14 DAY TRIAL // Sharkoon decided it was time two of its cases got upgraded, so instead of re-branding or otherwise trying to make them unique, it added the lacking features and sent the enclosures on their way.
The two cases that have received extra functionality are Sharkoon Nightfall and Sharkoon Rebel9 Aluminum.
They used to have eSATA ports but, now, feature USB 3.0 connectors on the front instead, with 19-pin connector cables establishing the link between them and the motherboard USB 3.0 headers.
And now we may as well mention the primary specs of each case, starting with the Nightfall.
Five 5.25-inch drive bays exist, along with just as many 3.5-inch bays, seven expansion slots (for graphics cards, sound boards, network adapters, etc.) and two water cooling holes.
The HDD cage is removable and is cooled by a blue LED fan (120 mm) located behind a mesh air intake in the front panel.
The other case, Rebel9 Aluminum, has no less than nine 5.25-inch ODD bays (some of which can be filled with HDD mounting Brackets), seven expansion slots and its own 120mm pre-installed fan on the front (without LED).
Both towers have black-finished aluminum fronts, “diamond-cut” edging, detachable drive covers and black finish on both the outside and inside.
Truly, the only real difference between the two is the front design / drive installation option set.
In that note, in addition to USB 3.0, the top I/O panels have two USB 2.0 ports, headphone and microphone jacks and the obligatory Power and Reset buttons.
The product pages don't specify them, but the prices of the Sharkoon Nightfall U3 and Sharkoon Rebel9 Aluminum U3 are 44.90 Euro and 54.90 Euro, respectively. That's $58.33 and $71.33, respectively, according to exchange rates. Check your local retailers to see if they are listed there.
