14 DAY TRIAL // Sharkoon, a company well known for its storage enclosures and computer peripherals, has just announced the introduction of two new chassis, the midi-tower AL4 and the mini-tower AL2, which feature an all aluminum construction at an affordable price.
These are the first chassis in the company's lineup to be built entirely out of aluminum and sport a similar design, although the AL2 is significantly smaller than its older brother.
Starting with the AL4, the case can house up to four 5.25-inch and four 3.5-inch drives and both drive bays features tool-less installation, which makes adding and removing storage units a breeze.
In addition, the 3.25-inch drive cage is also actively cooled by a blue LED 120mm front fan and the system can also be fitted with two smaller 80mm fans thanks to the mounting holes available in the back of the case.
Moving inside the case, we find ample room for installing most mainstream computer parts, but opting for an extra-long graphics card could be a problem as the AL4 can only house GPUs up to 27cm in size. A similar problem could also be encountered with the CPU cooler as models taller than 15cm are not supported.
As far as the AL2 is concerned, this can accommodate two 5.25-inch and two 3.5-inch storage drives and it comes pre-installed with one blue LED 92mm fan that sits in the front of the unit.
An additional 92mm fan can be placed in the back for expelling the hot air out, and the case can fit graphics cards up to 30cm long and CPU coolers up to 14cm tall.
The AL2 and AL4 also feature dual USB 2.0 front panel ports as well as line-in and phone-out jacks.
Both cases are each available in silver or titanium, and the Sharkoon AL2 has been priced at 49,90€ while the larger AL4 is available for 59,90€.
At these prices, these are among the cheapest aluminum cases available on the market, although users have to make do with a reduced feature set. (via HardwareLuxx)