Exterior Impressions
Exterior Impressions
Once the back-breaking work of hauling the Anubis out of its box is done, you are greeted by an imposing black mid-tower case which just reeks of class and high-end quality. The front carries a fin-like design and a faint Hiper logo stamped into the lower air intake. The overall size of the Anubis lies somewhere between that of a full tower case and that of a mid tower case which means you should be getting a good amount of interior space for your money.
The uppermost floppy bay and all of the front 5.25” drive bays are hidden from view by a pivoting door which swings away on heavy-duty hinges and is held in place by a pair of magnets. In all there are six 5.25” bays which provide enough space for nearly any drive combination you can think of. Interestingly, even though there looks to be enough space, the top 3.25” bay cannot be removed in order to fit a 5.25” device (DVD drive, fan controller, etc.). There is also a bottom mounted fan grille which can be used to mount an optional 120mm fan.
The side of the case contains a perforated black aluminum panel which acts like a kind of window into the case. Unlike most cases out there with this same feature, Hiper has added a clear acrylic sheet directly behind the panel. This gives you the best of both worlds: you can still see into your case without having a gaudy side window while the acrylic panel prevents dust from entering.
The Anubis uses neither thumb screws nor regular screws to secure the two side panels. Rather, a pair of metal latches adorns each side of the case that allows you to press down on them and remove the panel. Not only does this give you fast, easy access to the innards of the case but it also gives the Anubis a very sleek appearance. There is however one small problem with this latch system: it relies very much on guesswork the first few times you reinstall the side panels. Basically, you will have to position the panel in exactly the right position before depressing the latch to secure the panel into place. After the first few times closing the side panels, the whole system becomes second nature to me and I have to wonder why more manufacturers don’t use this brilliant system.
The other side panel also holds a pair of latches for easy access to the opposite side of the case behind the motherboard tray. These come in handy for wire routing but let’s take a little closer look at the back of the case as well…
On the back of the Anubis there is a pair of grommets so you won’t have to take a Dremmel to this beautiful case if you wanted to water cool some of your components. There are also the usual 7 expansion slots which we see on all of the mid-tower sized cases.
Like we have seen with other manufacturers Hiper has left out the completely redundant rear I/O plate since it is next to impossible to design one with a one-size-fits-all mentality due to the shear variety of motherboards on the market. There is also the standard fan mount but Hiper has gone a very interesting route with the one on the back of the Anubis. Since they have not included a rear 120mm fan like so many other manufacturers are doing, they have provided mounting holes for 80mm, 92mm and 120mm fans.
The back of the case also has an engraved production number on it which is the twin to the number etched on the keychain. All in all, it is pretty cool to see which number you have. I wonder who has #000001….
The entire top of the Anubis is adorned with equally spaced fins which are definitely something unique to this case. The fins serve next to no practical use since the heat conducted by the aluminum of Hiper’s flagship case is quite minimal even with a pair of 8800GTS cards working for all they’re worth. It would be very interesting to see Hiper offer an optional package containing heatpipes to transfer heat from the processor or the graphics card to these fins. At least then they can to more than look pretty and they would also provide a pretty good passive cooling solution.
Hiper has repositioned the I/O connectors which are usually found on the front of the case to the top of the Anubis. This keeps the front panel clear of clutter but also locates the power button and the reset button to an area which may not be suitable for some people. Everything here has a quality feel to it with all of the connectors situated in perfectly-cut openings and the buttons making a satisfying “click” noise whenever they are depressed.
With the two water cooling grommets on the rear of the Anubis, I was hoping to see space for a pair of 120mm fans in the top of the case to mount a dual-fan radiator. Unfortunately, Hiper has designed this case with a single lonely top fan mount which is populated with an anemic 120mm exhaust fan.
The feet on this case are plastic with some aluminum finishes and are manually leveling just in case you will be installing it in a room which is not entirely level. There is no rubber protecting the undersides but this makes it easier to drag across a floor…which is what you will be doing considering its prodigious weight.
After our whirlwind tour of the outside of this impressive case there is hardly anything not to like. Yes, it would have been nice to have seen a pair of top-mounted fans or some practical use of the topmost fins. But make no mistake about it: the Hiper Anubis is one beautiful case. So much so, I think it is a work of art and very near the pinnacle of mid-tower case design.