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I remember back when I first saw a clear computer case. I was just blown away.  There was something elegant about it, especially if the builder took time to do a clean install.  After a while they were everywhere, showing off the prized hardware of the owner like a display case in a jewelry store.  After years of availability I still see many clear cases show up on the mod scene.

Today the must have item is the cube or UFO style cases.  These cases, with their non-standard shape, can be very appealing.  They are a step away from the usual ATX style case

Well, much to my excitement, Sunbeamtech has brought these two wonderful designs together to create the Sunbeam Acrylic UFO computer case.   Sunbeamtech could have a winner here. With its design style and a price point well under 100 dollars, what’s not to like?

The Package 

I was fortunate enough to have Derek from Sunbeamtech.com send me a review sample. I waited like a kid on Christmas Eve for the package to arrive.  After a few days the package showed up at my front door.  It was the retail package wrapped in stretch film to protect it from the elements.

It is a great looking box that sports some nice pictures of the case as well as some information on what you will find inside.  As you can tell from the shape of the box, there will be “some assembly required”.  We will see how that works for us.

This is the Clear case as shown on the side of the box.  There is also a UV model available.

Inside the Box 

I opened the box to find everything nicely protected against damage.  There was plenty of foam and it was basically a box inside a box.

Every panel was individually wrapped to keep it safe from scratches that can really ruin a nice clear case.  You can tell a lot of care and thought was put into the packaging of this case.  Nothing was going to be damaged here.

I found all of the hardware, fans, fan grills and everything needed to assemble this case.  The only thing you will need is a couple of screw drivers and a nut driver for the stand offs.  All of the hardware was nicely labeled with the part numbers and the intended use.

There is also a several page manual to follow along with.  I recommend reading through this before getting started.  This will help prevent any surprises later.

You will need a large area free of clutter to assemble your case; I chose the dining room table (a big thanks to my wife for putting up with me invading the kitchen during this process).

I put a soft throw on my dining room table to make sure none of the panels got scratched. After making sure I read through the manual to get a feel for what was in store, I laid out all of the parts and looked at all the hardware bags to get familiar with what was there.

Again, everything is clearly labeled.  This will assure you are using the right hardware for each step. The manual calls out the parts both by their number on the bag and by name.

The Build

The first step is to get the bottom panel and set it on your work surface. You will see the outline for the feet on this panel. Next grab 4 corner brackets and lay them out. You will use 4 of the mount screws  to attach the brackets to the bottom panel.

Next we will need the drive bay sides and the front panel. As these panels are very thick, they will have no problem holding your drives.  When assembled, you will have the capacity for 2 hard drives and 2 optical drives.

Attaching the bay panels to the front panel using the mounting screws took a little effort to align everything and get the screws started.  After a little diligence, I was ready to move on to the next step.

I then attached the assembly to the bottom with the mounting screws. The drive panels drop into the slots on the bottom panel, ensuring everything is straight and very secure.

The Build Continued

The next step was to attach the mother board tray as shown. Again, the drive panels insert into the slots on the motherboard tray.  This assures proper spacing.

Now we attach the back panel. It is starting to look like something now.  There are also slots in the back panel to hold the motherboard tray level.

At this point I assembled the back plane to the motherboard and card support side panel, as well as installing the drive access door.  There are removable pci slot covers here (no breakaways).  The provided screws hold the back plane very securely.

Now it ws time to attach the side panel to the case assembly.  Although this was a little tricky (a longer screwdriver would have helped), the screws went in and all was well.  I was amazed at how stable the case was becoming.  This seems to be a well designed case so far.

The Case Fans 

Now we are going to add the fans.

The two included 120 mm blue LED fans are SunBeamTech units rated at a 0.16A power draw, pushing 45 cfm, and producing 21.75 dB.  These fans are a good balance of low noise and good airflow, making them ideal for your standard home PC.  You can plug them right into your motherboard via the fan headers, or use the provided 3 pin to 4 pin molex adapters to plug them into your power supply leads.

The fans come with some very nice chrome finger guards. I used the screws included with the fans and not the screws included with the case.  The screws included with the case were a little large for my liking.

Next I installed the metal motherboard stand offs.  Make sure you install these as needed for your board application.  The last thing you need is your hardware shorting out from a misplaced stand off!  I would recommend going ahead and installing your hardware at this point.

I left the top and side off for easy access. I did, however, finish the assembly of the case so I could take pictures for this review.  I also added the front switch and USB header panel. You can wait until your hardware is in to install this, as the cables can get in your way while installing your board.

As you can see, this case looks great.  I can’t wait to see my hardware in there.  Let’s get on with it then.

Installing the Hardware 

You will need to install the included clear spacers to install your drive(s). The spacers just thread right into the drives. You then use the provided screws to mount the drives into the case.

After installing the hard drive, I installed the DVD Burner and started adding a few cables.  Sunbeam provided many holes and notches in the motherboard tray to allow easy and clean routing of your cables and wires.

Finishing Up 

At this point it is time to finish up the hardware install. I attached the motherboard with the included screws, and then added my video and sound card.  After lead-dressing all the wires and a final check, it was all hooked up and ready to go (this case can make any hardware look great).

You may want to paint your optical drive(s) as well as putting your hard drive(s) in an enclosure. This will really help set off the look of this case.

I have to say that everything lined right up.  I have had cases where I have had to make adjustments to get expansion and video cards fit properly.  No problems with the Sunbeam case; just plug it in and tighten it down with the provided screws.

Here are a couple more shots with it up and running, with a few lights for an nice added effect. This thing really glows with the lights off in the room. It actually lights up the entire room.

It was a little difficult to get a good shots of the lights. Please excuse the little blurry effect.

Conclusion 

I have to say that this case is great. It was a breeze to assemble. Anyone that is building their own computer will not have a problem at all. The hardware went right in and the layout makes everything easy to access, not to mention it looks great with some lights and a decent wiring job. It was also very solid feeling once all the screws were tight (a surprise I must admit).

I have to give it 9 out of 10. The only thing I hit it on is its size. A  top of the line 8800GTX will not fit and if you have a tower of a CPU cooler it might have a clearance problem as well, so make sure your hardware will fit before purchasing this case.

Overall, if you like to show off your hardware and don’t mind a little work assembling this case, the Sunbeam UFO acrylic cube case is for you.

PROS

• Easy to Build
• Cube Shape
• Very well built
• Slots in motherboard tray for wires
• Fans and guards included
• All hardware clearly marked

CONS 

• Might be difficult to keep clean
• Might have clearance issues with top end hardware 

NOTE: I plan on water cooling this thing so check back as I will be putting up that segment soon. 

Sunbeam UFO case price

Sunbeam UFO ACUF-HUVB UV Blue Computer Case With Side Panel Window Sunbeam UFO ACUF-HUVB UV Blue Clear Acrylic ATX Cube Computer Case