to speak of. The HDDs mount vertically, again saving some room, and the PSU is mounted on the top of the case.
In theory, that leaves a mess of room for expansion cards. You can fit in a lot of the modern dual-slot cards, but only if you don't want them to power on - any card with its power connectors facing back into the case simply won't fit. We'd recommend something in the realm of a 9800GT, and no larger.
Anyway, anything too modern, and you'd run the risk of stretching the 120mm and two 80mm fans to their limits. Given the space, cabling's going to block a lot of airflow, so temp management will be tricky at best.
At the end of the day, if this case was about $120 or so, we might be able to like it more, but at $150 (at time of review), it's just too much to ask for too little quality. Unless you like the whole industrial thing...
Issue: 133 | February, 2012