Installation

**click to enlarge**

As with all small cases that do not feature any removable parts to simplify installation, there is usually very limited room to  to work with.  However, despite just how small this particular case is, there is definitely ample room to work comfortably.  The above pic was taken with only the motherboard and PSU installed to give you an idea.  Also note that the back side panel was removed.  I've seem plenty of cases over the years and a well-designed, tool-less case will allow you to install all your components without the need to remove both side panels.  With the Luna, you must remove both, as it features the tool-less drive cage locks on both sides.

**click to enlarge**

Installing the video card, despite the fact that it sports a very common tool-less method found in many cases, wasn't exactly trouble-free.  You must make sure that the bracket on your card is 100% level.  Any very slight bend will be an issue in terms of fitting it all the way into the PCI/E slot, providing a secure fit and allowing you to "lock" the card place.

The tool-less drive features this case sports will certainly grab your attention and at first glance, appear as if they will work very well in terms of simplifying the whole process in general.  I felt this way up until the point of actually installing all drives.  Installation of the optical drives or any 5.25" accessory is a breeze.  However, when installing the internal 3.5" drives, there is no sort of guide and/or stopping point where it will tell you this is where the lock will make contact.  Chances are, you'll be sliding the drive up and down quite a few times before you are able to precisely have it in place where it will eventually lock into place.

A serious design flaw...

Now, it was the following that completely left so shocked and I really couldn't believe it at first to the point where I sat there for many minutes trying to find out if there was a trick to it.  What I'm I talking about?  Well, first take a look at the pic below...

**click to enlarge**

First, I was surprised the Luna did not come standard with a front intake fan.  So, I grabbed one of many 120mm fans I had lying around and when attempting to install it, found there was actually no way to slide it in for mounting.  I really couldn't see how this kind of flaw in design got past them so I started looking at all removable parts.  Turns out that all parts, including the drive cage and bottom panel are all riveted and there was simply no way to make enough clearance to slide the fan in.  I'm still in complete shock over this and when attempting to contact them about this issue, did not receive a response back.  However, considering it is made of such light material, you can possibly bend the side panel guide enough to squeeze the fan into place.  However, this honestly shouldn't even be necessary in the first place.

**click to enlarge**

Finally, above is a pic showing all components installed in this particular test setup.  Do to the spacious drive cage that supports many drives, it will allow you to tuck in all your cables for a much cleaner look.  Once again, you'll also see just what an impact the black finished interior does make. 

Cooling Performance

Before we get to its cooling performance, let's first have a quick look at the test system specs...

Temps were measured both at idle and under load. Idle temps were captured after at least 30min of operation. To load the system, the latest version of SiSoftware's Sandra XII was used.

In terms of the software utilities used, Abit uGuru was used along with a supported board. Software was used to grab CPU and System temps only. For additional testing, surface temperatures were taken from components using the excellent ThermoHawk 200 touch-less thermometer. Software temp monitoring utilities are almost always unreliable and inconsistent.  That is why I always like to use these two methods in order to provide more credible results and compare both to basically determine what the actual running temps are.

Also note that all readings below were based on only the rear exhaust fan running as I could not easily mount the front fan as I commented on earlier. Ambient temperature throughout all tests was a respectable 74ºF.

Nothing out of the ordinary here when you compare these numbers to a majority of mid-tower cases.  However, note that a front intake fan may aid but the case not only fails to ship with one, but installing one will require some fancy dremel work or bending of certain key parts in order to fit it into place. 

In terms of noise, the rear exhaust fan runs quite silent but not necessarily the quietest 120mm fan I've used.  While on the subject, one minor issue I ran into was a very irritating and loud noise after booting the system for the first time.  As I commented on earlier, this was a result of the Video Card making contact with the chipset cooler due to improper mounting on the slot.  Precisely straightening the card bracket resulted a better fit that did solve this issue.

Next:  Conclusions