The very first thing you’ll see that units aside the Cosmos Alpha from most large towers? Positively the outside rails, which resemble the gear-mounting racks on the roofs of some SUVs.
Whereas the rails of the unique Cosmos had been designed primarily for look and/or panel safety, that’s now not the case (cough) with its newest version. With over an inch of house into which you’ll insert your mitts, the Alpha’s cast-aluminum rails add some top versus its early ancestor. The case can also be about half an inch deeper and a pair of.5 inches wider than the unique.
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The Cosmos Alpha retains the 4 Sort-A ports of its progenitor however replaces its elder’s now-classic FireWire and eSATA ports with twin USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Sort-C. The unique model’s USB 2.0 connections are upgraded to USB 3.2 Gen 1; the headphone and microphone jacks merged right into a single four-pole headset jack; the ability and reset buttons are moved to the outer rim; and an ARGB lighting mode button is added reverse the ability button.
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
The underside panel’s mud filter slides out from the entrance, whereas the entrance panel’s mud filter is accessible by pulling the black grid part out of its silver body.
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
Because the Cosmos Alpha has a big backside radiator mount, the decrease filter covers a equally massive space. Additionally discover that rubber strips are hooked up to the underside fringe of the decrease rails to scale back scratching, sliding, and the transmission of vibration.
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
The again of the Cosmos Alpha seems very like the entrance, a lot in order that the entrance panel’s grid suits there too, leaving solely the rear panel’s lack of magnetic latches within the corresponding places to stop builders from swapping these. (Not that you’d: The gaps above and under the smaller cowl function cable passages.)
Additionally, discover {that a} big perforated metal vent fills many of the proper facet’s panel.
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
Talking of perforated metal, the highest panel pulls off to disclose a pair of adjustable fan rails, set vast sufficient to connect 200mm followers, with a gap lengthy sufficient to suit two of these. The adjustability additionally helps if you wish to set up a 360mm-format radiator to align it nonetheless you want over the motherboard.
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
In contrast to the highest panel, the entrance vent is all plastic: A versatile filter sheet snaps into place behind the inflexible plastic façade.
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
Lifting the glass panel from its hinges permits additional house for set up and elimination of inside elements, whereas coming out the entrance panel’s heart part merely permits visible inspection of the Cosmos Alpha’s twin 200mm-by-38mm consumption followers. Two equivalent energy provide shrouds fill the gaps above and under the motherboard.
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
I eliminated the ability provide shrouds first to see how a lot house the case had (see the left picture under), then eliminated the graphics card brace from the opening earlier than going after the 2 cowl panels on the within (right-hand picture). The hinges of each facet panels are seen going through the again of the case.
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
The Cosmos Alpha’s single rear fan fills one of many three fan mounts behind the motherboard and graphics card, limiting entry to their rear ports. To the facet, two crossbars that sit behind the motherboard tray may be fitted with extra cross braces to carry as much as three 360mm radiators, however the one approach to get room for all that {hardware} can be to maneuver the motherboard tray out of the best way, which we’ll get to momentarily.
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
A 3rd cable cowl that sits behind the motherboard tray may be eliminated through two screws on the backside to supply easy accessibility to these cables. A detachable triple-drive 3.5-inch/2.5-inch tray sits forward of it, with an ARGB/PWM fan hub mounted to its heart. For these two images, I pointed the proper facet panel’s hinge perpendicular to its closed place.
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(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
The Cosmos Alpha’s two factory-connected followers don’t have any lighting; the 2 ARGB leads that seem on this picture are linked to the case’s built-in gentle bars. I discovered that connecting the ARGB/PWM fan hub’s enter cables to the take a look at motherboard we use triggered its front-panel mode button to be disabled, whereas pulling the ARGB lead from that motherboard allowed us to cycle the hub’s built-in controller by its 13 modes. Holding its button for a few seconds additionally turned the lighting off, however once more solely when the hub was working from its personal controller.
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
Held in place by 4 units of folding wing nuts and pinch brackets, the motherboard tray’s sliding adjuster permits customers to develop the house behind the motherboard from 10mm to 80mm, although my take a look at GeForce RTX 4070 Ti wouldn’t match behind the glass panel when the motherboard was pushed to the acute: The take a look at {hardware} realistically allowed a bit over 60mm of most behind-motherboard house with out shopping for the PCI Specific riser cable wanted to allow vertical card orientation on this case. (It’s not included.)
The curious can even discover one of many proper facet panel’s three hanger holes on the appropriate hinge, in addition to two of the 4 screws that maintain the left hinge to the again of the case (left). My subsequent picture will carry this all collectively!
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
Bounded on the prime and backside by a pair of full ATX-size energy provide brackets, the eight-slot growth panel and I/O defend be a part of the motherboard tray as a sliding meeting that creates roughly house behind the motherboard tray for mounting extra cooling {hardware}.
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
