As mentioned above, this model has sliding “grill” that slides in upper position when it covers drive bays or in lower position when it covers area that is lighted with violet LEDs. This lower position can be useful in case you want to hide light source. Drive bay covers can be easily removed by using plastic leaver that can be accessed if left side panel is removed. As we mentioned, front panel is lighted with violet LEDs. Power button is also lighted by light and beside it on front panel are also present: 2 USB connectors alongside headphone and mic jack. Cables that are attached to these connectors are long so they can reach appropriate connectors on any motherboard.

There is no FireWire connector or cable but there is pre-drilled place in plastics for it. Reset button is also missing. There are two openings on the left side panel. Lower one cannot be used for fan mounting and is used as air intake. Upper opening has dust filter and can be used for fan mounting. Filter is easy to take out and clean which is another nice and practical detail. There are four 5.25 inch drive bays and tree 3.5 inch bays. Only one 3.5 inch on front panel is visible and accessible and can be used for floppy drive, or flash card reader, fan controller etc. Mounting of 5.25 inch drives is tool-less and plastic lock mechanisms are used. Top and right side panels are simple flat surfaces without any detail or opening. This came as surprise because modern trends in chassis design dictate that there should be at least one more fan mounting place at top side. On the other hand if superior air-flow isn’t imperative, this simplicity can be handy. Build quality of all panels and assembly quality is very good.

Interior of Chenbro PC617 is, considering its size, nicely organized. On the inside of front panel is place for mounting 12mm fan that can be used for cooling of HDD rack that is located in close vicinity. HDD rack can be dismounted for easier HDD mounting. HDD rack has rubber rings (bumpers) that reduce vibrations and noise and four HDDs can be mounted in it. Mounting of additional cards is also tool-less and functions on same principles as the rest of mounting mechanisms in Chenbro PC617 thanks to plastics locks. On the back side is mounting place for additional fan. We got in the package 120mm fan that wasn’t the quietest fan that we saw till now. Smaller fans can be also mounted (80 and 90mm). Beside fans in package, we also got all necessary screws for motherboard mounting.