5A Closer Look - Inside»A Closer Look - Outside
Out of the box, the Chieftec Apex Q sports straight lines with angled, edgy openings. As a case focused on sound dampening, it skips the glass side panel for a solid metal one instead. Those wanting the case with glass can take a look at the other Apex variants which Chieftec already offers.
The front uses plastic framing with a brushed metal surface in the center where you will also find the brand logo. Behind it, there is a singular 140 mm intake fan which is installed at the very bottom of the case. That is a pretty unique default placement, as it tends to favor cooling the area below the shroud, for example hard drives over components within the case. The front cover is lined with a sound dampening material and the side intakes have metal mesh on them to limit the amount of dust getting pulled into the interior of the case. That said, the overall design will limit the amount of fresh air that the singular fan will be able to pull in - which is a general conundrum silent cases have when trying to juggle cooling performance with noise dampening. In the rear the Apex Q looks pretty much like any traditional ATX chassis you can get your hands on these days. It is a bit on the wider side, which means you will benefit by being able to install larger fans, radiators or air coolers within its confines.
Both sides of the Apex Q are solid steel to provide the best possible sound dampening experience. Each of them are held in place by two thumb screws for easy tool-less removal.
At the bottom there is the PSU bay with one set of mounting holes, meaning you will install your unit with the fan facing downward. Above that are the usual seven expansion slots with individual, reusable covers. Above that, there is a 140 mm exhaust fan sitting on elongated mounting holes, so that you have a bit of flexibility to adjust is height to fit your motherboard layout perfectly. The Apex Q also has ample room above this area, which will mean that you should be able to employ AIOs in the ceiling without colliding with any motherboard components.
At the top, things are a bit traditional with a magnetic mesh dust cover over an otherwise open fan/AIO mounting area. This can hold up to three 120 or two 140 mm fans. Radiators of up to 360 mm in size can be installed here instead. This design at the top will reduce the effectiveness of the sound proofing measures of the Apex Q. While that is not of concern for those going with active cooling in the ceiling, some brands do offer solid panels as accessories in case you are going for a push / pull front to back airflow along with as much sound dampening as possible. The IO consist of the usual buttons, a USB-C port as well as two USB 3.0 plugs. On top of that, you will also find the traditional pair of audio in/out here as well. While the setup follows the standards we expect to see from a modern chassis, it would have been nice if the USB 3.0 ports were not OEM blue, but black for example, to match the rest of the otherwise all black enclosure.
Looking at the underside of the Apex Q, there is a dust filter underneath the PSU bay to keep dirt and grime out of the unit. It may be easily removed to be cleaned by pulling it out the back. If you look closely, you will also see where the HDD cage is mounted, held in place by a thumb screw on the underside. This means that you would have to tip your system over every time you would want to upgrade your drive configuration. As such most will likely never re-install the screw in the first place.
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