Alpha 360 Mini Tower - Interior

Popping the side panel off allows us to get to the internal area of the Alpha 360. It takes no more than a glance to see that it isn't your ordinary layout. Yes, the drive bays are oriented toward the front and the peripherals to the rear, but that monstrosity hanging off the side stands out as an immediate difference. Let's take a little closer look.

This shroud is designed to help keep your processor running cool. You see, the cone moves in and out to allow it to sit very close to your HSF. Even though there is no fan mounted to the side panel in this location, the natural airflow of the HSF blows down toward the processor. This shroud lets cool air be drawn from outside the enclosure instead of warmer air being drawn from inside the case.

The optical bays and 3.5" external bays are positioned as a single cradle in the drive tower. Each of the upper bays has protruding tabs to make installation of your drives easier. Also of note is the tool free retention mechanism. Once the drives are in place, you simply push in on those yellow plungers along the side of the tower. This securely mounts the drive in the bay and I had no issues at all with loose and noisy drives.

Rotating around to the rear portion brings us to a couple of items of note. The first is the rear fan, only fan included with the default configuration. This 9cm fan is not totally silent, but the noise level is more than acceptable.

Also of note is the tool free retention mechanism for your installed peripherals. Though it is nothing fancy, the simple operation allows the entire brace to be rotated upward and out of the way so you can easily install your peripheral(s). Once in place, simply rotate the mount back down and snap it into place and you're finished.