Verdict: Much better than a chocolate bar or a barren, wind-blasted planet.
Overly clever design has rumbled the greats of any field - Leonardo da Vinci created a new kind of plaster to better hold the pigment of the paint he used for his masterpiece 'The Last Supper', but this innovative material is now crumbling faster than a team of Titus Bramble clones trying to hold on to a one-goal lead. The human psyche is constantly striving for something better than we currently have, but if you look through past issues of Custom PC, you'll see a distinct trend - while we get excited about innovative products, they're rarely perfect enough, when new, to win awards.
At first glance, the 3D Mars case looks as if it might break this rule. It flirts with convoluted design, but delivers the basics with refreshing straightforwardness. It's a spacious aluminium tower that can accommodate up to an E-ATX-sized motherboard, and is largely uncluttered and simple inside. The five fixed 5.25in drive bays are joined by an external 3.5in bay and a detachable hard disk caddy that can house up to five disks. This caddy can be mounted either parallel or perpendicular to the case. The former option is preferable, as it means that air will flow over the disks from the front intake fan, although removing or installing disks may be trickier.
If you think you'll be swapping hard disks in and out like some kind of storage Rafa Benitez, and you therefore want to mount the disks perpendicularly, Gigabyte has tried to address the problem of the disks blocking airflow from the front in this orientation by using two 80mm fans to suck in air from the right-hand side of the case (as you face it) and blow it across the disks. However, these fans are very thin and, to keep the noise down, they spin very slowly - a pair of asthmatic gnats could move more air than these fans.
Still, the flexibility of the hard disk caddy mounting means that Gigabyte can appeal to those who want to remove or add hard disks every week, or want their hardware to run cooler and more reliably. In short, this is a good innovation.
From the outside, it's difficult to see how Gigabyte came to choose the name 3D Mars - you might expect something red and round, or perhaps a giant chocolate bar. The 3D Mars is fairly plain, though, with only that suspicious bulge to distinguish it from any other case we've seen.
However, the bulge isn't as pointless as it may first look, as it makes for a handy air intake. The gills on either side emit a blue glow and are large enough to allow in a respectable amount of air. The 3D Mars has three aluminium side panels, one of which is for the boring behind-the-motherboard side. One of the remaining two side panels has an open steel mesh (an aluminium mesh would have been weaker than a half-starved kitten), while the other has a clear acrylic window. You can choose which one you use, and as this hasn't pushed the price of the 3D Mars beyond £100, it's an option we welcome. However, there's no escaping the fact that the 3D Mars is essentially a black box with an odd-looking bulge at the front.
Just above the bulge, you'll find the usual set of connections, comprising two USB ports, a FireWire port, a headset and the power and reset buttons. The most notable aspect of these buttons is that, unlike the rest of the case, they feel rather poorly built.
Cooling the 3D Mars is a 120mm fan in the front of the case, behind the lumpy intake, and two 120mm fans at the rear. These are positioned alongside each other so, depending on the radiator, you should be able to fit a dual 120mm fan model if you fancy using liquid cooling. The case also has pre-drilled holes with rubbery grips for external reservoir or radiator mounting. As previously mentioned, there are also two weedy 80mm fans next to the hard disk caddy.
Conclusion
The 3D Mars is notable in that it's a distinctly sensible case in almost every way. Snigger at its bulge and it probably won't get the joke, and instead explain to you at length how the vents to either side aid airflow, which is an important aspect of cooling. The flexibility of the hard disk caddy mounting means that the 3D Mars covers all the bases, and there's even an attempt to cool the hard disks should someone insist on mounting them perpendicularly.
Apart from the power and reset buttons, the case is well-built, and roomy without being overwhelming.
The aluminium construction of the 3D Mars might interest LAN attendees who want something dependable rather than something that draws crowds of people around it all the time, even if it also pushes up the price to just over £80. Its muted looks are well suited to almost any computer task, though, even for people who want water-cooling but don't want to show off about it. Ultimately, the 3D Mars delivers on the basics, and adds welcome flourishes.
