14 DAY TRIAL // Since PC cases can only get extra attention by being more aesthetically pleasing than others of their kind, there is a serious amount of focus, on the PC case industry segment, on design variety.
There are only so many ways that a plastic and metal box can be built though, especially when one has to stick to commonly accepted form factors (mini case, mid-tower, desktop, tower and above).
This has caused IT players like Xigmatec to launch the Talon mid-tower enclosure, after making it look like a car-airplane mix. At least that is what the company made it sound like.
The exact words were “inspired by the latest in advanced aeronautical and automotive design concepts.”
We'll let customers decide by themselves if they agree with that description, and if they actually approve of the way the enclosure lists forward as though it were balancing on the edge of a cliff.
From what we've seen on the net, people's feelings range from enthusiasm to ambivalence and, further, to disapproval of how “drunken” the side-view looks.
But we digress. The Xigmatek Talon measures 561 (L) x 553 (H) x 220 (W) mm. That's 22.08 x 21.77 x 8.66 inches.
In addition to providing support for mini-ITX, micro-ATX and full ATX motherboard, the interior also fits eight 3.5-inch hard disk drive and solid-state drive bays. There is also room for five 2.5-inch drives, which means SSDs (solid state drives), although there are some 2.5-inch, very thin HDDs on the market as well.
Moving on, Talon boasts a pair of fans, one on the front (200 mm) and one at the back (140 mm).
Furthermore, three 5.25-inch drive bays are present. That way, if one is occupied by an optical drive of some kind (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.), the other two can hold a fan controller, or maybe a 3.5-inch drive cage if more storage is really needed for some reason (Icy Dock FlexCage is one example).
Finally, Xigmatek's Talon is listed for 99.90 Euro / $99.90-131.42. Shipments will start on January 14, 2013.
